New Japan Pro Wrestling continued their G1 Climax tournament on Monday. Since the show began at 2am 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 at NJPWWorld.com
FIRST MATCH: CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & SHO) vs. Shota Umino & Juice Robinson
The growth of Shota Umino continues. Standard tag match.
Need To Watch Rating: (1.0)
SECOND MATCH: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) vs. Toa Henare & David Finlay
Blame the length of the G1, but Toa Henare’s matches are wearing thin. Without the C-Block, his presence has become tedious. His growth as a superstar seems to have plateaued. David Finlay is also in this match.
Need To Watch Rating: (0.5)
THIRD MATCH: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOH) vs. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & TAKA Michinoku)
YOH, much like his stablemate SHO, has been growing by leaps and bounds during this tournament.
Need To Watch Rating: (1.0)
FOURTH MATCH: Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Kota Ibushi & Yujiro Takahashi
Tongans. Ibushi. Yujiro and Pieter. What’s not to like?
Need To Watch Rating: (2.5)
FIFTH MATCH: Bullet Club Elite (Kenny Omega & Chase Owens) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano & Gedo)
A wacky comedy match to round out the tag portion of the show.
Need To Watch Rating: (1.5)
SIXTH MATCH: A Block Match: YOSHI-HASHI (2 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (6 pts)
Tongan shenanigans. YOSHI-HASHI. This match is a cornucopia of divisive G1 ingredients.
Need To Watch Rating: (6.0)
SEVENTH MATCH: A Block Match: Hangman Page (4 pts) vs. Minoru Suzuki (8 pts)
Page continues to shine in his first G1. Suzuki continues to torture anyone and everyone. Definitely recommended viewing.
Need To Watch Rating: (8.9)
EIGHTH MATCH: A Block Match: Togi Makabe (4 pts) vs. Jay White (10 pts)
This is a Jay White G1 Climax match. I think you already know what that means at this point.
Need To Watch Rating: (8.4)
NINTH MATCH: A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (12 pts) vs. Michael Elgin (6 pts)
Tanahashi comes up against one of the strongest wrestlers in this G1. While the match had some pacing issues, and not all of the sequences were as crisp as we’ve seen from both men, still a spectacular effort.
Need To Watch Rating: (9.6)
MAIN EVENT: A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada (10 pts) vs. EVIL (8 pts)
A spectacular bout. While possibly not on the level of their previous encounters, this one is still nothing to sneeze at. The match of the night. Seek. Out. This. Match.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.0)
