G1 Climax 2015 Day 10 (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Michael Elgin)

Results

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Slight reshuffling of the non-tournament matches as Tiger Mask IV is out due to injury. For the rest everyone in B Block (including Nakamura) was ready to go:

Michael Elgin defeated Yujiro Takahashi in 11:58 via pinfall. Elgin continues his impressive series of G1 performances by carrying Takahashi to a very good match. Not only that, but the crowds are really getting in to him, which bodes well for his (possible) future in NJPW. Spinning power-bomb for another Elgin victory. The new guy has done very well thus far.

Satoshi Kojima defeated Tomoaki Honma in 10:15 via pinfall. Another very good match with a Kokeshi vs Lariat story. Crowd was firmly behind Honma (of course). Finishing sequences was amazing with Kojima’s Lariat finally vanquishing the Heroic Loser. Very entertaining stuff.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yuji Nagata in 16:19 via pinfall. Great chemistry between those two and another very good match. They basically had tons of fun kicking and slapping and chopping the hell out of each-other and were hugely entertaining while doing so. Ishii is kept strong with yet another win. Great stuff.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Karl Anderson in 14:34 via pinfall. While this was good, this didn’t quite provided the expected fireworks. Crowds was partly to blame perhaps, switching off on occasions. The two worked hard but it just seemed something was missing. Okada never really seemed in danger and ended things with a rainmaker. Good, yes, but more was expected from both.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto in 16:32 via submission. Traditional slow start between those two, but things started to pick up around the half-way mark. Perhaps not the best match they ever had but still pretty damn good. Smart booking also for the finish, since Nakamura’s traditional finisher, the Boma Yé repeatedly failed during his feud against Goto, he changed tactics and went for submission holds to put his nemesis away. It’s this kind of attention to details that makes NJPW so fun to watch. Nakamura’s elbow didn’t seem to bother him that much anymore, which is good news. Very good main event to end the show.

Standings:

Tomohiro Ishii – 8
Kazuchika Okada – 8
Karl Anderson – 6
Hirooki Goto – 6
Shinsuke Nakamura – 6
Michael Elgin – 6
Yujiro Takahashi – 4
Satoshi Kojima – 4
Yuji Nagata – 2
Tomoaki Honma – 0

Analysis: I think the problem in B block is that everybody expects Nakamura and Okada to determine who will go trough to the final on the last day. Perhaps another Okada loss would spice things up a bit. His next match his against Ishii, so we will see what happens there. I wonder if the booking of Elgin was changed after NJPW noticed his performances and the crowds reactions to him. After a slow start he is really coming back very strongly. Anderson seems to slow down a bit and Nakamura is back in contention, being tied for third place with goto, Anderson and Elgin. Good day wrestling wise but the crowd was a bit irregular in its reactions.

In other results:

Ryusuke Taguchi defeated David Finlay via submission. Match was changed due to Tiger Mask’s injury.

Yoshi-Hashi and Toru Yano defeated Yohei Komatsu and Katsyuori Shibata. (YOSHI HASHI pinned Komatsu)

KUSHIDA and Tetsuya Naito defeated Kota Ibushi and Mascara Dorada. really good stuff from Ibushi and naito to hype up their upcoming match, but KUSHIDA and Dorada stole the show here. Amazing stuff from both. I wouldn’t mind a match for the Junior Heavyweight Title between those two.

A.J. Styles, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga defeated Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Captain New Japan. (Tonga pinned Captain New japan). Styles and Makabe got into a rather heated post-match brawl.

 

Next day in Block A is for tomorrow (Wednesday 08/05) and will feature the following matches:

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Doc Gallows
Togi Makabe vs. AJ Styles
Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi

NJPW wants to keep Fale strong so expect him to defeat Tenzan. At first glance Block leader Shibata should have no problem defeating Yano, but the Master Thief has defeated big names out of the blue before. I wouldn’t be that surprised if it happens again here. It’s so obvious that Tanahashi will defeat gallows you almost have to wonder why they even bother with it. Makabe vs Styles is interesting. Styles is favorite but Makabe is NEVER Openweight Champion. Could go both ways. Ibushi vs Naito is highly anticipated and will, no doubt, deliver. Whoever wins takes a big step towards a possible win in this block.

See you all tomorrow for more G1 Climax!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been following wrestling for almost 30 years now, and the metal scene for even longer. And let's just say that all that head-banging has left me with some weird ideas that i will share with you from time to time. Aren't you glad?