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8/8 NEW JAPAN CLIMAX DAY 16 REPORT

By Paul Crockett on 2017-08-09 09:00:00

G1 Climax Night 16 Report in Kanagawa

August 8, 2017

This one is big for Okada, Omega and to a lesser degree EVIL.  While Okada and Omega looked to be the favorites moving forward, an EVIL win and losses from Okada and Omega could propel him to be right in the game.

BLOCK B: Tama Tonga (2-5 Record; 4 Points) vs. Satoshi Kojima (1-6 Record; 2 Points)

Tonga jumped Kojima and Tenzan before the bell.  He then continued his new trend of stealing the entrance robes of his opponents and wearing them.  He even did the machine gun chops to Kojima while wearing it.

Tonga got the heat on Kojima until Mr. Cozy Lariat came back and hit his own machine gun chops.  This lead to a hilarious sell by Tonga that included him letting out a high pitched squeal.  They went back and forth from there.  Tonga tried in vain to take out Kojima’s lariat arm and hit the Gun Stun.  They traded nearfalls.  Really good finishing sequence.  Kojima ran the ropes twice and tried the lariat both times and missed.  As he was running them again, Tonga did his change of direction and Kojima lost him.  As the leader of the Bread Club turned around, Tonga was already in mid-air and connected with the Gun Stun to pick up the win.  Really good match.

WINNER: Tama Tonga

BLOCK B: Toru Yano (3-4 Record; 6 Points) vs. Juice Robinson (2-5 Record; 4 Points)

We had the usual trickery from Yano.  He went right to the turnbuckle pad to take it off and expose the steel.  Yano ran under the ring and Juice followed him.  The ref started counting.  At 13, Yano was halfway out from under the ring but then he got pulled back under.  Then they both magically reappeared at 19 and beat the count.

Here was a new one.  Yano tied Juice to the guardrail by his dreadlocks.  That was actually pretty funny.  Juice was able to untie himself and beat the count.  Yano with a ref distraction and a low blow.  He went for another low blow but the ref cut him off.  He then turned right into a Juice straight left hand and the Pulp Friction and that was the finish.  As usual with Yano, it was entertaining for what it was.

WINNER: Juice Robinson

BLOCK B: EVIL (5-2 Record; 10 Points) vs. Michael Elgin (3-4 Record; 6 Points)

This one was pretty entertaining because they were so similar in style.  Lots of really hard shots from both as well as some great power moves.  This was a back and forth affair throughout.  Huge inside out lariat from EVIL toward the end that was really fantastic.  Elgin went ALL the way to the top rope for a superplex that got a huge reaction.

EVIL went for an STO, but Elgin countered with a Razor’s Edge into a sit out bomb for a nearfall.  He then finished it with an Elgin Bomb.  Excellent match.

WINNER: Michael Elgin

BLOCK B: SANADA (4-3 Record; 8 Points) vs. Kenny Omega (5-2 Record; 10 Points)

Very athletic match that was a back and forth affair.  They both went for their finishers right at the beginning but they were each able to counter their way out of it.  SANADA had the Skull End locked in and Omega looked out of it, but he powered his way to the ropes.  SANADA missed the Muta Moonsault.  Omega followed it with a snap Dragon Suplex and a V-Trigger knee for a nearfall.  He hit a second V-Trigger for another nearfall.

Tremendous finishing sequence.  SANADA had Kenny primed for the Skull End, but Omega popped out of it.  Omega missed a V-Trigger and SANADA hit a superkick.  SANADA went for a standing Sliced Bread, but Kenny caught him in midair into a fireman’s carry.  He then shifted him into position and hit the One-Winged Angel for the victory.  I can’t say enough great things about this match.

WINNER: Kenny Omega

BLOCK B: Kazuchika Okada (6-1 Record; 12 Points) vs. Minoru Suzuki (4-3 Record; 8 Points)

This was absolutely incredible.  Okada was a lot less cocky during his entrance than he has been during this tournament since he lost his invincibility in the loss to EVIL.  Taichi and El Desperado were out with Suzuki.  Okada has athletic tape across his traps and his upper spine.  That’s always a good sign.

Taichi and Desperado were laying in the boots within a couple of minutes.  After fighting them off, the young lions at ringside dragged both Suzuki Gun members to the back and they were no longer a factor in the match.

Being a great heel, what does Suzuki do?  He rips the tape right off of Okada and starts to work that part of Okada’s body over.  Fantastic.  This was very heated throughout.  Okada hit a Gotch Style Tombstone and the crowd started to boo, which Okada got a kick out of.  Suzuki bounced back and hit a Tombstone and he got a big reaction.  Suzuki with vicious kicks to the back of Okada.  Suzuki went for the Gotch Style piledriver and the crowd was gasping, but Okada escaped.  Okada missed a Rainmaker, and Suzuki bullychoked Okada like a rag doll to the mat and locked in a sleeper.  He had it in deep and Okada’s sell was fantastic.  He didn’t go out and Suzuki broke the hold and started to go to town with strikes.  These were brutal.  As Suzuki lifted Okada to his feet, Okada hit a half-Rainmaker and maintained wrist control as they both laid in a heap on the mat.  After getting to their feet, Okada hit another half-Rainmaker.  He went for a full one but Suzuki slapped his way out of it.

The last few minutes were tremendous.  They started to slap the living hell out of each other.  These weren’t love taps, either.  These were full blown slaps to the neck and face that looked painful as hell.  Suzuki is such a maniac that he put his hands behind his back and was taunting Okada as he did it.  It got to the point that they were so fired up that they started smiling at each other as they were slapping.

They announced one-minute left in the 30-minute time limit.  Suzuki went for a sleeper, but Okada countered out of it into a Rainmaker.  As they counted down, Okada slowly tried to drag himself over to Suzuki.  He made one last push, but the bell rang and we had a draw.

This was brilliant because it shortens the gap to one-point between Okada and Omega.  Also, it plays off the last Omega match with the draw and the same finish.  It sets up to telegraph the possible outcome for Okada and Omega, leaving fans thinking that another draw between the two is a distinct possibility.  In the case of Okada, a win OR a draw sends him to the finals.

WINNER: Draw

As if Okada-Omega III didn’t have enough drama heading into it.  Now we get this.  The final night for Block B at Sumo Hall should be amazing.

BLOCK B:

Okada (6-1-1; 13 Points)

Omega (6-2; 12 Points)

EVIL (5-3 Record; 10 Points)

Suzuki (4-3-1 Record; 9 Points)

SANADA (4-4 Record; 8 Points)

Elgin (4-4 Record; 8 Points)

Robinson (3-5 Record; 6 Points)

Tonga (3-5 Record; 6 Points)

Yano (3-5 Record; 6 Points)

Kojima (1-7 Record; 2 Points)

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