By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax Tournament Night 8”
July 30, 2022 in Aichi, Japan at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a 28-man round-robin tournament, which is spread out over 20 shows held in a 33-day span. There are four blocks, each comprised of seven wrestlers. Thus, each competitor has six tournament matches. Most of the 20 events have between four and six tournament matches. This is the first year there have been four blocks since 2000.
Kevin Kelly provided commentary at ringside; no Chris Charlton tonight. Because of the uneven number of competitors in each block, it means some wrestlers have already had three tournament matches, while others just one. Kelly noted that Jonah’s tournament match will be his second overall, but first in 12 days.
1. Yujiro Takahashi and Sho defeated Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa at 6:08. Good to see Fujita back in action, as he has missed several matches on this tour with an injury. Fujita applied a Boston Crab on Sho, but Sho reached the ropes. Sho applied a cross arm breaker, and Fujita tapped out. Very basic opener.
2. Kenta and El Phantasmo defeated Tama Tonga and Jado at 6:40. The heels attacked before the bell. Kenta put the boots to Tama and nailed a Mafia Kick at 4:00. Jado entered and hit a (very soft) shoulder tackle on Phantasmo. However, ELP nailed a superkick to Jado’s jaw for the pin. This show would have been just fine without either of these first two matches.
* Phantasmo jogged over to Kevin Kelly and said he would behave and would come back later to provide color commentary. (Perhaps 18 months ago, ELP got involved in a match from the commentary booth, and Kelly has declared him banned from the booth.) We’ll see how that goes. I enjoyed his short stints of helping Kelly in the past, and as good as Kelly is solo, I always think two voices in the booth are better than one.
3. Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay, and Aarone Henare defeated Lance Archer, Taka Michinoku, and Taichi at 6:34. Archer and Cobb argued nose-to-nose, and that should be a fun tournament match on Sunday. All six brawled at the bell. The UE team worked over Taichi, with Cobb ‘surfing’ on Taichi’s back. Archer entered and he attacked both Henare and Ospreay, but he made it clear he wanted Cobb. Archer no-sold Ospreay’s chop at 4:30, and Ospreay’s reaction was hilarious. Archer and Cobb got to trade stiff forearm shots.
They traded shoulder tackles with neither man budging. Archer nailed a crossbody block. Taichi entered and traded offense with Henare. (This has not gone well for Taka all tour.) Taka applied a Crippler Crossface move but Henare quickly escaped. Henare applied the Ultima/full nelson lock, and Taka tapped out. Cobb and Archer jawed some more.
4. Bushi and Tetsuya Naito defeated EVIL and Dick Togo at 8:09. Kelly noted that Naito “has his back against the wall” at 0-2, and he has an upcoming match against EVIL. Bushi and Togo brawled early and the building was quiet. Bushi hit a DDT on EVIL at 3:30. Naito made the hot tag and hit a basement dropkick on EVIL. EVIL hit a Fishermans Suplex on Bushi. Togo got his piano wire and choked Bushi with it. Naito hit an enzuigiri on EVIL. Bushi hit his second-rope Lungblower to Togo’s chest to score the pin. Adequate.
5. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Yoshi-Hoshi defeated Jay White, Chase Owens, Juice Robinson, Bad Luck Fale, and Gedo at 8:30. Okada and Fale started, and Okada couldn’t pick up and bodyslam the big man; this is previewing another block match to come. They did a spot where Chase and Jay White nearly hit each other by accident, previewing another upcoming match (where there have been hints White expects Chase to lie down for him.) The heels took turns working over Ishii.
Yoshi-Hoshi and Goto worked together to beat down Juice. Yano entered at 7:30 and immediately took off a corner pad. In stupid Yano silliness, he fell on the pad to protect it, allowing the heels to stomp his back. White accidentally chopped Owens! As everyone else was fighting on the floor, Yano got a rollup out of nowhere on Gedo for the pin. Below-average for the sheer star power of this match. They all continued brawling after the match, with Fale ramming a folded chair into Okada’s throat. In the ring, Owens and White argued.
* El Phantasmo joined the commentary booth after intermission. Like I said above, he is a good heel foil, justifying the moves of the other heels.
6. David Finlay (4) defeated Shingo Takagi (2) in a D Block match at 14:49. Finlay is coming off a huge victory over former teammate Juice Robinson, and he still has Ospreay”s U.S. title, which Finlay stole from Juice Robinson. They brawled to the floor early. Shingo was dominating in the ring. Finlay hit a plancha to the floor at 5:00, then a springboard crossbody block in the ring for a nearfall, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Shingo hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:30, and he applied a Crossface move on the mat. Finlay nailed a backbreaker over his knee at 9:00, then a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. He went for a Sliced Bread #2, but Shingo threw him toward the center of the ring.
Finlay then hit the Sliced Bread #2 for a nearfall at 11:30, and they were both down. Shingo hit a snap suplex and they were both down, and the crowd was really getting into this match. Shingo hit a Gory Bomb, then a Pumping Bomber clothesline for a nearfall, then the Made In Japan pump-handle powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 14:00. They traded forearm shots, and Shingo hit a basement clothesline. Finlay hit a stunner, got the rollup, and the shocking pin. “Was that the upset of the tournament, Kevin?” ELP asked. “It would have to be!” Kelly replied.
7. Jonah (w/Bad Dude Tito) (2) vs. Tom Lawlor (w/Royce Isaacs) (0) in an A Block match at 11:32. Lawlor tried to avoid tying up early. They fought on the floor, but Jonah hit a shoulder tackle that sent Lawlor flying. Jonah then dropped Tom ribs-first on the guardrail at 2:00, and Lawlor narrowly avoided being counted out. However, Jonah immediately stood on top of Lawlor inside the ring, doing more damage to the ribs. Jonah applied a bear hug. Jonah hit a bodyslam at 5:00, but he missed a senton splash. Lawlor fired back with some rising knee strikes to Jonah’s face.
Lawlor applied a half-crab at 6:30, and he turned it into an ankle lock on the mat, but Jonah reached the ropes. Lawlor went for a cover, but Jonah threw him halfway across the ring. They began trading forearm shots at 8:00. Jonah ran him over mid-ring. Jonah hit a second-rope uranage move for a nearfall at 10:30. Jonah dropped him ribs first across the top rope, then hit another standing powerbomb. Jonah then nailed the top rope frogsplash for the clean, decisive pin. Jonah stopped by the commentator booth to say he will keep running through people.
8. Sanada (4) vs. Great-O-Khan (0) in a B Block match at 16:34. Intense mat reversals to start, and the crowd is quietly watching. GOK applied a heel-hook ankle lock at 5:30, but Sanada reached the ropes. Sanada hit a springboard missile dropkick, then a plancha to the floor. Back in the ring, Sanada blocked the Claw; this has been methodical but not boring. O-Khan nailed a clothesline for a nearfall at 9:00, and the crowd is warming up. O-Khan hit some Mongolian Chops. They took turns allowing each other to hit forearms or chops.
As Sanada fell to the mat, he inadvertently hit a kick to the groin, and got a rollup for a nearfall at 11:30. Sanada hit a TKO stunner for a nearfall. He went for a moonsault, but O-Khan got his knees up to block it. O-Khan applied a Claw to the jaw while bending Sanada over Khan’s knee. Sanada reversed it and applied the Skull End submission hold. O-Khan dug his fingers into Sanada’s recently-injured eye to escape. O-Khan hit a straight punch to the jaw and they were both down at 15:30. GOK hit a moonsault for a nearfall. Sanada hit a pop-up stunner, then he nailed the top-rope moonsault for the clean pin. The finish felt like it came out of nowhere. Really good match.
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (4) in a C Block match at 17:31. Sabre enters this match as one of the five wrestlers who are 2-0. The crowd was hot before they hooked up, as Kelly went through the results of all their prior meetings; point being they are familiar foes who have traded wins. They tied each other up on the mat. Hiroshi hit some closed fists to the stomach at 4:30, then a springboard crossbody block. Sabre hit a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes, and Hiroshi sold the pain of the move. Sabre went to work on twisting the left arm.
Sabre hit some European Uppercuts, and ELP said Sabre doesn’t get enough credit for his strking game. Sabre tied up both arms on the mat, applying a Rings of Saturn-type move. Hiroshi hit a second-rope flipping senton for a nearfall at 12:00. Sabre applied a head-scissors lock on the mat, and went back to working the left arm. Hiroshi hit a pair of swinging neckbreakers at 15:30. Hiroshi hit a sling blade clothesline and he was fired up, hitting a top-rope crossbody block. However, Sabre got a rollup for a believable nearfall, and I thought that was it. Hiroshi got a rollup for the clean pin, but Sabre’s right arm was clearly under the rope, hanging out of the ring. ELP on commentary was livid, making the case that the referee made a mistake.
* Hiroshi spoke on the mic. ELP provided “fake translation,” saying that Hiroshi was saying “I’m going to win, even if it’s by cheating.” Funny stuff and Kevin Kelly didn’t stop him.
Final Thoughts: The main event was a good mat-based match that won’t be a hit with everyone. Glad to see Tanahashi win to stay in the mix, and Sabre has a good out for his loss. All four tournament matches here were really good, although I don’t think any will be considered in the top 10 matches of the tournament.
Sanada and Great-O-Khan had a really good match, in a bout I didn’t think either man could really afford to lose. While I really like Sanada, I am surprised to see GOK start 0-2. For the Tom Lawlor fans, this has been a disappointing start, as he has barely looked competitive in his two tournament matches against the big men. I presume he will beat Fale, and at least one other match, but 2-4 is really his best-case scenario.
I noted when the four blocks were announced, New Japan did a good job separating all the factions into different blocks. For instance, the four United Empire members are all in different blocks, so they won’t meet in the tournament unless they win blocks. However, there are so many Bullet Club/House of Torture members, of course there are more than one in some blocks. The Jay White-Chase Owens match should be fun, especially if Chase backs out of lying down for White. On commentary, Phantasmo was confident that Owens would take the loss for his leader.
Overall, a very lackluster undercard as far as match quality, but it did remind viewers of upcoming tournament matches, particularly Okada-Fale and Cobb-Archer. The show clocked in at about three hours. The tournament continues on Sunday.
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