G1 Climax 27 Recap & Review – Night 3
The second round of A Block matches were consistently very good despite not having the same blockbuster match-ups as the opening night.
The second round of A Block matches were consistently very good despite not having the same blockbuster match-ups as the opening night.
B Block of the 2017 G1 Climax starts with a round of great matches featuring, among other things, Juice Robinson getting off to an impressive start, EVIL and SANADA tearing the house down, and Kenny Omega trying to survive against the maniac Minoru Suzuki!
Ember Moon takes on Ruby Riot and Drew McIntyre faces Killian Dain to decide who will be next to face Bobby Roode for the NXT Title in a good episode of NXT packed with a variety of entertaining matches.
Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali attempt to settle their differences in a great 2 out of 3 falls match on an episode of 205 Live that also featured Akira Tozawa attempting to get a win over Ariya Daivari despite his injured shoulder.
The final SmackDown Live before Battleground managed to build some nice interest in the PPV and contained a few enjoyable matches.
Tonight’s episode felt like the path before the road to Summer Slam and not a lot seemed to happen, but there was at least one big moment when Kurt Angle finally revealed the secret he’s been dealing with for the past few weeks.
The 2017 G1 Climax started with some good (and some great) matches from A Block and set up the start of B Block in a very nice way with some interesting tag matches!
Mayu Iwatani takes on her first challenger for the World of Stardom Title as she battles Yoko Bito in a night of very good matches at Korakuen Hall!
Bobby Fish makes his NXT debut, and Heavy Machinery challenges The Authors of Pain in a pretty good episode of NXT.
Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar settle their differences in an I Quit match on a very good episode of 205 Live.
AJ Styles is the new United States champ after a win at a live event at Madison Square Garden, but Owens doesn’t like it when Styles issues an open challenge for his new title. Also, with less than two weeks until Battleground, the card continues to form in an episode of SmackDown that feels rather forgettable, but sets up some matches and story lines heading into the big show.
While a little light on wrestling, this show featured some interesting story developments as well as a great main event between Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt.
The first ever Great Balls of Fire, despite its silly name, was a very good show with some great matches and memorable moments.
Akira Tozawa challenges Neville for the Cruiserweight Title in a surprisingly good kickoff show.
Roderick Strong challenges Bobby Roode for the NXT Title in a very good and emotional match!
Rich Swann faces TJP in some “friendly competition,” Jack Gallagher gets another chance to defeat Tony Nese, and Neville gives Titus O’Neil a message for Tozawa in a good episode of 205 Live.
AJ Styles battles Chad Gable to determine who will enter an Independence Day battle royal, The Usos face New Day in a surprisingly entertaining rap battle, Lana gets another title shot, and John Cena returns on a good episode of SmackDown Live!
Braun Strowman finds competition within Titus Worldwide, Cesaro challenges Finn Balor in a great bout, Heath Slater works his way into the IC Title picture, and more on a really good episode of RAW!
The first IWGP US Heavyweight Champ is crowned in the finale of a highly entertaining tournament, Billy Gunn challenges Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP IC Title, The Young Bucks put their Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles on the line against Roppongi Vice once again, and more on the second of two nights for NJPW in the USA.
The focus of tonight’s Stardom show at Shinkiba 1st Ring seemed to be to set up the upcoming Korakuen Hall show, but it managed to have some pretty good matches as well.