By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S “G1 CLIMAX 25: NIGHT 4” BLOG
JULY 25, 2015
TAKAMATSU CITY, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPWWORLD.COM

I’m not watching the tag matches on the undercard this year, but I will include the results. If anything noteworthy happens in a particular tag match, I will watch it.

Update: I have given in and will watch most of the single came shows going forward since it seems like this is going to be a regular occurrence throughout G1 this year. This show was shot with a single camera for NJPW World.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

(1) Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) beat Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan in an eight-man tag match.

(2) YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano & Gedo beat Tenzan & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay, Jr. in a six-man tag match.

(3) Bullet Club (A.J. Styles & Bad Luck Fale) beat Kota Ibushi & Jay White.

(4) Tanahashi & Shibata & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Naito & NEVER Openweight champion Togi Makabe & Yohei Komatsu in a six-man tag match.


G1 CLIMAX 25: NIGHT 4 B BLOCK RESULTS & ANALYSIS

(5) Tomohiro Ishii (2) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (0) in a G1 Climax 25 B Block match. Takahashi got the upper hand on the floor and distracted the ref, which allowed Cody Hall to attack Ishii on the floor. Takahashi dominated the action and used cheap tactics to maintain the upper hand. Ishii finally managed to catch Takahashi with a power slam as he came off the ropes and the fans fired up. Takahashi fired back and got the upper hand again. He nailed Ishii with some light kicks and slaps. Ishii got mad and fired up. He began walking at Takahashi as he nailed him with forearms. Ishii then decked Takahashi with one forearm and the fans gasped. Hall grabbed Ishii with the ref distracted, but Takahashi accidentally ran into hall. Takahashi managed to duck an attack from Ishii and he wiped him out with a clothesline. Ishii fired back a short time later with a big headbutt. He then followed up with a buckle bomb and both men were down on the mat. Takahashi shoved Ishii towards the ref and he stopped short, but Takahashi nailed him with a low blow and got a small package for a 2 count. Takahashi then picked up Ishii and hit Tokyo pimps for a near fall. They went back and forth and Ishii ended a big exchange with a jumping kick to the side of the head. Both men were once again down on the mat with the fans chanting for Ishii. Takahashi went for the Miami shine DVD, but Ishii blocked it. He then went for a low blow, but Ishii blocked it and nailed him with a headbutt. Ishii then nailed Takahashi with a sliding lariat, but he kicked out at the last second. Ishii lifted up Takahashi and finished him off with a brainbuster.

Winner: Tomohiro Ishii (4 pts.)

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a solid match to kick of action for the B block on this night. They had a fantastic match on PPV last year and this was nowhere near that level, but it was still good. Ishii overcame a lot of outside interference and cheap tactics from Takahashi to get the win here.

(6) Michael Elgin (0) vs. Satoshi Kojima (0) in a G1 Climax 25 Block B match. Elgin told Kojima to bring it and took several shots before sending Kojima to the floor with a shoulder tackle. Kojima fired back inside the ring a short time later with an ace crusher and the fans fired up. Elgin tried to fire back, but Kojima raked his eyes. Elgin held up Kojima in the suplex position and did some squats that made the fans gasp before dropping him down to the mat. Elgin slid around Kojima and tripped him before hitting a slingshot splash back into the ring for a 2 count. Kojima ducked a charge in the corner and nailed Elgin with machine gun chops. They went back and forth and Elgin nailed Kojima with a rolling elbow. They went back and forth in the corner with Elgin hitting clotheslines and Kojima hitting chops. The action then went to the center of the ring where Elgin and Kojima continued to exchange blows. Elgin eventually set up for a huge clothesline, but Kojima blocked it. Both men continued to go back and forth and Elgin eventually hit a dead-lift powerbomb. He made the cover, but Kojima kicked out at the last second. Elgin went for his dead-lift superplex on the apron, but Kojima blocked it. He went up top, but Elgin nailed him with an enzuguri up top. Elgin set up for a powerbomb on the apron, but Kojima blocked it and hit a DDT. He followed up with a brainbuster a short time later, but Elgin kicked out. Elgin blocked a lariat and hit a back fist. He followed up with a buckle bomb and set up for the Elgin bomb, but Kojima countered it into a lariat. Elgin then popped up and hit a diving clothesline of his own for a near fall. Elgin tried to jump at Kojima off the turnbuckles, but Kojima wiped him out with a lariat for the win.

Both men shook hands after the match.

Winner: Satoshi Kojima (2 pts.)

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was really good. It was a lot of fun watching the fans act to Elgin. It seems he fits right in with the NJPW style perfectly. This was a good back and forth war that ended abruptly when Elgin got caught coming off the turnbuckles with a clothesline.

(7) IWGP Hvt. Tag Team Champion Karl Anderson (2) vs. IWGP IC Champion Hirooki Goto (2) in a G1 Climax 25 B Block match. Anderson got the upper hand on the outside and hit a big apron bomb. Anderson set up Goto on the ropes after he beat the 20 count and nailed him with a running dropkick that sent him flying back to the outside. Anderson had the upper hand, but Goto mounted a comeback and took him down with a clothesline in the corner. Anderson fired back a short time later and hit a neck breaker over his knee for a 2 count. They battled up top and Goto hit a code red bomb off the top and the fans applauded. Anderson fired back a short time later and surprised Goto with a neck breaker. Goto blocked a gun stun attempt and they had a fast-paced exchange. They continued to go back and forth until Goto nailed Anderson with a big clothesline. He followed up with a big neck breaker over his knee. Goto went for the shouten kai, but Anderson countered it into the gun stun for the win! Wow!

Winner: Karl Anderson (4 pts.)

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was really good. Both guys did extensive work targeting the neck during the match. They built the match up to a red hot finish. Anderson is on fire in this tournament and his counter of the shouten kai was insane.

(8) Shinsuke Nakamura (0) vs. Yuji Nagata (2) in a G1 Climax B Block match. Nagata blocked the vibration boot early, but Nakamura ended up slapping him right across the face. Nagata fired up with a series of strikes and a running kick to wipe out Nakamura. Nakamura ended up firing back and the action spilled to the floor. Nakamura whipped Nagata and he went flying over the guardrail and into the crowd. Nakamura set Nagata up over the guardrail and nailed him with a huge running kick to the gut. Nakamura remained in control inside the ring and hit the vibration boot in the corner. Nakamura fired back and finally caught Nakamura with a knee to the gut as he came off the ropes. He followed up with an exploder into the turnbuckles a short time later. Nagata continued to hold the upper hand and applied a crossface in the middle of the ring, but Nakamura managed to slide over to the ropes to break the submission. They exchanged kicks and Nagata sent Nakamura down with a big kick. Nakamura fired back and hit his signature running knee in the corner for a 2 count. Nakamura set up for Boma ye, but Nagata caught him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Nakamura went for a punch, but Nagata countered it into his signature arm bar and the fans fired up. He dragged Nakamura away from the ropes and applied the hold again. Nakamura struggled and eventually got to the ropes. Nakamura landed on his feet when Nagata hit a German and fired right back with a Boma ye and both men were down. The fans fired up with both men down on the mat.

Both men got up and traded punches. Nakamura decked Nagata with a big punch and followed up with a back stabber followed by a reverse power slam. Nakamura set up for the Boma ye, but Nagata got out of the way and nailed him with a big kick in the corner. Nagata then hit a big backdrop driver, but Nakamura kicked out at the last second and the fans gasped. Nakamura fired back and took out Nagata’s leg and hit a Boma ye immediately. Nagata kicked out at the last second and ate another Boma ye. Nagata got right up and fired back with a kick of his own, but Nakamura nailed him with yet another Boma ye for the win.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (2 pts.)

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a very good back and forth match that the fans were into. They did some really good near falls late that got the crowd going. Nagata had a couple of nice counters for the Boma ye, but ultimately Nakamura hit several down the stretch to get the win.

(9) Kazuchika Okada (2) vs. Tomoaki Honma (0) in a G1 Climax 25 B Block match. The fans fired up with a big chant for Honma right after the bell. Some fans were also chanting for Okada. Honma won a big exchange of forearms during the early going much to the delight of the fans, but missed a running kokeshi a short time later. Okada got the upper hand and went to work on Honma on the floor. Don’t these guys know there’s only one camera for this show? They teased yet another count out, but Honma managed to beat the 20 count at 18. Okada worked over Honma for a long period of time until he ducked a charge in the corner. Honma struggled, but eventually managed to lift Okada up for a suplex after Okada nearly leveraged himself back down to the mat. Honma went for another kokeshi off the ropes and his time he connected and the fans applauded. Honma got a single leg crab in the middle of the ring, but Okada managed to get to the ropes. Okada caught Honma coming off the ropes and hit a flap jack. The fans chanted for both men as they went back and forth. Okada eventually slid around Honma and locked in red ink. The fans fired up behind Honma and he struggled, but managed to get to the ropes. Honma fired back a short time later and caught Okada with a big clothesline that left both men down. Both men traded bombs in the middle of the ring and Okada grounded Honma with a pair of big uppercuts. Okada hit another uppercut and Okada went down again. Honma then popped up and slapped Okada across the face. Okada went for his signature dropkick, but Honma held onto the ropes and then nailed him with a kokeshi.

The fans fired up as both men went back and forth. Honma eventually kneed his way out of a tombstone and hit a brainbuster on Okada for a 2 count. Honma slammed Okada and signaled for the top rope kokeshi and the fans fired up big time. Okada suddenly popped up as Honma went up top and nailed him with a dropkick. Okada hit a neck breaker and then another neck breaker over his knee for a pair of 2 counts. Okada went for another tombstone, but Honma blocked it. He went to bounce off the ropes, but ended up eating the too awesome dropkick followed by an elbow off the top. Okada hit the rainmaker pose and somehow they did the camera gimmick for it with one camera. Honma countered the rainmaker with a kokeshi. Honma followed up with a big sit out piledriver for a near fall and the fans exploded. Honma went up top and the fans really fired up, but he missed the kokeshi. Both men were down. Okada went for the tombstone again, but Honma slipped out and rolled him up for a 2 count. Okada nailed him with an uppercut, but Honma hit a leaping kokeshi to his back. He went for a kokeshi off the ropes, but Okada got out of the way. He hit the rainmaker a short time later for the win.

Winner: Kazuchika Okada (4 pts.)

Star rating: (****) – Honma was on fire tonight connecting with a much higher percentage of kokeshi’s than usual, but ultimately he fell short and ran his losing streak in G1 tournament matches to 12 dating back to last year. This was really well-done to get the crowd behind Honma and get them to buy into an upset of Okada.

After the match, Okada and Gedo cut their post-match promo. Okada appeared to promise to win the G1 this year.


Quick G1 Climax 25: Night 4 Viewing Guide

What to watch: Kojima-Elgin, Anderson-Goto, Nakamura-Nagata, Okada-Honma

What you can skip: Ishii-Takahashi

Best G1 match on the card: Okada-Honma (****)

Overall thoughts: This was the best group of matches I’ve seen collectively from Block matches out of the first four nights of the tournament. After a solid match between Ishii and Takahashi, things really picked up with Kojima-Elgin and never let up until the end.

Elgin is clearly made to wrestle in NJPW and the crowd is really taking to him. He had a great showing against Kojima and played to the crowd perfectly during their match despite taking another loss. Anderson-Goto was a very good match that built up to a highlight reel finish with Anderson pulling another upset by beating the IC Champion after countering the shouten kai into the gun stun.

Nakamura-Nagata was very good with both men going back and forth leading into the finish with Nakamura having to hit multiple Boma ye’s to get the win. The main event really shined on this card. It was a blast to watch Honma nearly pull an upset in front of a red hot crowd. This is really a fantastic block with some many great possibilities going forward. Definitely make time to at least watch the G1 tournament matches on this card, despite the single camera shot.

CURRENT G1 CLIMAX 25 STANDINGS

A Block

- Tanahashi (4 pts.)
- A.J. Styles (4 pts.)
- 2013 winner Naito (2 pts.)
- NEVER champion Togi Makabe (2 pts.)
- NWA World champion Tenzan (2 pts.)
- Bad Luck Fale (2 pts.)
- Kota Ibushi (2 pts.)
- Shibata (2 pts.)
- Toru Yano
- IWGP tag champion Doc Gallows

B Block

- 2014 winner IWGP World Champ Okada (4 pts.)
- IWGP tag champion Karl Anderson (4 pts.)
- Tomohiro Ishii (4 pts.)
- IWGP IC Champ Hirooki Goto (2 pts.)
- Shinsuke Nakamura (2 pts.)
- Satoshi Kojima (2 pts.)
- Yuji Nagata (2 pts.)
- Yujiro Takahashi
- ROH's Michael Elgin
- Honma

***

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