New Japan Pro Wrestling
presents
G1 CLIMAX 29
Day 12 – Block B
Aired 8/1/19
Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium, Fukuoka
Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero on commentary which is PERFECTION.
SHINGO TAKAGI (4)
vs
JEFF COBB (4)
We get the bell and a shoving match to start, Shingo tries to slam Cobb but cant hoist him, tackles to Cobb have little effect and Cobb muscles Shingo into the corner. Shingo gets a hip toss, they run the ropes and Cobb lands a dropkick. GORGEOUS wrist clutch deadlift suplex by Cobb. Goddammit. Shingo bails, Cobb follows to the apron and Shingo clips the knee. Back inside and Shingo tries a suplex but Cobb counters, Shingo drops behind and takes out the knee again, and grounds Cobb with a leg hold but Cobb makes the ropes to break. Shots by Shingo, the straight right hand and left lariat connect but Cobb absorbs them so Shingo goes back to the knee. Cobb comes back with a tossing belly to belly overhead suplex, corner clothesline lands and a short running corner Euro. Shingo blocks the Samoan but gets caught in the sidewinder suplex and lands the standing moonsault but hits his bum knee on the way down, is slow to cover and finally does for 2. Cobb looks for a bomb but Shingo is able to toss Cobb over and then hits a GREAT snap Saito suplex to take over Cobb. Shingo gets that war cry going that he’s been doing, hits corner clotheslines and sits Cobb up top. Cobb counters the superplex attempt, Shingo fights back and hits the superplex but then runs into a T-Bone suplex from Cobb before hitting a T-Bone of his own on Cobb and both are in the corners.
Lariats collide, double chop by Shingo, right hand by Cobb, right hand by Shingo, they trade headbutts, Cobb hits a superkick and Shingo hits a lariat and both are down. Cover by Shingo but Cobb powers out at 1. Tour of the Islands is countered into Noshigami, and Shingo hits PUMPIIIIIING BOMBEEEEEER! Cover but Cobb is out at 2. Shingo looks for Made in Japan, Cobb counters and drops Shingo with a heavy lariat. Powerbomb is blocked by Shingo, Cobb counters a rana by Shingo by holding on and hoisting Shingo back up and hitting the powerbomb. Cover but only 2. Chants for Shingo as Cobb looks for Tour but Shingo crumples coming off the ropes, but then comes back with a crucifix bomb and gets Cobb up and plants him with Made in Japan, cover but still only 2. Shingo pumps up the crowd, lariats connect as the crowd chants for Shingo, Cobb counters but Shingo lands shots, Cobb looks for Tour but Shingo counters into Last of the Dragon and gets Cobb up but Cobb drops behind and hits a German, follows with Tour of the Islands and covers and Cobb beats Shingo!
Jeff Cobb (6) defeats Shingo Takagi (4) by pinfall via Tour of the Islands
JAY’S RATING: 3.75 out of 5
This was a very strong match to kick off Day 12’s tournament action, with Cobb and Shingo both bringing a good collision-style approach to their work which suited them both well. When Shingo breaks out, it’s going to be amazing, and Cobb is just a ridiculous athlete. I’m both surprised and not surprised by Cobb taking the win, as I think Shingo has the brighter future in New Japan. But he’s also still skirting that junior label, and they played that difference as part of the storytelling in this match, so I have a feeling that drove the call in the end. Overall, good work by all.
JON MOXLEY (10)
vs
TORU YANO (4)
I literally have ZERO idea what to expect from a match like this. Yano starts with the shenanigans by staying outside the ring, Mox approaches from inside so Yano squirts water into Mox’s face! Mox gives chase and Yano goes inside and begs for forgiveness as we get the bell, saying it was just a joke. Yano goes for the low blow, Mox blocks, Yano ducks a shot and gets the DVD and offers it as a present! Mox says that’s already his DVD, he paid Yano for it already! Yano says wait, and opens the DVD case, and there’s money inside! He offers 10,000 Yen (a little over $92, which is over double what Mox paid for the DVD apparently) but Mox kicks the money out of Yano’s hands and it goes flying! Shots by Mox but Yano grabs the ropes and backs off Mox for the break, and gets the crowd chanting, but Mox lands a shot in and Yano spills outside. Mox claws at Yano but Yano tosses Mox into the barricade, then heads under the ring and puts something in his tights. Yano gets sent into the barricade but Yano gets an atomic drop, and then pulls out tape but Mox fights back and gets the tape and ties Yano to the barricade outside!
The ref starts to count, Mox is back inside and Yano is struggling to free himself, finally getting in at 17. Yano begs off again and offers a handshake, Mox hesitates but Yano gets the crowd to encourage him, they shake and both grab each others hair. Yano decides to go after a corner pad, but Mox grabs the opposite one and they square off cuz MOX DOESNT GIVE A SHIT. They swordfight with the pads, the ref grabs Mox’s and Yano gets a low blow and rollup but only gets 2! Yano runs at Mox but Mox moves and Yano hits the exposed corner, and Mox follows with the Regal Knee. Yano bails and Mox follows and pulls out a table, then slams Yano into it. Mox runs at Yano on the propped table but Yano uses Shota Umino as a shield and then low blows both Mox and Umino as the ref counts both. Yano now ties Mox and Umino’s legs together as the ref hits 15, Mox struggles to get up with Umino but can’t make it and GETS COUNTED OUT! YANO DOES IT AGAIN!
Toru Yano (6) defeats Jon Moxley (10) by countout
JAY’S RATING: Not Rated
I’m not rating this because I can’t evaluate it as a regular match, because it was all shenanigans all the time. But GODDAMMIT I love Yano shenanigans, and Mox was so game to play here and was a great partner in this story, and I drank up every second of it. Mox is an artist, keeping true to his persona while still being open and adaptable to any partner he has faced, and that was a joy to watch here against someone as dropped into their shtick as Yano. But most of all, YANO GIVES MOX NOT ONLY HIS FIRST G1 DEFEAT BUT HIS FIRST NEW JAPAN DEFEAT! AND, not only is Yano still in the running for the finals, he ALSO holds tie breaker wins over Naito, Jay White AND now Mox! I love it. LOVE IT. (It’s not gonna go anywhere, but its a great detail in the storytelling.) Long Live the Sublime Master Thief.
After the match, Yano takes the DVD and his money and bails! Mox is pissed but understandably so.
TESTUYA NAITO (4)
vs
JUICE ROBINSON (6)
Big chants for Naito during his entrance here in Fukuoka, and Naito is in must-win situations from here on out. Yano stopping Mox’s streak helps, but not enough to be comfortable. They both take their sweet time taking their entrance gear off, with Naito making fun of Naito’s of taunt of Moxley during their G1 bout. Juice is even wearing not one, not two, but three of his own t-shirts. LOVE it. Naito finally strikes before the bell and beats down Juice, mocking his taunt and laying in boots. Juice pushes Naito back and gets intense, backing him into the ropes and Red Shoes needs to separate them. Naito mocks Juice’s taunt again and hits shots, armdrag reversal by Juice who dumps Naito outside, runs the ropes and fires back by mocking the Tranquilo fake out. Good stuff. Naito takes his time outside as Juice plays mindgames, Naito evades a pescado and tries a tornado DDT but it gets botched (oof), they roll with it and Naito lands a neckbreaker and low single leg dropkick on the floor. Dropkick to the back by Naito follows, he gets back inside and the ref counts. Juice beats the count and Naito is right on him with shots and slaps, Combinacion Cabron connects and Naito poses. Naito mocks Juice again, he locks in a sleeper and Juice fades as Naito transitions to a leg full nelson and does the Juice taunt again. Juice makes the ropes to break. Neckbreaker by Naito, cover but only 2. Shots by Juice but Naito fakes him out and spits on him, then hits Juice’s own jabs but Juice now fires off his own jabs, Left Hand is cut off but Naito eats a Harlem Sidekick.
Corner clothesline and running clothesline by Juice connects, Juice climbs but Naito evades the crossbody, hits an inverted atomic drop and enziguri, Juice evades the forearm and hits the full nelson bomb. Cover but only 2 for Juice. Powerbomb is countered into a rana by Naito who hits a draped neckbreaker on Juice, sets Juice on top and looks for the rana but Juice counters and looks for a super Juice Box, Naito escapes and climbs but Juice cuts him off. Headbutt by Juice as Naito is sat up top, Juice climbs and hits his own super rana, the falling powerbomb follows and Juice stacks up Naito but only gets 2. Pulp Friction is countered and Naito dumps Juice UGLY on his head with a German suplex, but Juice is right back up (FIGHTING SPIRIT!) and goes for the Left Hand, Naito counters and looks for the tornado DDT but Juice holds on, tries a suplex but Naito reverses momentum into the DDT. Juice Box is countered by Naito into a poison rana and the running Destino connects! Cover, but only 2! Juice counters Destino proper and lands the Juice Box, and both are down. Both are up and Naito hits a kappo kick and looks for Destino, Juice blocks again but hits a right hand and a left arm lariat, covers but only gets 2. Pulp Friction is countered again and Naito hits a Northern Lights Bomb, cover but only 2! Destino connects, Naito covers and thats the much needed WIN.
Testuya Naito (6) defeats Juice Robinson (6) by pinfall via Destino
JAY’S RATING: 3.8 out of 5
This was a VERY good match as the two of them really played into some great chemistry together, starting with pointed shenanigans but picking up into an action-packed, evenly matched outing. Juice continues to establish himself as a reliable babyface force in New Japan, looking good in loss, and Naito notches a much needed win to keep his Finals pursuit alive. Great stuff here.
JAY WHITE (4)
vs
TAICHI (4)
From a tournament perspective this is near-must-win for both of these, but the story is primarily on Jay here and whether “Dangerous T” can emerge and play spoiler. 2 wins down, 4 to go for Jay. We get the bell and its like people dont know who to cheer for. Taichi gets an edge on the cheers as Jay goes outside as expected, and Taichi does likewise on the opposite side. Jay back in first, and they play mind games with each other. Gedo calls Taichi a dickhead as Kanemaru provokes Jay, Jay and Taichi back each up until Gedo and YK back into each other and the brawl commences with Taichi throwing Jay into the barricade. The ref counts, Jay gets a whip on Taichi into the barricade at 17, and both barely make it back in time. Shots traded, Taichi gets the edge with kicks but Jay rakes the eyes to take control. Taichi does the same though and lands another kick to drop Jay. Gedo now grabs Miho Abe at ringside, Taichi pursues and Jay uses the distraction to strike from behind. Jay now taunts Miho. Eh. Jay tosses Taichi into the barricade, heads back inside and the ref counts Taichi. Taunting kicks and shots by Jay, they trade again with Jay hitting a hard chop, he evades a Taichi kick in the corner and collapses Taichi with another chop. Taichi now gets the kick to the back of the head, then another to the face in the corner that drops Jay and Taichi gets distance to regroup. AND THE PANTS GO FLYING!Jay drops to evade the thrust kick, smiling as usual, so Taichi kicks away at him. DDT by Jay connects, Bladebuster follows and Jay covers but only gets 2. Gedo tells Jay to hit the Kiwi Krusher, Taichi fights out, Jay hits a chop and they go back to trading. Jay spits at Taichi, hits a flurry but Taichi answers back with a gamengiri and drops Jay.
Axe Bomber is evaded, Jay looks for the flatliner but Taichi blocks but Jay hits the uranage instead and follows with the Kiwi Krusher, cover but only 2. That makes Gedo unhappy. He’s LOUD tonight. Sleeper suplex is blocked by Taichi but Jay hits the snap Saito instead, Taich is right back up (FIGHTING SPIRIT!) and hits a backdrop driver and both are down. BUZZSAW KICK BY TAICHI. Cover but only 2. Taichi looks for a powerbomb but Gedo gets up on the apron, YK joins and the ref is distracted, Taichi blocks a Jay low blow and hits one of his own! Gedo gets knocked down and Taichi gets the Gedo Clutch, but Gedo pulls the ref out at 2! Ok, that’s a great moment to take advantage of. The crowd jeers as Gedo takes out YK, hits the ring and stomps away at Taichi to a chorus of boos. Gedo now brings out the knucks, YK climbs in the ring, Gedo evades the Suntori Surprise and gets hit in the gut by Gedo but Taichi takes out Gedo instead. Jay looks for Blade Runner but Taichi blocks, looks for Axe Bomber but Jay hits a low blow. Blade Runner is countered as YK gets the whiskey shot at Jay, and Taichi hits the Axe Bomber! Last Ride by Taichi, cover but only 2! YK wakes up Taichi who looks for the thrust kick, Gedo grabs his leg but YK takes Gedo out. Jay sidesteps the kick and looks for Blade Runner, Taichi counters into Black Mephisto, Jay counters back into Blade Runner but Taichi escapes and hits a head kick! YK holds Gedo back, Jay evades the thrust kick and hits the sleeper suplex, then follows with the armtrap brainbuster and Blade Runner. Cover and thats that.
Jay White (6) defeats Taichi (4) by pinfall via Blade Runner
JAY’S RATING: 2 out of 5
This was fine mainly because the shenanigans weren’t used as the finish of the match, and after the main Gedo/YK and low blow stuff they still worked a highly physical series to bring the match home. That’s really what kept this rating as high as it is. And I am not always opposed to some shenanigans – its the theatre of it after all – but this added very little to the match, and Jay continues to show he doesnt need it to win, so its wearing SUPER thin. But the Jay White streak continues, which is the right call.
After the match Jay looks to hug Rocky at commentary but Rocky runs off so Jay jumps on headset to put himself over. I LOVE the Jay tormenting Rocky thing and playing “friendly”.
HIROOKI GOTO (4)
vs
TOMOHIRO ISHII (6)
The main question here is, can Ishii make it to 8 and take that 2nd place spot in the block to himself? This has the potential to go HARD. We get the bell, the grapple in the ropes and break but Ishii slaps Goto for the clean break. Tackles collide, they talk shit and throw tackles and keep rocking each other with Goto finally putting down Ishii by stepping into it. Goto keeps on Ishii in the corner, Ishii asks for more and reverses a Goto suplex into one of his own. Chops by Ishii, Goto fires his own off but Ishii no sells them and then DROPS Goto with a hard one. Goto showing the edge there, which is interesting. Headbutts by Ishii who talks down to Goto and tries to fire him up with taunting slaps, Goto fires back as Ishii just steps into each one and fires off a series on Goto, and Ishii is in firm control and is letting Goto know it. Goto almost seems disappointed in Goto. More shots by Ishii, Goto catches a kick and hits a short discus clothesline to take Ishii down. Saito suplex is blocked by Ishii, Goto hits the corner spin kick and then lands the Saito and covers for 2. Ushigoroshi is blocked, Goto ducks a clothesline but Ishii lands a Saito suplex instead. Chops by Ishii, combo shots in the corner on Goto and he just keeps laying them in until Goto finally reverses and lays in fast elbows, and the crowd tunes in for a moment. This is where Goto needs to keep momentum!
They collide with tackles, Ishii asks for and absorbs shots from Goto, they trade again and keep throwing elbows! Goto looked like he was slowing down and then he fires right back up (YES) and gets Ishii staggering but Ishii catches him coming off the ropes with a powerslam and both are down! Ishii back up, the powerbomb is blocked and Goto dumps Ishii overhead, they trade counters and Ishii tries to evade the Psych Out Lariat but Goto keeps it running and takes Ishii down with it. Goto sits Ishii up top backward and hits a top rope draping neckbreaker, cover but only 2. Boots by Goto as Ishii tries to grab at him, Goto climbs but Ishii cuts him off and looks for a superplex, Goto counters and hits shots, Ishii fires up and hits his own and they trade in the corner. Headbutts by Ishii, headbutt by Goto and Goto gets a top rope Yoshi Tonic bomb that throws Ishii across the ring. Cover but only 2. Ushigoroshi is blocked but Goto blocks the enziguri, Ishii absorbs a lariat and takes Goto down with his own. Goto pops up (FIGHTING SPIRIT!) and takes down Ishii with a lariat! Ishii pops up (FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!) and hits one that staggers Goto, they hit the ropes and Ishii takes Goto down hard with a lariat before just dropping from exhaustion and both are down! Nice sequence.
Chants for both, with strong chants for Goto! Mid kick is blocked by Ishii but Goto just slaps Ishii, which pisses Ishii off. Elbows by Ishii, Goto tries a headbutt but Ishii lands a HARD elbow strike to meet it. OW. Powerbomb by Ishii, he stacks up Goto but only gets 2. Ishii sets Goto up for the sliding lariat, Goto is up to evade but Ishii gets a German and hits the sliding lariat next. Cover but still only 2. Ishii calls for VDB, Goto fights out, they jockey for the suplex advantage, Ishii gets behind but Goto counters the next attempt and just pulls Ishii down hard neck first across his knee. Sleeper by Goto, Ishii fades as commentary talks about Goto’s recent training with Shibata who is a master of a choke like this, Goto releases and looks for the GTR, Ishii counters but gets hit with Ushigoroshi. Cover by Goto but only 2. Mid-kicks by Goto and Ishii collapses, but then fires up and lands stiff headbutts. They trade BIG headbutts and Ishii goes down while Goto staggers but stays standing! Reverse GTR by Goto connects, mid kick drops Ishii, cover but still only 2! Goto looks for GTR, Ishii counters for VDB but Goto drops out and hits a headbutt to the back of the head, Ishii lands an enziguri and looks for VDB but Goto hits a twisting Attitude Adjustment basically, then follows with GTR! Cover and Goto has done it!
Hirooki Goto (6) defeats Tomohiro Ishii (6) by pinfall via GTR
JAY’S RATING: 4 out of 5
This was a fantastic match to cap off the night, with Goto overcoming Ishii in a hard-hitting evenly-stacked contest to prevent him from taking that 2nd place spot. This was one of my favorite Goto performances as of late for sure, and Ishii really helped bring that out of him. When Goto keeps leaning forward and connecting the dots in the ring, he is at his best, and Ishii forced that out of him here with his own style, daring Goto to wake up and show everyone that he deserves the trigger pull finally. And while I still think Goto has some dot-connection issues, he pushed through well here. And while I would love to see Ishii advance as well, this definitely is the more dramatic choice to make story wise. Well done all around!
After the match, Goto gets the mic. God I wish Charlton was here for the translation because I want to know what Goto has to say here.
JAY’S THOUGHTS:
Well what an interesting day of action. From top to bottom really. Mox’s streak is broken, AND BY YANO! This opens up options for those at his heels, which now includes Naito, Jay White, Cobb, YANO! and Goto along with Ishii and Juice. (Now that Naito and White are fully back in it, I’m watching those two closely for B Block.) Plus, next is Jay White vs Moxley, and that’s going to have HUGE implications on a number of levels in this. DRAMA! The standings are now:
| BLOCK A | |
| Kazuchika Okada (6-0) | 12 |
| KENTA (4-2) | 8 |
| Kota Ibushi (4-2) | 8 |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi (4-2) | 8 |
| EVIL (3-3) | 6 |
| Lance Archer (2-4) – ELIMINATED | 4 |
| Zack Sabre Jr (2-4) – ELIMINATED | 4 |
| Will Ospreay (2-4) – ELIMINATED | 4 |
| SANADA (2-4) – ELIMINATED | 4 |
| Bad Luck Fale (1-5) – ELIMINATED | 2 |
| BLOCK B | |
| Jon Moxley (5-1) | 10 |
| Tomohiro Ishii (3-3) | 6 |
| Juice Robinson (3-3) | 6 |
| Jeff Cobb (3-3) | 6 |
| Hirooki Goto (3-3) | 6 |
| Toru Yano (3-3) | 6 |
| Tetsuya Naito (3-3) | 6 |
| Jay White (3-3) | 6 |
| Taichi (2-4) | 4 |
| Shingo Takagi (2-4) | 4 |