Night 6 of the NJPW G1 Climax 29 tournament kicked off its second of three nights at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and featured the next round of B-Block matches, with Ishii and Moxley taking part in a violent donnybrook of a match.
Results roundup:
- Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens def. Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer def. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomaki Honma
- EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI def. KENTA, Clark Connors & Kota Ibushi
- B Block: Shingo Takagi (4) def. Taichi (2)
- B Block: Jeff Cobb (2) def. Juice Robinson (4)
- B Block: Toru Yano (4) def. Jay White (0)
- B Block:Ā Tetsuya Naito (2) def. Hirooki Goto (2)
- B Block:Ā Jon Moxley (6) def. Tomohiro Ishii (4)
Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens def. Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Fale and Owens jumped the Suzuki-gun members before the bell. Fale brutalized Sabre with forearms and stomps until Sabre slipped out of harmās way and into an Octopus hold. There was lots of back and forth between everyone but Fale, really, until he tagged in and accidentally avalancheād his partner Owens in the corner.
At around this point in the match Kanemaru took a swig of Suntory and attempted spraying some whisky mist at his opponents, but it backfired and he spritzed Sabre instead. Fale did finished off Kanemaru with a Grenade. Sabre went after Fale after the bell but was laid out. Theyāll have a match on Saturday night. The story of ZSJās G1 losing streak continues.
Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer def. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomaki Honma
Suzuki-gun ambushed Tanahashi and Honma before the bell. Honma and Suzuki traded chops early and Suzuki no-sold them with his sick laugh. Honma went for kokeshi but Suzuki tripped him up and later locked him in a modified triangle hold over the ropes.
Things spilled outside soon after. Archer terrorized fans and videographers alike. Suzuki choked Honma near the bottom of the South entrance of Korakuen Hall. Back in the ring, Suzuki continued to bully Honma and laid in a brutal elbow. Archer tagged in and pretty much did the same, plus taunted Tana with his foot on Honmaās neck.
Tanahashi finally tagged in but Archer cut off any momentum Tana planned on coming in with. He was finally able to Dragon Screw his way out of danger and the Hall began to rumble with āGo Ace!ā chants from here. Tana tried working over Archerās knee but Archer returned the attacks with a Black Hole Slam. Archer dominated much of this match and even landed a double chokeslam on both Tanahashi and Honma before pinning Honma with the Claw to score the win.
Why isnāt Braun Strowman booked like this? Archer attacked pretty much everyone in a five-foot radius and Suzuki snapped on of the foreign Young Lionsā fingers and slammed it against the English announce table in front of Kevin Kelly. Archer and Tanahashi will wrestle on Saturday in the A-Block.
EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI def. KENTA, Clark Connors & Kota Ibushi
This was a good match meant to build two of the A-Block matches for Saturday. EVIL and SANADA are bros again after their banger of a match on Night 5. The story seems to be that EVIL was testing SANADAās spirit and played head games with LIJ ahead of their G1 bout, but theyāre cool now; they fist-bumped.
Ibushi and SANADA kicked things off with a stare down and flew right into a long string of sequences, a taste of what weāll probably see on Saturday. The crowd was evenly split for both. They were the A-story here while KENTA and EVIL were the B-story. There was a methodical pace between the two with lots of stiff strikes, mostly from KENTA. EVIL was later able to plant KENTA with a fishermanās suplex and tag out to BUSHI.
Anytime BUSHI tags in I feel like the match is right about to end. KENTA tagged out to Clark Connors and he and BUSHI had a really nice, quick exchange. Connors went through a number of the fundamental Young Lion spots that all looked super crisp. Connorsā legs arenāt quite at Doug Furnas-level yet but theyāre pretty damn wide. This was all short lived, though, because this match wrapped moments later when BUSHI landed an MX on Connors.
EVIL and KENTA had a stare-down and then a pull-apart on the floor while SANADA and Ibushi faced off inside the ring. The two will have a Handsome Battle on Saturday night at Korakuen, so before both exited they did a little flexinā and posinā for the crowd. Neither have felt like bigger stars than as of recently, especially with regard to SANADA.
Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI def. Will Ospreay and Toa Henare
The Okada vs. Ospreay parts of this match were fiery. Henare and YOSHI-HASHI were first in but Ospreay and Okada called each other out from the red and blue corners. Okada teased Ospreay and did Ospreayās kneeling Zelda pose. Both did a great job of selling the match, not particularly selling it itself but rather selling the idea that these two care about each other but also have a realistic rivalry with each other. They both conveyed that they needed to prove something to one another, and more so from the Ospreayās side.
Ospreay did the Rainmaker pose and then went for the Os-cutter, but Okada dropkicked him midair. Itās amazing to see Okada go from working with Bad Luck Fale in a completely different style of match in the same building the night before. Okada and Ospreay were flying faster than Ospreay and Ibushi were for the first 15 minutes of their main event the previous night.
Henare and YOSHI-HASHI joined back in after the excellent exchange mentioned above. Henare landed a running Rock Bottom on YOSHI for two. Okada and Ospreay fought to the floor and Ospreay landed a perfect pescado. Wasnāt he injured on Monday? Later YOSHI lariatād Henare out of his shoes and then spiked him with kumagoroshi for the sudden win. Ospreay is on another level right now and Okadaās silky smooth as per usual, like Tim Duncan, where his greatness is so persistent that you almost forget that heās one of the best on the planet.
Shingo Takagi (4) def. Taichi (2)
This was a great bout. Iām convinced Takagi is secretly a genius. He jumped Taichi just as the Dragonās name was being announced, turning the tables on Suzuki-gun with their own strategy. The crowd was way into Takagi. Miho Abe was with Taichi and pampered him outside the ring while he did some chickensāt stalling. Taichi also used Abe was a human shield again and Takagi jawed at her.
Meanwhile Taichi grabbed his Axl Rose half-mic stand and jabbed Takagi in the stomach with it. He dragged Takagi outside and beat on him, more like a thug than a wrestler. Taichiās style is ironically more North American than anything else and I wonder how well heād get over with an American or Canadian company with his style.
The crowd was way behind Takagi as Taichi heeled out. Takagi made a slow comeback and was able to land the Genichiro Tenryu elbow drop from the top for a two-count. Later, Taichi drilled Takagi with a Dangerous K-style gamengiri kick to the face. He whipped off his goth pants here and did another gamengiri. The two then traded backdrop suplexes and you could begin to feel even more love for Showa-style pro wrestling of the late ā80s and ā90s.
Taichi blocked a Pumping Bomber and returned with an Axe Bomber of his own. The match felt like a cool remix of All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1998. Takagi planted Taichi with Made in Japan, but Taichi kicked out, which is a pretty big deal because that move has been relatively protected. Taichi looked really here and didnāt pull any of his strikes like he tends to do. The last moments of this felt seriously competitive and not schmozzy like many of Taichiās bouts.
Takagi blasted Taichi with a Pumping Bomber and later, Last of the Dragon for the definitive win despite all the funny business early on. I donāt know how he does it, but Takagi brings the best out of people in so many different kinds of matches. Taichi looked better than he has all Summer.
Jeff Cobb (2) def. Juice Robinson (4)
These two put on a solid match with a surprising finish. This was the best kind of cool-down match, with two guys putting on something completely different from the rest of the show but equally impressive and just as exciting. The crowd was polite but intrigued, mostly behind Juice but curious about Cobb.
The two shook hands beforehand and took a medium-slow pace from the beginning. It was the right call, with these two putting forth a medium-tempo match with lots of deliberate spots. It gives fans time to process the intensity from before while enjoying the show at a more realistic pace.
Robinson tried a standing moonsault ā the first time from him, I think ā but missed. Cobb then suplexed Robinson around the ring and landed a standing moonsault of his own. The sequences inside this match were clever and always paid off; kind of like how jokes require setups and punchlines, these sets of spots consisted of a quick series of payoffs. I liked it.
The crowd was good but passive compared to how they behaved in the matches before. Itās safe to say most of us went into this weekendās card bracing ourselves for the perpetual buffet of top-notch wrestling.
Robinson went for Pulp Friction when the 10-minute call sounded, but Cobb reversed it into a spiral backdrop suplex. He also did a cool spot when Robinson went for PF again and Cobb caught him mid-air and German suplexed him. He used another rising deadlift German for a two-count, and finally landed Tour of the Islands for the surprise win. Robinson raised Cobbās hand afterwards and everyone seemed satisfied. This was good and it was what it need to be.
Toru Yano (4) def. Jay White (0)
These two had three minutes of fun storytelling. Yano didnāt act goofy this time. He goaded White into playing coward, White rolling out of the ring to complain. Yano shouted that heād come outside to fight. Gedo teased getting involved and within all the chaos, White reappeared and ambushed Yano, throwing him into the ring.
Yano ripped the the ring corner pad off and the two wrestlers and referee all fussed with it. Then Yano kept going for low blows but White snuck in his own while Gedo distracted ref Red Shoes. Jay went for a Bladerunner but Yano spit water in his face. Yano shoved Red Shoes and went after Gedo, who went to sucker-punch Yano with brass knuckles. Yano kicked Gedo in the gut and then grabbed Red Shoes to let him know that Gedo was in the ring.
This was after Yano stole Gedoās brass knuckles and avoided exposing that he had them to the ref. He crushed White with a brass knuckles-enhanced low blow and then a school boy pin. Ha. Good stuff, and it went for exactly the right amount of time.
Tetsuya Naito (2) def. Hirooki Goto (2)
A good but not great match that the crowd absolutely loved. I think it came across better live than on television. More people seemed to be into Goto than ever, but on the other hand people love Naito so much that Goto was actually getting a lot of heel heat, too.
Naito teased Goto for wearing his black āLA DOJOā t-shirt. Goto took his shirt off and started choking Naito with the shirt before the match started. Most people seemed to go for this New Goto, which is basically the same as Regular Goto but just a little more pissed off, a bit meaner. āDark ānā Grittyā Hirooki Goto.
Itās minutia, but the fact that Kevin Kelly said ā30 minutes on the clockā at the beginning of this match added so much credibility to the feel of it in English. Later, Goto went for a running Penalty Kick on the apron but Naito ducked out of the way and tripped him, then snapped his knee off the apronās edge. Once five minutes into the match, Naito had control of Goto with a variety of leg locks and general heel bullying.
They traded signature high spots soon after and the crowd was pretty split between the two. I canāt think of any other time in recent memory when Goto has been so over with the Tokyo crowd. He used an ushigoroshi and then plastered Naito with a number of hard kicks. Naito rolled Goto up for a quick two but Goto returned with a reverse GTR. He tried another ushigoroshi but Naito reversed it into a DDT, then landed Destino for ā¦ two? Really? The crowd had lost it by the second Destino that put Goto away, kind of out of nowhere. Really good match.
Jon Moxley (6) def. Tomohiro Ishii (4)
Moxley entered through the south side entrance of Korakuen Hall, Shota Umino at his side, Moxleyās oversized IWGP US title over Uminoās shoulder. A number of people showed off fresh new MOX gear.
Ishiiās theme played for what felt like forever when he came out. He held a hard gaze towards the ring and didnāt break it until he stepped through the middle ropes and launched himself into Moxley. The two were skull-to-skull and the intensity burned through the screen; I canāt imagine what itād have been like live.
When you stop and mediate on it for a minute, youāll begin to realize that this match might be the closest thing we might see to an authentic NJPW vs. WWE match, a true styles clash not only in the ring but in opposing ideas about what pro wrestling is or should be.
This turned into to a mock-Pancrase fight before the ring announcer could introduce anything. The match overflowed into the crowd. Moxley paid his respect to the ę± (East) sign and slammed Ishiiās face into it. Within minutes, they were in the bleachers with the orange seats, Moxley in charge of the pace.
They went down into the front row and Moxley locked on a State Trooper-ish choke sleeper and dragged Ishii back into the ring. Most of the crowd was vehemently behind Ishii, but Moxley had his loud disciples, too. Moxley wrestles like how I imagine the character John McClaneĀ from Die Hard would wrestle; Mox applies the approach of an American action hero in wrestling in way that feels natural and seamless.
Moxley began chopping (and chopping) Ishii but the Stone Pitbull kept exploding back in Moxās face. Ishii took whatever Moxley was dishing. He finally knocked the 6-foot-4 Moxley over with a huge shoulder tackle. How can anyone not like this guy?
Ishii dished out a number of receipts for the punishment Moxley served earlier. Ishii even bowled Moxley over with a chop. They went to the floor and did the dueling chairs spot, like Masato Tanaka and Balls Mahoney used to do in ECW, but here the chairs totally split apart after three shots. The last shot shattered the chair and flew out of Ishiiās hand. Mox set up a table on the outside and teased doing a few spots through it from the apron.
Outside the ring, Moxley went to hit Ishii with a chair but Ishii smashed his elbow into said chair which whacked Moxley in the face. Ishii sold his elbow. Ishii blasted Mox with a chair and the center part of the chair popped out. He then laid Moxley onto the table that had already been set up and did a diving splash through it to the floor.
Ishii superplexed Moxley back into the ring. The two traded snap German suplexes and stiff lariats and the two didnāt sell any of them. Korakuen was rocking. The crowd itself was split about 60ā40 in favor of Ishii. Mox started biting Ishii. They later were on all four legs, headbutting each other like two actual dogs fighting. Pretty unreal to see.
Moxley landed the Regal Knee for a close two and more fans sounded to side with Mox after the near-fall. He flipped two birds to the crowd before going for a Death Rider that Ishii blocked. Ishii landed a short-arm lariat and then a Riki Lariat to slow things down before they picked up steam again, this time with more headbutts and lariats.
Moxley no-sold a big lariat and slapped Ishii in the face, then landed the OG Dirty Deeds for a close fall. The crowd flipped back to supporting Ishii. Mox drilled Ishii with a beautiful high angle Death Rider for the win. Wow. This was a capital-B Brawl, a high-end gallery of violence.
Ishii tried to walk out by himself but kept falling over like he was knocked out on his feet. It looked like he fell under one of the event tables near the backstage area. He made it feel like Moxley had just given him real hell.
Moxley cut a promo thanking the New Japan audience for welcoming him into the fold and that it made him feel good after all the drama he had to deal with earlier this year. He went on to emphatically say that he was going to win this yearās G1. Simple, effective and memorable: awesome.
Check back with us tomorrow for the next night of G1 Climax 29 coverage from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
Current G1 Standings
A Block
Kazuchika Okada 6
KENTA 6
Lance Archer 4
EVIL 4
SANADA 2
Bad Luck Fale 2
Hiroshi Tanahashi 2
Will Ospreay 2
Kota Ibushi 2
Zack Sabre Jr. 0
B Block
Jon Moxley 6
Juice Robinson 4
Tomohiro Ishii 4
Shingo Takagi 4
Toru Yano 4
Hirooki Goto 2
Taichi 2
Jeff Cobb 2
Tetsuya Naito 2
Jay White 0