NJPW G1 Climax Results
August 11, 2017 (Night 17)
Sumo Hall, Tokyo, Japan
UNDERCARD MATCHES
Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Desperado def. Katsuya Kitamura, Tomoyuki Oka & Hirai Kawato
The story here is that Suzuki has been brutalizing the Young Lions throughout the entire G1 tournament before and after all his matches, and this was their first chance to get a measure of revenge. Minoru dominated all of them single-handedly. Kitamura put up the biggest fight and was really working the crowd in their favor. Kawato came in like a house of fire but caught a sick series of slaps and forearms that knocked him out on his feet. Desperado came in just to hit the Guitarra del Angel for the win. The scene was just carnage after the match with all three laid out around the ring, selling their injuries, and Kawato basically unconscious.
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa def. Sanada & Bushi
Tanga Loa returns to team with his brother in a nice back and forth match really putting over the bad blood between Bullet Club and Los Ingobernables. The two middle men of each faction, Sanada and Tama Tonga, are mathematically eliminated from the G1 but will still be fighting for pride tomorrow. Tama pinned Bushi with the Gun Stun after he had broken up Guerrilla Warfare to win.
Satoshi Kojima & Juice Robinson def. EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi
Kojima worked the bulk of the match starting out well against both LIJ members, but eventually fell to the brute strength of EVIL. They worked him over for several minutes until he got some space with the Kozy Cutter and made the hot tag to Juice Robinson, who made short work of Hiromu with Pulp Friction.
Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin, Hanson, Raymond Rowe & Ricochet def. Cody Rhodes, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson, Hangman Page & Chase Owens
The Young Bucks are back in Japan and they’re sporting some new “FTR” tights. Taguchi Japan is also back and their fearless leader had… a fake bird on his shoulder. This was such a fun match. So many different styles clashing and bodies were just flying everywhere. The last few minutes in particular were absolutely fantastic. They did a dive sequence with everyone flying to the outside including Big Mike, but when the 300-pound Hanson went up he got attacked by all five members of Bullet Club. Hilarious comedy spot where all five tried to hit a moonsault on Hanson but he rolled out of the way over and over again. The big man then hit a moonsault of his own, and Big Mike put away Owens with a deadlift Buckle Bomb into the Elgin Bomb.
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano def. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi
Takahashi took out Okada early on with a chair on the floor, so Yano worked the bulk of the match getting picked apart by the Bullet Club members. After the Master Thief got a hold of Kenny’s hair the champion was able to make the hot tag and throw a few uppercuts, but his injured neck and back are going to play a huge role in tomorrow’s rematch as he couldn’t even do his traditional kip-up spot. Yano managed to steal a win over Takahashi with a low blow and a handful of trunks, but the damage was done to Okada as Kenny hit some brutal moves to the neck and threw him hard into the barricade.
A BLOCK TOURNAMENT MATCHES
Bad Luck Fale (10) def. Yuji Nagata (2)
This was emotional, to say the least. Nagata spent the early portion of his final G1 match trying to avoid the big man, but Fale caught up with him on the floor and they teased a count-out. The Underboss casually dominated from there with corner splashes, forearms, headbutts and a running splash for a nearfall. The crowd rallied behind Nagata and came unglued when he hit a massive exploder suplex. Fale would take him down with one punch, but Blue Justice would come back every time with a flurry of strikes. He smartly took out the big man’s knee early on and continue the attack with an ankle lock late into the match to give him a few openings. We got a rare Nagata Lock and the signature armbar but it wasn’t enough, as Fale recovered and hit the Bad Luck Fall to pick up the win. It started slow but the last few minutes were excellent.
After the match Nagata was visibly emotional and had tears in his eyes. The crowd chanted his name and fans were crying. Even Bad Luck Fale stayed in the ring, momentarily breaking character to show respect to the man who trained him. He threw up the Too Sweet and Nagata gave him a salute to return the respect. Fale bowed to his mentor and left the ring to give Nagata a minute alone with the fans. If you’re going to go out with one final run in the G1, this is the way to do it. He may not have won many matches, but he put on his best performances in a decade and reminded the world that he’s one of the best professional wrestlers to ever step foot in a ring.
Togi Makabe (6) def. Yoshi-Hashi (4)
This was a very good back and forth match with Yoshi-Hashi struggling to take down the Unchained Gorilla but getting wasted with lariats and strikes at every turn. The crowd was super into it because YH has one of the best babyface comebacks in wrestling today. While not quite as the heights as some of the other hoss fights in the tournament so far, Yoshi-Hashi still emptied the tank on this one and they put on a really good match. The key was he had a lot of explosive offense but couldn’t find his big moves, namely Karma or the Butterfly Lock. He went for the Swanton Bomb at the end but Makabe caught him with a spider suplex and came off the top with the King Kong knee drop to pick up the win.
Zack Sabre Jr. (8) def. Tomohiro Ishii (8)
Sabre started out in control grappling his opponent to the mat, but made the mistake of trying to start a brawl with Ishii and got lit up with elbows and strikes. Zack caught him with a kick to the arm and started working it over with submissions. The Stone Pitbull fired off with more chops and forearms in the corner and a series of lariats but you could see the damage had been done as he tried to shake the pins and needles out of his hand. Sabre caught him off the top rope with another devastating hold wrenching away on the arm and hand. He started throwing lackluster kicks just toying with Ishii, trying to bait him into an opening but the big man rocked him with a Northern Lights suplex. That back and forth sequence continued for much of the match, with Sabre transitioning between holds and Ishii powering out into big slams and suplexes. His right arm became a target so he started throwing lariats with his left. Ishii refused to quit and they went back and forth for several minutes as the crowd chanted for the Stone Pitbull, but eventually Sabre locked him up in a ridiculous body stretch with seemingly all of his limbs and neck being wrenched in different directions. Ishii faded out and the referee was forced to stop the match.
Hirooki Goto (8) def. Kota Ibushi (10)
An interesting match-up as Goto has the obvious power advantage behind his offense but Ibushi’s speed and innovation pose a serious threat as well. The crowd booed Goto early on as he blocked a Golden Triangle Moonsault attempt with a huge lariat on the apron, shades of his match with Omega in the G1 Finals last year. Ibushi landed some serious strikes and kicks trying to match his opponent, but a stand-up brawl wasn’t in his favor. Goto shook off an exploder suplex and hit another big lariat followed by a spinning wheel kick in the corner. They fought up to the top and it was Ibushi who took control after a Pele kick, but Goto blocked a Super Brainbuster attempt but got caught with a snap hurricanrana for a close nearfall. More back and forth between the two with neither wanting to go down. Goto hit a PK after a sleeper hold in a shout-out to Shibata, but Ibushi struggled back with pinning combinations trying to steal it. Goto leveled him with a sick headbutt right under the jaw, hit a reverse GTR, then picked him up and hit the GTR to win.
Tetsuya Naito (12) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (12)
The crowd was firmly in support of Naito from the start and Tanahashi knew it, uncharacteristically slapping their leader in the face twice while he was safe in the ropes. Ironically the crowd started chanting for the ace after that, until Naito did the Tranquilo pose off a suicide dive fake-out to win them back. That momentum went back and forth a dozen times throughout the match. Naito dropkicked the bandaged arm early on which immediately slowed down the pace, picking his spots and working over the injury. Tanahashi rallied back with a dragonscrew in the ropes and came off the top rope with the High Fly Flow all the way to the floor. From there they went back and forth, Naito punishing the arm with dropkicks and Tanahashi destroying his knee with dragonscrews, both looking for big moves but trying to keep the other from breaking away. Late into the match they started trading forearm shots with the ace having to use his left arm. Naito spit in his face, and Tanahashi slapped him in return. The ace hit two Slingblades, the second one planting his opponent on his head, and connected with a standing High Fly Flow. He went back to the top looking to put the match away but crashed and burned as Naito rolled out of the way. The Los Ingobernables leader looked to have it after a top rope neckbreaker, but Tanahashi once again caught him with a dragonscrew. He applied the Texas Cloverleaf and the crowd came unglued – really they haven’t stopped with dueling chants throughout the entire match – pulling it back to the center of the ring and sat down on the hold applying a brutal amount of pressure. Naito was fading and the ref threatened to throw it out unless he responded, but he barely got his hands on the bottom rope to break the hold. Both men were basically dead at this point, but Naito came out of nowhere with a swing DDT off the ropes as we hit the 25 minute mark. He took it to the second rope and connected with a swinging Destino, but Tanahashi got his shoulder up. A second Destino attempt was countered by a trio of beautiful swinging neckbreakers. Tanahashi went for the Slingblade but Naito countered into a Destino, picked him up and hit a third Destino to win. Outstanding match.
CURRENT TOURNAMENT STANDINGS:
Block A
Tetsuya Naito 14 – Winner
Hiroshi Tanahashi 12
Bad Luck Fale 12
Kota Ibushi 10
Hirooki Goto 10
Zack Sabre Jr. 10
Tomohiro Ishii 8
Togi Makabe 8
YOSHI-HASHI 4
Yuji Nagata 2
Block B
Kazuchika Okada 13
Kenny Omega 12
EVIL 10
Minoru Suzuki 9
SANADA 8
Michael Elgin 8
Toru Yano 6
Tama Tonga 6
Juice Robinson 6
Satoshi Kojima 2
