NJPW G1 Climax 29
Night 5 – A Block
#g129
Event Date: July 18, 2019 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 1,726
Series: G1 Climax 29
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero, Chris Charlton
Commentary (Japanese): Shigeki Kiyono, Milano Collection AT, YOSHI-HASHI (5 – 9)
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 4), Makoto Abe (5 – 9)
Video
The wrestlers in A Block of the G1 Climax tournament are briefly profiled.
Match 1
Shota Umino & Jon Moxley (IWGP US Champ) vs Yuya Uemura & Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Shota Umino pins Yuya Uemura with a bridging fisherman suplex
Time: 5:46
Match Thoughts
This was a good preview for the tournament match between Moxley and Ishii, and it was a nice opener for tonight’s show. Moxley and Ishii started the match against each other, and they both came out swinging. They brawled in the center of the ring hard enough that Umino and Uemura had to come in to pull them apart so the match could continue. Both men aggressively pursued each other whether they were legal in the match or not, so Umino and Uermura had to finish the match. Moxley versus Ishii is going to be fun!
Match 2
YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto & Jeff Cobb vs Yota Tsuji & Toa Henare & Juice Robinson
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI submits Yota Tsuji with a butterfly lock
Time: 9:30
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Since there was only one young lion in the match, it was easy to guess how the match would end. Henare started the match and faced Goto and Cobb, Juice came in and gave us a preview of his upcoming tournament match with Cobb, then YOSHI-HASHI and Tsuji finished the match against each other. The preview was good, and Tsuji got a lot of offense against YOSHI. This was fine.
Match 3
Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi & Jay White w/ Gedo vs Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Chase Owens pins Ren Narita after a package piledriver
Time: 8:49
Match Thoughts
Good match. Yano wanted to start against White, but White tagged out immediately. Yano tagged Honma (who wasn’t expecting it), and Honma did a lot of the work for the first part of the match. Bullet Club took the fight out to the floor early, but most of the action in the match did take place in the ring. Yano and White gave a good review for their upcoming match later in this match, and Narita gave Chase Owens a nice fight with a few really close near falls from the young lion. This was choatic and fun.
Match 4
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki & Taichi vs BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ) & Shingo Takagi
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Minoru Suzuki pins BUSHI after a Gotch style piledriver
Time: 8:35
Match Thoughts
Good match. This was the most fun tag match tonight. Both teams worked well together, and the breakdown towards the end of the match was fast-paced and very entertaining. Shingo and Taichi have a tournament match coming up tomorrow, and they started this match against each other. Shingo and Taichi remained legal in the match for a long time, and they delivered probably the best preview of the night. Everyone got involved as the match went on though, and I enjoyed it very much.
Match 5
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Lance Archer (2-0-0: 4) vs KENTA (2-0-0: 4)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: KENTA wins via submission with Game Over (LeBell Lock)
Time: 11:58
Match Thoughts
Good match. KENTA started strong with a series of kicks that hurt Archer, but this felt like an uphill battle for KENTA for nearly the entire match. Archer’s size and power were just a lot for KENTA to handle. Archer pulled off some great moves, but KENTA kept trying to chip away at the much bigger man. I liked how both men’s attacks forced their opponent to deviate somewhat from the gameplans we’ve seen from them so far in the G1 Climax.
Match 6
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
SANADA (1-1-0: 2) vs EVIL (1-1-0: 2)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: EVIL wins via pinfall after Everything is EVIL (STO)
Time: 18:11
Match Thoughts
Very good match. I was looking forward to this one, and I was very pleased with the result. I kind of wanted SANADA to win, but really I just wanted a good match. This was a good match, and it was interesting to watch the slightly different approaches from each man. SANADA came right at EVIL, but EVIL tended to go for cheap tactics when SANADA was gaining momentum. Towards the end of the match though, both men were trading strikes and slams, and the finish ended up being very satisfying. Now hopefully these two can make up and be a team again.
Ring Area
After the match, EVIL holds out a first toward SANADA. SANADA answers, and everything seems okay in LIJ.
Match 7
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Bad Luck Fale (1-1-0: 2) w/ Chase Owens, Jado vs Kazuchika Okada (2-0-0: 4)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Kazuchika Okada wins via pinfall with a rana hold
Time: 10:15
Match Thoughts
This was pretty good. Fale knew he needed every advantage he could get against Okada, so he brought Jado and Chase Owens to the ring with him. Fale also brought Okada to the ring, having attacked him in the back prior to the match. With Okada beaten up before they even made it to the ring, this match was about Okada building a comeback. The champ did just that, and he had to deal with all three members of Bullet Club along the way. The action in this match was mostly brawling, but I think the story part of it was fine.
Match 8
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Zack Sabre Jr. (0-2-0: 0) (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (0-2-0: 0)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Hiroshi Tanahashi wins via pinfall with a jackknife cover reversal to a triangle hold
Time: 13:56
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Both men were desperate for a win, but Tanahashi seemed to remain more calm about it than Sabre. Tanahashi used his technical skills well enough to play some great defense against Sabre’s technical mastery, and that proved to be a huge factor in this match. Tanahashi did bring in some of his moves like Twist & Shout and repeated sling blades, but the difference tonight was Tanahashi being smart and patient. I enjoyed this match very much.
Match 9
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Will Ospreay (1-1-0: 2) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ) vs Kota Ibushi (0-2-0: 0)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Kota Ibushi wins via pinfall after the Kamigoye
Time: 27:16
Match Thoughts
Great match! Both men came into this match hurt, but Ospreay definitely seemed to be worse off. Ibushi’s ankle was still giving him trouble, but Ospreay injured his neck in his match against SANADA. Both men were cautious at first in tonight’s match, but neither shied away from quickly going after the other’s injury. As the match went on and instincts started to take over, both Ospreay and Ibushi seemed to forget about protecting themselves and just went for everything they could. The pace picked up considerably in the final few minutes, and this was a fun, though sometimes scary, main event.
Show Impressions
I think overall this wasn’t the most exciting match of the G1 tour, but the main event alone is going to contend for one of the best matches of the tournament when it’s all over. That’s not to say the matches weren’t good. They were very good, I just think the bar has been set really high and this kind of felt like a slight decrease in importance overall as the excitement of the opening rounds has passed and the tension of the spreading block standings is only just beginning.
Match of the Night
Will Ospreay vs Kota Ibushi
This matchup is going to be difficult to top on any night, and the added tension of both men’s injuries made this as dramatic as it was exciting.
Standings After Night 5
Block A
| Wrestler | Points | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| KENTA | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| EVIL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Lance Archer | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kota Ibushi | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Will Ospreay (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| SANADA | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Zack Sabre Jr. (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Block B
| Wrestler | Points | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Moxley (IWGP US Champ) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Juice Robinson | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Hirooki Goto | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shingo Takagi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Taichi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Toru Yano (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jay White | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jeff Cobb | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/192647?showResult=1