So, I am back in one piece from our hosts Stag do in Ireland, im sure we will mention one or two highlights on Sundays show, but for now, we are back with 4 nights of G1 action, with some interesting twists and a Match of the tournament… scratch that, Match of the Year candidate. A Block – Night 13 Night 13 was headlined by the Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi, who continued his fight for a spot in the G1 final with another sensational win over another Ace, Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marifuji. The two started with some mat wrestling, testing each other’s fundamentals. Things took a turn when Marufuji hit a piledriver on the apron, which had to sting a little. Marufuji took the lead from here until Tanahashi blocked a few Sliced bread attempts and hit the sling blade. The match was hard fought with hard kicks and punches until Tanahashi hit the sling blade again and then two High Fly Flow’s for the pin. Overall a great contest, but sadly, it had to follow what some are considering the Match of the Year… Tomohiro Ishii is this writer’s pick for MVP of the G1, and this match with IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, looks to have cemented it already. The two Chaos partners fought hard from the opening bell, with both trying to hit their signature moves, only for the other to counter. This set the tone for a match that you have to see to believe, the high tempo never waivered as both fought like their careers were on the line. The end came when Ishii countered the Rainmaker with some vicious headbutts, Okada tried to respond with a tombstone, but Ishii also countered this with an Owen Hart style piledriver and the Brainbuster for the big win. Despite been stablemates, Ishii HAS to get a title shot in the next few months. If the rematch is only half as good as this, it will still be one hell of a match. Hirooki Goto picked up another win over Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Tenzan’s G1 was ended on night 11, but he is still trying to fight and end on a high, sadly this is looking more and more unlikely as the tough schedule has taken its toll on the veterans body. Goto attempted the GTR but Tenzan reversed it with the TTD. Tenzan hit some big headbutts but eventually fell to the GTR. Togi Makabe was on top of the world just a few days ago, sitting on top of the A Block with a ton of momentum, however that train has been fully stopped. Bad Luck Fale picked up another victory with the Grenade putting him within arms reach of his first G1 final. Tama Tonga picked up a win over SANADA in the opening G1 match of the night. This was much better than the previous Bullet Club vs Los Ingobernables match in this block. SANADA attempted the Skull End but it was countered into an Inverted DDT. Tonga then hit the Gun Stun to pick up 2 more points. NIGHT 15 If Togi Makabe thought things were going bad against Fale, then running into the resurgent Hirooki Goto must have been a crushing blow, as he now sits 2 points behind 5 different competitors. Taking the main event spot, the two had a hard-fought match that you would expect, Makabe managed to hit the Spider German but failed to follow it up with the King Kong Knee Drop. Eventually Goto countered a Lariat with a neckbreaker and the GTR for a win that puts him within arms reach of another G1 final. Kazuchika Okada could have created some space leading into the final night, but The Underboss instead played spoiler, and may have given himself not only a lifeline in the G1, but a future title shot with a pinfall victory over the champ. Bad Luck Fale took Okada on a tour of the arena, throwing him into the stands and wearing him down. As the match went on, Okada attempted a tombstone but couldn't get the big man up, Fale responded with a Lariat, Grenade, and the Bad Luck Fall for the win, putting him even on points with the Champion. The Phoenix like rise of the Ace continues, and with one more win could secure a spot in the G1 final. Hiroyoshi Tenzan fought hard and had the crowd behind him, something Tanahashi looked shocked at but played to well, but eventually fell to the sling blade and the High Fly Flow. Despite been the MVP and having another great contest, Tomohiro Ishii is now out of contention for the G1 final at the hands of SANADA. SANADA attempted the skull end a few times, an after trading and countering suplex’s, he managed to lock it in one more time, giving Ishii no option but to tap. Seriously, if you are only going to watch the odd match of this tournament, pick any Ishii match and I promise you will enjoy it. Naomichi Marafuji also kept himself in contention with a victory over Tama Tonga. Tonga attempted the Gun Stun several times, but Marufuji had an answer for every one, eventually hitting the sliced bread for the win. Marufuji has had a really great tournament and he will be one to watch on the final night. Tama Tonga started slowly, but has really impressed with his later performances, a singles run after this would be very much welcomed. So, after these two shows, this is how the table looks going into the final night.
The G1 runs of Tomohiro Ishii, Tama Tonga, SANADA, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan are all done, however expect them to try and play spoiler, as all are capable of shaping the final standings. Togi Makabe sits 2 points behind the leaders and faces Ishii on the final night, and with the headlining match he is now out of contention. Bad Luck Fale is one of the leaders and faces Bullet club brother Tama Tonga. The other 4 leaders all face off with Marufuji vs Goto, and the rematch many have been waiting for, Tanahashi vs Okada, here is how each of the 5 leaders could go to the finals. Okada – Win over Tanahashi, Tonga to beat Fale Goto to beat Marufuji, Tanahashi – Win over Okada, Goto to beat Marufuji. (Has a W over Fale so would win the head to head) Marufuji – Win over Goto, Tonga to beat Fale, Okada to beat Tanahashi. Goto – Win over Marufuji, Okada and Tanahashi to draw. (has a W over Fale so would win the head to head) Bad Luck Fale – Win over Tonga, Marufuji to beat Goto, Okada to beat Tanahashi. Sanada faces Tenzan in the other match, neither can top the group but Tenzan will want to end his final G1 on a high. B BLOCK – Night 14 Night 14 was headlined by the battle of Los Ingobernables de Japon, as Tetsuya Naito got the better of his stablemate EVIL in a great contest. Naito took control of the match early, working the leg of EVIL and doing a few of his usual taunts. EVIL fought back hitting several big moves, eventually hitting a roaring elbow and a Lariat before going for the STO, which Naito countered into the Destino for the win. After the match, Naito took the mic and offered his hand to his stablemate, which EVIL accepted. All is well as Naito takes the lead and puts EVIL out of contention. Kenny Omega has taken a more serious turn as of late, and it’s paying off as he picked up another win, this time over Yuji Nagata. Omega worked over Nagata’s already injured leg and ran circles around the veteran. The Cleaner eventually picked up the win with the One Winged Angel, meaning both are on 8 points and within reach of the top going into night 16. Katsuhiko Nakajima picked up a win over the now out of contention Tomaki Honma. The two had a back and forth match but the Genesis of the kick was too much for the hardheaded big man. A PK and a brainbuster sealed Honmas fate and gave Nakajima another 2 points. Katsuyori Shibata picked up a win over YOSHI-HASHI in a great contest. YH has had a great tournament considering his lack of singles competition over the last few years, but the NEVER OpenWeight champion was too much for him here, using a suplex, the sleeper, and finally the PK to put him away. And in a surprising turn in the opener, Toru Yano put his tricks to work again, scoring a big win over the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Michael Elgin. The two did a few great comedy spots including Yano going for Elgin’s hair, realising he is bald, then going for the beard. Yano then hit two low blows while the referee was out of position and got the roll up win! NIGHT 16 In the Main Event of night 16, Michael Elgin kept himself in contention with a win over Tomoaki Honma. The crowd were split 80/20 towards Honma, but it was the power of Elgin that won out this contest, hitting the buckle bomb and a sit out powerbomb for the win. In a rematch from their brilliant NEVER openweight title contests earlier this year, Katsuyori Shibata finally put Yugi Nagata to rest in a great contest. Nagata went after Shibatas injured shoulder, however Shibata was on top form and broke down the veteran, eventually getting him to pass out to the sleeper. Tetsuya Naito continued his quest to regain the IWGP Heavyweight title and put himself 2 points ahead of the pack going into the final night with a win over YOSHI-HASHI. YH controlled much of the contest, but the Los Ingobernables leader was too much for him, eventually hitting Destino for the big win. EVIL may be out of the running, but he is going to take as many as he can down with him, his latest victim was Toru Yano. A pretty typical Yano match that saw him attempt several creative roll ups before EVIL hit the STO for the win. And in the opening contest, Kenny Omega, who made reference to his new more serious demeanor, took Katsuhiko Nakajima out of the running in another fine match. Omega controlled most of the match, only for Nakajima to come back with some heavy kicks and suplexes. However the Cleaner proved to be too much for the NOAH star, hitting the One Winged Angel and putting himself within reaching distance of the G1 Final. The B Block Table looks like this...
Out of the 10 men, only 4 are within a chance of reaching the G1 Final, here are their routes to the final. Naito – A win against Kenny Omega will seal the top spot. Kenny Omega – Win over Naito, Elgin and Shibata to lose. Shibata – Win over EVIL, Naito and Elgin to Lose. Elgin – Win over Nakajima, Omega and Shibata both to win, leading to a tie for the top. Has wins over Omega and Shibata. Playoffs. This one is complicated… So, we are onto the final 3 shows of the G1, full run downs of each show, as well as overviews of the tournament will be up after the shows. I will be live tweeting from @royalgrumblepod so join in the conversation. 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, Steve Corino and Rocky Romero) on NJPWWorld.com, and the sign up instructions can be found here.
Also, leave a comment on our Facebook/Twitter (links in the bar to your right). and as always, listen to the Royal Grumble every Sunday, straight to your podcast listening app via the links in the bar on the right, and on iTunes.
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