With the shows coming thick and fast for this years G1 Climax, it was time for a slight change in the format, so for the second round and onwards, we will look at 2 nights of action from both A and B Blocks, which featured an early contender for match of the tournament. Night 3 – A BlockIt could be a long month for the Ace!The surprises keep on coming in the G1, and no surprise was bigger than in the main event of night 3 when Hiroshi Tanahashi, the ace of NJPW, fell to 0-2 after succumbing to the King Kong knee drop of Togi Makabe. Tanahashi, coming off a second injury layoff this year, has been fighting vigorously though his physical condition may not be 100%, and despite his attempts to put Makabe away, he was too strong for the former G1 winner and multiple time winner of the G1. Tanahashi’s story is becoming an interesting part of the block, how will a man of great success come back from two losses that many had him pegged to win? And what about his opponent, Togi Makabe is now 2-0 in the G1 and is picking up steam as the tournament progresses. He might be the dark horse of the group, but only time will tell. The Rainmaker stops Cold Skull in his tracks.This match saw two men of different mentalities and differing opening nights go head to head. SANADA was coming off his upset victory of Hiroshi Tanahashi, while Kazuchika Okada was reeling from a loss to Pro-Wrestling NOAH star Naomichi Marufuji. What we got was really a textbook Okada match, with the relative newcomer trying every trick he had before eventually getting caught by the IWGP champions devastating Rainmaker lariat. Both men now hold 1-1 records with everything to play for. Marufuji’s luck runs out. Coming off his huge win on night 1, Naomichi Marufuji had momentum on his side, only to be met with a large wall by the name of ‘The Underboss’, Bad Luck Fale. Marufuji managed to hit some big strikes but ultimately was hit by the Grenade, giving both the victor and the loser 1-1 records as the G1 continues. Stop! He's already dead!Tomohiro Ishii certainly lives up to his moniker of the Stone pitbull, as he and Hirooki Goto beat the holy hell out of each other in this match. In a tremendous back and forth contest, both men landed huge blows, but ultimately Goto found a crack in the human boulder that is Ishii when he hit him with a brainbuster to his knee and finally the GTR for the big win, leaving Ishii 0-2 while continuing his perfect record. The Bull is still going strong.Seriously, what is going on with Tama Tongas ring gear? Anyway, in the opening G1 contest of night 3, the story of Hiroyoshi Tenzan, the old veteran having one last shot at the G1 continues to be one of the most compelling stories in the tournament, as he picked up another win in what was essentially a Tenzan greatest hits match. Tonga may feel with his 0-2 record that he wished he would have stuck with his brother. Night 4 – B BlockTranquilo!In what will be on many peoples short list for match of the tournament already, Tetsuya Naito, former IWGP champion and leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, took on IWGP Intercontinental champion Michael Elgin in a scintillating contest. The match had a lot of psychology with Naito up to his usual tricks before attacking the knee of the bigger man, much like the previous night against Nagata. This time however, he didn’t let his ego get in the way and stayed on Elgin, locking in many innovative leg submissions. Then, shit went down. Elgin fought back hard leading to an amazing closing to the match, with Elgin using his strength to counter Naito’s speed from any position and slam him down, only failing to get the 3. The finish of the match was a thing of perfection, as Elgin deadlifted Naito out of his knee lock, only for Naito to counter one last time with the Destino. Naito went to 1-1 and let the crowd know that the tournament would belong to Los Ingobernables, where as the IWGP intercontinental champ fell to 0-2. I beg and plead with all of you, if you havnt seen this match, go watch it right now! Penalty Shoot-outIn a match many were looking forward to, Katuyori Shibata finally got one in the win column in a stiff contest with Pro-Wresting NOAH stand out Katsuhiko Nakajima. Both utilise kicks and similar move sets that lead to a lot of expectations that this match paid off in full. Nakajima took over most of the early going much to the dismay of the large support for Shibata, however things picked up in a big way which lead to a hard hitting game of H-o-r-s-e, trading the similar moves from their move-sets before eventually Nakajima attempted to hit the penalty kick, only to be met with a hard slap from Shibata, leading to ‘The Wrestler’ hitting his own PK for the victory, meaning both men go on with 1-1 records. Just Think of the Poor Referee!In a nice change of pace from the hard hitting action, Kenny Omega and Toru Yano met in a fun contest that featured water spitting, throwing the referee to each other, and all the usual shenanigans you would expect from Yano, much to Kenny Omegas dismay when he clearly shouted “enough with the comedy” Yanos tricks sadly worked against him when the cleaner hit him with a big knee to put him down to 0-2, while Omega finally picked up a win in his first G1. Blue Justice overcomes Evil.Whats not to love about 48 year old veteran Yuji Nagata? The former IWGP champion took on EVIL in a great contest that saw the King of Darkness take advantage of the already injured knee of Nagata, before Blue Justice battled back to take his second win of the G1. This tournament in the early going has been one for the veterans, and long may it continue in the story of Yuji Nagata. Concussion, starring Honma.I cant help but wince every time I see Honma do a diving headbutt, or land one of his pile driver’s that seem to offer zero protection for his opponent, but hey, at least his view on hits to the head is consistant. Tomoaki Honma went 2-0 with a solid victory over YOSHI-HASHI, who had celebrated a big win over Kenny Omega 2 nights previous, fell to two vicious pile drivers and the diving headbutt from the tanned madman. We at the Royal Grumble will be covering all the G1 action, You can also watch the whole G1 (with English commentary on the final 3 nights courtesy of Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino) on NJPWWorld.com, and the sign up instructions can be found here.
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