G1 Climax 24 Block A Match: "Stone Pitbull" Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima
Ishii is coming in with a chip on his shoulder after getting dominated by Bad Luck Fale on day 1. Kojima is coming in with confidence after knocking off a fellow veteran in Yuji Nagata. What we get as a result is two amazing talents giving us their all for a little over ten minutes of fast paced hard hitting action with the crowd(and me) loving every second of it.
About what you would expect from an Ishii/Kojima match. Two dudes beating each other up and selling it terrifically. Kojima keeps dropping Ishii on his head and neck, Ishii fights back with big elbows and Tenryu throat chops. A fun back and forth with a hot crowd and some nasty bumps, if they had 5-10 more minutes this could have been a MOTY contender. Ishii hits a big combo on Kojima, picks him up for a disgusting looking(in a good way) brainbuster and gets his first 2 points of the tourney.
Overall Rating: Good
G1 Climax 24 Block A Match: Shelton "X" Benjamin vs Bad Luck Fale
Really simple back and forth here. Benjamin does a great job selling for Fale, Fale does his big guy thing. Benjamin picks up the win with a nice super kick, Paydirt combo. I'm really enjoying Benjamin's performance so far in the tournament. If he was this fired up every time he was in the ring he would probably get booked more. Benjamin goes into day three with 4 points.
Overall Rating: Average, enjoyable match but nothing real special happened.
G1 Climax 24 Block B Match: "Wild Samurai" Hirooki Goto vs "Mr. Rated R" Yujiro Takahashi
Another match where both men are coming in with 2 points. Yujiro beat Naito to a pulp during day one and Goto got a big win in his grudge match with Makabe.
The crowd is 100% behind Goto and he gets a nice pop when he comes out for his entrance. Yujiro has done some very good heel work since winning the NEVER Openweight title and this is no exception. Right out of the gate Goto is going full force which Yujiro isn't so keen on. This is where the dirty tactics come in as Yujiro pulls out every heel trick in the book. Biting, baiting to the outside, eye rakes, anytime Goto gains momentum Yujiro squashes it then laughs while thrusting the air. Goto goes for the headbutt to Shouten Kai combo and Yujiro meets the headbutt with a stiff elbow into a bridging german suplex. Goto manages to kick out, Yujiro goes for the Miami Shine, Goto powers out hits the big headbutt into a big lariat, Shotuen Kai 1-2-3. Fun match, the crowd really helped make this one. Goto now has 4 points moving into day three.
Overall Rating: Good
G1 Climax 24 Block B Match: "Stardust Genius" Tetsuya Naito vs "American Psycho" Lance Archer
Lance Archer's first match in this years tournament as him and his tag team partner Davey Boy Smith Jr. had a bye on day one. Naito is coming off a loss to his former partner Yujiro. Both men are going to be trying to score their first points here.
Big pop for Naito when he enters the arena and big Naito chants as soon as the match starts. Archer charges in but Naito is too quick for him. After a few minutes of Naito running all over, Archer is able to catch him and takes control. From here its all Archer throwing around Naito, and Naito making archer look like a beast. Back and forth, Naito hits a reverse DDT and does one of the best Stardust Presses I've ever seen. Unfortunately he misses and Archer takes back control. Big chokeslam from Archer, then he goes for some sort of full nelson move which Naito counters into a cradle for the win. Really enjoyable Speed and Technique vs Size and Power match. Archer's new tights looked awful.
Overall Rating: Good
G1 Climax 24 Block A Match: "Blue Justice" Yuji Nagata vs "Kokeshi" Tomoaki Honma
Honma is one of the best sympathetic underdogs in the world. Yuji Nagata is a legend who is pissed off from his loss on day one. We got two guys with no points and lots of killer intent looking to show they have more to offer then how they are currently booked.
Crowd is behind Honma as anyone with a heart should be. Some really fun "testing the waters" back and forth sequences in the beginning, but then something happens. Honma goes for a knuckle lock test of strength spot, Nagata acts like he is going to lock up and then slaps Honma right in the face. The reaction and look of sadness on Honma's face is unable to be expressed in words. He looks betrayed. Its beautiful, and a testament to how great a story teller the man can be. That's the moment any sense of sportsmanship vanishes and they go all out. He charges at Nagata but gets a knee and thrown into the corner. Honma takes some elbows then reverses Nagata into the corner and returns the slap to the face as if to say "YOU WANT IT THIS WAY? OKAY THEN!". Great stuff. After that Honma remains control then tries to hit the Kokeshi only for Nagata to move and stand up looking at Honma like he is the biggest fool in the world. Which Honma answers by trying to do it again only for the same thing to happen. Blue Justice starts to work over the arm with some holds and kicks to the shoulder. Honma answers with chops and is met with a knee. Nagata trips after hitting the knee but manages to roll off his back and regain composure with a nice little "phew" gesture which the crowd loved. These two are so endearing in everything they do. Nagata controls the match until Honma does his signature corner elbow, bulldog combo right into a kokeshi headbutt that actually hits! The look of satisfaction on his face when he hits that headbutt after missing so many times will always pop me. Nagata goes for the Exploder and Honma turns it around in mid air into a crossbody Then Nagata goes for his corner knee which Honma catches into a ring shaking jumping power bomb, then into a disgusting vertical drop brainbuster. A really intense hate filled strike exchange happens that Nagata gets the better of. He hits Honma with a release german suplex and Honma pops up full of fire only to eat a boot and a Backdrop Suplex Hold for the finish. Nagata gets his first win of the tournament and celebrates with the fans while Honma is helped to the back by a young lion. Fantastic bout that was dragged down by a few botches from Nagata.
Overall Rating: Good. Without the botches and with a little more time could have been a great one. Probably still my Match of the Night.
G1 Climax 24 Block A Match: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura is looking to recover with a win here after getting taken out by Shibata on day one. Davey Boy is looking to tie up his match series with Nakamura at 2-2 while getting some much needed points. These two have had some good matches together in the past and have great chemistry.
Smith heels it up while taunting and talking smack. At one point Davey has a headlock on Shinsuke and he grabs his hand to make him tap out and then raises his arms in victory proclaiming he tapped. Good stuff. Pretty much everything about this match was good up until the finish where Shinsuke hit the weakest looking Boma Ye I have ever seen. Never seen him mess that up before, it might have just been the camera angle. Match was good, finish not so much.
Overall Rating: Good.
G1 Climax Block B Match: AJ Styles vs Toru Yano
AJ is not in the mood for Yano's shenanigans after finally losing to Okada on day one. Yano is his same jovial, dvd shilling, trickster self.
This match was way better than it had any right to be. AJ went all out and forced Yano to go all out. Yano did some good selling, AJ made some of Yano's moves look credible and they did some classic Yano Toru shenanigans. Watching YTR barely getting by on his self described "noblest brain" against the champion was very fun to watch. Any time they teased the Yano upset the crowd popped huge. AJ Styles gets better and better every time he steps in the ring for New Japan and I'm loving it.
Overall Rating: Good.
G1 Climax 24 Block B Match: "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada vs "Raging Bull" Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Tenzan pulled off a big win over Karl Anderson on day one much to the joy of the crowd. Okada finally toppled the man who he lost his championship to, and overcame the challenge that is AJ Styles. Another match up of guys with two points apiece. Who can break ahead of the pack?
Its no secret that Tenzan can't go like he used to. Tenzan has become this years sympathetic veteran. The crowd knows he isn't going to win, and they know he isn't going to put on the best matches, but that doesn't matter to them because he is trying his best and he has given so much to them in the past. His day one win was a feel good moment much like Okada finally overcoming AJ and the Bullet Club interferences. This match much like the match before it had no right to be as good as it was. Okada sells big for Tenzan, Tenzan sells big for Okada. It's really surprising how good Tenzan has been looking in comparison to last year where he didn't have any good matches and had to drop out of G1 with broken ribs. Some really good spots in this one and an overall solid effort. Okada wins with the Rainmaker.
Overall Rating: Good
G1 Climax 24 Block B Match: Karl "Machine Gun" Anderson vs "Unchained King Kong" Togi Makabe
Anderson can't be happy after losing to Tenzan on day one and Makabe is never happy. What we get here is a pissed off unchained king kong and a crafty Anderson trying to score their first points.
The broken jaw of Makabe is the target here. Anderson works that jaw over every chance he gets and when he isn't working the jaw he is selling his ass off for Makabe. Good bout with hard hitting action and at least three gun stuns. It really bugs me that Anderson does all these gun stun variants and the only one that ever gets a win is the regular version. Why would I react to your move if I know it never gets the win? Makabe hits the spider german suplex into the king kong knee drop to pick up his first two points. Match was fine but I felt it was missing something, didn't really stand out to me.
Overall Rating: Average
G1 Climax 24 Block A Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs "The Outlaw" Doc Gallows
Gallows comes in with no points, Tanahashi with two. This match is all about the big heel vs the top guy, and whether the big heel can get an upset win.
Gallows and Tanahashi both display a large amount of charisma in this one. Gallows mocks Tanahashi's height and Tanahashi responds by hopping up on the turnbuckle and shouting at Doc. Most the early stages of the match are then controlled by Doc. He beats Tanahashi up on the outside then brings him back in the ring for some nice looking strikes and elbow drops. Tanahashi sells well for Doc and makes him look great. Gallows goes for a Vader Bomb style splash, Tana gets the knees up and hits the Slingblade. Some back and forth counters until Doc hits his old WWE finisher. Doesn't get the three. He hits a nice looking back breaker and some head kicks while taunting the crowd. Gallows goes for the Gallows Pole again and eats a knee to the face. Tanahashi hits the Slingblade again into two High Fly Flows for the win. Gallows sells the ribs like they are broken after the match which was great. After he leaves we get a nice Tanahashi promo and an air guitar concert, and before the ace makes his exit he makes sure to show love to all his fans.
Overall rating: Good
Overall I really enjoyed day two and the crowd was one of the best NJPW crowds of the year. While nothing stood out as super amazing the whole card was full of good matches. Day two felt like a more balanced show than day one, meaning everything was more equal in terms of quality compared to day one which was more top-heavy with a decent first half and an amazing second half. Hope you enjoyed the review and don't hesitate to give me feedback on twitter: @Original_Bonski .
You can watch the show here if you are unable to afford it: http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x3arz9_original_bonski_njpw-g1-climax-24-day-2/1#video=x21ze8m
But please if you can support NJPW for all the good wrestling they give us. Buy some merch or something.
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