Cero Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 28 - 8.5

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Cero Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 28 - 8.5

Post by cero2k » Aug 6th, '18, 21:52

NJPW G1 Climax 28, Day 15
August 5, 2018
Osaka, Japan

Tomohiro Ishii & SHO vs Juice Robinson & Shota Umino - 6.5/10
Well, good to know that Ishii is alive after the Omega match. Great opener tag match, all four men had great action regardless of the pairing inside the ring. Lots of shoulder tackles, lariats, and big moves. SHO pinned Umino with a bridging german.

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs David Finlay and Toa Henare - 4/10
Match being built here is SANADA vs Naito, so they just ran over the young guys. Henare and Finlay had some hope spots. Match wasn't all good, some spots seemed mistimed.

Post-match - SANADA finally accepts a fist bump from Naito, but Naito quickly whips SANADA and they tease hitting each other with some moves. Naito ends with the Tranquilo pose as SANADA walks out.

Hirooki Goto & YOH vs Zack Sabre Jr & TAKA Michinoku - 4.5/10
Short match, TAKA and YOH did some comedy. Sabre stretched out YOH and Goto, who in return hit a lot of his moves. YOH rolled up TAKA at the end for the win.

Guerrillas of War vs Kota Ibushi & Yujiro Takahashi - 4.5/10
The final of the FS vs BC matches in the tournament, and it was kinda better thought out than the rest, as this one kinda seemed like GoD had a plan of taking out Yujiro, and this came after Yujiro rejected Tama Tonga's offer to join them. I'm sure it will eventually come to that.

Ibushi had some good stuff, but it was a lot of GoD working on Yujiro, who at the end went for the Pimp Juice, but got countered into Apeshit and pin.

Kenny Omega & Chase Owens vs Toru Yano & Gedo - 4.5/10
All comedy, I'm guessing Omega really really needed to take this night off as much as possible. Yano did his shtick. Omega and Chase did their rowboat shtick. I'm starting to make my own storyline with Chase Owens and Omega developing a romance that will break up the Golden Lovers and become the Jewel Lovers.

G1 Climax 28 Block A Match
YOSHI-HASHI (2) vs Bad Luck Fale (6) w/Tanga Loa - 5/10
Same formula as with YOSHI's CHAOS mates, but a whole lot more boring because YOSHI doesn't really strike you as the guy who fights against odds, I mean, just look at his points.

Fale and co attacked YOSHI's bad shoulder, while YH went after Fale's leg as he did in their teaser match. They traded momentum a few times, and at the end, YOSHI had Fale on an armbar and right on schedule, Tama Tonga came out and attacked YOSHI for the DQ loss to Fale. I don't mind these throwaway finishers, but at least make the wrestling good.

G1 Climax 28 Block A Match
Hangman Page (4) vs Minoru Suzuki (8) - 7/10
Another star making performance by Page as he stood toe-to-toe with Suzuki. Early on, Page and Suzuki brawled to the outside and Page hit a stage moonsault. They went to the ring, but then quickly went back out as they brawled around the crowd, but this time it was Suzuki doing the ass kicking.

Once the match properly got to the ring, Suzuki had some offense and worked towards a submission. Page finally mounted a comeback as Suzuki started to chase the Gotch Piledriver. Page hit a bunch of lariats, and tried the Rite of Passage, but Suzuki got off. Suzuki went for another shot on the GSP, but this time, Page rotated Suzuki all the way into the RoP position, hit it, and got the upset win. Match got good towards the end, but there was a lot of boring at first.

G1 Climax 28 Block A Match
"Switchblade" Jay White (10) vs Togi Makabe (4) - 7/10
White pissed off Makabe early on, Makabe got fed up and the match began. The match was somewhat physical, not Ishii vs Ibushi physical, but they hit a lot of lariats with some good crush in them.

There was a spot in the corner where Makabe hit the Spider Belly-to-Belly, this was going to be followed by the KKKD, but White pulled Red Shoes and blocked it. Makabe would try again later, but misses and White takes advantage to go get some chairs. Makabe blocked the chair shot and clotheslined the chair into White. Finish finally came when White pushed Makabe into Red Shoes, hit a chairshot, Bladerunner, and pin, White taking one more win. Just as the Fale match, match wasn't as exciting to make up for the shit finish.

G1 Climax 28 Block A Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi (12) vs Michael Elgin (6) - 8/10
Just as their teaser match, this was a lot of Elgin being super strong, stronger than Tana, who in return, is just resilient and never gives up.

The match was all back and forward with tons of big moves. Elgin hit his usual arsenal in the striking department and bombs. Tanahashi did the same as he worked Elgin's leg with Dragon Screws and Elgin's injured arm. Before the finish, Tanahashi had already hit some Slingblades and a High Fly Flow for a near fall, but after a Buckle Bomb, Tanahashi reversed an Elgin Bomb and hit another HFF and inside cradle for the win. Great action top to bottom.

G1 Climax 28 Block A Match
Kazuchika Okada (10) vs EVIL (8) - 9/10
This was not as good as their G1 Climax 27 match, but it was better than their title match that followed. Match saw a lot of EVIL having dominance, but Okada slowly coming up to Okada standards, going into a hell of a finish sequence, as Okada is trying to steal the STO, EVIL is trying to steal the Rainmaker, they both do for near falls, but then they chase their own finishers, Okada winning after a Rainmaker.

Match had a lot of action, lot of reversals, and lots of spots. Match of the night.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Arguably the worst show of the G1, which was bound to happen with good quality wrestling happening every day, but truth is that aside from the main event, I didn't find anything that interesting.

A BLOCK STANDINGS
Jay White - 12
Hiroshi Tanahashi - 14
Hangman Page - 6
Togi Makabe - 4
Michael Elgin - 6
Kazuchika Okada - 12
Minoru Suzuki - 8
EVIL - 8
YOSHI-HASHI - 4
Bad Luck Fale - 6

B BLOCK STANDINGS
Kenny Omega 12
Kota Ibushi 10
Hirooki Goto 6
Tama Tonga 4
Tomohiro Ishii 6
Tetsuya Naito 10
Zack Sabre Jr. 8
SANADA 8
Juice Robinson 4
Toru Yano 2
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