Hi, and welcome back to our coverage of the 28th G1 Climax. You know the deal, I’ll tell you what happened and quickly highlight what you should’ve watched and also, for you semi-completists, what to avoid. For this next leg of the journey, I will not be providing Meltzer’s ratings because, to my knowledge, he still hasn’t published them beyond day 7 plus also, why do I give a heck what Dave thinks? Anyway, let’s get into it:
Day 7 Results (22/07/18)
YOSHI-HASHI (1-3-0) def. Fuck Michael Elgin (2-2-0)
EVIL (2-2-0) def. Bad Luck Fale (1-3-0) via DQ
Minoru Suzuki (2-2-0) def. Jay White (3-1-0):
It’s like seeing Dante from DMC getting murdered by Heihachi from Tekken and still even better than that.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (3-1-0) def. Hangman Page (1-3-0)
Kazuchika Okada (2-2-0) def. Togi Makabe (2-2-0)
Day 8 Results (26/07/18)
Hirooki Goto (2-2-0) def. Toru Yano (1-3-0)
Tetsuya Naito (3-1-0) def. Tama Tonga (1-3-0)
Zack Sabre Jr (2-2-0) def. Tomohiro Ishii (2-2-0):
Another great clash of styles between the octopus and the pitbull. Ishii is on fire this year.
Kenny Omega (4-0-0) def. Juice Robinson (0-4-0):
Kenny is putting on great matches with everyone and proving why he deserves to be Champ. The same goes for Juice.
SANADA (3-1-0) def. Kota Ibushi (2-2-0):
SANADA is really coming into his own, this one was as well-paired and closely matched as they come.
Day 9 Results (27/07/18)
Minoru Suzuki (3-2-0) def. Fuck Michael Elgin (2-3-0):
This wasn’t amazing but was a well-fought match between two hard-punching bastard men.
EVIL (4-1-0) def. Hangman Page (1-4-0)
Bad Luck Fale (2-3-0) def. Jay White (3-2-0):
The start of the match was lethargic but t recovered well with a lovely clusterfuck finish.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (4-1-0) def. Togi Makabe (2-3-0)
Kazuchika Okada (3-2-0) def. YOSHI-HASHI (1-4-0)
Day 10 Results (28/07/18)
Zack Sabre Jr (3-2-0) def. Tama Tonga via DQ (1-4-0)
Juice Robinson (1-4-0) def. Toru Yano (1-4-0)
Juice picking up his first win in a landmark tournament for Yano was great. My only disappointment here is Juice winning means a title shot for Yano seems unlikely
Kota Ibushi (3-2-0) def. Tomohiro Ishii (2-3-0):
This was perfection in combat. Do not miss this.
Tetsuya Naito (4-1-0) def. Hirooki Goto (2-3-0)
Kenny Omega (5-0-0) def. SANADA (3-2-0):
A few steps below Ibushi vs SANADA but still an exceptional showcase for both men’s considerable talents and similar outfit choices.
Matches to See:
Kota Ibushi vs Tomohiro Ishii
SANADA vs Kota Ibushi
Minoru Suzuki vs Jay White
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Tomohiro Ishii
Kenny Omega vs SANADA
Juice Robinson vs Toru Yano
Kenny Omega vs Juice Robinson
Matches to Avoid:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Togi Makabe – Makabe has gone into sleep mode and it shows.
Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe – It really shows.
EVIL vs Hangman Page – EVIL was compelling but Page struggled to match him.
Hirooki Goto vs Toru Yano – Not bad, just too short to rate highly.
Standings:
A Block:
EVIL: 8 Points
Hiroshi Tanahashi: 8 Points
Jay White: 6 Points
Kazuchika Okada: 6 Points
Minoru Suzuki: 6 Points
Bad Luck Fale: 4 Points
Michael Elgin: 4 Points
Togi Makabe: 4 Points
Hangman Page: 2 Points
YOSHI-HASHI: 2 Points
B Block:
Kenny Omega: 10 Points
Tetsuya Naito: 8 Points
Kota Ibushi: 6 Points
SANADA: 6 Points
Zack Sabre Jr: 6 Points
Tomohiro Ishii: 4 Points
Hirooki Goto: 4 Points
Tama Tonga: 2 Points
Juice Robinson: 2 Points
Toru Yano: 2 Points
Another two days of matches that range from unmissable to very much missable. Block A is slowing down but with Okada set to have three title rematches (Suzuki, EVIL, Tanahashi) over the end of this tournament amongst other highlights, there’s still time to recover. Also, while I don’t dislike the Firing Squad stuff as much as others, it’s worth saying, they have yet to have a really good match. Luckily Tama had ZSJ and Naito or he’d be in the Avoid relegation zone as well right now. See you in another four shows, great believers.