Day 8 has finally arrived, and sees five more matches from the B Block of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) annual tournament the G1 Climax 27. The main event sees “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega take on “Big Mike” Michael Elgin, whilst the other four matches are battles between EVIL and Minoru Suzuki, Satoshi Kojima and Kazuchika Okada, Tama Tonga and Juice Robinson, and finally Toru Yano and SANADA. Competitors from Suzuki-gun, the Bullet Club, Los Ingobernables de Japon, CHAOS and Taguchi Japan are all in action as previews for the upcoming days of tournament action.
+ Michael Elgin vs Kenny Omega (G1 Climax 27 B Block Match): holy damn. Some might call this a ‘move fest’, but taking into account the way things excalate for both competitors until an incredible climax (pun definitely intended) was fantastic to watch. This is edge of your seat stuff, and a mark-out-moment for any wrestling fan for a finish
+ Satoshi Kojima vs Kazuchika Okada (G1 Climax 27 B Block Match): the crowd was so behind Kojima that Okada, the reigning champion, got heavily booed when he went on offense, and eventually he was playing it up to incredible effect. This was a wildly competitive and evenly split match, and much like EVIL/Suzuki before it, it would have been match of the night on any other show
+ Minoru Suzuki vs EVIL (G1 Climax 27 B Block Match): this was violent and wild from before the bell even rang, and all throughout this was essentially a street fight. EVIL is just the coolest mofo on the planet, but sometimes he doesn’t wrestle the way or style a guy his size should. This may have been the loudest crowd reaction of the night, and easily the best match of the night, had the main event not been what it was. Somewhere down the line, Suzuki-gun versus Los Ingobernables de Japon is going to the the most hype match in a long time
+ Juice Robinson vs Tama Tonga (G1 Climax 27 B Block Match): Juice looked like a million bucks here, as he still played up the leg injury from Suzuki. Tama is so athletic that everything he does looks perfect every time. This was admittedly not the best match either guy has had, but it was good enough
+ Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay) vs CHAOS (Hirooki Goto % YOSHI-HASHI): Goto is just so cool, it is a shame he was second fiddle to YOSHI-HASHI in this match, especially after Goto/Tanahashi’s great match. This was surprisingly simple, or at least perhaps ‘by the numbers’, but it was still enjoyable. Just don’t expedct anything groundbreaking
+ CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI): I am achieving maxmium hype for Ishii/Naito. Gedo did some comedy, BUSHI was my boy, as always. This was a good match, with a good ratio of comedy to action, and set up the next G1 match well
+ Kota Ibushi, Tomoyuki Oka & Katsuya Kitamura vs Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale): I cannot fathom why Chase Owens is still around, especially as I am slowly coming to like Hangman Page more than him. This match was predominately Kitamura, and damn if he isn’t going to be the biggest star in all of pro wrestling one day
+ Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Yuji Nagata & Hirai Kawato: Kawato is getting so good so quickly, but this match was all about Makabe/Nagata getting ready to beat the hell out of each other. I enjoyed this more than the first tag match
– Toru Yano vs SANADA (G1 Climax 27 B Block Match): I know Yano is the comedy guy, and the guy that other guys face to save them exerting themselves too much (unless you are Kenny Omega) but come on now
– Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & El Desperado): these Young Lions versus established bad guys is starting to wear a bit thin, I have to say. I have only just learned that Umino is referee Red Shoes’ son. I had no idea. This match was short and nothing special
> somewhere between Yano/SANADA and EVIL/Suzuki, the crowd found their voice and were bonkers for the final three matches of the show. I’m a sucker for a loud crowd, cheering or booing, and this hit my buttons perfectly
Should you watch this event: All of EVIL/Suzuki, Okada/Kojima and especially Elgin/Omega are phenomenal matches, and need to be seen. As seems to be a recurring theme as of late, the rest are just for fans of the competitors, or some tolerable background noise.
MoshFish Reviews 