BRM Reviews G1 Climax XXX: Day 3 (OSPREAY VS. ISHII!)
Posted: Sep 26th, '20, 18:05
NJPW G1 Climax XXX: Day 3 (9/23/2020)- Sapporo, Japan
GABRIEL KIDD vs. YUYA UEMURA- 5/10
BLOCK A MATCH: Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb- 6/10
There were some cool spots in here like Cobb blocking the sliding D by catching Shingo in a grip for a head-and-arms suplex, but mostly this match was them hitting each other over and over again in ways that didn’t really build up much drama for me.
BLOCK A MATCH: Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi- 5.5/10
Because we haven’t seen this match enough recently.
Stuff happened. They fought on the outside and the referee completely ignored the count-out rule until it was time to tease a count-out. Both guys worked the head. The match got pretty good towards the end, but the damage was already done in the first half with one of the more boring heat segments you’ll ever see.
BLOCK A MATCH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Taichi- 6/10
These guys are really angry with each other for some reason. We got lots of choking int the beginning (well, it is a Taichi match), followed by a wacky ref bump when the ref tried to get in between them and got pushed into a turnbuckle. At this point I will remind you that in New Japan, the turnbuckles are covered by one big pad all the way down. so it would hurt a lot less then being flung unto a turnbuckle in other promotions. Somehow getting pushed into a big pad kept the referee down for FOUR MINUTES.
Then again, I suppose I should be thankful that they actually bothered to do a ref bump at all before they got the chairs out. Did brawled on the outside and used chairs and stuff for a while. Finally they got back into the ring and the referee woke up. Suzuki still tried to use a chair. The ref tried to stop him but Suzuki shoved him down, so now the referee is bumped again. Taichi hit Suzuki with the microphone stand, and then we went right back to the outside more of the same.
They got back into the ring… and apparently both wrestlers being in the ring automatically triggers the referee to wake up, as this is now the second time that timing has worked out that way. The referee tried to stop Suzuki from using a chair. Fortunately for Suzuki, instead of using his big finisher kick to the head, Taichi was an idiot and decided to give him those stupid light kicks he does to set up the stop where the opponent fired up and they trade forearms, so that’s what we got next.
Suzuki won the forearm exchange with a forearm that had Taichi down and the referee checking on him for over thirty seconds. That should be a TKO right there. Instead, Taichi was given time to recover until Suzuki got tired of waiting, but by that point Taichi had recovered enough to counter Suzuki’s attack and go on offense.
From that point on the match was pretty good. Taichi picking up the win here feels like it should be a big deal, but it’s been a long time since someone beating someone far up the card from them in the G1 meant anything, so until it happens, I’ll be skeptical every time. I also just don’t see Taichi being a big player in New Japan. Even if they go the post-Suzuki route of Taichi as the leader of Suzuki-Gun and Zack kicked out and going babyface, I don’t see him being a big player. Not in a promotion with Okada, Naito, Tanahashi, Ibushi, Ospreay, Shingo, Zack, KENTA, Jay White, Goto, Sanada, Hiromu, Ishimori, Marty Scurll, Roppongi 3K, Ishii, and Cobb (and I’m nowhere near as high on those last two as most others are).
BLOCK A MATCH: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Will Ospreay- 9.5/10
This was pretty tremendous. Ospreay did a great job of being a dick without being a heel, Ishii didn’t overdo it with the no-selling, and they put together a very dramatic and exciting match. Everything built beautifully. I thought that piledriver version of the Stormbreaker had to be the pin, and was SHOCKED when Ishii kicked out of it.
BLOCK A MATCH: Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White (w/Gedo)- 8.5/10
We start off with the usual pointless stalling by Jay White. Then, the moment he got back into the ring, Ibushi kicked him, he rolled to the outside and Ibushi dove onto him. Why not just start the match that way? This stalling doesn’t get heel heat. It just gets me legitimately annoyed at my time being wasted. I know those things sound similar, but they’re not the same. If it was getting heel heat, I would want to see White lose, or be punished for his actions. When he starts stalling, I just want this part of the match to be over so the actual match can start.
White eventually cut Ibushi off with a Hotshot, then started working over his knee by smalling it into the apron. That makes this first time since the opener that both wrestlers didn’t focus on the other’s head and neck. White did work that area over and it was Ibushi’s main target, but at this point, I’ll take it just not being the primary focus of one wrestler. Come on, everyone! Is it that hard to make sure you’re not doing the same thing as everyone else on the card?
This was very exciting, though I thought Ibushi could have sold a lot better towards the end. White won, but they kept the bullsh*t to a minimum and other than Suzuki vs. Taichi, which was basically one big long shenanigans spot for the first half of it, this was the only heel shenanigans spot on the entire show, so it felt important rather than just a thing they’re doing for heat.
This was a GREAT show from New Japan. Every match had at least one good stretch, and we finished off with a great one-two punch at the top. In a year without many matches to get excited about, Ishii vs. Ospreay might well wind up somewhere on my top ten at the end of the year.
GABRIEL KIDD vs. YUYA UEMURA- 5/10
BLOCK A MATCH: Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb- 6/10
There were some cool spots in here like Cobb blocking the sliding D by catching Shingo in a grip for a head-and-arms suplex, but mostly this match was them hitting each other over and over again in ways that didn’t really build up much drama for me.
BLOCK A MATCH: Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi- 5.5/10
Because we haven’t seen this match enough recently.
Stuff happened. They fought on the outside and the referee completely ignored the count-out rule until it was time to tease a count-out. Both guys worked the head. The match got pretty good towards the end, but the damage was already done in the first half with one of the more boring heat segments you’ll ever see.
BLOCK A MATCH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Taichi- 6/10
These guys are really angry with each other for some reason. We got lots of choking int the beginning (well, it is a Taichi match), followed by a wacky ref bump when the ref tried to get in between them and got pushed into a turnbuckle. At this point I will remind you that in New Japan, the turnbuckles are covered by one big pad all the way down. so it would hurt a lot less then being flung unto a turnbuckle in other promotions. Somehow getting pushed into a big pad kept the referee down for FOUR MINUTES.
Then again, I suppose I should be thankful that they actually bothered to do a ref bump at all before they got the chairs out. Did brawled on the outside and used chairs and stuff for a while. Finally they got back into the ring and the referee woke up. Suzuki still tried to use a chair. The ref tried to stop him but Suzuki shoved him down, so now the referee is bumped again. Taichi hit Suzuki with the microphone stand, and then we went right back to the outside more of the same.
They got back into the ring… and apparently both wrestlers being in the ring automatically triggers the referee to wake up, as this is now the second time that timing has worked out that way. The referee tried to stop Suzuki from using a chair. Fortunately for Suzuki, instead of using his big finisher kick to the head, Taichi was an idiot and decided to give him those stupid light kicks he does to set up the stop where the opponent fired up and they trade forearms, so that’s what we got next.
Suzuki won the forearm exchange with a forearm that had Taichi down and the referee checking on him for over thirty seconds. That should be a TKO right there. Instead, Taichi was given time to recover until Suzuki got tired of waiting, but by that point Taichi had recovered enough to counter Suzuki’s attack and go on offense.
From that point on the match was pretty good. Taichi picking up the win here feels like it should be a big deal, but it’s been a long time since someone beating someone far up the card from them in the G1 meant anything, so until it happens, I’ll be skeptical every time. I also just don’t see Taichi being a big player in New Japan. Even if they go the post-Suzuki route of Taichi as the leader of Suzuki-Gun and Zack kicked out and going babyface, I don’t see him being a big player. Not in a promotion with Okada, Naito, Tanahashi, Ibushi, Ospreay, Shingo, Zack, KENTA, Jay White, Goto, Sanada, Hiromu, Ishimori, Marty Scurll, Roppongi 3K, Ishii, and Cobb (and I’m nowhere near as high on those last two as most others are).
BLOCK A MATCH: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Will Ospreay- 9.5/10
This was pretty tremendous. Ospreay did a great job of being a dick without being a heel, Ishii didn’t overdo it with the no-selling, and they put together a very dramatic and exciting match. Everything built beautifully. I thought that piledriver version of the Stormbreaker had to be the pin, and was SHOCKED when Ishii kicked out of it.
BLOCK A MATCH: Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White (w/Gedo)- 8.5/10
We start off with the usual pointless stalling by Jay White. Then, the moment he got back into the ring, Ibushi kicked him, he rolled to the outside and Ibushi dove onto him. Why not just start the match that way? This stalling doesn’t get heel heat. It just gets me legitimately annoyed at my time being wasted. I know those things sound similar, but they’re not the same. If it was getting heel heat, I would want to see White lose, or be punished for his actions. When he starts stalling, I just want this part of the match to be over so the actual match can start.
White eventually cut Ibushi off with a Hotshot, then started working over his knee by smalling it into the apron. That makes this first time since the opener that both wrestlers didn’t focus on the other’s head and neck. White did work that area over and it was Ibushi’s main target, but at this point, I’ll take it just not being the primary focus of one wrestler. Come on, everyone! Is it that hard to make sure you’re not doing the same thing as everyone else on the card?
This was very exciting, though I thought Ibushi could have sold a lot better towards the end. White won, but they kept the bullsh*t to a minimum and other than Suzuki vs. Taichi, which was basically one big long shenanigans spot for the first half of it, this was the only heel shenanigans spot on the entire show, so it felt important rather than just a thing they’re doing for heat.
This was a GREAT show from New Japan. Every match had at least one good stretch, and we finished off with a great one-two punch at the top. In a year without many matches to get excited about, Ishii vs. Ospreay might well wind up somewhere on my top ten at the end of the year.