NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 7 (8/1/2014)- Tokyo, Japan
BLOCK A MATCH: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shelton X Benjamin (w/TAKA Michinoku)- 6/10
Good opener.
BLOCK B MATCH: Toru Yano vs. Lance Archer (w/TAKA Michinoku)- 5.5/10
Yano is SO F*CKING ANNOYING. I just do not understand why the crowd likes him so much. Fortunately for me, in this match, he got what he deserved for his damn cheating. If you go into this match thinking Archer is the babyface, it is quite enjoyable.
BLOCK B MATCH: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Karl Anderson- 5/10
A fun heel vs. heel match with some good wrestling towards the end.
BLOCK A MATCH: Doc Gallows vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (w/TAKA Michinoku)- 4.5/10
Gallows used a chair but there was no DQ. Davey Boy Smith Jr. looked good. Gallows has had some good matches so far in the G1, but he certainly seems outclassed. I think the tournament would have benefited greatly from leaving him and Yano out.
BLOCK B MATCH: Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan- 6.25/10
Tenzan (and the crowds, too) have brought this feeling along with his matches where the matches aren’t even that great, but you just REALLY want to see Tenzan win the tournament.
BLOCK A MATCH: Bad Luck Fale vs. Tomoaki Honma- 6/10
Fale worked over Honma’s midsection. Honma kicking out after the Asiatic Spike felt like a big deal. Then he took a scary-looking bump for Honma’s Bad Luck Fall.
BLOCK B MATCH: Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe- 8/10
Awesome match! Makabe’s jaw seems to have healed, so that might help him make a run at winning the tournament.
BLOCK B MATCH: AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (w/TAKA Michinoku)- a PERFECT 10/10!
HOLY F*CKING SHIT! This match was AMAZING! It was a combination of a knock-down, drag-out fight and a great submission-wrestling match. I was absolutely CRINGING while watching some of the submissions Suzuki locked AJ in. I marked out huge for the minor brawl between the Bullet Club and Suzuki-Gun. This was a beautifully put-together match with so many awesome twists and turns that I was on the edge of my seat and almost shaking in excitement at what I was seeing. My new pick for Match of the Year. GO WATCH IT NOW!
BLOCK A MATCH: Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata- 7/10
They worked over each other’s head. The match wasn’t bad or anything (it was actually quite good) but I was disappointed with it. This was one of the matches in this tournament I had been looking forward to the most, but I was looking forward to it because I was hoping to see some awesome mat wrestling. I can see almost any pair of guys in this tournament hit each other in the head a lot (and I have- WAY too much. Someone work an arm of something. Please!). I’d rather see these two guys give me something that not anyone can deliver.
BLOCK A MATCH: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii- 8/10
They worked over each other’s heads. Ishii kicked out of a multiple Boma Ye’s, including doing so at one. He has kicked out at one so many times that I just don’t care anymore. It also would have meant a lot more if Shelton Benjamin hadn’t already done so in this tournament.
Another AWESOME show from New Japan, including one perfect match. This was even better than Day 5… and from what I have heard, the Day 8 is supposed to be even better than this!