NJPW G1 Climax 29
Night 15 – A Block
#g129
Event Date: August 7, 2019 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
Venue: Hamamatsu Arena
Attendance: 3,030
Series: G1 Climax 29
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero
Commentary (Japanese): Shigeki Kiyono, Milano Collection AT, Jushin Thunder Liger (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
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki & Taichi vs Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji & Toru Yano (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Yoshinobu Kanemaru submits Yuya Uemura to a Boston crab
Time: 8:56
Match Thoughts
This was a fun opener. Suzuki Gun of course started the fighting before the opening bell, and they dominated Uemura, Tsuji, and Yano in a brawl. Back in the ring, Minoru Suzuki destroyed Yota Tsuji. After that, Yano and Taichi gave a preview of their upcoming match which is going to be 95% shenanigans. Then Uemura looked good as he finished the match against Kanemaru. The match was a decent length, and the action was fast and fun.
Match 2
Shota Umino & Jon Moxley (IWGP US Champ) vs YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI submits Shots Umino with a butterfly lock
Time: 5:09
Match Thoughts
Good match. Goto and Moxley started the match, and their upcoming tournament match should be good. Moxley is under pressure, and he’s mad. That showed in how he took the fight to Goto, but Goto didn’t back down either. After their brief exchange, Umino and YOSHI-HASHI stepped in to finish the match. The fight was back and forth with Umino putting up a good fight against YOSHI-HASHI.
Match 3
Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi & Jay White w/ Gedo vs Toa Henare & Tomoaki Honma & Juice Robinson
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Chase Owens pins Toa Henare after a package piledriver
Time: 9:31
Match Thoughts
Good match. The main draw here was the preview for White and Juice’s upcoming match. I feel like that could be a pretty intense match. Juice can’t wait to get a hold of White, but their breif exchange tonight clearly wasn’t enough for him. Chase Owens also looked good once again in this tag match as he kind of dominated Toa Henare to finish the fight.
Match 4
BUSHI & Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ) vs Ren Narita & Jeff Cobb & Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: BUSHI pins Ren Narita after MX
Time: 8:50
Match Thoughts
Good match. This was definitely the best preview match of the night. Shingo and Ishii started the match, and if tonight was any indication, they are going to be swinging at each other until one or both of them can’t continue. Naito and Cobb is going to be fun as well. Naito is going to have to figure out a way to counteract Cobb’s size and strength, because he wasn’t having a ton of success tonight. Narita and BUSHI had a short exchange to finish the match, but most of this tag match was all about good previews for upcoming tournament matches.
Match 5
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Lance Archer (2-5-0: 4) vs SANADA (3-4-0: 6)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: SANADA wins via pinfall with a bridging O’Connor Roll
Time: 10:28
Match Thoughts
Good match. Archer was tired of losing, and he took out his anger on SANADA before the opening bell. Archer dominated SANADA throughout much of this match, but SANADA was able to get an increasing amount of offense as the match went on. SANADA relied on dives, speed, and going low on Archer’s legs for most of his offense. Towards the end of the match, SANADA started looking for Skull End more and more, but Archer had it scouted well, and forced SANADA to get creative. This was a good start to the night’s block matches.
Match 6
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Bad Luck Fale (2-5-0: 4) w/ Jado, Chase Owens vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (4-3-0: 8)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Bad Luck Fale wins via pinfall with a backslide
Time: 9:58
Match Thoughts
Good match. I think this was one of Fale’s more entertaining matches. He had lots and lots of help from Owens and Jado of course, but his back and forth with Tanahashi was good. Tanahashi went after Fale’s legs early and worked towards some submission attempts, but Fale’s size (and Tanahashi’s bad knee) slowed Tanahashi’s momentum throughout the match. And when Fale’s size didn’t work to stop Tanahashi, Owens and Jado were there for the save.
Match 7
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
KENTA (4-3-0: 8) vs Will Ospreay (2-5-0: 4) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Will Ospreay wins via pinfall after Stormbreaker
Time: 16:33
Match Thoughts
Great match! As expected, the pace was high right from the start. Both men picked up where they left off in their preview tag match. They opened with a fast sequence of strikes and counters that ended in both men kicking each other in the head. KENTA took the fight to the floor where he gained control, but Ospreay got angry after a while and started showing more and more of his striking abilities. Both men hit each other with some incredibly rough looking strikes and moves as the match built up and up to a fantastic finish. I’d love to see this match again.
Match 8
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
Zack Sabre Jr. (3-4-0: 6) (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) vs Kota Ibushi (5-2-0: 10)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Kota Ibushi wins via pinfall after Kamigoye
Time: 15:46
Match Thoughts
Great match! The match started with both men being cautious. It seemed like they both knew how dangerous their opponent was, so they were both waiting and looking for a good opening to attack. Ibushi started showing his kicks, so Sabre started going after Ibushi’s ankle. As the match went on Sabre did his best when he was looking for any of his multitude of submissions. Sabre got cocky though, and he left himself open to Ibushi’s kicks on more than one occasion. Ibushi was also able to power out of a few of Sabre’s holds, though Sabre often had another hold waiting each time Ibushi did that. This match was a lot of fun.
Match 9
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match
EVIL (4-3-0: 8) vs Kazuchika Okada (6-1-0: 12) (IWGP Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Kazuchika Okada wins via pinfall after the Rainmaker
Time: 27:00
Match Thoughts
Great match! Okada was confident as always, and he controlled the first part of the match. EVIL took control for himself with some liberal use of chairs at ringside, and EVIL would maintain control of the match back in the ring. This was another long match for Okada, and as the match went on, both men started looking for more impactful moves. Both EVIL and Okada looked for their own finishers and attempted their opponent’s finishers in a scramble leading up to the final few minutes of the match, and some knee buckling strikes from both men made those final few minutes very tense. This was a great main event, and it was a great way to set up the final night of A Block action in just a few days.
Show Impressions
This was an exciting night. The final night is now set, and despite at least one major upset, I think this night was done in a great way to make the final night of block action simple and easy to get into. If there were a bunch of possible tie-breaker situations that involved lengthy equations to figure out the match, then I think that might make the final night less exciting than it could be. As of right now though, I really like how the final round is shaping up.
Match of the Night
EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada
The final three matches of the night were all great, but I think this and the Ospreay/KENTA match were the best of the night. I think the main event just edged it out in terms of excitement towards the end, but it could really go either way.
Standings After Night 15
Block A
| Wrestler | Points | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ) | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Kota Ibushi | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| EVIL * | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi * | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| KENTA * | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| SANADA * | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Bad Luck Fale * | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Will Ospreay * (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ) | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Zack Sabre Jr. * (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Lance Archer * | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
* = eliminated
Block B
| Wrestler | Points | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Moxley (IWGP US Champ) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Hirooki Goto | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Jay White | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Jeff Cobb | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Juice Robinson | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Taichi | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Toru Yano (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Shingo Takagi * | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
* = eliminated
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/192663?showResult=1