BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

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BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 7th, '19, 22:49

NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (7/6/2019)- Dallas, TX


ROPPONGI 3K vs. GUERRILLAS OF DESTINY- 6/10
The Guerillas’ attempt to jump the bell on Roppongi 3k was thwarted by Roppongi 3K staying vigilant. Kevin Kelly brings up the fact that Tanga Loa was undefeated the entire G1 tour last year, winning every undercard tag match he was in. And twenty straight wins didn’t get him a f*cking thing, did it? So remember, everyone, if you see someone you like on these undercards getting wins, don’t get excited because it won’t actually built to anything.
These guys had a very good match for the less than seven minutes they were given. The Guerrillas of Destiny won with a Superbomb, which Kevin Kelly explained to me was Jado & Gedo’s old finisher. This was very relieving to hear, as I was worried this was a sign that they were going to start feuding with Bully Ray.
Kevin Kelly also told us that we would have to wait until the end of the G1, well over a month from now, to find out who the next challengers for the Guerrillas’ IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles would be. Why do we have to wait so long? Why not have these guys defend their titles in ROH or RevPro or CMLL while the G1 is going on and the tag titles aren’t needed?

JEFF COBB & REN NARITA vs. SHOTA UMINO & TOMOHIRO ISHII- 5.75/10
A fun match. Ishii vs. Cobb should be awesome.

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & Jay White) (w/Gedo)- 5.75/10

JUICE ROBINSON, JUSHIN “THUNDER” LIGER, & TORU YANO vs. LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Tetusya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & BUSHI)- 5/10

BLOCK A MATCH: Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay- 9.5/10
So yeah. This was pretty insane. This match was all big moves... and that includes not one but two Iron Claw spots. That’s how great of a match they worked. This wasn’t just a bunch of spots, but rather a bunch of moves that they sequenced and sold in such a way as to make every single one feel huge. Throw him some storytelling with the size differential and some excellent false finishes, and you’ve got one f*cking great way to start off the G1.

BLOCK A MATCH: EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale- 4.5/10
EVIL jumped the bell on Fale. We then immediately went to the outside some stuff in the aisle without count-outs in order to set up the Count-Out Tease That No One Ever Buys™. Fale worked over EVIL’s back but EVIL made a comeback and bodyslammed Fale, just like everyone does, so it’s really not that impressive anymore. EVIL also sued a chair right in front of the referee and wasn’t DQed. Then, when Fale tried to use a chair on EVIL, the referee wouldn’t let him. That doesn’t seem very fair.
More stuff happened. Fale hit a sh*tty Grenade again. He needs to just stop doing that stupid move. We got a ref bump, at which point EVIL tried to cheat with weapons again, which makes it really hard to get angry at Fale when he himself cheats in response. Fale got the win with the Bad Luck Fall. This was your standard crappy NJPW “rules only matter when the spot requires them to” and “cheating is only bad when the heels do it” bullsh*t match.

BLOCK A MATCH: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Sanada- 8.25/10
Sanada’s mohawk is gone. He still looks stupid with his shaggy blond hair and beard. The match was exactly what you’d expect from these guys with Zack working the arm and Sanada doing Sanada stuff. Sanada won via roll-up, just a week after Zack successfully defended the RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight Title against him in the UK.

BLOCK A MATCH: Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA- 8/10
KENTA is back everyone. This was an excellent strike exchange of a match. I don’t remember one single grappling move. It definitely dragged a bit towards the end, but it was still awesome, and has me even more excited for KENTA’s matches this tournament.

BLOCK A MATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada- 8.75/10
A f*cking referee should not be mocking the top star of your promotion. Other than that the match was the standard awesomeness from these two. They story here was Tanahashi coming up with clever new counters to Okada’s big stuff (and particularly the Rainmaker), which they told with their usual excellence. These guys have been so consistently awesome together that they can make a match like this feel middle of the road and routine.



An excellent way to start off the G1, with a whole bunch of awesome tournament matches, plus some solid stuff on the undercard as a bonus. This year’s tournament should have some damn great matches, but Ospreay and Archer have set the bar pretty darn high right out of the gate.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 8th, '19, 11:53

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49
ROPPONGI 3K vs. GUERRILLAS OF DESTINY- 6/10
The Guerillas’ attempt to jump the bell on Roppongi 3k was thwarted by Roppongi 3K staying vigilant. Kevin Kelly brings up the fact that Tanga Loa was undefeated the entire G1 tour last year, winning every undercard tag match he was in. And twenty straight wins didn’t get him a f*cking thing, did it? So remember, everyone, if you see someone you like on these undercards getting wins, don’t get excited because it won’t actually built to anything.
he was undefeated in tag matches and now he's the tag team champion, it's not like he's undefeated in singles matches.

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49 BLOCK A MATCH: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Sanada- 8.25/10
Sanada’s mohawk is gone. He still looks stupid with his shaggy blond hair and beard. The match was exactly what you’d expect from these guys with Zack working the arm and Sanada doing Sanada stuff. Sanada won via roll-up, just a week after Zack successfully defended the RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight Title against him in the UK.
the mohawk was gone before Dominion when he faced Okada for the title, and it wasn't a roll up, it was the European Clutch, one of Sabre's finishers, he also finally got the Paradise Lock on Sabre. SANADA is learning to work Sabre.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 8th, '19, 17:28

cero2k wrote: Jul 8th, '19, 11:53
Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49
ROPPONGI 3K vs. GUERRILLAS OF DESTINY- 6/10
The Guerillas’ attempt to jump the bell on Roppongi 3k was thwarted by Roppongi 3K staying vigilant. Kevin Kelly brings up the fact that Tanga Loa was undefeated the entire G1 tour last year, winning every undercard tag match he was in. And twenty straight wins didn’t get him a f*cking thing, did it? So remember, everyone, if you see someone you like on these undercards getting wins, don’t get excited because it won’t actually built to anything.
he was undefeated in tag matches and now he's the tag team champion, it's not like he's undefeated in singles matches.
It's still a HUGE amount of wins in a row (he was also on the winning side in his first seven matches of the Destruction Tour). That shouldn't feel like it didn't really lead to anything. If we're going to have these undercard matches then let's at least try to make some of them mean something. One of the things I'm most excited about this G1 is the speculation that Suzuki will pin Okada during their undercard tag match to set up a title shot.
cero2k wrote: Jul 8th, '19, 11:53
Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49 BLOCK A MATCH: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Sanada- 8.25/10
Sanada’s mohawk is gone. He still looks stupid with his shaggy blond hair and beard. The match was exactly what you’d expect from these guys with Zack working the arm and Sanada doing Sanada stuff. Sanada won via roll-up, just a week after Zack successfully defended the RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight Title against him in the UK.
the mohawk was gone before Dominion when he faced Okada for the title, and it wasn't a roll up, it was the European Clutch, one of Sabre's finishers, he also finally got the Paradise Lock on Sabre. SANADA is learning to work Sabre.
I don't think that's Zack roll-up finisher, but either way, it's still a roll-up.

No one should get put in the Paradise Lock because the move is stupid. Why does he dropkick his helpless opponent in the but instead of stomp on the opponent's head repeatedly and win via referee stoppage?

Maybe your story would have been more clear to me if I had seen the RevPro match last week
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by NWK2000 » Jul 9th, '19, 10:05

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49
BLOCK A MATCH: Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay- 9.5/10
I feel shitty saying this but I disagree and I don't know why. Like, it was hands down Archer's best match ever, and one of several matches Ospreay in the last few months that proves that he's a superstar who can hang with the heavyweights but it just didn't....grab me? Certainly "not one of the best matches I've ever seen" Like there was nothing in the match that I hadn't seen from Ospreay and even though, again l this is a career defining match for Archer, I think a lot of the match came down to Ospreay's ferocity and his ability to bump/sell.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 10th, '19, 11:31

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49
ROPPONGI 3K vs. GUERRILLAS OF DESTINY- 6/10

Kevin Kelly also told us that we would have to wait until the end of the G1, well over a month from now, to find out who the next challengers for the Guerrillas’ IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles would be. Why do we have to wait so long? Why not have these guys defend their titles in ROH or RevPro or CMLL while the G1 is going on and the tag titles aren’t needed?
it may be more that there are no NJPW challengers since mostly everyone is in the G1, and with ROH, they'll likely be defending the ROH titles instead. In addition, i don't think anyone in ROH or RevPro has really any claim to the IWGP titles, maybe their own promotion's titles, but not the IWGP
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 10th, '19, 19:31

cero2k wrote: Jul 10th, '19, 11:31
Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 7th, '19, 22:49
ROPPONGI 3K vs. GUERRILLAS OF DESTINY- 6/10

Kevin Kelly also told us that we would have to wait until the end of the G1, well over a month from now, to find out who the next challengers for the Guerrillas’ IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles would be. Why do we have to wait so long? Why not have these guys defend their titles in ROH or RevPro or CMLL while the G1 is going on and the tag titles aren’t needed?
it may be more that there are no NJPW challengers since mostly everyone is in the G1, and with ROH, they'll likely be defending the ROH titles instead. In addition, i don't think anyone in ROH or RevPro has really any claim to the IWGP titles, maybe their own promotion's titles, but not the IWGP
I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's not like NJPW has had any sort of standards about who gets a title shot in this division. I think it would have been better to have something place (maybe Mikey Nicholls and Henare to do a story with Nicholls trying to find a partner he can win the titles with, or do something to set Ten-Koji up for a shot), but I guess my issue is more with Kevin Kelly coming right out and saying it. I'd rather there be kayfabe wiggle room so that I can believe that if someone from ROH or CMLL or RevPro beats the Guerrillas of Destiny while the G1 is going on, they would do the title match on the final night so that it's not a one-match show. Kevin Kelly coming out and saying it makes it feel like the belts are completely on ice for two months when there is no reason for them to be.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 11th, '19, 09:01

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 10th, '19, 19:31
I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's not like NJPW has had any sort of standards about who gets a title shot in this division. I think it would have been better to have something place (maybe Mikey Nicholls and Henare to do a story with Nicholls trying to find a partner he can win the titles with, or do something to set Ten-Koji up for a shot), but I guess my issue is more with Kevin Kelly coming right out and saying it. I'd rather there be kayfabe wiggle room so that I can believe that if someone from ROH or CMLL or RevPro beats the Guerrillas of Destiny while the G1 is going on, they would do the title match on the final night so that it's not a one-match show. Kevin Kelly coming out and saying it makes it feel like the belts are completely on ice for two months when there is no reason for them to be.
Yeah, KK shouldn't be saying stuff just for the sake of sounding like he has 'the scoops', that's why I can't stand him, that and his cute jokes. I do think Tama Tonga at least will be doing a bunch of US dates, so maybe they will be building some tag challengers for the Fighting Spirit tour. I haven't really paid attention to the undercard of the G1 dates, but I don't think GoD are in any.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 11th, '19, 09:59

cero2k wrote: Jul 11th, '19, 09:01
Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 10th, '19, 19:31
I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's not like NJPW has had any sort of standards about who gets a title shot in this division. I think it would have been better to have something place (maybe Mikey Nicholls and Henare to do a story with Nicholls trying to find a partner he can win the titles with, or do something to set Ten-Koji up for a shot), but I guess my issue is more with Kevin Kelly coming right out and saying it. I'd rather there be kayfabe wiggle room so that I can believe that if someone from ROH or CMLL or RevPro beats the Guerrillas of Destiny while the G1 is going on, they would do the title match on the final night so that it's not a one-match show. Kevin Kelly coming out and saying it makes it feel like the belts are completely on ice for two months when there is no reason for them to be.
Yeah, KK shouldn't be saying stuff just for the sake of sounding like he has 'the scoops', that's why I can't stand him, that and his cute jokes. I do think Tama Tonga at least will be doing a bunch of US dates, so maybe they will be building some tag challengers for the Fighting Spirit tour. I haven't really paid attention to the undercard of the G1 dates, but I don't think GoD are in any.
They're working two dates for ROH in the middle of it, and Hikuleo is apparently on full-time excursion in RPW now so I can't see them not working some dates there as well.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 17th, '19, 09:24

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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 17th, '19, 18:37

cero2k wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 09:24
This has to be Aussie Open, right? Team White Wolf are juniors, and I can't think of another tag team in the company that doesn't include Sha Samuels, and there is no way NJPW would want to use Sha Samuels.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 17th, '19, 20:55

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 18:37

This has to be Aussie Open, right? Team White Wolf are juniors, and I can't think of another tag team in the company that doesn't include Sha Samuels, and there is no way NJPW would want to use Sha Samuels.
yeah, i'm thinking the same, Aussie Open were rumored for last year's Tag League, so I can see them coming in for this one
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 17th, '19, 21:47

cero2k wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 20:55
Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 18:37

This has to be Aussie Open, right? Team White Wolf are juniors, and I can't think of another tag team in the company that doesn't include Sha Samuels, and there is no way NJPW would want to use Sha Samuels.
yeah, i'm thinking the same, Aussie Open were rumored for last year's Tag League, so I can see them coming in for this one
I just realized that Aussie Open were actually the RevPro, PROGRESS, and wXw tag champs at the same time. That has to be the European equivalent of the Kings of Wrestling, no? Hell... in terms of live viewership it's probably more than KoW had during thier "big three" champs days.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 18th, '19, 01:12

Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 21:47
cero2k wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 20:55
Big Red Machine wrote: Jul 17th, '19, 18:37

This has to be Aussie Open, right? Team White Wolf are juniors, and I can't think of another tag team in the company that doesn't include Sha Samuels, and there is no way NJPW would want to use Sha Samuels.
yeah, i'm thinking the same, Aussie Open were rumored for last year's Tag League, so I can see them coming in for this one
I just realized that Aussie Open were actually the RevPro, PROGRESS, and wXw tag champs at the same time. That has to be the European equivalent of the Kings of Wrestling, no? Hell... in terms of live viewership it's probably more than KoW had during thier "big three" champs days.
yeah, but not exactly because they're as good as the KOW, sad thing is that they're the only legit tag team left in the UK.

From the established tag teams, Ringkampf kinda died, Mustache Mountain is gone, Grizzled Young Veterans are gone, FSU broke up, South Pacific Power Trip kinda died too, CCK died, The Origin never did anything and then left for NXT UK. Sexy Starr died, CCKampf never did anything (thank god), Havoc and Haskins left. London Riots died when Davis turned out to be a molester. Swords of Essex is now done. LDRS is done too obviously. White Wolf may die soon if WWE is flirting with A-Kid. Coffeys are gone too. Devlin and Starr never took it further than OTT and they already broke up.

I wouldn't particularly say that Do Not Resuscitate, RISE, or Jurn Simmon's team are 'established' tag teams, first two are more stables than teams. Coast 2 Coast and Jay FK may be the only other two that I can think of.

WWE completely cooled off the UK scene, i'm not even sure what teams revpro is using for this tournament.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 18th, '19, 10:31

The Bouncer/Kiev RISE pairing is legit team. Have been for years. There are some teams in continental Europe that are established but dont get much play anywhere other than wXw or Defiant (Arrows of Hungary, for example). They're very good, but not great.
I'd call Jay-FK a legit team at this point. There is also Monster Consulting but Nero is injured.
One of the things I like about wXw is how quickly they use storylines to fill holes. They've basically recreated their tag team division in about seven months, plus used stories to spin singles issues in there as well.
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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by Earth Child » Jul 22nd, '19, 18:35

I know I'm super late to the party (I'm a very busy person :P )

But for my first viewing of a full card G1 Climax - not bits and pieces from YouTube - I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Currently living for the ring announcers introductions!

Still hate Lance Archer for spitting water at me but thought his match with Ospreay was the best of the night

Cero, so jealous you got to be in the crowd for this one.

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Re: BRM Reviews NJPW G1 Climax 29: Day 1 (awesome!)

Post by cero2k » Jul 23rd, '19, 09:25

Earth Child wrote: Jul 22nd, '19, 18:35 I know I'm super late to the party (I'm a very busy person :P )

But for my first viewing of a full card G1 Climax - not bits and pieces from YouTube - I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Currently living for the ring announcers introductions!

Still hate Lance Archer for spitting water at me but thought his match with Ospreay was the best of the night

Cero, so jealous you got to be in the crowd for this one.
it's been a great G1 so far, take your time
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