G1
Climax 24
(2014/7/28)
1. Block A: Doc Gallows vs. Tomohiro
Ishii
What
a phenomenal freakin’ opener! An 8 minute sprint worked in a rollercoaster
pace, loaded with smashmouth style, rabid bashing, excitement and drama. This
was an Ishii structure, through and through, put that man in opening matches,
and you have the crowd going bonkers for everything else later on.
****1/4
2. Block B: Lance Archer vs. Hiroyoshi
Tenzan
Archer’s
got his space jobber tights back, hell yeah. This was such a fine opener, like,
I can’t even grasp it yet, I knew it’d be solid at least, but damn it, they
overdelivered. Getting more ringtime to develop a story certainly helped, mos
def. Tenzan’s on a highly praised, standout veteran run in this year’s G1, he
seems crazy motivated and ready, he’s also in a fit shape and not afraid of
heavy bumping. That being said, he needs to stop doing those knee-crushing
moonsaults, for his own damn sake. And, what about Chris Sabin’s Big Brother?
Yeah, this New Japan run has done wonderful wonders for his body of work, he’s
turned into such a versatile big man wrestler.
***1/2
3. Block B: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs.
Satoshi Kojima
Now,
I don’t really know what to write about this match, because nothing really
memorable happened, just 10-11 minutes of good pro-wrestling, with both guys
playing their characters very well. Another very strong finish, compelling
stuff.
***
4. Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs.
Minoru Suzuki
Are
you a fan of seeing Yujiro get smacked and slapped around? Because I sure as
hell am! MiSu is still pissed and it’s bad news for the Bullet Club sellout.
Strong match with an even stronger finish, really liked it. MiSu’s furious
goblin face > > >
***1/2
5. Block B: Karl Anderson vs. Toru
Yano
Funny
as hell, this match right here, this was comedy done right, Karl was taunting
and abusing YTR for the whole time, stealing his shtick and making everyone
laugh. But, is it enough to survive Yano’s deadly low blow + sloppy roll-up
combination?
GOLD
6. Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Katsuyori
Shibata
Such
a swell match, Shelton’s confidence is at all time high due to being 4-0, and
fuck it, you can say the same about Shibata after beating both Nakamura and
Tanahashi. Shibata is such a rough fella, but Shelton is here to fight, and
dammit, that’s what we got, a stiff and exciting match that helped both in the
end – Shibata got even more over, and Shelton didn’t lose his mojo despite the
loss. Fantastic selling of each other’s devastating finishers (Paydirt and
Penalty Kick), it was like death knocking on their doors. Recommended stuff.
***3/4
7. Block B: AJ Styles vs. vs. Hirooki
Goto
Totally
different than the Naito brilliance, but still pretty damn great in its own
way, AJ’s heel work was top notch yet again, and on top of that, dude’s getting
some serious love from the crowds, hell, I even heard clear dueling chants, mos
def. They’re recognizing AJ’s greatness. Anyway, this was another one of those matches
where you can’t really pick that one moment or two (Goto’s Code Red maybe?) and
put it on paper to ramble about it, I mean, words can’t do it justice, you just
have to check the match, it’s quite awesome. I guess I could mention both guys
working each other’s neck really hard to setup their respective finishers.
****
8. Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi
Tanahashi
What
we got here is the BITW Tanahashi taking on the most improved wrestler of the
year, a fairly big fella. The story writes itself, really, and it’s just so
good. Impressive sprint with many nifty moments.
***3/4
9. Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs.
Tomoaki Honma
Honma’s
“weakest” match of the tournament thus far, and it’s still very good. ‘Nuff
said. Nice battle of psychologies here.
***1/2
10. Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya
Naito
High-octane,
slick, stiff, physical, energetic, and all that in a very fast pace, yes, this
was the match they should’ve had at Wrestle Kingdom, instead of that flop they
worked. This rocked.
****1/4
The
show where EVERYTHING was good at worst, so there you go. G1 is BOSS.
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