Tag: G1 Climax 2016

NJPW G1 Climax 26 opening night live results: Tanahashi vs. SANADA; Okada vs. Marufuji

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The 26th edition of the NJPW G1 Climax tournament kicks off at 2 AM EST Monday morning (U.S.)/7 AM UK from the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center with lots of intrigue, questions, and eventually answers.

Send your thumbs up, thumbs down, and thumbs in the middle to [email protected]

Tonight’s show features five A block matches along with four tag team matches. The show will be aired on New Japan World.

For those of you looking for previews, check out the Big Audio Nightmare’s prediction show, as well as this feature by F4W Online staffers picking their most anticipated match and wrestler for the tourney. Additionally, Bryan Rose has created a guide for first-timers that you should really read.

Our coverage begins at 2 AM EST.

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TIGER MASK & JUSHIN LIGER & MANABU NAKANISHI & KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & KUSHIDA & TOMOAKI HONMA

Nakanishi beat Captain to win with the Hercules cutter, which is a torture rack into the TKO.  At times the match was great, when Kushida was in with Tiger Mask and when Shibata was in with Honma.  It was way better than the usual opener 2/3 of the way through, partially beacuse they kept Captain and Nakanishi out of the ring.  Then they tagged in.  There was some comedy as Captain’s team kept ignoring him and refusing to tag him in.  He got a nice reaction when he finally tagged in but people also recognized it was the end for them.

SATOSHI KOJIMA & JUICE ROBINSON VS. TORU YANO & KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA

Nakajima pinned Robinson after a penalty kick and brainbuster.  Match was okay.  Nakajima didn’t stand out but did a few cool things.  Yano didn’t do much at all.  Kojima’s timing is on point but he didn’t do much special. 

YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & KENNY OMEGA VS. YOSHI-HASHI & GEDO

Another basic match.  Gedo did comedy spots and Yoshi-Hashi looked good.  Omega did comedy spots and Takahashi didn’t look good.  Takahashi pinned Gedo with the Tokyo Pimps (dominator).  Prelim Omega is very different from big match Omega.

MICHAEL ELGIN & YUJI NAGATA & DAVID FINLAY VS. TETSUYA NAITO & EVIL & BUSHI

Started a little quiet considering Naito is in the match.  Elgin came out wearing both his IC title and Elite belt.  Good power stuff with Elgin vs. Evil.  The finish saw Bushi pin Finlay after a codebreaker, and then a second one cming off the top rope.  

TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN

This was great.  It seemed at first the idea of Tenzan’s last G-1 wasn’t getting over like I thought it would.  But largely due to Ishii, the match was great and there was super heat down the stretch with all the near falls.  Kojima was in Tenzan’s corner cheering him on.  There were the sick ramming head-butts that have no place, especially at their age.  Lots of big moves.  Ishii survived the Anaconda buster and Tenzan driver.  Tenzan was bleeding from the mouth.  The finish saw Tenzan use a Kojima style lariat and a moonsault for the pin.

TOGI MAKABE VS. TAMA TONGA

A hard hitting match but nothing compared to the previous match.  Tonga looked good most of the way.   Makabe won clean with a belly-to-belly superplex and the King Kong kneedrop off the top rope.  

HIROOKI GOTO VS. BAD LUCK FALE

This wasn’t flashy but was hard hitting and Goto carried it well.  Goto kicked out of a splash.  He also kicked out of the Grenade.  Fale went for a brainbuster but Goto got behind him and choked him down, hit the final cut (GRT) and got the pin.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. SEIYA SANADA

Tanahashi is clearly not at his best physically but he is a genius at putting a match togehter.  Just a super match where every move meant something.  From a timing standpiont,Sanad ais awesome.  Tanahashi did his main event style match here, with the high fly flow to the floor.  Great struggles to get to the ropes by Sanada on a Tanahashi cloverleaf and by Tanahashi on a Sanada dragon sleeper.  The big move was Tanahashi going for the high fly flow after a German suplex, but Sanada hit the RKO out of nowhere with perfect Randy Orton timing.  Sanada hit a moonsault but Tanahashi kicked out.  He did a second moonsault and then used the dragon sleeper and Tanahashi tapped out. 

KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS. NAOMICHI MARUFUJI

Super match, very much put together like an Okada vs. Styles match with the great twists and turns at the finish.  Okada could never hit his tombstone or rainmaker.  Marufuji could never hit the shiranui (sliced bread).  Marufuji’s timing and stiffness on his chops, kicks and knees were great.  Among the highlights were him doing a running dive over the top, a dropkick from one side of the ring to three-quarters of the way across.  Okada went for the rainmaker but Marufuji used a knee to the left arm, a hard spin kick to the head and a jumping knee, followed by a fisherman suplex into a emerald flowsion and Marufuji got the pin.

Quite the newsworthy opening night with Tanahashi losing via submission and the IWGP champion Okada losing via clean pin to the outsider. With Marufuji winning, this also means he’ll probably get an IWGP title shot in the fall.   

Big Audio Nightmare: New Japan G1 Climax 2016 Prediction Show

Posted on by Adam Summers

Just when you started to give up on HOPE, the optimistic attitude of mind which is the life-blood of Observer Live, NEVER FEAR!

It’s time again for the annual, arduous, infamous, more-than-famous, match-by-match, pick ’em, extravaganza that’s known as the Adam and Mike BIG CLIMAX SELECTION SHOW.

Without trying to figure it out beforehand, we go through every tournament match of the month-long, 19-show, survival of the fittest, and choose who we think will succeed in getting themselves into the final, which takes place on the final of three nights at Sumo Hall.

Plus, don’t worry, if you were hoping for Mike to bitch about people bitching about the J-Cup, there’s that too. As well as, um, cautious optimism when it comes to the rumored GM of the new Las Vegas NHL franchise. It’s the radio show that somehow got left unprotected in the audio expansion draft. It’s the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE~!

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Tenzan in, Kojima out of 2016 NJPW G1 Climax; updated blocks & matches

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Joseph Currier for F4WOnline.com

When the participants in the 26th edition of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax were announced last month, it seemed that the tournament might never again feature the man most associated with it.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan was excluded from the field for only the second time since 1995 — the one constant in the tournament for two decades, only missing it in 2010 because of injury. Holding the record for the most G1 appearances with 20, he has won it three times. Tenzan was still able to reach relative highs against the right opponent or in the right situation, but whether his body could handle the grueling tournament became a question after being forced out of 2013’s edition with a rib injury.

However, Tenzan was added to the G1 for likely the final time at Sunday’s Kizuna Road show. Tenzan had been trying to find his way into the tournament since participants were announced. And, he finally got his wish when Satoshi Kojima, his longtime friend and partner, gave his spot to Tenzan for one final run under the condition that he wins it.

Updated tournament blocks:

– A Block: Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Seiya Sanada, Naomichi Marufuji, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi

– B Block: Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Kenny Omega, Yoshi-Hashi, Katsuhiko Nakajima

Updated tournament matches with Tenzan:

  • 7/18: Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • 7/23: Tenzan vs. Tama Tonga
  • 7/25: Tenzan vs. Naomichi Marufuji
  • 7/28: Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe
  • 7/31: Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada
  • 8/3: Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • 8/6: Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto
  • 8/8: Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • 8/12: Tenzan vs. Sanada

Updated G1 Climax schedule, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

  • 7/18 at the Hokkaido Sports Center in Sapporo, 2 a.m. Eastern with A block matches of Makabe vs. Tonga, Goto vs. Fale, Tenzan vs. Ishii, Okada vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Sanada.
  • 7/22 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has B block matches of Yoshi­Hashi vs. Omega, Yano vs. Nakajima, Elgin vs. Evil, Nagata vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Honma.
  • 7/23 in Tokyo at the Machida Municipal Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has A block matches of Tenzan vs. Tonga, Marufuji vs. Fale, Ishii vs. Goto, Okada vs. Sanada and Tanahashi vs. Makabe.
  • 7/24 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has B block matches with Yano vs. Omega, Elgin vs. Naito, Nagata vs. Evil, Honma vs. Yoshi­Hashi and Shibata vs. Nakajima.
  • 7/25 in Fukushima at the Big Palette at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Ishii vs. Fale, Tenzan vs. Marufuji, Okada vs. Goto, Makabe vs. Sanada and Tanahashi vs. Tonga.
  • 7/26 in Nagano at the Big Hat at 5:30 a.m Eastern has a B block show with Nakajima vs. Evil, Honma vs. Omega, Nagata vs. Yoshi­Hashi, Yano vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Elgin.
  • 7/28 in Tokorozawa at the Citizens Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Makabe vs. Tenzan, Okada vs. Tonga, Goto vs. Sanada, Ishii vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Fale.
  • 7/30 in Nagoya at the Aiichi Gym at 5 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Yoshi­Hashi vs. Evil, Honma vs. Yano, Nagata vs. Nakajima, Elgin vs. Omega and Shibata vs. Naito.
  • 7/31 in Gifu at Industrial Hall at 3 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Sanada vs. Fale, Ishii vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Okada, Makabe vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Goto.
  • 8/1 in Takamatsu at the City General Gym at 6 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Omega vs. Evil, Yoshi­Hashi vs. Nakajima, Nagata vs. Elgin, Honma vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Yano.
  • 8/3 in Kagoshima at the Arena at 5:30 a.m Eastern has an A block show with Marufuji vs. Sanada, Goto vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Fale, Makabe vs. Okada and Tanahashi vs. Ishii.
  • 8/4 in Fukuoka at the Citizens Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Nagata vs. Yano, Elgin vs. Yoshi­Hashi, Honma vs. Evil, Nakajima vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Omega.
  • 8/6 in Osaka at the Edion Arena at 5 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Sanada vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Goto, Makabe vs. Fale, Okada vs. Ishii and Tanahashi vs. Marufuji.
  • 8/7 in Shizuoka at Act City at 3 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Elgin vs. Yano, Nagata vs. Omega, Naito vs. Evil, Honma vs. Nakajima and Shibata vs Yoshi­Hashi.
  • 8/8 in Yokohama at the Bunka Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Marufuji vs. Tonga, Okada vs. Fale, Makabe vs. Goto, Ishii vs. Sanada and Tanahashi vs. Tenzan.
  • 8/10 in Yamagata a the City Sports Center at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Yano vs. Evil, Yoshi­Hashi vs. Naito, Nakajima vs. Omega, Honma vs. Elgin and Shibata vs. Nagata.
  • 8/12 at Tokyo Sumo Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has the final A block show with Fale vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Sanada, Makabe vs. Ishii, Goto vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Okada.
  • 8/13 at Tokyo Sumo Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has the final B block show with Yano vs. Yoshi­Hashi, Elgin vs. Nakajima, Nagata vs. Honma, Naito vs. Omega and Shibata vs. Evil.