Fighting Spirit Review: New Japan G1 Climax 2014, Day 2

Date:  July 23rd, 2014
Location:  Aomori Prefectural Budokan
Announced Attendance:  3,000 (Super No Vacancy Full House)

The G1 Climax continues rolling along. This is an interesting card as there are a lot of unique pairings, some wrestlers that I don’t think have ever had singles matches before or at least not in a long time (Gallows/Tanahashi, Tenzan/Okada, Ishii/Kojima), so it should be fun to watch. That is why I love the G1 Climax, New Japan is so tag team wrestling based that we just don’t get to see these guys go at it one on one very often unless a title is on the line or it is a special attraction match. Going into the event, here are the standings:

Today’s matches:

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

Straight to the review.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Tie-up to start, side headlock by Ishii, Kojima Irish whips out of it but they collide with both men staying up. Both wrestlers go off the ropes and Kojima hits a shoulderblock. Ishii gets back up and they trade elbows, Kojima goes off the ropes but Ishii hits a powerslam. Kojima rolls out of the ring, Ishii goes out after him and throws Kojima into the guardrail. Ishii does it a second time, he gets back up on the apron but Kojima hits him in the legs with a lariat. Kojima gets up on the apron with Ishii and drills Ishii right onto his head with a DDT. Kojima gets back in with Ishii slowly following, Kojima picks up Ishii and chops Ishii in the chest before elbowing him in the back of the head. Kojima applies a reverse chinlock and elbows Ishii in the face. Kojima picks up Ishii and hits a modified neckbreaker. Stomps by Kojima and he chops Ishii into the corner, rapid fire chops by Kojima but Ishii absorbs them and returns with elbows. Kojima switches positions with him and hits more chops, Irish whip, and he hits the jumping elbow strike in the corner. Kojima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving elbow drop, cover, but it gets a two count. Kojima picks up Ishii and they trade chops, Ishii chops Kojima into the corner, Irish whip, and Ishii hits a lariat. Ishii puts Kojima onto the top turnbuckle and joins him, hitting a delayed superplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ishii picks up Kojima and goes for a suplex but Kojima lands on his feet and hits the Koji Cutter. Kojima picks up Ishii and throws him into the corner, Kojima sits Ishii on the top turnbuckle and joins him, hitting an avalanche Koji Cutter. Cover, but it only gets two. Kojima takes off the elbow pad and goes off the ropes, but Ishii ducks the lariat and hits a release German suplex. Ishii picks up Kojima and hits a powerbomb for a two count cover. Ishii waits for Kojima to get up and goes off the ropes, hitting a lariat. Ishii picks up Kojima and goes off the ropes again but Kojima kicks Ishii in the stomach and hits another Koji Cutter. Kojima goes off the ropes but Ishii knocks his arm away, punches by Ishii but Kojima hits a roaring elbow. Back up, elbows by Ishii and they trade shots, headbutt by Ishii and he goes off the ropes, hitting a lariat. Kojima doesn’t go down however and he snaps off a DDT. Kojima picks up Ishii and hits a brainbuster, cover, but it gets a two count. Kojima goes off the ropes but Ishii ducks the lariat, headbutt by Ishii and he hits an enzigieri. Lariat by Ishii, cover, but Kojima gets a shoulder up. Ishii grabs Kojima and nails a brainbuster, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Tomohiro Ishii

Match Thoughts: A really good match, Ishii can almost do no wrong, I am curious to see what he does against some of the other wrestlers in this tournament. Kojima can be an annoying relic of the old days, when wrestlers were worse about going out of their way to get in long spots just to pop the crowd. Ishii doesn’t really play to that and is more of a lariat/headbutt kind of guy, which is more of what I like in a wrestler. Aside from some moveset issues from Kojima the action was constant, they didn’t waste hardly any time with submission holds or anything else. And some of the moves were sick, such as the DDT on the apron where Ishii decided to spike himself on his head and also at some point Ishii got his mouth busted open. Good stuff. Score: 7.0

Bad Luck Fale vs. Shelton Benjamin
They face-off to start and they trade elbows, Benjamin gets the better of it and hits Fale back into the corner. Kick to the stomach by Fale and he throws Benjamin in the corner, hitting him repeatedly in the stomach. Clubbing blows by Fale and he stands on Benjamin’s back near the ropes. Fale puts Benjamin on his shoulders but Benjamin gets out of it and kicks Fale in the leg before hitting a DDT. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Benjamin applies an ankle hold but Fale gets a hand on the bottom rope. Mounted punch by Benjamin, he picks up Fale and elbows him back into the corner. Irish whip by Benjamin but Fale reverses it and hits a body avalanche in the corner. Samoan Drop by Fale and he hits a body press for a two count. Fale waits for Benjamin to get up and goes for the Grenade but Benjamin gets out of it and hits a side slam. Fale charges Benjamin and hits a lariat but Benjamin doesn’t go down. A second one by Fale, and he hits a third as Benjamin lariats him as well and both wrestlers go down to one knee. Lariat by Benjamin and he goes for the Paydirt but Fale pushes him off and hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Fale picks up Benjamin and goes for the Bad Luck Fall but Benjamin gets out of it and hits a swinging kick. Superkick by Benjamin and he nails the Paydirt, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Shelton Benjamin

Match Thoughts: Not good. For such a short match there were quite a few miscommunications, these two just didn’t really gel very well at all. The only good thing is the continued protection of finishing moves in this tournament, Kojima never hit a clean lariat in the last match, Styles never hit his big moves on the 21st, etc. which is a trend I like. But this was rough, they just weren’t on the same page at times and the match ended really quickly even though Benjamin hadn’t done a lot to weaken the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Not impressed with the Fale or Benjamin matches so far. Score: 3.0

Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Takahashi avoids Goto to start and kicks him in the stomach, Takahashi applies a side headlock, Goto reverses it into a hammerlock and then into a side headlock but Takahashi bites his hand.  Stomp by Takahashi and he kicks Goto to the ground, chops by Takahashi and he kicks Goto in the stomach.  Elbow by Takahashi, Irish whip, but Goto hits a hiptoss.  Shoulderblock by Goto and he stomps Takahashi in the back.  Goto picks up Takahashi, Irish whip, but Takahashi bails out of the ring.  Goto goes out after him but Takahashi knees Goto and tries to throw him into the rail, but Goto reverses it and Takahashi goes into the steel instead.  Goto charges Takahashi but Takahashi picks him up and drops him onto the guardrail.  Takahashi picks up Goto and throws him into the guardrail.  Takahashi slams Goto into the ring post and gets back in the ring, but Goto beats the count.  Takahashi picks up Goto and throws him into the corner, stomps by Takahashi and he chokes Goto with his boot.  Takahashi picks up Goto and hits a scoop slam before applying a reverse chinlock.  Sliding kick by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Takahashi kicks Goto with his boot and slaps him, elbows by Goto, Takahashi goes off the ropes but Goto catches his kick and hits a lariat.  Goto charges Takahashi in the corner and hits a heel kick followed by a backdrop suplex.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Goto picks up Takahashi and puts him on his shoulders but Takahashi rakes his eyes.  Goto picks up Takahashi and knocks him into the corner, Irish whip, and Takahashi delivers a big boot in the corner.  Irish whip by Takahashi, reversed, boot by Takahashi and he hits a Fisherman Buster.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Takahashi waits for Goto to get up and goes off the ropes, but Goto hits a lariat.  Takahashi returns with his own lariat, Takahashi goes off the ropes but Goto gets Takahashi on his shoulders and hits a fireman’s carry takeover onto his knee.  Goto picks up Takahashi but Takahashi goes down his back and hits Takahashi into the corner.  Big boot by Takahashi, kick by Goto and he goes off the ropes but Takahashi drops Goto throat-first on the top rope.  Lariat by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Takahashi picks up Goto and hits an Olympic Slam, cover, but again it gets two.  Takahashi picks up Goto and goes for a powerbomb but Goto back bodydrops out of it.  Elbow by Takahashi but Goto elbows him back and they trade blows.  Takahashi gets the better of it and he hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Takahashi picks up Goto and Takahashi puts Goto on his shoulders, Goto slides down his back and knocks Takahashi back before hitting a lariat.  Cover by Goto but it gets a two count.  Goto picks up Takahashi and nails the Shouten Kai, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Hirooki Goto

Match Thoughts:  I appreciate New Japan trying to build up new wrestlers, but something with Yujiro is just missing with me.  Maybe the heel persona feels off or something, but his character just doesn’t ring true, and his offense just doesn’t look that strong.  There was an over-abundance of back-and-forth in this match, so a lot of the moves didn’t seem to have any impact.  They were on the same page, no noticeable miscommunications, but it just felt like they were taking turns hitting moves with no structure.  Not a very good match.  Score:  4.5

Lance Archer vs. Tetsuya Naito
Archer charges Naito to start the match but Naito moves out of the way.  He does it again, kick by Naito but Archer knees Naito in the stomach.  Clubs to the back by Archer, Irish whip, but Naito delivers a dropkick.  Archer doesn’t go down, Naito goes for a crossbody but Archer catches him and throws Naito into the corner.  Archer charges Naito but Naito kicks him back.  Naito goes up to the second rope but Archer trips him, sending Naito crashing to the mat.  Archer picks up Naito and he hits a lariat.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Archer picks up Naito, Naito pushes him off and hits a few elbows, he goes off the ropes but Archer hits a press slam into a powerslam.  Cover, but Naito kicks out.  Archer applies a submission hold on the mat, but Naito get a foot on the ropes.  Archer picks up Naito and he hits a scoop slam.  Archer rubs his boot onto Naito’s face, Archer picks up Naito, Irish whip to the corner and Naito collapses.  Archer elbows Naito in the corner and he hits Naito to the mat.  Archer charges Naito and he hits a lariat, cover, but it only gets two.  Archer rakes Naito in the eyes, he picks him up and he hits a vertical suplex.  Archer goes for a splash but Naito rolls out of the way.  Naito elbows Archer but Archer knees him in the stomach, Archer goes off the ropes but Naito catches him with an elbow.  Running kick by Naito, snapmare, and Naito hits a somersault senton.  Naito kicks Archer in the corner and hits a slingshot dropkick.  Naito goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover, but Archer kicks out.  Naito waits for Archer to get up, knees by Archer and he goes for a chokeslam, but Naito gets out of it and hits an overhead kick.  Irish whip by Naito, reversed, but Naito hits a jumping elbow smash.  Naito goes for a kick but Archer catches his leg and flings Naito to the mat.  Archer picks up Naito and puts him on his shoulders, but Naito slides down his back and hits a reverse DDT.  Naito goes up to the top turnbuckle but Archer rolls out of the way of the Stardust Press.  Archer picks up Naito but Naito wiggles away and hits an enzigieri.  Irish whip by Naito, reversed, Archer goes for a chokeslam but Naito blocks it.  Release German suplex by Archer, he picks up Naito and hits a chokeslam.  Archer picks up Naito and goes for the full nelson slam but Naito sneaks in a small package for the three count!  Your winner:  Tetsuya Naito

Match Thoughts:   Oof.   This match was no better than the last one, not a good start to Day 2.  Archer is probably my least favorite gaijin in this tournament… he isn’t horrible but he just doesn’t bring a lot to the table.  He is a one dimensional power wrestler, which requires the other wrestler to do much of the work.  Which Naito does, and the match has its bright moments, but for the most part it just plods along.  The ending was fine as there didn’t appear to be any other way that Naito was beating Archer the way the match was going, it just wasn’t overly exciting.  Score:  4.0

Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata
Tie-up, they trade wristlocks but Nagata kicks Honma back.  Side headlock by Nagata into a takedown, Honma gets back up and applies an armbar, but Nagata gets away.  Kick by Nagata and he throws Honma into the corner, elbows by Nagata, Honma switches positions with him however and slaps Nagata.  Honma elbows Nagata down in the corner, he picks up Nagata, Irish whip, and Honma hits a back elbow.  Honma picks up Nagata and hits a scoop slam, he goes off the ropes but Nagata rolls out of the way of the headbutt.  Irish whip by Nagata but Honma hits a shoulderblock.  Again Nagata avoids the headbutt attempt, knee by Nagata and Nagata kicks Honma in the head.  Nagata picks up Honma and he hits an armbreaker.  Kicks to the arm by Nagata and he applies an armbar, but Honma gets a foot on the bottom rope.  Nagata picks up Honma but Honma slaps him back, knee by Nagata, Irish whip, and Nagata knees Honma in the stomach.  Stomp to the stomach by Nagata, cover, but Honma is in the ropes.  Nagata picks up Honma and punches him in the stomach.  Another punch to the stomach by Nagata, chops by Honma but Nagata knees him, Irish whip and Nagata hits a knee to the stomach.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Nagata picks up Honma and elbows him in the back of the head, kick to the chest by Nagata and he kicks Honma again.  Nagata goes off the ropes and hits a boot, elbow by Nagata and he goes for a suplex, but Honma blocks it.  Honma hits a vertical suplex of his own, Honma chops Nagata into the corner, Irish whip, and Honma hits a jumping elbow followed by a face crusher.  Falling headbutt by Honma and he applies a single leg crab hold.  Nagata gets to the ropes to force a break, Honma picks up Nagata and goes for a slam but Nagata slides down his back.  Waistlock by Nagata, Honma shakes him off and hits a lariat.  Honma picks up Nagata and goes for a brainbuster but Nagata blocks it and applies a seated armbar.  Honma eventually gets a hand on the ropes to get the hold released, Nagata picks up Honma and he goes for a backdrop suplex but Honma lands on top of him to block it.  Nagata kicks Honma into the corner and goes for a jumping knee, but Honma catches him and hits a sitdown powerbomb.  Brainbuster by Honma, cover, but it gets a two count.  Honma puts Nagata in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nagata rolls out of the way of the headbutt attempt.  Honma charges Nagata, kick by Nagata but Honma kicks him back.  Elbows by Honma, he goes off the ropes but Nagata boots Honma in the head.  Honma and Nagata trade elbows, punches by Nagata but Honma rolls up Nagata for a two count.  Waistlock by Nagata and he hits a release German suplex.  Boot by Nagata and he hits the brainbuster.  Cover, but Honma kicks out at two.  Nagata picks up Honma and knees him in the chest.  Nagata picks up Honma again and he hits a backdrop hold for the three count.  Your winner:  Yuji Nagata

Match Thoughts:   Some progress finally as this match was solid.  The structure was a bit off, as Nagata had issues sticking with one body part until he finally concluded the stomach/chest area was the way to go.  I am concerned Honma will get a bit exposed having so many singles matches in a row, I like him but his move set is pretty limited.  Take away his falling headbutts and he doesn’t have a lot going on.  But since the crowd likes him as well, and he is wrestling the upper end of New Japan wrestlers he doesn’t usually get to wrestle there is definitely an extra sense of excitement as everyone wonders if Honma is going to be able to score the big upset.  He doesn’t, but the quest to get there was still fun to watch even if the middle section was a bit disjointed.  Score:  6.0

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tie-up, Smith pushes Nakamura into the ropes and he gives a mostly clean break.  High kick by Smith and he flexes for the crowd, takedown by Smith and he applies an arm submission.  Nakamura gets back to his feet but Smith applies a kimura, wristlock by Smith but Nakamura reverses it.  Knee by Nakamura, snapmare, and Nakamura hits a kneedrop.  Front facelock by Nakamura, he pushes Smith into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Irish whip by Nakamura, he knees Smith but Smith fires off a lariat.  Nakamura rolls out to the apron but Smith knocks him down to the floor.  Smith goes out after him and throws Nakamura into the guardrail.  Smith punches Nakamura before slamming his head into the apron.  Smith slides Nakamura back into the ring and gets in as well, cover, but it gets a two count.  Neck grip by Smith and he clubs Nakamura in the face.  Stomp to the stomach by Smith, Smith picks up Nakamura and hits a belly to belly suplex.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Reverse chinlock by Smith, he picks up Nakamura, Irish whip, but Nakamura knees Smith in the stomach and hits a kick to the side of the head.  Nakamura and Smith trade elbows, knee to the stomach by Nakamura and he hits an enzigieri.  Nakamura picks up Smith, he puts him in the corner and hits a running kneelift.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Stomp by Nakamura and he goes for an inverted suplex but Smith elbows out of it and hits a powerslam.  Smith elbows Nakamura but Nakamura elbows him back and they trade blows.  Kick by Smith and they trade elbows, which Smith gets the better of.  Double underhook by Smith and he hits a suplex.  Smith picks up Nakamura and hits a rolling vertical suplex but Nakamura gets out of the second one and delivers a jumping knee strike.  Nakamura picks up Smith and delivers the inverted powerslam.  Nakamura goes for the Boma Ye but Smith moves out of the way and levels Nakamura with a lariat.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Smith picks up Nakamura and hits a backdrop suplex.  Cover, but it only gets two.  Smith waits for Nakamura to get up but Nakamura pushes him back and hits a backstabber.  Nakamura goes for a cross armbreaker but Smith blocks it, Nakamura goes for a triangle choke but Smith powerbombs out of it.  Smith grabs Nakamura and hits a tiger suplex hold, but Nakamura gets a shoulder up.  Smith picks up Nakamura and goes for the powerbomb but Nakamura punches out of it.  Nakamura kicks back Smith, he goes up to the second turnbuckle and delivers a jumping knee strike.  Nakamura goes off the ropes and hits a Boma Ye, cover, but Smith barely kicks out.  Nakamura waits for Smith to get up and hits a second one, cover, and this time he picks up the three.  Your winner:  Shinsuke Nakamura

Match Thoughts:   Smith is getting a lil tubby.  In all seriousness this was a pretty fun match.  Nakamura is entertaining and Smith did hit his power moves really well, and joke aside he didn’t get blown up or anything.  Nakamura took a whole lot more damage than Smith, I guess it is just a pecking order thing where Smith went down a lot easier than Nakamura was in the match.  But still an entertaining striker vs. power wrestler match.  Score:  6.5

AJ Styles vs. Toru Yano
Styles and Yano circle each other to start, Yano asks for a handshake but Styles won’t give him one and elbows him instead.  Stomps by Styles, he picks up Yano and hits a series of elbows.  Yano pulls Styles down by his hair but Styles is back up and elbows him again.  Lariat by Styles, he picks up Yano but Yano rakes him in the eyes.  Yano goes off the ropes but Styles hits a dropkick and Yano falls out of the ring.  Styles goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick between the bottom and the middle rope, with Styles ending up on the floor as well.  Styles slides Yano back into the ring, and Styles hits a slingshot elbow strike.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Styles grabs Yano and applies the Muta Lock, he releases the hold after a moment and twists on Yano’s neck, but Yano gets into the ropes.  Styles picks up Yano and slams him into the turnbuckle a few times, Yano unties the turnbuckle pad while Styles isn’t looking and moves when Styles charges in, sending Styles into the steel.  Yano gets a chair and tries to hit Styles with it, but Styles ducks and hits a drop toehold.  Styles charges Yano but Yano moves and Styles goes face-first into the steel buckle.  Cover by Yano but it gets a two count.  Yano picks up Styles, but Styles kicks Yano and suplexes him into the exposed corner.  Yano falls out of the ring, Styles goes off the ropes but Yano moves, Styles slides out of the ring but Yano hits him in the head with the steel chair.  Styles gets up on the apron, Yano grabs him from the ring and goes for a suplex, but Styles blocks it and snaps Yano’s neck on the top rope.  Styles hits a swandive elbow smash, cover, but it gets a two count.  Styles picks up Yano and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, cover, but it only gets a two.  Styles picks up Yano and goes for the Styles Clash, but Yano blocks it.  Styles clubs Yano in the back, he goes off the ropes but Yano hits an atomic drop before monkey flipping Styles into the exposed corner.  Powerbomb by Yano, cover, but Styles gets a shoulder up.  Yano picks up Styles and puts him on the top turnbuckle, Yano joins him but Styles punches him off.  Styles dives off but Yano moves, he hits a low blow and rolls up Styles for a two count.  Yano picks up Styles and goes for a powerbomb but Styles rolls through it and hits the Styles Clash.  Cover, and Styles gets the three count.  Your winner:  AJ Styles

Match Thoughts:  An odd match.  This was more of a Yano match than a Styles match, but I liked the moves focusing on the exposed corner and Yano almost sneaking out a win against the IWGP Heavyweight Champion on a few different occasions.  There were a few miscommunications, which isn’t shocking since these two aren’t too familiar with each other and have really different wrestling styles, but nothing terrible.  I went in with low expectations but they kept it short, which was a good idea, and by making it a “Yano match” it made the match a lot more believable.  Not too bad, but still lacking in some areas.  Score:  6.0

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Tie-up to start, Okada gets Tenzan into the ropes and Okada gives him a clean break before posing.  Tie-up, side headlock by Tenzan, Okada Irish whips out of it but Tenzan hits a shoulderblock.  Mongolian Chops by Tenzan and he chops Okada in the throat.  Okada rolls out of the ring, Tenzan goes out after him and gives Okada a headbutt.  Chops by Tenzan, he goes for an Irish whip but Okada throws Tenzan into the guardrail and then hits a DDT.  Okada gets back in the ring with Tenzan slowly following, Okada picks up Tenzan and hits a scoop slam.  Okada goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot senton.  Okada covers Tenzan but it barely gets a two count.  Okada picks up Tenzan and delivers a neckbreaker, cover, but it gets a one count.  Okada applies a reverse chinlock, snapmare by Okada and he hits a sliding kick.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Okada picks up Tenzan, snapmare, and Okada cranks on Tenzan’s neck.  Tenzan elbows out of it, knee by Okada and he goes off the ropes and Tenzan hits a heel kick.  Tenzan stomps Okada in the back, Mongolian Chops by Tenzan and Tenzan headbutts Okada in the corner.  Irish whip by Tenzan and he hits a lariat in the corner, Tenzan goes up top and hits the calf branding.  Cover, but Okada kicks out at two.  Tenzan picks up Okada and he hits a vertical suplex.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Stomp by Tenzan to the back, he picks up Okada but Okada elbows him and they trade shots.  Okada goes off the ropes but Tenzan hits the Mountain Bomb.  Tenzan charges Okada in the corner but Okada gets Tenzan on his shoulders and hits the Schwein onto his knee.  Okada picks up Tenzan, scoop slam by Okada, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a diving elbow drop.  Okada grabs Tenzan and goes for the Rainmaker but Tenzan headbutts Okada twice.  Tenzan picks up Okada and hits the TTD.  Cover, but Okada barely gets a shoulder up.  Anaconda Vice by Tenzan and he hits the Anaconda Buster.  Cover, but it gets another two count.  Tenzan goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving headbutt, cover, but Okada kicks out.  Tenzan picks up Okada, he slams Okada in front of the corner and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Okada rolls out of the way of the moonsault attempt.  Big boot by Okada, he tries to pick up Tenzan but Tenzan blocks it.  Elbows by Tenzan, Irish whip, but Okada reverses it and delivers the dropkick.  Okada picks up Tenzan but Tenzan ducks the Rainmaker and hits a lariat of his own.  Tenzan picks up Okada but Okada elbows him off, Mongolian Chops by Tenzan but Okada hits a dropkick.  Okada picks up Tenzan and hits the tombstone piledriver, he picks Tenzan back up and he delivers the Rainmaker.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Kazuchika Okada

Match Thoughts: This is the best singles match of Tenzan’s that I have seen in a good while. These two clicked really well together, everything looked so crisp from the chops to the reversals and everything else. Tenzan busted out all of his big moves which showed the importance of the match, and Okada was right there with him, but once the Rainmaker was hit that was game over. Love the way that New Japan is protecting that move. A really entertaining match from start to finish and a must-see for any Tenzan fan. Score: 8.0

Karl Anderson vs. Togi Makabe
Anderson kicks Makabe in the stomach to start the match, punches by Anderson and he hits an uppercut.  Side headlock by Anderson, Makabe Irish whips out of it but Anderson re-applies the hold.  Makabe pushes Anderson back into the corner but Anderson punches him in the jaw.  Side headlock by Anderson, Makabe Irish whips out of it and he hits a shoulderblock.  Makabe throws Anderson out of the ring and tosses Anderson into the guardrail.  Makabe picks up Anderson and goes to throw him again, but Anderson reverses it.  Punch by Anderson and he slams Makabe into the guardrail.  Anderson gets back in the ring with Makabe following, and Anderson chokes Makabe with his boot.  Mounted punches by Anderson, he picks up Makabe and hits an uppercut.  Anderson rakes Makabe’s face with his boot, and he applies a reverse chinlock.  Makabe elbows out of the hold, Anderson chops Makabe in the chest but Makabe chops him back.  Anderson punches Makabe in the jaw, he goes off the ropes but Makabe catches him with a lariat.  Makabe charges Anderson in the corner and hits another lariat, then he hits a second one before hitting mounted punches.  Northern Lights Suplex by Makabe, but it only gets a two count.  Makabe picks up Anderson, Anderson goes off the ropes but Makabe catches him with a lariat.  Cover by Makabe but it gets a two count.  Makabe goes off the ropes but Anderson hits a spinebuster.  Cover, but it gets two.  Anderson gets Makabe on his shoulders but Makabe elbows out of it, Anderson ducks Makabe’s lariat attempt in the corner and hits a jumping big boot.  Anderson picks up Makabe and hits the Swivel Gun Stun, cover, but Makabe gets a shoulder up.  Anderson goes for a cutter but Makabe pushes him off and hits the lariat.  Powerbomb by Makabe, but it gets a two count as well.  Makabe goes up to the top turnbuckle but Anderson delivers a jumping kick to the face.  Anderson joins Makabe up top, he gets Makabe on his shoulders and nails an avalanche Swivel Gun Stun.  Cover, but Makabe barely gets a shoulder up.  Anderson picks up Makabe and gets him up on his shoulder, but Makabe gets off and lariats Anderson in the back of the head.  Makabe puts Anderson up on the top turnbuckle and joins him, eventually hitting a Spider German Suplex.  King Kong Kneedrop by Makabe, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Togi Makabe

Match Thoughts: Makabe looked a bit off in this match, wonder if he is still smarting from his match on Day 1. Anderson was busting out everything he had to beat Makabe but ended up going down pretty easily. Anderson hits the big version of one of his signature moves but a few moves later he was getting pinned for the three count. Makabe stills spams his lariat a bit but it wasn’t as bad here, it just seemed like the wrong guy won as Anderson is a former champion in New Japan and it should have taken a bit more to put him away. Score: 5.0

Doc Gallows vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
They circle each other to start, tie-up, Gallows pushes Tanahashi into the ropes but Tanahashi switches positions with him.  Gallows pushes Tanahashi to the mat to get him away, Gallows goes for a lariat but Tanahashi ducks it.  Side headlock by Tanahashi but Gallows grabs Tanahashi by the hair.  Tanahashi re-applies the side headlock and takes Gallows to the mat, but Gallows grabs Tanahashi by the hair again.  Back on their feet, Gallows asks Tanahashi to lock knuckles, Tanahashi jumps up to the second rope, Gallows charges him but Tanahashi jumps off.  Tanahashi goes for a crossbody but Gallows catches him and hits a fallaway slam, sending Tanahashi crashing out of the ring.  Gallows goes out as well and he throws Tanahashi into the guardrail.  Gallows sets up a chair at ringside, he sits Tanahashi in the chair and hits a big boot, which sends Tanahashi over the guardrail.  Gallows grabs a steel chair and hits Tanahashi in the back with it.  Gallows applies a side headlock and punches Tanahashi in the head while he brings him back to ringside, and Gallows throws Tanahashi into the rail.  Gallows chokes Tanahashi with his boot, he gets up on the apron but Tanahashi pulls him back off and slides into the ring.  Gallows slides in as well, he picks up Tanahashi and Gallows puts Tanahashi onto the top turnbuckle.  Gallows puts Tanahashi in the Tree of Woe and he hits a running dropkick.  Gallows punches Tanahashi in the head a few times and elbows Tanahashi in the chest.  Gallows hits an elbow drop and a second one followed by a third.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Gallows applies a reverse chinlock, Tanahashi elbows out of it but Gallows punches Tanahashi in the midsection.  Tanahashi punches him back and they trade punches, Gallows throws Tanahashi into the corner and Tanahashi collapses upon impact.  Gallows goes up to the second turnbuckle but Tanahashi gets his knees up when Gallows goes for a reverse splash.  Tanahashi goes off the ropes and he hits an elbow smash followed by a dropkick to the knee.  Jumping elbow smash by Tanahashi and he goes for a scoop slam but Gallows slugs him off.  Gallows goes for a slam but Tanahashi slides down his back, Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Gallows punches him in the face.  Modified spinebuster by Gallows, he charges Tanahashi in the corner, Tanahashi gets his foot up but Gallows blocks it and hits a backbreaker.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Gallows waits for Tanahashi to get up and hits a big boot followed by a high kick, cover, but Tanahashi gets a shoulder up.  Gallows grabs Tanahashi by the throat but Tanahashi kicks him off,  Gallows tries to throw Tanahashi out of the ring but Tanahashi skins the cat and hits the Sling Blade.  Cover, but Gallows quickly kicks out.  Gallows pushes Tanahashi back into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, and Tanahashi hits a second Sling Blade.  Tanahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the High Fly Flow to Gallows’s back, he then rolls him over, goes back up top and hits a second High Fly Flow.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Hiroshi Tanahashi

Match Thoughts: This was solid… not great or memorable but nothing really wrong with it. Gallows dominated much of the match but I never felt like he was on the verge of winning, I mean Tanahashi wasn’t going to get pinned by Gallows after a high kick. It started slow but picked up a bit by the middle, I just think Tanahashi should have gotten in a bit more offense since it was the main event and all. But a decent match nonetheless. Score: 6.0

Current Standings:

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan. This was a great match, I didn’t know that Tenzan still had it in him. Okada is great, we all know that, but Tenzan stayed on his level during the whole match and my younger inner self did mark out a bit at Tenzan looking as good as he did. A really entertaining match that in some ways saved this event as otherwise there wasn’t a lot special here.

MVP:   Hiroyoshi Tenzan. I hope that Tenzan’s body is able to survive this tournament as so far he is really owning it. While I expect Nagata and Kojima to still be able to pump out good singles matches, due to his past health issues I wasn’t expecting a lot from Tenzan, yet here he was busting out moonsaults and TTDs like it is 1997. There were other good wrestlers on the card, notably Ishii and Okada, but Tenzan was the one that stood out the most.

Overall: This event had a few bright spots, but was generally a disappointment. None of the matches were very long/in-depth, and many of the new pairings just fell flat. I realize from the matches this was seen as a bit of an off day, and there really weren’t any upsets aside from possibly Ishii beating Kojima. There were some really good matches, with Okada/Tenzan standing out, but too many of the matches hovered around the ‘average’ line. Judged as a full show, this will probably end up being one of the more skippable one of this G1 Climax, which is just one of the issues of having so many wrestlers in the tournament that there are going to be some duds out there. Not every event is going to be a winner.

Grade: C+