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[serenewarfare]

I've held back for the sake of jinxing it, but this seems like it may finally be Shibata's year.

 

[British Monsoon]

15 minutes until Day 2 of the G1, anyone else watching live?

NJPW, "G1 CLIMAX - DAY 2", 2014/07/23
Aomori Budokan

18:00 JST | 11:00 EU | 10:00 UK | 05:00 EDT | 02:00 PDT

01. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii
02. G1 Climax - Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs Bad Luck Fale
03. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi
04. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Lance Archer
05. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs Tomoaki Honma
06. G1 Climax - Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.
07. G1 Climax - Block B: Toru Yano vs AJ Styles
08. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan
09. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs Karl Anderson
10. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Doc Gallows

 

[ghostmind]

15 minutes until Day 2 of the G1, anyone else watching live?

You know it!

Some interesting match-ups on Day 2, but I keep thinking about Styles vs YTR.

 

[ghostmind]

And away we go!

I'm thinking we might see wins for Archer and Smith Jr. tonight.

Hopefully Fale vs. Benjamin is better than last time they faced off on PPV.

Makabe vs. Anderson should be interesting, given the animosity they have been playing up between those two.

I'm not sure that Tanahashi vs. Gallows makes for a great main event.

 

[ghostmind]

Are they running late? They seem to be filling for time, and everyone looks like they are overheating.

 

[British Monsoon]

Hoping Davey Boy vs Shinsuke's good, I enjoyed their matches in the past. I think Naito vs Archer could turn out pretty well, also.

Are they running late? They seem to be filling for time, and everyone looks like they are overheating.

The smaller shows broadcast on Samurai TV always have these short pre-shows, show should start soon.

 

[British Monsoon]

Finally, first match is up. Kojima vs Ishii!!! Wish Kojima's theme was muted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkiOGBL78aQ

 

[ghostmind]

They need to put more mics around the ring or something... some of the rings sounds are really muted.

 

[ghostmind]

Finally, first match is up. Kojima vs Ishii!!! Wish Kojima's theme was muted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkiOGBL78aQ

I don't think I've ever heard Ishii's real theme. Do you have a link?

 

[British Monsoon]

I'm not sure I've heard it either, can't seem to find it on youtube.

That was a kick-ass opening match, both guys went all out and the crowd loved it. Awesome stuff.

 

[ghostmind]

I'm not sure I've heard it either, can't seem to find it on youtube.

That was a kick-ass opening match, both guys went all out and the crowd loved it. Awesome stuff.

Yep, Kojima can go with the best of them and this is the Year of Ishii.

Now this second match... I hope it surprises me.

 

[British Monsoon]

Not a bad match there, surprised at the result though.

Now, let's see if Yujiro can get through a match without almost accidentally killing someone.

 

[ghostmind]

Nobody died, and actually I think Yujiro put on the superior performance. Goto continues to not impress me.

 

[ghostmind]

Naito bounced off the mat like he was made of rubber.



EDIT: Laaaaaaaammmeee.

 

[British Monsoon]

Ooof, that match was a bit of a wreck. Naito's selling still bothers me.

 

[ghostmind]

The Rock should have a talk with Yuji Nagata before he returns to the ring again. Nagata's conditioning is incredible.


EDIT - bit of a botch there. The hot arena is causing the wrestlers to sweat all over the mat.

 

[British Monsoon]

Really enjoyed that match, good first half to the show, but Kojima/Ishii and Nagata/Honma clearly stood out above the rest.

Nagata really is Mr. Anti-Ageing, no idea how he still puts in quality performances like that at his age.

Some random gifs;

 

[ghostmind]

I thought that this year's G1 could be Smith's time to shine, but he seemed slower and blander than usual out there. Its like he has lost what limited mobility he had.


And I have no idea of what to expect from this next match - AJ Styles vs YTR!

 

[British Monsoon]

Yeah, that wasn't quite as good as previous DBS Jr. vs Nak matches, but I still enjoyed it, especially that powerbomb counter spot.

Yano vs AJ...so curious about how this is going to work.

*edit, man, I LOVED that match. Great work from both guys, Yano's best performance in a good long while and AJ's really starting to gel in New Japan.

 

[ghostmind]

That went a lot better (and longer) than I thought it would. Good stuff!

 

[ghostmind]

Hmm... I appreciate the effort that Tenzan is putting into the G1 - some of his best work in a while.

However - I'd like to see his spot go to a younger talent next year, who would benefit from the exposure and the experience. Tenzan has had more G1 glory than anyone else on the active roster.

Let YOSHI-HASHI have the spot next year, and maybe let him win a few this time.

 

[British Monsoon]

Best Tenzan match in an age, great work from him and Okada. Really enjoyed that and loved seeing Tenzan bust out some of his old-school offence (the Tenzan Tombstone Driver, for one).

*edit, yeah, you have to think this is probably Tenzan's last G1.

 

[ghostmind]

Best Tenzan match in an age, great work from him and Okada. Really enjoyed that and loved seeing Tenzan bust out some of his old-school offence (the Tenzan Tombstone Driver, for one).

*edit, yeah, you have to think this is probably Tenzan's last G1.

If it is, at least he's going out with a bang, and not a whimper. He's really working hard out there.

 

[ghostmind]

Why is Doc Gallows wearing what looks like cut-off polka-dot pyjama pants?


EDIT: Karl needs to drop a few pounds. Too many beers with Fale and the Bullet Club.

EDIT 2: Are they little bullet club logos? From a distance they look like polka dots. He looks like a creepy clown now.

 

[British Monsoon]

Lol, what is he wearing? Should've just stuck to the camouflage gear.

 

[ghostmind]

Well that was a match. Not the best one to end on, but on paper it didn't look great either.

Overall though, Day 2 was really good - not as good as Day 1, but it had its share of moments.


Standout matches:
Kojima vs. Ishii
Nagata vs. Honma
Yano vs. Styles

 

[British Monsoon]

Best match to send the crowd home happy, though. It always blows my mind just how OVER Tanahashi is, a legitimate star.

Very fun show, especially for a B show - I'd agree with you about the stand-out matches, but I'd also add Okada vs Tenzan.

Random gifs of the 2nd half;

 

[ghostmind]

NJPW put up a backstage reactions vid for last night's matches. Most of the segments are in Japanese, but you do get AJ, Anderson, Archer, etc commenting on their matches in English.

http://youtu.be/WcjnhyicbyM

 

[Tawney Bomb]

I've held back for the sake of jinxing it, but this seems like it may finally be Shibata's year.

You're goddamn right!

Shibata wagon coming through!

 

[Spider from Mars]

Just caught up on day two and Yano vs. Styles was surprisingly good.

 

[Evening Musuko]

Just caught up on day two and Yano vs. Styles was surprisingly good.

I fell for the bait when

Spoiler

Yano hit Styles with the low blow and went for the pin.

Really fun match. Really all the matches were fun to watch and the crowd was great the entire night. Both Day 1 & 2 delivered. Bring on day 3!

 

[FallingEdge]

Just finished Night 2. Thoroughly enjoyed all of it. This is shaping up to be a fantastic G1.

AND MY BOY SHELTON! 2-0! SUCK IT NAITO.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I finished Day 2 last night as well. Really goddamn fun Yano/Styles. Really goddamn fun Ishii/Kojima, holy fuck that was amazing. Great crowd. I fucking love NJPW!

 

[British Monsoon]

I was real glad the crowd were so good yesterday - sometimes it seems that with regions they don't run often the audience only really cares about the biggest stars (like last year's show in Ishikawa, where they were only there for Tanahashi & Makabe. Machine Gun tweeted his displeasure about it; https://twitter.com/Machinegunka/status/364757845499064320 and they haven't been back since).

Also, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Styles ends up being the tournament MVP, he really seems to be getting into his stride in New Japan. Day off for him (and Nakamura) tomorrow, though - here's the card;

NJPW, "G1 CLIMAX - DAY 3", 2014/07/25
Yamagata City Sports Center

19:00 JST | 12:00 EU | 11:00 EU | 06:00 EDT | 03:00 PDT

01. G1 Climax - Block A: Tomoaki Honma vs Doc Gallows
02. G1 Climax - Block B: Lance Archer vs Karl Anderson
03. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Yujiro Takahashi
04. G1 Climax - Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Shelton Benjamin
05. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Toru Yano
06. G1 Climax - Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.
07. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs Bad Luck Fale
08. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Minoru Suzuki
09. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Satoshi Kojima
10. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe

A very top-heavy show, but we know Okada/Makabe, Tanahashi/Kojima and Goto/Suzuki will all likely be good to great matches. Shibata/Davey should be fun and I'm looking forward to Naito/Yano.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Also one of the best things about Styles is that we've not seen most of these matchups for him, so they can be really creative and fun (like the Yano match) in how they go about it. He definitely WANTS to bust his ass and it's apparent. Great fun.

As for Friday's show...
Nagata vs Fale should be fun, Goto vs Suzuki could be really brutal, Okada vs Makabe has proved to be good in the past. It's an ok looking card.

 

[British Monsoon]

10 minutes (and probably a 15-30 minute pre-show) until Day 3 of the G1!

 

[ghostmind]

10 minutes (and probably a 15-30 minute pre-show) until Day 3 of the G1!

And Day 4 starts in less than 24 hours!

 

[British Monsoon]

Wooo, doesn't look like there's a pre-show this time. Gallows vs Honma up first.

Can Honma get a win in his home town? Not likely.

 

[ghostmind]

Gallows back to the camo pants - I guess someone must have told him that the polka dots were not a good look.

 

[British Monsoon]

OK opening match, crowd was hot for Honma but there were a few awkward exchanges between him and Gallows.

 

[ghostmind]

Poor

Spoiler

Karl.

That was a pretty good match, a lot of which had to do with Anderson's skill at pulling a good match regardless of his opponent.

 

[British Monsoon]

Yeah, really didn't see

Spoiler

Archer winning

there, especially with the work done to his leg early in the match.

 

[ghostmind]

Tenzan putting on a clinic.

Yujiro trying to kill his opponents.

 

[British Monsoon]

Tenzan's having a great tournament so far, real glad he brought back the Tombstone Driver. And that Yujiro didn't drop him (as he did during last year's tournament, while trying to get Tenzan up for the Tokyo Pimps).

 

[ghostmind]

Benjamin looks like a giant compared to Ishii.

 

[Ithil]

X is 3-0, I'm shocked.

 

[ghostmind]

BREAK!

 

[ghostmind]

Oh shit, Naito did not take that chairshot well.

 

[British Monsoon]

I shouldn't be surprised when Shelton gets booked strongly in New Japan, but I still am.

 

[ghostmind]

Naito should spend less time with the fans right now, he looks wobbly.

And a fan tossed him a towel - Naito wipes his bloody forehead on it and throws it back???