The New Japan G1 Climax began on Saturday. As the show began at 5:30am EDT, here’s a spoiler-free match listing for the non-nite-owl New Japan fans. Each match has been given a Need To Watch Rating of 0.0-10.0. The show is available on NJPWWorld.com
FIRST MATCH: CHAOS (Jado & Hirooki Goto) vs. Toa Henare & Ren Narita
Basic New Japan tag match. Great to see Jado back but life is short and the G1 Climax is long. Nothing essential for non-Jado fans.
Need To Watch Rating: (0.0)
SECOND MATCH: CHAOS (SHO & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. CHAOS (YOH & Toru Yano)
While the CHAOS vs. CHAOS novelty is fun. This is a short and sloppy tag match. Even splitting up two tag teams didn’t add enough drama to really get the match going. Nothing essential.
Need To Watch Rating: (0.0)
THIRD MATCH: Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. David Finlay & Juice Robinson
Too short to warrant a paragraph. Nothing to see here.
Need To Watch Rating: (0.0)
FOURTH MATCH: Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & TAKA Michinoku) vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Kota Ibushi
Sabre and TAKA are a delight. Takahashi and Ibushi are an untested, albeit interesting pairing. While not as inessential as the first three matches, there’s still very little substance to this match.
Need To Watch Rating: (1.0)
FIFTH MATCH: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) vs. Bullet Club (Kenny Omega & Chase Owens)
The best tag match of the night, and still nothing to write home about. Naito, SANADA and Omega all face each other in B Block, but this mainly functioned as an Omega/Naito preview.
Need To Watch Rating: (3.0)
A Block Match: Togi Makabe vs. YOSHI-HASHI
THIS is what everyone came to see. A classic G1 undercard match. YOSHI-HASHI is the plucky underdog. Makabe is the dominant veteran. Fun stuff ensues.
Need To Watch Rating: (7.0)
A Block Match: Hangman Page (0 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (0 pts)
This match had potential to be amazing, but was weighed down by the storyline. Fale and Page are on opposite ends of the Bullet Club. Much will come of this match, and the post-match shenanigans, but ultimately the match itself ended before it could truly become great.
Need To Watch Rating: (6.99)
A Block Match: Michael Elgin (0 pts) vs. EVIL (0 pts)
A pretty standard match, though executed nicely. The finish works depending on your view of injury comebacks. Recommended for fans of hoss fights.
Need To Watch Rating: (7.1)
A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (0 pts) vs. Minoru Suzuki (0 pts)
Tanahashi looks for revenge against Suzuki for injuring him back in January. Suzuki looks to prove that he is truly the king that he claims. A match that could’ve been Match Of The Night had it gone just a little longer. Definitely hurt by not being main event. However this definitely a must see match of the tournament.
Need To Watch Rating: (9.0)
MAIN EVENT: Kazuchika Okada (0 pts) vs. Jay White (0 pts)
A great match, made magnificent by the story. This is every bit a battle for the heart and soul of the CHAOS faction. Easily one of White’s best matches of the year. Okada debuts a looser persona, possibly losing his mind after losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Might be divisive to go a full 10 on this match, but it feels essential to the tournament to come. Seek. Out. This. Match.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.0)
