NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 9 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 9

Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi

Attendance: 6327

Today we’re in Nagoya, capital of the Aichi prefecture. Although he’s not having a singles match, this is the home prefecture of Kazuchika Okada, which will surely add an electricity to the night’s proceedings. Also from Aichi is YOSHI-HASHI, who finds himself in a co-main event spot tonight opposite longtime enemy-by-proxy, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Although YOSHI’s chances of dethroning the Ace are slim, the bout should hopefully strike a chord with the faithful.

Today’s card does feature much in that line – matches that probably won’t go opposite the way you expect, but should be solid affairs nonetheless. The draw here is obviously the main event – a tie-breaker encounter between Tomohiro Ishii and Tetsuya Naito, longtime rivals that always produce intense work in the ring together.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA and BUSHI) def. Taguchi Japan (Michael Elgin and David Finlay) in 5:14 via Skull End

• This one used its thankfully short time to demonstrate some very exciting chemistry between Michael Elgin and SANADA. The two face off on Day 10, in a match that will essentially decides who remains in with a chance at winning the block.
• David Finlay was great as usual here, really demonstrating great work against SANDA, before finally succumbing to Skull End. I do wish that SANADA and EVIL’s submission finishes would end more singles matches.

 

Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi) def. Katsuya Kitamura and Hirai Kawato in 5:09 via Boston Crab

• Due to Toru Yano subbing in for the injured Jado, EVIL and Hiromu instead crush two Young Lions here.
• Kitamura and the younger EVIL crashing into one another was a lot of fun, as was Kawato’s perpetual journey to get one up on Hiromu. Hiromu sells so generously for the Young Lion, really putting over that this guy will be a star one day. As per usual, Kawato taps out to the traditional Boston Crab.

 

Bullet Club (Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki and Taichi) in 5:24 via Pimp Juice

• Realistically, there’s only one guy in this match worth your time. Minoru Suzuki is an excellent wrestler, but you’re not going to get anything particularly outstanding from a multi-man tag featuring one of the weakest performers in the G1.
• The only major intrigue here is the Bullet Club vs Suzuki-gun angle. This will be the third encounter between the factions in this tournament, and will determine who ‘wins’ the series.
• As for this tag match itself, Yujiro picks up the unsurprising victory over Taichi with Pimp Juice.

 

TenCozy (Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) def. Bullet Club (Kenny Omega and Chase Owens) in 7:25 via Cozy Lariat

• This was the more interesting Bullet Club tag of the night by a wide margin. Kenny Omega, coming off his first loss on Day 8, will do battle with the winless Satoshi Kojima on Day 10. Here, they showed off some more very impressive chemistry, although the focus was very much on the comedic antics.
• Omega sold Koji’s chops in a very Big Daddy Yum Yum-esque fashion. That kind of humour will likely be toned down for the singles match, but the general lightheartedness of the minor rivalry between Omega/Kojima is something I’m excited to see developed one-on-one. Firmly hoping Kojima can pick up his first win of the tour.
• Kojima picks up the win here with Cozy Lariat to Chase Owens, one of the best undercard performers in NJPW.

 

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Gedo) def. Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomoyuki Oka) in 8:25 via Schoolboy Rollup

• This was a good match for demonstrating what we’re likely to get out of the tournament’s biggest mismatch in Okada/Juice on Day 10. Juice is full of amazing underdog fire, while Okada is one of the best in the world at selling and getting an opponent over.
• Although this is the prelim ‘main event,’ it still feels too long at 8 minutes. It ends with a rollup on Tomoyuki Oka, which is a pretty flat finish for a match that didn’t mean much to begin with. When the matches are already going 7-8 minutes, a rollup to end it feels even more like a waste of time.

 

A Block: Togi Makabe (6) def. Yuji Nagata (0) in 10:45 via King Kong Knee Drop

• In perhaps expected fashion, this was Nagata’s weakest bout of the tournament so far. Still, it’s stronger than you’d expect from Makabe, who is having one of his best G1’s in recent memory.
• This was a basic, unflashy brawl. Just as with Ibushi, it’s a demonstration of Makabe’s relative limits in the ring, as compared to Ishii or Tanahashi. The overall structure wasn’t much to write home about – Nagata came out hot, Makabe took control for Nagata the babyface, Nagata mounted a great comeback, but Makabe ultimately took home the win.
• Nagata’s early house-on-fire offense was brilliant here. Really made me think he’d pick up a win on the edge of elimination. When Makabe dominated, there wasn’t much, but Nagata was the star. His fire was unreal in his last bout before elimination, and seriously elevated the middle portion of the match. ***1/2
• With his loss here, Nagata is the first official elimination of the tournament. He has no way of reaching the top of the block.

 

A Block: Bad Luck Fale (6) def. Kota Ibushi (4) in 11:37 via Bad Luck Fall

• I’m seeing this called Fale’s best match of the tournament. It’s certainly up there, but Fale is one of the most consistent big man workers in wrestling. For Ibushi, this definitely doesn’t touch the Naito, Ishii or ZSJ matches, but it’s another unique performance from such a dynamic worker.
• As with the Nagata match, this had the essential dynamic of Ibushi coming out hot against Fale, before being worked over. For Ibushi, it was the result of a weak leg that Fale targeted quite well. Ibushi gets a lot of stick from some for his selling, but it’s a subjective issue. When Fale went for the leg, the audience responded. And that’s all you need in communicating a story.
• This really heated up outside. Fale and Ibushi simply brawled through the audience out to the edges of the floor. This isn’t uncommon for a Fale match, but it was unique in that Ibushi took control. He performed the infamous moonsault from a balcony that got him banned from the Budokan, which he hit from a frighteningly low angle. This got the crowd going pretty crazy.
• In the final stages here, it felt like Ibushi was simply outrunning fate. Fale took back control in the ring, nailing Ibushi with the Grenade (which has been portrayed well as a possible match-ender), before finishing it with Bad Luck Fall, landing Ibushi near the bottom of the block. ***1/4

 

A Block: Hirooki Goto (6) def. Zack Sabre Jr (6) in 10:10 via GTR

• This here is a rematch from April’s Sakura Genesis show in Sumo Hall. Goto picked up a tainted victory there, as Minoru Suzuki’s interference protected ZSJ somewhat from absorbing a fully clean loss.
• Here, a clean finish wasn’t ever in doubt, as has been the case with ZSJ’s tour. Neither in doubt was Goto’s win. At only 4 points, it never felt quite like Goto would suffer another loss, especially since it would put Zack at the top of the block. Nevertheless, this was a fun clash of styles that clocked in barely over ten minutes.
• As with Sakura Genesis, this was a back-and-forth between power and technical acumen. There was the tiniest bit of interference from El Desperado to start, tugging at Goto’s leg, but that was all. After that, the dynamic was all about Zack catching Goto off guard for various submission holds. There were a couple of great teases, and the manjigatame is super over with the Japanese audience, but this was never going to go any way but Goto’s. He picked up the win in short order following a big lariat comeback and the GTR. ***1/2

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi (8) def. YOSHI-HASHI (2) in 13:34 via High Fly Flow

• This was pretty good for what it was. A basic match in the ring, benefited by YOSHI-HASHI’s amazing underdog charisma and Tanahashi’s top-level crowd work. Although Aichi is YOSHI-HASHI’s home, there wasn’t a particular swell of support for him here, which isn’t surprising. Japan doesn’t have the same culture of hometown victories as US wrestling, and Aichi the city isn’t his exact birthplace anyway.
• Tanahashi (as per usual) worked over YOSHI-HASHI’s legs here. The predictability and consistency of the work adds a lot to Tanahashi as a heel and to YOSHI’s big babyface comebacks. YOSHI’s offense is mainly targeted towards Tanahashi’s head, always to set up KARMA, although that’s not always very well-communicated by his matches. Nevertheless, his energy and recognisable moveset makes up for that.
• Despite the potential for an upset, the end came here following a cool KARMA reversal into Twist and Shout. From there, Tanahashi could hit Slingblade and High Fly Flow to emerge unchallenged at the top of the block. ***1/2

 

A Block: Tomohiro Ishii (6) def. Tetsuya Naito (6) in 20:58 via Vertical Fall-style Brainbuster

• This was pretty awesome. Ishii and Naito have one of the best series in pro wrestling today, although the lesser matches can feel formulaic in comparison to their best.
• Having worked a pretty brisk match at the G1 Special in USA just earlier this month, they took their time here. It didn’t result in anything as amazing as Wrestling Dontaku 2016 or New Beginning in Osaka 2014, but this was still a very strong main event with some fantastic heat towards the finish.
• The primary issue with this match is that the length dictated a very familiar, somewhat repetitious first half. It was very much a back-and-forth contest, really putting over that Ishii and Naito simply couldn’t get the upper hand on one another. That’s a good story to tell when you consider their history (and Ishii’s ‘snap’ win in the USA), but it was told largely with very familiar sequences and moves.
• This did develop into a really hot back-and-forth by the end, however. It never felt like anybody had it in the bag before we got to the closing stretch. Naito hit the Destino, which is always a first-time kickout now but pops the crowd big nonetheless. More surprising is that Ishii essentially kicked out of a second Destino variation. The immediate manner of the Destinos here is the first time that’s happened, as Ishii went on to get the hard-fought win with the brainbuster. ****
• With a second loss, Naito enters a huge tie on 6 points.

 

On the whole, G1 Day 9 has probably been the weakest of the tour so far. With only one true standout between Ishii and Naito (and that’d be in the lower half of their overall series), this is definitely a potential skip for anyone low on time. 0-pointer Nagata continues to be great, although he is now the tournament’s first statistical elimination. Hiroshi Tanahashi sits at a very cozy 8 points, having defeated 2-pointer YOSHI-HASHI and heading into a match with 4-pointer Kota Ibushi. Everybody else ties at 6 points before Day 11 in Kagoshima on August 1.

• Kota Ibushi (4) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (8)
• Hirooki Goto (6) vs Tetsuya Naito (6)
• Yuji Nagata (0) vs Tomohiro Ishii (6)
• Zack Sabre Jr (6) vs Togi Makabe (6)
• Bad Luck Fale (6) vs YOSHI-HASHI (2)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi is rematch I’ve been waiting two years to see. Their opening day match at G1 25 was one of my favourite bouts of that tournament and of 2015 in general. I picked that Tanahashi would concede his losses this tournament to ZSJ, Goto and Ishii, picking up a surprise second win over Ibushi. With the match happening in Kagoshima and Ibushi one loss away from elimination, it doesn’t look so likely that this goes in any direction but Ibushi’s favour. Nevertheless, they should likely have one of the best matches of the block, considering their status as workers and the drama of Ibushi avoiding elimination.

Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto is one of the most underrated series of matches in NJPW. They don’t meet up that often, but their two singles matches in 2016 were between very good (Tokyo Dome) and outright fantastic (New Japan Cup). With this match constituting a tie-break near the top of the block, Naito is the sure favourite. I want to pick Goto here, as he already lost to Tanahashi and his status in NJPW would favour a win over at least one block favourite. Naito can easily absorb a third loss before hurtling to Sumo Hall without another, even to tie Tanahashi at 12 points for the victory. No matter how it shakes out, I’m hoping for another great in-ring encounter here.

Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii is one of the standout Nagata matches of the tournament on paper. Their 2014 bout is hard-hitting classic that goes under the radar for having taken place in the all-time great G1 24, while the G1 25 rematch suffered from the poor crowds of that tour. Here, we’ve got Nagata performing more consistently in the tournament than anybody except maybe Ishii himself, and crowds love it. This will likely be super heated from the get-go, and has every opportunity to top their 2014 meeting. Ishii is the obvious favourite to win it, but he’s also the perfect foil for that one big win, so nothing is for sure.

Zack Sabre Jr vs Togi Makabe is one of those matches you never could have predicted a few year ago. Stylistically, there’s no precedent for how this will go. I’d imagine this will look somewhat like Zack and Goto, or Zack and Ishii from G1 Special in USA) minus some of the versatility and energy those two bring. Makabe will probably use his tried-and-true brawling to put Zack in his place, but I can certainly see Zack putting Makabe’s big comeback streak to an end here.

YOSHI-HASHI and Bad Luck Fale is a match that’s gone under the radar, but it could end up very good. YOSHI’s the ultimate underdog, and Fale’s the impassable monster heel. A mix-up between the two has the potential for amazing crowd reaction, and the teases of a massive YOSHI upset will no doubt be excellent. However, at 6 points, Fale will surely pick up the win to remain a threat at the top of the block.