It is day 15, and we are nearing the end of the tournament. With only a few days left for each Block, the wrestlers in the A Block are looking to cement an overall win, and although YOSHI-HASHI and Yuji Nagata are already eliminated, due to lack of points from wins, they can play spoiler in their matches against Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr., respectively. The main event will see Hiroshi Tanahashi go to war with Tomohiro Ishii, whilst Tetsuya Naito will contend with Togi Makabe, and Hirooki Goto has the unenviable task of chopping down the giant Bad Luck Fale.
+ Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 27 A Block Match): that moment where Ishii stops reacting to the wicked chops and just stares a hole through his opponent is just the best, isn’t it? The more I watch Tanahashi, the more I think he is actually kind of a jerk – I find limb targeting to be a pretty dodgy tactic, especially when he abuses the dragon leg whip so many timres throughout. This was a really good match, helped by the really good crowd
+ Kota Ibushi vs YOSHI-HASHI (G1 Climax 27 A Block Match): damn I love the opening of YOSHI-HASHI’s theme song. Ibushi’s kicks are the story of the match, and how god damn much I never want to have to experience one. This was alright, but perhaps a little bit long for what it was trying to accomplish
+ Yuji Nagata vs Zack Sabre Jr. (G1 Climax 27 A Block Match): Nagata was so cool in this match, as he played the ‘old guy who will kick your ass’ character against the cocky, arrogant youngster in Sabre. Overally, this did feel mostly like they were taking turns on offense, rather than a ‘back and forth’ match. Still, this was not bad, but as I have said in almost every match review, these guys are obviously so tired
+ CHAOS (Gedo, Toru Yano & Kazuchika Okada) vs Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Taichi & Minoru Suzuki): the first half of this was mostly just Desperado versus Gedo as Suzuki and Okada brawled all over the place. Once Okada and Suzuki got in the ring business picked up, but both guys are clearly so tired by this point. I had forgotten Yano was even in the match until he started running wild. Either way, Suzuki/Okada in a rematch of their New Beginning title match should be good, as long as it is slightly more even this time and doesn’t go quite as long
+ Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs Bullet Club (Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi): Tama contnued his attire stealing antics, as he took both Kojima’s jacket and, more disrespectfully, Tenzan’s mask. Yujiro seemed to find it all very amusing, and the crowd went bonkers for the Tencozy comebacks. This was a lot of fun, and Kojima/Tama should be a good match
+ Taguchi Japan (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs Katsuya Kitamura & Tomoyuki Oka: The Juice is loose, and Finlay was… also here! The young lion team is so impressive, and Juice has been on a huge role lately it was hard for Finlay not to be somewhat overshadowed. It was Kitamura and Oka who stole this match, though, just due to their incredible power moves and the way the crowd responded
– Tetsuya Naito vs Togi Makabe (G1 Climax 27 A Block Match): this was Naito going through the motions whilst Makabe would cut him off as he got going. The problem with these matches every two days is that everything sort of runs together, but even still, this match had the exact same ending as another match either Naito or Makabe have had in this tournament
– Bad Luck Fale vs Hirooki Goto (G1 Climax 27 A Block Match): this match never clicked with me. I’ve seen Fale get lifted before, so the teases don’t work like they should. I’ve sene Goto take an ass kicking and come back, whether it’s to win or closely lose. No matter the outcome, I couldn’t help but feel cynical for this whole match
– Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Kenny Omega) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & SANADA): everyone was fine, but the wear and tear everyone is under is obvious, as SANADA and Omega were mostly just used for a few big moments each. Not even my boy BUSHI was able to salvage this as anything important at all
– Hirai Kawato & Michael Elgin vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi): this was nothing special, and seemed to mostly want to build up the EVIL/Elgin match, which should be good. This wasn’t bad, sure, but it was nothing to go out of your way to see
Should you watch this event: This was a mixed bag, in both the tags and the G1 matches. Ibushi/YOSHI-HASHI, Nagata/Sabre and Tanahashi/Ishii were all worth watching, but the rest is, as always, take it or leave it, depending on how you feel about the competitors.
MoshFish Reviews 