Fighting Spitit Review: New Japan “G1 Climax 2014” Day 9

Date:  August 4th, 2014
Location:  Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
Announced Attendance:  7,000 (Super No Vacancy)

The G1 Climax continues as we travel to Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.  Still too early to call it, lots of wrestlers are still in position to make the finals.  Here are the current standings:

Tonight’s line-up:

– Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomoaki Honma
– Block B: Lance Archer vs. Yujiro Takahashi
– Block A: Doc Gallows vs. Yuji Nagata
– Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe
– Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito
– Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs. Katsuyori Shibata
– Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
– Block B: AJ Styles vs. Karl Anderson
– Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin
– Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomoaki Honma
They circle each other to start, tie-up, and Smith shoves Honma to the mat.  Tie-up, and Smith hits an overhead suplex.  Once again they tie-up, Smith pushes Honma into the ropes, he goes for a punch but Honma ducks it.  Chops by Honma, Irish whip, reversed, and Smith hits a shoulderblock.  Smith goes off the ropes but Honma hits a drop toehold followed by a dropkick.  Honma goes for a headbutt but Smith rolls out of the way, Smith picks up Honma and throws him out of the ring.  Smith throws Honma into the guardrail, he gets a cable and chokes Honma with it.  Smith stomps on Honma’s midsection and slides Honma back into the ring.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Smith applies a reverse chinlock, he lays Honma on the mat and hits a leg drop.  Smith applies a single leg crab hold but Honma gets to the ropes.  Smith picks up Honma but Honma chops him back, elbows by Smith and he hits a knee followed by a hard chop.  Smith applies a reverse chinlock and then a stretch hold.  Honma gets to the rope to force a break, Smith picks up Honma and chops him but Honma chops him back.  Irish whip by Smith but Honma hangs onto the ropes, and then moves when Smith goes for a big boot.  Smith lands on the apron, he punches Honma and grabs him as he goes for a suplex, but Honma blocks it.  Headbutt by Honma and he snaps Smith’s neck on the top rope before hitting a lariat, which sends Smith out of the ring.  Honma goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a falling headbutt onto a standing Smith.  Honma rolls back in the ring and Smith slowly follows, jumping elbow by Honma in the corner and he hits a face crusher.  Falling headbutt by Honma, he picks up Smith but Smith blocks the brainbuster attempt and hits a vertical suplex.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Backdrop suplex by Smith, cover, but it gets another two count.  Another cover by Smith but again it gets a two.  Smith picks up Honma and goes for the powerbomb but Honma blocks it.  Smith goes off the ropes but Honma hits an elbow followed by a headbutt.  Lariat by Honma, cover, but it gets a two count.  Honma goes up to the top turnbuckle but Smith rolls out of the way of the diving headbutt.  Smith and Honma both hit lariats, and Smith follows up with another one for a two count cover.  Smith picks up Honma and goes for the powerbomb but Honma rolls him up for a two count.  Smith goes for a big boot but Honma catches it, Honma goes off the ropes but Smith hits a knee followed by the capture suplex.  Smith picks up Honma and drops him with the Bulldog Bomb.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Match Thoughts:  This was a decent opener as Honma kept the crowd and Smith didn’t waste any time in beating him up.  I think the crowd actually likes Honma failing in that it is entertaining to see him keep messing up, although I’d sure they would appreciate it if he does somehow win one.  Overall a nice way to start but nothing captivating.  Score:  6.0

Lance Archer vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Takahashi dropkicks Archer in the knee to start the match.  Takahashi kicks Archer in the leg around the ring but Archer grabs Takahashi by the neck and throws Takahashi over his head.  Archer picks up Takahashi and clubs him in the back.  Takahashi goes off the ropes and hits a chop block, he grabs Archer by the leg and kicks him in the knee.  Elbow to the leg by Takahashi and he hits a splash on Archer’s leg.  Takahashi stomps on Archer’s head, Takahashi pulls Archer’s leg around the post and slams his leg into it.  Archer pulls back on his leg which rams Takahashi into the ring post.  Archer picks up Takahashi, punches by Archer while he is on the apron but Takahashi kicks Archer in the leg.  Takahashi gets back in the ring and kicks Archer in the leg, he puts his leg on the bottom rope and jumps down onto it.  Takahashi and Archer punch at each other, Takahashi grabs Archer by the leg and applies a single leg crab hold.  Archer reverses it but Takahashi makes it to the ropes to force a break.  Kick to the leg by Takahashi and he elbows Archer in the head.  Archer hits him back but Takahashi kicks him in the leg, Takahashi goes off the ropes but Archer hits a spinebuster.  Archer waits for Takahashi to get up and he hits a shoulderblock.  Archer picks up Takahashi and hits a full nelson slam, cover, but it gets a two count.  Archer picks up Takahashi and goes for the Blackout, but Takahashi gets out of it and hits an Olympic Slam.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Takahashi charges Archer and hits a big boot, he grabs Archer and goes for the Fisherman Buster but Archer blocks it.  Kick to the leg by Takahashi, Archer goes for a suplex but Takahashi lands on his feet and kicks Archer in the leg.  Takahashi goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Archer doesn’t go down.  Takahashi puts Archer on his shoulders but Archer gets out of it and hits a Texas Tornado.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Archer pushes Takahashi into the corner and puts him up on the turnbuckle, Archer goes for the Blackout but Takahashi slides down his back.  Low blow by Takahashi, Archer charges Takahashi but Takahashi pushes him off and hits another low blow.  Small package by Takahashi and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Yujiro Takahashi

Match Thoughts:   If Takahashi could have stayed focused it almost might have been good.  The leg work was fine but it had no impact on the end whatsoever.  You don’t have to work over to limb to win with two low blows and a small package.  I know that Takahashi is a heel and all but he went sub-Yano to win this match which was a bit disappointing as Archer does not need protecting.  And Archer was Archer of course.  Not the best structured match and it didn’t do either of them any favors.  Score:  3.5

Doc Gallows vs. Yuji Nagata
They circle each other to start, tie-up, wristlock by Nagata but Gallows breaks it up.  Side headlock by Gallows, Nagata Irish whips out of it but Gallows shoulderblocks him down.  Nagata is back up, stomps by Nagata but Gallows clubs him to the mat.  Elbow by Gallows and he locks knuckles with Nagata, pushing him down to his knees.  Nagata suplexes out of it, Nagata goes off the ropes and hits a big boot, sending Gallows crashing out of the ring.  Nagata goes outside and tries to throw Gallows into the guardrail, but Gallows reverses it.  Gallows clubs Nagata in the back and throws him back in the ring, Gallows throws Nagata into the corner and he hits a body avalanche.  Lariat by Gallows, cover, but it gets a two count.  Gallows goes off the ropes and hits a splash, cover, but he gets a two count.  Elbow to the chest by Gallows and he applies a reverse chinlock.  Nagata elbows out of it and goes off the ropes but Gallows hits a back elbow.  Elbow drop by Gallows, cover, but it gets a two count.  Gallows picks up Nagata and punches Nagata into the corner.  Gallows throws Nagata into the corner but Nagata kicks Gallows in the knee.  More kicks to the leg by Nagata, Irish whip, reversed, and Nagata slaps Gallows before dropkicking him in the knee.  Big boot by Nagata and he hits an exploder.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Nagata grabs Gallows but Gallows punches him off, kick by Nagata, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, but Gallows’s knee is hurt so he can’t run.  Big boot by Gallows and he hits a lariat, cover, but it gets a two count.  Gallows picks up Nagata and hits an inverted full nelson slam, cover, but it gets a two count.  Gallows picks up Nagata again but Nagata kicks him in the knee, he goes off the ropes but Gallows grabs him.  Nagata gets away and applies the seated armbar, but Gallows makes it to the ropes.  Nagata picks up Gallows but Nagata hits a heel kick.  Shining Wizard by Nagata in the corner, he goes for the backdrop driver but Gallows elbows him off.  Nagata hits a German suplex, cover, but it gets a two count.  Nagata picks up Gallows and goes for the backdrop suplex again but Gallows gets out of it, Nagata goes off the ropes but Gallows boots him back and delivers a big boot.  Gallows picks up Nagata and hits the Gallows Pole, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Doc Gallows

Match Thoughts:   Again some structure issues, or just Nagata being stubborn.  What’s the point of the seated armbar after so much leg work?  He has leg submission holds, working the arm at that stage of the match is just wasting time.  It was nice of Gallows to sell the leg late but Nagata never went for it late, he just went for his standard moves without thinking about the work up to that point.  Gallows was fine but Nagata was on offense most of the time and it was just a bit too disjointed for my tastes.  I’m glad Gallows won, Nagata didn’t deserve it.  Score:  4.0

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe
Tenzan starts out with a lariat as they trade dueling lariats, Makabe goes off the ropes and another lariat sends Tenzan to the mat.  Makabe picks up Tenzan but Tenzan hits a few Mongolian Chops, sending Makabe down.  Chop to the throat by Tenzan, and Makabe falls out of the ring.  Tenzan goes out after him and chops Makabe against the guardrail, Irish whip attempt by Tenzan but Makabe reverses it and then lariats Tenzan over the guardrail.  Makabe gets back in the ring as Tenzan slowly follows, Makabe picks up Tenzan and he punches Tenzan back.  Makabe picks up Tenzan and he hits a vertical suplex.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Makabe applies a reverse chinlock on the mat until Tenzan gets to the ropes.  Makabe picks up Tenzan and punches him in the head, Tenzan elbows him back and they trade shots.  Knee by Makabe and he stomps Tenzan in the back.  Makabe goes off the ropes but Tenzan catches him with a Mountain Bomb.  Mongolian Chops by Tenzan and headbutts Makabe in the corner.  More headbutts by Tenzan, Irish whip, and Tenzan hits a lariat in the corner.  Tenzan goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits the calf branding.  Cover, and he picks up a two count.  Tenzan picks up Makabe and elbow him in the back, and Tenzan hits a vertical suplex.  Cover, but again it gets a two.  Tenzan goes off the ropes but Makabe catches him with a powerslam.  Makabe charges Tenzan in the corner and hits a lariat, mounted punches by Makabe in the corner and he goes for the Northern Lights Suplex but Tenzan blocks it.  Elbows by Makabe, he goes off the ropes and Tenzan hits a heel kick.  Saito Suplex by Tenzan, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a diving headbutt.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Tenzan applies the Anaconda Vice, he picks up Makabe but Makabe elbows out of it.  Elbow by Makabe but Tenzan elbows him back.  Mongolian Chops by Tenzan, he goes off the ropes as Makabe goes for a lariat, but Tenzan ducks it.  Tenzan goes off the ropes but Makabe clubs him in the chest.  Makabe picks up Tenzan and he hits a powerbomb.  Makabe goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits the King Kong Kneedrop.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Togi Makabe

Match Thoughts:  At least Makabe didn’t set up the King Kong Kneedrop with the spider German this time, so there is some progress.   A pretty simple match, not a lot happened here.  Tenzan controlled most of it but Makabe did go for the Kneedrop with some urgency, so he seemed to be keenly aware that Tenzan was not that hurt.  Sadly it just wasn’t memorable in any way, just another match so to speak, even though it wasn’t actively bad or anything like that.  Score:  5.5

Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito
Wristlock by Suzuki to start, Naito rolls out of it but Suzuki applies a side headlock.  Naito reverses it but Suzuki gets out of that and both wrestlers return to their feet.  Suzuki goes for a kick, Naito mostly catches it but Suzuki pushes him into the ropes.  Suzuki slaps Naito, Irish whip, reversed, and Naito delivers a dropkick.  Suzuki falls out of the ring, Naito goes out after him but TAKA grabs him from ringside.  Suzuki kicks Naito off the apron and then kicks Naito in the chest.  Suzuki applies an armbar outside of the ring, he picks up Naito and throws Naito into the guardrail.  Suzuki twists Naito’s leg in the guardrail and Suzuki chokes Naito with a flag.  Suzuki throws the flag at Naito and then boots him in the head.  Back in the ring, kicks to the back by Suzuki but Naito elbows him and they trade blows.  Kick to the chest by Suzuki, cover, but it gets a two count.  Suzuki picks up Naito and chops him, elbows by Suzuki but Naito slaps him back.  Hiptoss by Naito and he dropkicks Suzuki, Irish whip and Naito hits a senton.  Naito goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a missile dropkick to Suzuki.  Naito kicks Suzuki in the corner and goes for the slingshot dropkick, but Suzuki catches him and applies a leglock.  Suzuki picks up Naito but Naito punches him back.  Suzuki trips Naito and he applies a cross kneelock.  Naito crawls to the ropes and is able to grab the bottom one to get the break.  Suzuki kicks Naito in the leg, but Naito gets into the ropes.  Enzigieri by Naito, Suzuki gets up in the corner, Irish whip by Naito, kick, leg sweep, and he hits the slingshot dropkick.  Naito picks up Suzuki and puts him on the top turnbuckle, he joins him but Suzuki elbows Naito back.  Naito charges Suzuki but Suzuki applies an armbar, and he applies a cross armbreaker on the mat.  Waistlock by Naito but Suzuki reverses it and goes for a sleeper, but Naito gets out of it.  Waistlock by Naito and he rolls up Suzuki for a two count.  Suzuki gets the sleeper applied but Naito gets out of it and hits the overhead kick.  Irish whip by Naito, reversed, and Naito hits the jumping elbow strike.  Reverse DDT by Naito, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Suzuki rolls out of the way of the Stardust Press.  Suzuki kicks Naito, he goes off the ropes, Naito goes for a roll-up but Suzuki blocks it and hits Naito in the back of the head.  Suzuki goes off the ropes and hits a kick, takedown by Suzuki and he applies the sleeper.  Naito can’t get out of it and he goes to sleep, leading the referee to stop the match.  Your winner:  Minoru Suzuki

Match Thoughts:  A solid but not great match.  Suzuki’s work on the outside was good but the match meandered a bit after that until they got close to the finishing stretch.  Suzuki targeted both the knee and the arm, then won with a sleeper, so he was just grasping at anything he could get his hands on.  Naito looked fine but did nothing special in this match to stand out from all the other matches I have seen of him recently.  A solid affair but nothing that will blow you away.  Score:  6.5

Bad Luck Fale vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Fale elbows Shibata as the match starts and hits him into the corner.  Clubbing blows by Fale in the corner and he stands on Shibata’s back near the ropes.  Cover by Fale but it gets a two count.  Fale picks up Shibata and throws him into the corner, Irish whip by Fale but Shibata moves when Fale charges in.  Elbow by Shibata and he challenges Fale to hit him back, which naturally he does.  They trade elbows, Shibata goes off the ropes but Fale hits a big boot.  Another boot by Fale and he hits a third, Fale goes off the ropes but Shibata knees him in the stomach.  Waistlock by Shibata but Fale elbows him off.  Fale picks up Shibata but Shibata trips up Fale and applies an ankle hold.  Fale gets a hand on the ropes to force a break, Shibata goes for a choke hold but Fale hits a sidewalk slam to get out of it.  Fale hits a body avalanche in the corner followed by a body press.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Fale picks up Shibata and goes for the Bad Luck Fall, but Shibata gets out of it and elbows Fale into the corner.  More elbows by Shibata in the corner, he gets a running start and hits a dropkick to the chest.  Shibata picks up Fale and goes for a suplex but Fale punches him off.  He goes for the Bad Luck Fall again but Shibata slides out of it and applies a sleeper.  Fale gets to the ropes to get a break, Shibata kicks Fale in the chest but Fale catches the second one and hits a Samoan Drop.  Fale picks up Shibata and goes for the Bad Luck Fall, but again Shibata gets out of it and he hits a big boot to send Fale out of the ring.  Shibata goes out after him but Fale grabs Shibata while he is still on the apron and he hits the Grenade.  Both wrestlers are slow to get up, Shibata gets up on the apron as the count is close to the end but Fale lariats Shibata off the apron into the guardrail.  Shibata can’t get back in the ring in time and is counted out.  Your winner:  Bad Luck Fale

Match Thoughts:   I think going for the Bad Luck Fall three times in a seven minute match is a bit excessive and odd as Fale does have other moves like the Grenade.  So not sure what that was all about, also while the ending was a bit of a let-down I think it was done to make the points line up right without Fale actually pinning Shibata.  While I didn’t love the count out at least it was from two solid looking moves and not just Shibata losing track of the count or something.  So not a great match, but honestly it wasn’t really trying to be.  Score:  4.0

Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tie-up to start, wristlock by Kojima into a waistlock but Nakamura reverses it into his own wristlock.  Kojima reverses it back and applies a hammerlock, side headlock takedown by Kojima but Nakamura gets out of it with a headscissors until Kojima gets a foot on the ropes to force a break.  Tie-up, Nakamura pushes Kojima into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Shoulderblock by Kojima and he stomps on Nakamura.  More stomps by Kojima, he picks up Nakamura and throws him out of the ring.  Kojima goes out as well, he picks up Nakamura but Nakamura knees Kojima in the stomach.  Nakamura pushes Kojima against the railing and hits a knee, he then hangs Kojima’s head over the apron and hits a running kneelift.  Nakamura pulls Kojima back outside, he gets on the apron but Kojima lariats his legs from the floor.  Stomp by Kojima and he punches Nakamura before rolling him back into the ring.  Kojima gets in as well, stomp by Kojima and he applies a reverse chinlock.  Eye rake by Kojima and he stomps Nakamura again.  Kojima picks up Nakamura and throws him into the corner, rapid fire chops by Kojima, Irish whip, and he hits the jumping elbow smash.  Kojima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving elbow drop, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kojima picks up Nakamura but Nakamura stomps his foot and they trade elbows.  Nakamura picks up Kojima but Kojima elbows him off, he goes off the ropes but Nakamura hits a jumping kick to the face.  Nakamura picks up Kojima and knees him into the corner before stomping him.  Nakamura puts Kojima across the ropes and hits a running knee to Kojima’s ribs.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Nakamura picks up Kojima and goes for the inverted powerslam but Kojima blocks it and hits a DDT.  Kojima picks up Nakamura, Irish whip, Nakamura blocks it but Kojima hits the Koji Cutter.  Kojima signals for the lariat but Nakamura gets up and hits the Backstabber.  Nakamura applies the sleeper and then hits the inverted powerslam.  Nakamura waits for Kojima to get up and goes for the Boma Ye but Kojima gets out of the way and lariats Nakamura in the back of the head.  Kojima puts Nakamura up on the top turnbuckle and hits an avalanche Koji Cutter.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Kojima picks up Nakamura and goes for a brainbuster, but Nakamura blocks it.  Knee by Kojima and he goes for it again but Nakamura knees out of it.  Kojima charges Nakamura, Nakamura goes for a kick which Kojima catches, but Nakamura hits a heel kick.  Nakamura goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a second turnbuckle Boma Ye, cover, but Kojima gets a shoulder up.  Nakamura goes for another one but Kojima ducks it and hits a lariat.  Kojima picks up Nakamura and delivers a brainbuster, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kojima waits for Nakamura to get up and goes for the lariat, but Nakamura kicks his arm.  Nakamura goes off the ropes but Kojima levels him with a lariat, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kojima picks up Nakamura and hits a few elbows, roaring elbow by Kojima and he goes off the ropes, but Nakamura catches him with a jumping Boma Ye.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Shinsuke Nakamura

Match Thoughts:  Lots and lots of stomps.  This match started really really slowly and with no focus whatsoever (besides stomps), but once they got over that it was decent.  The middle was just non-existent, it almost went straight from “opening match offense” to “trading finishers” without much of a transition between the two.  The middle part of the match is usually the hardest part to do so I guess this was one way to get around it.  The end was fine, but the rest was rather lackluster.  Score:  5.0

AJ Styles vs. Karl Anderson
Anderson pokes Styles in the eyes to start the match and throws him out of the ring.  Anderson goes out after him and punches Styles before throwing him into the railing, but Styles jumps over the railing and pokes Anderson in the eyes.  Styles jumps off the railing but Anderson catches him and powerbombs Styles into the apron.  Anderson gets back into the ring as Styles slowly follows, but Styles goes back outside so Anderson goes out as well.  Anderson grabs Styles but Styles suplexes Anderson into the guardrail.  Styles gets back in the ring as does Anderson eventually, Styles picks up Anderson and hits a backbreaker.  Styles picks up Anderson but Anderson punches him off, chop by Anderson and he hits an uppercut.  Anderson goes off the ropes but Styles catches him with a dropkick.  Styles applies the Muta Lock but releases it after a moment, Styles picks up Anderson, elbows by Anderson and he chops Styles but Styles kicks him in the midsection.  Elbows by Anderson, Irish whip by Styles, reversed, but Styles kicks him back.  Styles goes off the ropes but Anderson catches him with a spinebuster.  Anderson picks up Styles but Styles drives Anderson into the corner.  Styles puts Anderson on the top turnbuckle and joins him, but Anderson pushes him off and hits an avalanche neckbreaker.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Anderson picks up Styles and puts him on his shoulders, he goes for the swivel Gun Stun but Styles gets out of it and hits an elbow smash out of the corner.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Styles picks up Anderson but Anderson hits a back bodydrop.  Anderson charges Styles in the corner but Styles elbow shim back, and hits the Stylin’ DDT.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Styles goes up to the top turnbuckle but Anderson kicks Styles before he can jump off, Anderson joins Styles and puts Styles on his shoulders, and he hits an Avalanche Gun Stun.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Anderson waits for Styles to get up and goes for a Gun Stun but Styles gets out of it and hits a jumping kick.  Anderson elbows Styles and they trade elbows, uppercut by Anderson but Styles hits a Pele Kick.  Styles goes off the ropes, Anderson goes for the Gun Stun by Styles gets out of it and they lariat each other.  Anderson and Styles trade elbows on their knees, they get up and Anderson hits an uppercut, and Styles is knocked into the corner.  Anderson goes for a boot but Styles moves, and Styles kicks Anderson in the leg.  Styles charges Anderson but Anderson moves and hits the jumping boot.  Anderson picks up Styles and goes for a powerbomb but Styles rolls him up, he goes for the Styles Clash but Anderson kicks out of it.  Styles applies the Calf Killer, but Anderson makes it to the ropes.  Styles picks up Anderson and goes for the Styles Clash, but Anderson blocks it.  Knee by Styles and he goes off the ropes, but Anderson catches him and hits a Fire Thunder Driver.  Cover, but Styles gets a shoulder up.  Anderson waits for Styles to get up and goes for the Gun Stun but Styles pushes him off and hits the Bloody Sunday.  Styles picks up Anderson and nails the Styles Clash, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  AJ Styles

Match Thoughts:  You could tell from the start these two were not messing around, with a powerbomb on the apron and a suplex into the guardrail within the first minute.  I actually loved this match, from start to finish.  It had a huge big match feel, maybe even to a fault as they were both kicking out of monster moves but it was such a change of pace it didn’t even bother me.  I have to make sure I don’t over-rate it since I am comparing it to the other matches on the last few cards, but there was just so much logical here.  Just non-stop, they mixed up their moves and in general it was just a really fun match.  My favorite match of the tournament thus far.  Score:  8.5

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin
They jockey for position to start, Benjamin gets Tanahashi to the mat but Tanahashi gets into the ropes.  Tie-up, Benjamin pushes Tanahashi into the ropes and he goes for a punch, but Tanahashi ducks it and elbows Benjamin into the corner.  Irish whip by Tanahashi, reversed, Tanahashi elbows Benjamin when he charges in and he hits a body press out of the corner.  Benjamin rolls out of the ring to re-group and he tries to pull Tanahashi out with him, but Tanahashi kicks Benjamin into the guardrail.  Tanahashi goes for a pescado but Benjamin punches him as he jumps over.  Benjamin picks up Tanahashi in a press slam and drops Tanahashi onto the guardrail.  Benjamin picks up Tanahashi and slides him back in the ring, Benjamin returns as well and he stomps on Tanahashi.  Benjamin picks up Tanahashi and elbows him in the corner.  Elbow to the stomach by Benjamin and he picks up Tanahashi, and Benjamin hits a backbreaker.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Benjamin picks up Tanahashi and applies an abdominal stretch, and Benjamin elbows Tanahashi in the ribs.  Benjamin chokes Tanahashi with his boot, bearhug by Benjamin and his bearhug gets a one count.  Tanahashi elbows out of it, Irish whip by Tanahashi but Benjamin knees Tanahashi in the stomach.  Cover, but it gets a two count. Punches to the ribs by Benjamin, Irish whip to the corner but Tanahashi moves when Benjamin charges in and hits a crossbody.  Jumping elbow smash by Tanahashi and he hits a scoop slam near the corner, Tanahashi goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a front flip senton.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Tanahashi picks up Benjamin and they trade elbows, uppercut by Tanahashi and he goes off the ropes, Benjamin tries to throw him out of the ring but Tanahashi skins the cat.  Benjamin charges Tanahashi but Tanahashi holds down the ropes, but Benjamin skins the cat as well.  Swinging kick by Benjamin, cover, but it gets a two count.  Benjamin applies an ankle hold but Tanahashi gets out of it, flinging Benjamin into the turnbuckles.  Dropkick to the knee by Tanahashi, he gets up and goes off the ropes, but Benjamin ducks the Sling Blade and hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Benjamin waits for Tanahashi to get up and goes for the Paydirt but Tanahashi side steps it and hits the trapped German suplex for a two count.  Tanahashi picks up Benjamin and goes for the dragon suplex but Benjamin elbows out of it and delivers a superkick.  Cover by Benjamin, but it gets a two count.  Benjamin puts Tanahashi on the top turnbuckle and joins him, but Tanahashi blocks the superplex attempt and knocks Benjamin back down to the mat.  Tanahashi goes for the High Fly Flow but Benjamin rolls out of the way.  Benjamin applies the ankle hold but Tanahashi reverses it and he hits the Sling Blade.  Tanahashi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, he then goes up top again and he hits the High Fly Flow.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Hiroshi Tanahashi

Match Thoughts:   This was fine, not much more than that.  Both of these guys are good wrestlers so they were fluid, but the offense was a bit all over the place.  Tanahashi did briefly sell the leg work, I just wish that Benjamin had some other move in his arsenal that targeted the ankle.  So it was pretty good, not great but they did a few things to make it stand out and the emotion was there.  Score:  6.0

Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada
Tie-up to start, armbar by Goto, armdrag by Goto but Okada applies a wristlock.  Goto rolls out of it and applies a hammerlock.  Side headlock by Goto, Okada pushes Goto into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Kick by Okada and he applies a side headlock, Goto tries to Irish whip out of it but Okada keeps the hold applied.  Goto elbows out of it and Irish whips out of the hold, and Goto hits a shoulderblock.  Goto goes off the ropes and he lariats Okada over the top rope down to the floor.  Goto goes outside of the ring and picks up Okada, Goto clubs Okada in the back and Irish whips him to the rail, but Okada reverses it and then boots Goto over the guardrail.  Okada picks up Goto, he drapes his legs over the rail and hits a DDT.  Okada gets back in the ring and Goto makes it back in time, Okada picks up Goto, snapmare, and Okada dropkicks Goto.  Okada applies a reverse chinlock but Goto gets into the ropes to force the break.  Okada picks up Goto and pushes him into the corner, elbows by Okada, Irish whip, reversed, but Okada kicks Goto when he charges in.  Okada goes off the ropes but so does Goto and he hits a lariat.  Goto and Okada trade elbows, Goto elbows Okada into the corner, Irish whip, and Goto hits a spinning heel kick followed by a backdrop suplex.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Goto picks up Okada and tries to put him on his shoulders, Okada gets out of it and hits a big boot but Goto returns with a lariat.  Cover, but it gets two.  Back up, waistlock by Goto, Okada elbows out of it, uppercut by Okada and he hits the Schwein onto his knee.  Okada picks up Goto, scoop slam by Okada, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop.  Okada goes for the Rainmaker but Goto ducks it, Okada goes off the ropes, Goto goes for a lariat but Okada ducks it, Okada goes for the Rainmaker but Goto avoids it and hits a Ushikoroshi.  Dropkick by Okada, and Goto lands back in the corner.  Okada picks up Goto and he hits a vertical suplex.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Okada picks up Goto and goes for the tombstone but Goto blocks it.  Elbow to the back of the head by Goto but Okada hits an uppercut.  Okada goes off the ropes but Goto does as well, Goto avoids Okada’s dropkick and he hits a lariat.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Goto picks up iii and hits a fireman’s carry onto his knee, cover, but it gets a two count.  Goto picks up Okada and goes for the Shouten but Okada knees out of it.  Waistlock by Okada, Goto elbows out of it and goes off the ropes but Okada hits the dropkick.  Goto and Okada get up in opposite corners, Goto charges Okada but Okada puts him up on the top turnbuckle.  He goes to do a dropkick but Goto kicks him back, Okada joins Goto up top and Okada hits a back bodydrop.  Dropkick to the back of the head by Okada, he picks up Goto and hits the tombstone piledriver. Okada picks up Goto and goes for the Rainmaker but Goto ducks it and hits a headbutt.  Goto picks up Okada and goes for the Shouten but Okada slides down his back and hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Okada picks up Goto and nails the Rainmaker, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Kazuchika Okada

Match Thoughts:  Another good but not spectacular match.  The outside of the ring bit lasted too long, and I am not sure what their focus was as there wasn’t much of a structure.  They were just taking turns for parts of it.  On the plus side the reversals and spots were very fluid and well done, you could tell that these two are very familiar with each other.  It was also never boring as they kept the action pushing from bell to bell.  So some issues here and there but overall a solid affair. Score:  6.5

Current Standings:

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: AJ Styles vs. Karl Anderson. I think on any night this would have been a really fun match, but in comparison with the last few nights of the G1 Climax it really stood above the rest.  From start to finish the match was hard hitting, they varied up the moves and it just felt like an important match.  It wasn’t more important than most of the other matches but they made it seem like it was.  Just a great and entertaining match.

MVP:  AJ Styles. Styles is really proving he is ‘the man’ in this tournament, I don’t want to hear anyone say going forward that Styles in New Japan is a bad thing.  I mean he pulled a four star match out of Karl Anderson, and it isn’t that Anderson is bad, but he doesn’t generally put on the most entertaining match on the card.  Styles busted out some moves here he hasn’t done yet in the tournament and just keeps everything interesting and intense.   He is probably the MVP of the entire tournament.

Overall: A flat show overall, with the exception of Styles vs. Anderson.  Many of the wrestlers seemed to be coasting, yes many of the matches were still ‘good’ but that is because New Japan has such fantastic wrestlers that even on an off day they can be entertaining.  But in general nothing was done to separate this event from any of the prior events and some of the pairings just didn’t work well together.  Watch Styles vs. Anderson, skip everything else unless you just can’t miss any of the G1 Climax action.

Grade: C