G1 Climax 24 - Day 9

G1 Climax 24

(2014/8/4)

1.      Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomoaki Honma

Honma’s “weakest” match of the tournament, and it was still good. Nothing essential or mindblowing, just a good continuation of Honma’s big underdog story, hopefully he scores that one W.

***1/4

2.      Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Lance Archer

So, Yujiro used the tactics of Styles and Suzuki here, he attacked the leg of the big guy, and it was nice, nothing particularly wrong, it just wasn’t that exciting, and the finishing run was kind of too much of a protection for Archer, I mean, what’s the deal with all those low-blows, his leg was already in big pain. Would’ve been better without it, but eh, waddya gonna go…

**3/4

3.      Block A: Doc Gallows vs. Yuji Nagata

One hella brawl, and let me tell you something, I’m enjoying every single moment of every single Doc Gallows match in this tournament. Well, except for that trash with Fale from the other day, obviously. So yeah, this was very good, and the finish was more than satisfying. Doc’s really grown on me this year.

***1/2

4.      Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe

Solid match made good by the excellent finish. Tenzan’s road of redemption is awe inspiring, and Makabe’s improving his game as the G1 rolls on. Makabe/Styles is something I’m really looking forward to.

***

5.      Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito

Fucking Naito, man… He’s the contender for MVP of the tournament, and then this happens, such a horrendous performance right here, he shat all over Suzuki’s hard work with his complete lack of physical selling. He came across like a goddamn rookie or something, all he did was hitting his spots and jumping around like an idiot. But, why is this match not a total DUD then? Well, that’s because MiSu was freakin’ amazing once again, too shame Naito failed miserably, because this could’ve been a classic. Smh…

**3/4

6.      Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs. Katsuyori Shibata

If you went into this match expecting to see Shibata murdering people again, then you’ll be disappointed. He could not run over the big man like he could with others. An interesting clash of styles, with a fun finish that’s pretty much gone from modern New Japan, solid stuff overall.

**3/4

7.      Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima

Very good match with an awesome second half, sweet back-and-forth action done right. Nothing special I could write about, just a rock solid pro-wrestling match between two great pro-wrestlers.

***3/4

8.      Block B: Karl Anderson vs. AJ Styles

I loved this, they worked some charming comedy in the opening portions to keep the crowd interested for the rest, and it bloody worked. This was a well paced and layered match between the two Bullet Club mates, I was entertained very much. AJ’s such a boss, it’s a huge FUCK YOU TNA already.

***3/4

9.      Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

This is how a Tanahashi-on-autopilot match looks like, it’s all just basic moves, sequences and story, and yet - it’s still good stuff. Granted, could’ve been much better if Shelton stayed more focused with his offense, and Tanahashi’s midsection selling was kind of weak as well, so there you go. Good match, but needed to be better. But, good nevertheless. Get it?

***

10.  Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto

This was just fucking immense, I almost lost my shit during the climax, and the finish caught me off guard, totally. They played off their previous meetings in such a tremendous fashion. There were intelligent twists, cool counters, and some of those superb elements Okada likes to bust out sometimes, such as Kawada-esque dramatic selling, and a huge smirk on his face when he realized Goto’s doom is near. Smashing, smashing stuff, I’m such a happy fucking camper right now, I’m telling you. Honestly, just as good as their February title match.

****1/2

A one match show, obviously, but that’d be totally unfair to Karl/AJ, Doc/Nagata and Shinsuke/Kojima. Main event ruled, I can’t stress that enough.