New Japan Pro Wrestling
presents
G1 CLIMAX 29
Day 2 – Block B
Aired 7/13/19
Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo
Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero on commentary which is PERFECTION.
SHINGO TAKAGI (0)
vs
JUICE ROBINSON (0)
Lockup and some early aggression as they feel each other out. Tackle moves no one, and again. Shots traded, they run the ropes, Shingo catches a leap but Juice drops behind before eating an elbow, but fires back with a sidekick dropping Shingo. Shingo bails and evades a pescado, and hits a DDT on Juice on the floor. Juice gets tossed in and Shingo hits an over the top knee, digging it in. HUGE tackle by Shingo just explodes through Juice. Nice. Suplex by Shingo, cover but only 1 as Shingo grounds Juice. Juice fights up and they trade, chops exchanged, and a double chop by Shingo drops Juice. Shingo dumps Juice outside, runs the ropes but Juice cuts off the dive with a slingshot spear. Chants for Juice. Knockdowns by Juice, big spinebuster connects and the crowd is behind Juice. Juice climbs, crossbody connects, cover but only 2. Juice Box is blocked, Juice evades a sliding lariat and hits a full nelson slam, cover but only 2. Some support for Shingo as well. Jabs by Juice but Shingo hits the straight right hand and a GREAT short lariat and both are down. Shingo with a corner clothesline, Juice hits one in return but Shingo moves and Juice crashes on the cannonball attempt. NICE wheelbarrow suplex by Shingo, cover but only 2. Shingo tries Noshigami, Juice counters for Pulp Friction but Shingo blocks, Juice is able to land the Juice Box and hits a HARD cannonball. Juice sits Shingo up top, headbutt staggers Shingo and Juice hits a superplex, holds on and lands a Jackhammer! Cover, but only 2 for Juice. Juice is fired up, looks for Pulp Friction but Shingo stays standing and hits a sliding lariat! Both are down. THUDDING lariats by both, elbows by Shingo, Juice fires back but Shingo hits a Saito! Juice is back up immediately (FIGHTING SPIRIT!), looks for a lariat, Shingo blocks but Juice hits with the other arm instead. Chants for Juice, Pulp Friction is countered again into Noshigami! PUMPIIIIIIIING BOMBEEEEEEER! Cover, but Juice is out at 2! Made in Japan is blocked and Juice gets a rollup for 2, Left Hand of God, and another, Pulp Friction connects, cover by Juice and thats it!
Juice Robinson (2) defeats Shingo Takagi (0) by pinfall via Pulp Friction
JAY’S RATING: 4 out of 5
That was a GREAT way to open the first day of B Block, with Juice looking GREAT opposite the always-great Shingo, who looked fantastic in defeat. This was an all out, hard-hitting affair with a good sense of tension-building, and earns Juice his first two points. I’ll be curious, given this start, how Shingo’s G1 booking pans out…
TAICHI (0)
vs
JON MOXLEY (0)
Mox enters through the crowd with Shota Umino holding his IWGP US belt, but Taichi jumps Mox in the crowd before the bell! Taichi beats down Mox deep in the audience area, and hits Mox with a pink umbrella. This is a good way for Taichi to enter this match, looking to go toe to toe in Mox’s own territory. This backfires for a moment as Mox gets the advantage, but Taichi sends Mox into the corner ringpost as they make their way toward the ring. Chair shot across the back of Mox by Taichi and the crowd is split on Taichi. THUDDING Axe Bomber on the outside folds Mox over, and the ref begins the count. Mox back in barely in time but eats a Buzzsaw Kick, cover but only 2. THE PANTS GO FLYING! Mox evades the superkick, they trade shots and Taichi gets a nice Kawada-esque gamengiri. Mephisto is reversed into a rollup at 2, Mox fires off on Taichi in the corner and runs through Taichi with a lariat. Mox drops Taichi to the outside and hits a nice suicide dive, then goes under the ring and pulls out a table. Taichi gets the advantage and looks for a bomb through the table, Mox blocks so Taichi hits Kawada kicks, Mox escapes and uranages Taichi through the table! Mox blows a mocking kiss to Miho Abe, who is distraught at Taichi getting tabled. Back inside, nice knee trembler by Mox and a cover but only 2. Chants for Mox. Death Rider is blocked, Taichi’s Saito is blocked and Taichi sends Mox into the ref who gets dumped outside and Taich lands another gamengiri and both are down. Miho slides Taichi a chair but Mox blocks, takes it and tosses it into Taichi’s fucking face. The ref is back in, Death Rider blocked again and Taichi gets the Gedo Clutch for 2, looks for a superkick but Mox blocks and SPIKES him with a Death Rider! Cover and thats 3!
Jon Moxley (2) defeats Taichi (0) by pinfall via Death Rider
JAY’S RATING: 3.25 out of 5
This was an enjoyable outing, with Taichi looking good going into Mox’s style and continueing to garner increasing crowd support. But Mox winning is the right call, he looked great here and his new elevated version of Dirty Deeds, the Death Rider, is a great finish. Good work here.
TESTUYA NAITO (0)
vs
TORU YANO (0)
Big chants for Naito. Naito has said that Yano doesnt belong in the tournament. Yano starts complaining about Naito taking his sweet time taking off his entrance gear. Naito starts REALLY fucking with Naito, Yano is getting impatient, and its great. Chris Charlton translates a bit and says that he’s upset that Naito has a shirt on, so he puts his back on. The bell finally rings. I love it. Naito keeps things slow to frustrate Yano. Yano finally says screw it and just goes for the corner pad, Naito jumps, Yano whips him away and exposes the corner. Yano now looks to expose the other corner, Naito is on him but Yano grabs the ropes… so Naito goes for the corner pad! Yano cuts him off, but now Naito does the rope spot, then spits at Yano! Naito follows with a Yano-esque shirt-blinding and rollup, but only gets 2. Atomic Drop connects, Combinacion hits the first part, Yano covers for the 2nd so Naito just waits, Yano moves his hands and Naito lands the dropkick. Great. Naito grabs the pad, Red Shoes tries to take it away but gets shoved down, Naito lines up Yano but Red Shoes jumps and grabs the pad, Yano gets a rollup but only 2. They trade hair pulls, Naito looks for a rollup but Yano counters for his own and gets 2! Yano blinds Red Shoes and gets a low blow on Naito! Yano blinds Naito, hits a spear from behind and rolls up Naito for the 3 as the Sublime Master Thief snags another upset!
Toru Yano (2) defeats Testuya Naito (0) by pinfall via blinded rollup
JAY’S RATING: 2.75 out of 5
This was exactly what it was made to be, and while I’m not a huge fan of Naito going down in his G1 opener, they both played the theatre and storytelling well, and clearly have fun working together. I do like the story of Naito trying to play Yano’s game and failing, which just further establishes Yano as exactly what he says he is: the Sublime Master Thief. And I know its not for anyone, but I just dig this kind of work. It is what it is, its fun, its theatrical, and sometimes that just feels good. Pretty good work here, if I maybe would have chosen someone else to go down besides Naito in Round 1.
JEFF COBB (0)
vs
TOMOHIRO ISHII (0)
This should be fun. 🙂 Chants for Ishii at the top. They lock up and play a strength game to start, with Cobb showing his ability to lift Ishii while in a headlock. They trade, tackle just rocks Cobb and he asks for more. Nice thud on the next one, they trade tackles and still no one goes down. Ishii hits a series off the ropes, builds momentum but COBB DROPS ISHII INSTEAD. Nice moment. Headbutt by Cobb, followed by BIG chops but Ishii does not go down and asks for more. Shots by Cobb in the corner but Ishii stiffens and absorbs, then switches out and hits HUGE strikes in the corner with the crowd chanting along! The series keeps going a while and the crowd pops! Chants for Ishii. More strikes by Ishii, Cobb fires back, Ishii leans into them and they trade, Ishii hits those neck chops and chops Cobb down in the corner. Slaps by Ishii, Cobb fires back again, headbutts by Ishii but Cobb tosses him with a release belly to belly. Jumping euro by Cobb in the corner who tries to rebuild momentum, and he catches Ishii in a Sidewinder Suplex, cover but only 2. Shots traded… and more… and more… crowd pop… and they keep going… and Cobb starts to fade until he lands a SHARP short right hand to the face, and Ishii staggers back giving Cobb some air.
Cobb lays into Ishii in the corner but Ishii explodes through Cobb with a tackle, finally taking Cobb down with one! Vertical suplex by Ishii connects, cover but Cobb ROLLS out of it and deadlifts Ishii up (!!!), Ishii counters and evades a dropkick, but Cobb catches him in a deadlift vertical suplex and lands a great standing moonsault! Cover but only 2. Cobb stands over Ishii, who has trouble getting back to his feet. The crowd rallies, Cobb lays in shots, Ishii keeps absorbing and starts to stiffen and LEAN IN HARD to the strikes, then hits his own! Ishii sits Cobb up top, superplex connects and Ishii gets right up, lines up Cobb and hits a lariat but Cobb eats it before dropping Ishii with a short lariat! Cobb now sits Ishii up top and hits a stalling superplex, cover but only 2. Cobb looks for a German, Ishii counters, blocks a superkick but EATS a Cobb headbutt! DANG. Ishii goes down hard. RIDICULOUS piledriver by Cobb connects, covers but Ishii is out at 2! Chants for Ishii. Tour of the Islands is blocked, Ishii looks for the Brainbuster, Cobb blocks and they block lariats but Ishii hits a Saito suplex and both are down.
Corner clothesline by Ishii but Cobb catches him and uranages him, but Ishii follows with a dumping powerslam. BIG German by Ishii, Cobb is up (FIGHTING SPIRIT!) and hits a great Exploder, Ishii is up (FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!), Cobb hits a dropkick but Ishii floors him with a lariat! Great sequence – this is the best Godzilla monster fight I’ve seen in years. Cobb CATCHES the sliding lariat, Ishii escapes and hits a release dragon suplex! LARIAT by Ishii turns Cobb inside out, cover but Cobb powers out at 1! Superkick by Cobb connects, bridging German suplex follows for 2! The straps come down, Tour is countered again, strikes by Cobb and he tries again but Ishii hits an enziguri and staggers Cobb down. Sliding lariat hits hard, cover but Cobb is out at 2 again. Vertical Drop Brainbuster is countered, headbutts from Ishii, strikes from Cobb, Ishii tries again and hits the Brainbuster! Cover and thats 3!
Tomohiro Ishii (2) defeats Jeff Cobb (0) by pinfall via Vertical Drop Brainbuster
JAY’S RATING: 4.5 out of 5
This was an EXCELLENT match, and as stated above just an utter kaiju battle of a wrestling match in the best way. Cobb, while defeated, looked GREAT here, as his and Ishii’s styles mesh brilliantly and they brought great things out of each other. His stock definitely continues to climb after this. But I’m glad to see Ishii gain early momentum, because he’s just such an MVP year after year.
JAY WHITE (0)
vs
HIROOKI GOTO (0)
Good crowd support for Goto at the bell, and he’s looking in great shape. Jay bails to control the match pace at the start in classic fashion, and goes so far to set up a front row seat for Gedo. Goto pursues Jay outside so Jay heads inside. Jay talks shit, Goto heads in fast and tackles move no one. Shots by Goto and the pace picks up, Jay whips Goto to the buckle but Goto comes out strong. Jay bails but Goto follows and sends Jay into the railing. Goto sends Jay back inside and drops Jay with a tackle, then dumps Jay outside with a clothesline. The crowd is behind Goto, who keeps on Jay while chasing Gedo off into the crowd. Jay back inside, Goto heads back but Gedo grabs the leg allowing Jay to hit a running Euro. Jay now strikes, beating down Goto on the ring apron. Gedo smiles evil-ly as Jay hits an apron gourdbuster. Jay rolls back inside and Red Shoes starts the count. Goto rolls back in but Jay jumps on him right away, the action spills outside and Jay gets the backbreaker series between the apron and railing, then runs Goto into the railing for good measure. Nice heat for Jay. Back inside, cover but Red Shoes refuses to count after the illegal work outside.
Chops by Goto but Jay hits a nice shot and a neckbreaker, cover but only 2. Jay lays in chops now, Goto staggers and Jay grounds him with a cravate. Elbows by Jay keep Goto down, looks for a suplex, Goto counters but Jay uses the hair to drop Goto and he then toys with him. Shots by Goto again, Jay kicks the knee and keeps Goto grounded. Discus clothesline by Goto drops Jay and both are down. Chants for Goto. Corner clothesline connects from Goto, Saito is blocked by Jay, Goto tries ushigoroshi but Jay escapes before eating a mid-kick. Nice corner spin kick and Saito suplex combo by Goto, cover but only 2. Chants for Goto. Ushigoroshi is blocked again but Goto gets a clothesline in the corner and beats down Jay. Nice DDT by Jay catches Goto and both are down again. Nice half-hatch suplex, Jay rolls through for a 2nd but Goto blocks a 3rd until Jay gets it on another attempt into the corner. Bladebuster (twisting brainsbuster) connects, cover but only 2. Jay lifts Goto for the sleeper suplex but Goto fights out and uses the hair to hit a neckbreaker across his knee. Shots traded, Jay lays in shots, Euros in the ropes, Jay blocks the Psych Out Lariat, they do a whole run the ropes evasion sequence and Jay gets the snap Saito! GREAT sequence.
Flurry by Jay and a nice short lariat drops Goto, but he doesnt follow up. Chants for Goto. Goto looks for a headbutt but Jay just SLAPS him with cocky assurance, and keeps on the humiliation. Goto starts to fire up from them but Jay hits a uranage suplex, does a cocky cover and Red Shoes wont count. More chants for Goto, and Jay mocks the crowd, their reaction and Goto himself. Goto is dead weight, Jay tries to lift him and shoves the ref away from trying to help Goto… but Goto is up and runs through Jay with a big lariat! Ushigoroshi by Goto connects, the crowd starts to come alive, Goto fires up but Jay stays down playing possom, so Goto stomps on his back and beats Jay down. Jay looks for a quick Blade Runner, its blocked and they trade move attempt, BIG headbutt by Goto drops Jay and he hits a reverse GTR! Cover, but only 2. GTR is blocked, Blade Runner is too, they trade move attempts, Goto counters a sleeper suplex, they trade finish attempts again with Goto using the hair to counter Blade Runner into a similar position of offense, but lays in headbutts from that position and hits Helms Street! Gedo hits the ring but Goto faces him and the brass knucks down, then hoists Jay who looks to counter into Blade Runner but Goto hits Shouten Kai! Cover but only 2! Ushigoroshi into a Helms Street (nice new move), cover but still only 2! BIG mid-kick folds Jay up, GTR connects, cover but Goto and that does it!
Hirooki Goto (2) defeats Jay White (0) by pinfall via GTR
JAY’S RATING: 3.8 out of 5
This was a VERY good match that almost crossed the threshold to the next level. The work from both was very good, Goto is in great shape and has some good new offense. But at the same time, I still feel like I didnt quite get the animosity necessary to back the story driving this match, which would have made this victory that much more satisfying. There was just an extra layer of fire that I craved. That and I dont know that Goto is coming into the G1 with as much momentum as Jay and others, and I think I’m feeling the disparity a bit. Nonetheless, Goto did look really really good, and if he is going to start expanding his moveset and get taken seriously again as a G1 threat, I wonder if he needs a more top to bottom rebranding, a new look to match a new attitude. So yeah, it was just missing something, while still delivering a real crowd pleaser and a fulfilling victory for both him and the crowd over Jay White.
After the match Goto speaks. The crowd chants for him. Goto says its been a while. He says he is very happy to have a match in front of everyone and to win that match. G1 has only just started, and there is a long way to go. But remember this: the G in G1 stands for “Goto”, and that is all. He drops the mic and poses, as the crowd pops hard for him. Wow, I dont feel like Goto is coming in with as much momentum as MANY other entrants this year, but dear god that crowd response is as good as any you will ever see. Hmm…
JAY’S THOUGHTS:
A strong night of tournament action for the first B Block day. The opener and Cobb/Ishii were truly outstanding, delivering hard hitting, well paced and explosive action. Yano and Naito was fun and surprising, and has me asking some questions about the upcoming booking which is exciting. The main event also capped it off well, even if the match before delivered more on the in-ring work. While a strong if not quite great event, it does further show how exciting this G1 roster is, and we’ve got lots of time to keep building momentum and thats part of the art of this kind of tournament. Bring on Day 3. Rankings so far:
| Block A | Block B | ||
| Lance Archer | 2 | Jon Moxley | 2 |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 | Tomohiro Ishii | 2 |
| KENTA | 2 | Juice Robinson | 2 |
| Kazuchika Okada | 2 | Hirooki Goto | 2 |
| SANADA | 2 | Toru Yano | 2 |
| EVIL | 0 | Taichi | 0 |
| Kota Ibushi | 0 | Shingo Takagi | 0 |
| Will Ospreay | 0 | Jeff Cobb | 0 |
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | 0 | Tetsuya Naito | 0 |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 0 | Jay White | 0 |