By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Powell’s Note: Due to time constraints, I’m only doing detailed coverage of the two matches that factor into the A-Block outcome. From a non-spoiler standpoint, yes, you should go out of your way to watch both matches since they determine the A-Block winner.
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax Tournament Day 17”
August 10, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan at Budokan Hall
Broadcast live on New Japan World
Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero were the English broadcast team.
1. Tomohiro Ishii and Sho beat Toa Henare and Shota Umino.
2. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa over Toru Yano and Gedo.
3. Hirooki Goto and Yoh beat Juice Robinson and David Finlay.
4. Tetsuya Naito and Sanada over Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka Michinoku.
5. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks defeated Kota Ibushi, Marty Scurll, and Chase Owens.
6. Togi Makabe beat Michael Elgin in a G1 Tournament A-Block match.
7. Yoshi-Hashi defeated Hangman Page in a G1 Tournament A-Block match.
8. Minoru Suzuki defeated Bad Luck Fale by DQ in a G1 Tournament A-Block match.
9. Jay White vs. Evil in a G1 Tournament A-Block match. White entered the match needing to win and have Kazuchika Okada defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event in order to win the A-Block. White slapped Evil across the face to start the match. Kelly noted that White could be the first person to get to 14 points and not win the block since it happened to Kazuchika Okada a few years ago. White dumped Evil from the ring to the floor with a Saito suplex. White ran Evil into the guardrail in front of Kelly and Romero. He followed up by suplexing Evil into the barricade.
Evil bounced back a short time later and returned the favor by running White into the guardrail in front of Kelly and Romero. Back in the ring, White regained offensive control and performed a wicked German suplex. Evil avoided a Blade Runner attempt. White pulled the referee into the corner. Evil managed to stop short of hitting the ref, but Evil performed a low blow while the referee was turned around. Evil hit Darkness Falls, but was unable to go for the pin because of the low blow. Evil performed a lariat for a near fall a short time later. White came back with a Kiwi Crusher for a two count just before the announcement that they were ten minutes in.
White brought a couple of chairs into the ring. Evil ducked one, then pulled the referee in front of him to use him as a distraction before performing a lariat. White came back with a northern lights suplex. White ended up shoving Evil into the referee. REF BUMP!!! Evil stopped White from using one of the chairs and then hit Everything Is Evil and covered White. The referee recovered and counted the pin.
Evil defeated Jay White in a G1 Tournament A-Block match.
Powell’s POV: As expected, the A-Block comes down to Okada vs. Tanahashi in the main event. The match was brief yet entertaining. It needed more time to be special and the finish occurring when it did was surprising, as I assumed the ref bump that preceded it would lead to White kicking out. I like the the booking as it gave Evil a meaningful win a nice overall tournament point total even though he never felt like a threat to win the A-Block. Meanwhile, White had a great tournament. He was spotlighted early on and made the most of it.
10. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada in a G1 Tournament A-Block match. Kelly noted that balloons are actually banned by the venue and emphasized that he wasn’t making that up. In other words, no balloons for Okada. The broadcast team did a nice job of talking strategy in that Tanahashi could opt to play for the draw and still win the A-Block. Kelly noted that Tanahashi had not defeated Okada since January 5, 2015. There was an early break on the ropes with Okada appearing to give a clean break only for Tanahashi to take a shot at him. Romero chalked up an early leg hold by Tanahashi as perfect strategy toward working toward a 30-minute draw.
Tanahashi avoided a Tombstone, but Okada caught him with a dragon screw leg whip. Romero noted that the move was a page out of Tanahashi’s playbook. Okada worked over Tanahashi’s knee at ringside while Kelly noted that he was targeting the bad knee of Tanashi. Back in the ring, Okada continued to target the knee as the ring announcer noted they were ten minutes into the match. Tanahashi came back with a dragon screw of his own, which led to a brief crowd chant in his favor. Okada came back a short time later with a DDT for a two count.
Okada performed a missile dropkick, but he came up selling his knee. Okada set up for a tombstone, but Tanahashi reversed it and hit the move just before the 15-minute mark. The wrestlers exchanged elbows in the middle of the ring. Tanahashi got the better of the exchange and ended up knocking Okada off the apron and into the barricade a short time later. Tanahashi went up top and performed a cross body block onto Okada at ringside. Tanahashi immediately sold his bad knee. Tanahashi rolled back inside the ring. Okada got up and then fell over to sell his own knee. Okada got back to the apron where Tanashi performed a couple of dragon screw leg whips. Tanahashi applied a cloverleaf. Tanahashi gave up the cloverleaf to transition into a Styles Clash. Tanahashi went up top and went for a High Fly Flow splash, but Okada rolled out of the way.
Okada performed a dropkick to the back of Tanahashi’s head. Okada avoided a dropkick, but then ran into another. Okada went for the Rainmaker. Tanahashi countered into a sling blade clothesline that left both men on the mat. There was another exchange of strikes with Okada getting the better of this one. Tanahashi came back with three neckbreakers and a sling blade for a two count. Tanahashi went up top and went for the High Fly Flow, but Okada greeted him with a dropkick on the way down. Okada performed a tombstone piledriver and let you a primal scream.
It was announced that there were only three minutes left. Okada dropkicked Tanahashi, who ducked a Rainmaker once, but ended up being hit with it on the second try. Okada set up for another Rainmaker, but Tanahashi caught him in an inside cradle for an excellent near fall. Tanahashi avoided a Rainmaker and performed a dragon suplex into a bridge for another great near fall. It was announced that there was one minute remaining. Okada grabbed Tanahashi from behind. Tanahashi hit him with three elbows, then a big left hand to the face. Tanahashi went up top and hit the High Fly Flow onto the back of Okada for another good near fall. The bell rang to end the match in a draw.
Hiroshi Tanahashi fought Kazuchika Okada to a draw, Tanahashi wins the A-Block.
Powell’s POV: A wonderful match. Call me crazy, but I wasn’t fired up for this match going in for some reason. That feeling quickly evaporated once the bell rang thanks to the work of the wrestlers and the broadcast team. Kelly and Romero really shined with all of the talk of strategy and the history between Okada and Tanahashi. Chris Charlton was also there to translate and he added his own stats and quality observations. I love the sports feel that they bring to the call. They also did a good job of establishing afterward that while Tanahashi won the A-Block, he still hasn’t beaten Okada in 1,314 days.
The match was laid out beautifully in that the draw giving Tanahashi the A-Block win could have come off poorly if it seemed like he was trying to milk the clock. Instead, Tanahashi was aggressively going for the win during the final seconds despite the fact that it could have cost him the match. This approach created major drama. In fact, as someone who predicted Okada winning the A-Block, I was actually expecting Tanahashi’s obsession with beating Okada to be his undoing. So by going for the win in the final seconds, it made Tanahashi look noble while also emphasizing the intensity of their rivalry. Okada is obviously protected with the draw finish, and Tanahashi’s quest to defeat Okada for the first time in years is still in play. This was superb booking and storytelling.
What does Tanahashi winning mean for the B-Block on Saturday? I picked Naito to win the B-Block from the start so I’m not backing down now (though my confidence is a bit shaken now that Okada failed to win the A-Block). Naito needs to win his match and then have Kota Ibushi beat Kenny Omega or have that match go to a draw. Omega takes the B-Block with a win since he holds the tiebreaker over Naito. Ibushi needs to beat Omega and have Naito lose on Saturday, then Ibushi would win the three-way tiebreaker with wins over both Omega and Naito. The draw finish of Tanahashi vs. Okada leaves me wondering if they are less likely to go with a draw finish for the Omega vs. Ibushi match. Either way, I can’t wait to find out on Saturday.
The scoring for the round robin tournament is two points for a victory, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss.
A-Block Standings: Hiroshi Tanahashi (15), Kazuchika Okada (13), Jay White (12), Minoru Suzuki (10), Evil (10), Togi Makabe (6), Bad Luck Fale (6), Michael Elgin (6), Yoshi-Hashi (6), Hangman Page (4).
B-Block Standings: Kenny Omega (12), Tetsuya Naito (12), Kota Ibushi (10), Zack Sabre Jr. (10), Sanada (8), Tomohiro Ishii (8), Hirooki Goto (6), Tama Tonga (6), Juice Robinson (4), Toru Yano (4)..
Saturday’s show in Tokyo features the following B-Block matches: Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Sanada, Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga, Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson.
The finals with A-Block winner Hiroshi Tanahashi facing the winner of the B-Block (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, or Tetsuya Naito) will be held on Sunday in Tokyo. Plus, Rey Mysterio Jr. is advertised for Sunday.
Be the first to comment