By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S “G1 CLIMAX 25: NIGHT 17” BLOG
AUG. 14, 2015
TOKYO, 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: This show has full production.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

This is the first of three shows from Sumo Hall!

(1) Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) beat Satoshi Kojima & Honma & Mascara Dorada in a six-man tag match.

(2) Michael Elgin & ReDragon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) beat Bullet Club (Young Bucks & Cody Hall).

(3) IWGP Jr. Hvt. champion KUSHIDA & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi beat IWGP IC champion Hirooki Goto & Ricochet & Captain New Japan.

(4) Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI beat IWGP World Hvt. champion Kazuchika Okada & Gedo & The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett).

G1 CLIMAX 25: NIGHT 17 A BLOCK RESULTS & ANALYSIS

(5) IWGP Hvt. Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows (4) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8) in a G1 Climax A Block match. Shibata used his boot to wipe some of the paint off Gallows’s face during the early going. Gallows fired back and eventually hit a choke slam on the apron. Shibata barely beat the 20 count and fired up a short time later. He eventually caught Gallows with a big dropkick in the corner and went on the attack. Shibata kept going for the choke sleeper on Gallows, but he managed to escape both attempts. He then hit a big slam on Shibata and both men were down. Shibata got the choke sleeper again a short time later in the middle of the ring. He let go and nailed Gallows with a couple of big kicks for a 2 count. Anderson then hit a sit-out powerbomb for a near fall. Anderson hit Gallows pole, but Shibata kicked out and locked in a triangle! Gallows began to fade and Shibata let go and nailed him with a big kick to the chest for a 2 count. Shibata sold frustration and walked into a series of big kicks from Gallows. Gallows then hit Gallows pole for the win. Wow!

Winner: Doc Gallows (6 pts.) – This was short, but fun while it lasted. Gallows looked really good as he frustrated Shibata, which resulted in Shibata losing. Shibata ends the tournament on a losing streak, which is a shame given how well he performed.

(6) Toru Yano (6) vs. Bad Luck Fale (10) in a G1 Climax A Block match. Yano sprayed Fale with water and the crotched him on the middle rope when he tried to get back into the ring. Yano sprayed Fale with water again and laughed at him. Fale then mounted a comeback with a series of lefts and rights in the corner. The action spilled to the floor and Fale attacked Yano with the new Chaos DVD. Tonga then tore it apart and the fans booed. The ref began counting and Yano barely beat the 20 count. Yano took off the turnbuckle padding in the corner a short time later and baited Fale into charging into it. He went to do his pose, but Fale cut him off. Tonga put a beating on Yano on the floor while Fale distracted the ref and the fans booed. Fale went for the bad luck fall on the floor, but Yano slipped out. He then pushed Tonga into Fale and hit a double low blow and Fale got counted out! That was incredible.

Yano taunted Fale after thematch before leaving the ring. Fale went after Yano so he ran to the back.

Winner: Toru Yano (8 pts.) – This was a tremendous finish.

(7) NWA Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4) vs. Tetsuya Naito (10) in a G1 Climax 25 A Block match. Naito came out first. He took forever to get in the ring and didn’t bother to take off his mask and suit. Tenzan got mad when Naito just stood there and didn’t take his entrance attire off. Naito took his mask off and the ref called for the bell. The fans started a chant for Tenzan and Naito waved his jacket at him like he was a bullfighter. Tenzan went right on the attack and put a beating on Naito. The action spilled to the floor and Tenzan tossed Naito into the ringpost. Naito acted like he didn’t care that Tenzan was beating the crap out of him. Tenzan tossed Naito into the ring and he rolled to the outside. Naito then cut him off when he gave chase and whipped him into the guardrail several times. Naito then tossed Tenzan into a pile of chairs and went back into the ring and slowly took the rest of his suit off. Naito sent Tenzan to the floor once again a teased a dive, but posed on his side in the middle of the ring instead. Naito dominated the action and spit on Tenzan, which drew some boos from the fans. He then stood on Tenzan’s face and hit his pose. Naito choked Tenzan on the ropes and then went after the ref when he made him break the hold. Naito ended up knocking Red Shoes over on the apron before he went back after Tenzan. Tenzan nailed Naito several times and he told him to bring it and spit on him. Naito then smiled and began hitting Tenzan with double chops, which drew boos from the fans. Tenzan fired back and caught Naito with a ripcord headbutt. The fans fired up as Tenzan began nailing Naito with double chops. Tenzan followed up with several headbutts in the corner and Naito laughed at him. Naito motioned at Tenzan to bring it and spit at him. Naito mounted a comeback and hit his signature slingshot kick in the corner. Tenzan mounted a comeback and Red Shoes urged him on. The fans fired up and Tenzan hit Naito with his signature double chops. Naito spit in Tenzan’s face, but Tenzan nailed him with his signature leg lariat. Tenzan then locked in the anaconda vice. Naito struggled, but got to his feet and fought out of it. Naito hit a German with a bridge, but Tenzan kicked out at 2. Naito mounted a comeback and locked in the Koji clutch. Tenzan fought out of it with a series of headbutts and both men were down. They went to a strike exchange and Naito spit in Tenzan’s face. Tenzan fired back with a big headbutt. They went back and forth and Tenzan turned Naito inside out with a lariat as he came off the ropes for a 2 count. He then applied the anaconda vice. Naito struggled, but finally managed to free himself. Tenzan hit a series of headbutts and applied the anaconda vice once again. Naito struggled and then tapped out. Wow!

Naito laughed at Tenzan after the match and told him to bring it. Naito took several stomps from Tenzan. Naito then got up and spit at Tenzan and left the ring.

Winner: Hiroyoshi Tenzan (6 pts.)

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a good match from start to finish with Naito taking a beating and baiting Tenzan the entire match by spitting at him and acting like he didn’t’ care that Tenzan was beating the crap out of him. Naito was forced to tap in the end, which really brings a stop to his momentum at the end of this tournament.

(8) Kota Ibushi (6) vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe (8) in a G1 Climax A Block match. Both men went head-to-head after the opening bell rang. Ibushi hit a series of strikes during the early going, but Makabe grounded him with a big shoulder tackle. Ibushi fired back and went after Makabe’s leg. Makabe tried to fire up and Ibushi kept targeting his leg with kicks. Makabe told him to bring it and eventually decked Ibushi with a big lariat. Makabe hit his signature baby punches in the corner, but Ibushi slid under him and sent him flying to the apron with a Pele kick. Ibushi set up and nailed Makabe with his signature moonsault to the floor and they showed a rare replay of a big spot. They began trading blows in the middle of the ring a short time later. Ibushi eventually decked Makabe with a running kick and then hit a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Makabe fired back and hit the King Kong lariat a short time later. Ibushi tried to get out of the kneeling powerbomb, but Makabe hit it anyway for a 2 count. Makabe went for the spider German, but Ibushi landed on his feet and nailed Makabe with a running kick! Holy s—t. Ibushi then placed Makabe up top and dragged hi to the mat for a German, but Makabe fought out of it. Ibushi then nailed Makabe with a roundhouse kick to the head. He went up top and connected with the Phoenix splash for the win.

Winner: Kota Ibushi (8 pts.) – This was good while it lasted, but it was short and never really built. Ibushi looked good here getting back on track with a win.

(9) Hiroshi Tanahashi (12) vs. A.J. Styles (12) in a G1 Climax 25 A Block match. The winner of this match advances to the finals of the G1 tournament. The fans were fired up for the start of this match. Styles backed Tanahashi into the corner and gave him some light slaps across the face. Tanahashi avoided Styles’s signature dropkick sequence and they came to a stalemate. Tanahashi gave Styles some light slaps across the face and flipped him off. I guess this is getting personal now. Tanahashi hit a backdrop and played some air guitar before tossing the guitar into the crowd. Tanahashi took control and slammed Style’s leg into the ringpost several times. Tanahashi went to skin the cat a short time later, but Styles dumped him to the floor. Styles went to work on Tanahashi inside the ring and nailed him with his signature dropkick. Styles then snapped Tanahashi’s leg over his shoulder and went to work on his leg. Styles hit some big chops in the corner and played to the crowd. He went for another jumping forearm in the corner, but Tanahashi got out of the way and hit a leaping forearm off the ropes. The fans fired up and chanted for Tanahashi. Tanahashi went for his signature senton off the second turnbuckle, but Styles managed to get out of the way. Styles then went for a springboard, but Tanahashi pushed him to the floor. Tanahashi then went up top and hit the high fly flow to the floor on a standing Styles! Holy s—t! Styles barely beat the 20 count getting back into the ring.

Styles snapped Tanahashi’s neck over the top rope a short time later and then nailed him with his signature inverted DDT. Both men were down and a replayed aired of the DDT. They went back and forth and Tanahashi hit a straightjacket German for a near fall. Tanahashi followed up with a dragon screw on Styles and he sold his leg huge. Tanahashi sold his leg and went for a big forearm in the corner, but Styles dragged Red Shoes in the way and Tanahashi nailed him. Styles then hit a low blow on Tanahashi and sneered at the camera. Styles went for the Styles clash, but Tanahashi nailed him with a low blow and both men were down selling their groins. Both men got up and began trading blows. Red Shoes also recovered. They continued to trade strikes and Styles went after Tanahashi’s leg with kicks, but Tanahashi punched him down with punches to the leg. They began trading blows from their knees in the middle of the ring. Styles went for his signature combination of strikes, but Tanahashi cut it off with a big uppercut. The fans fired up as both men were down. Styles then rolled through on Tanahashi and got the calf killer. Tanahashi struggled and hung on to red shoes. He appeared to be very close to tapping or passing out. Styles wrenched on the hold and Tanahashi fired up and got the ropes. Holy s—t! The fans fired up and chanted for Tanahashi. Styles went after his leg again, but he held onto the ropes. The ref admonished Styles and Styles shoved him to the ground. Styles hit an enzuguri and went for bloody Sunday, but Tanahashi turned it into a twisting neck breaker and the fans fired up.

Styles hit a big sit-out facebuster, but Tanahashi kicked out at the last second and the fans roared. Styles went out to the apron and hit a springboard elbow, but Tanahashi kicked out at the last second. Styles went for the Styles clash, but Tanahashi blocked it. Tanahashi then fired back and hit a sling blade. Tanahashi then went for the Styles clash, but Styles countered it into an ankle lock. Tanahashi eventually countered and used his legs to send Styles into the corner. Tanahashi caught Styles again and this time he nailed him with the Styles clash and the fans went nuts. Styles kicked out at the very last second. Tanahashi then went up top for the high fly flow, but Styles got his knees up OH MY GOD! Styles then went up top and hit his version of the high fly flow for a near fall and the fans exploded once again. Styles followed up with the bloody Sunday DDT, but Tanahashi tripped him a short time later and hit a dragon screw over his shoulder. Wow! Both men got up and traded. Styles went for the Pele kick, but Tanahashi turned it into a dragon screw. He then went up top and hit a standing high fly flow. He went up top again and hit a traditional high fly flow. Red Shoes made the 3 count for the win as the fans celebrated. This was insane.

Tanahashi kneeled over Styles after the match and raised his hands before collapsing. Tanahashi and Styles were both face-to-face on their knees after the match and Tanahashi flipped Styles off. Styles backed away and was helped to the back. Amazing!

After the match, Tanahashi did an epic air guitar performance for the fans at Sumo Hall. This guy is so over. It’s amazing. Tanahashi eventually conducted the fans while they chanted his name, which was great.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (14 pts.) – Tanahashi wins the A block

Star rating: (*****) – This was so personal and amazing. They dug into their history dating back to last year. Tanahashi throwing the double bird at Styles early in the match was incredible. Both men did extensive leg work on each other throughout the match and this felt epic down the stretch. Tanahashi hit a Styles clash for a near fall and Styles hit the high fly flow for another near fall late. Tanahashi finally won with a standing high fly flow and a traditional high fly flow. This was insanely great.


Quick G1 Climax 25: Night 17 Viewing Guide

What to watch: Tenzan-Naito, Styles-Tanahashi

What you can skip: Gallows-Shibata, Yano-Fale, Ibushi-Makabe

Best G1 match on the card: Styles-Tanahashi (*****)

Overall thoughts: This card was paced nicely to let the Tanahashi-Styles MOTYC to determine who was going to go to the finals of G1 25 from the A Block stand out. It was surprising to see Naito and Shibata sputter during the final days of the tournament after having some really good performances previously.

I loved the finish of the Yano-Fale match. They teased count outs the entire tournament and it was fantastic to see Yano give a double low blow to Tonga and Fale and then dive back into the ring to win via count out.

The main event should get a lot of votes for MOTY. Styles and Tanahashi had an incredibly personal war that escalated as the match went on with both men going after each other’s leg. The work in this match was incredible and the fans got hotter and hotter as the match built into something really special down the stretch. The trading of finishers late in the match was great as well.

The block action on this show was paced well and the main event was incredible and it’s going to be incredibly hard to top it going forward, although I do feel that Ishii-Honma is the best overall match of the tournament.

CURRENT G1 CLIMAX 25 STANDINGS

A Block Standings

- Tanahashi (14 pts.) *winner of A Block
- A.J. Styles (12 pts.)
- Bad Luck Fale (10 pts.)
- 2013 winner Naito (10 pts.)
- Shibata (8 pts.)
- NEVER champ Togi Makabe (8 pts.)
- Toru Yano (8 pts.)
- Kota Ibushi (8 pts.)
- IWGP tag champion Doc Gallows (6 pts.)
- NWA World champ Tenzan (6 pts.)

B Block Standings

- 2014 winner IWGP World Champ Okada (14 pts.)
- IWGP tag champion Karl Anderson (12 pts.)
- IWGP IC Champ Hirooki Goto (12 pts.)
- Shinsuke Nakamura (12 pts.)
- Tomohiro Ishii (8 pts.)
- ROH's Michael Elgin (8 pts.)
- Yujiro Takahashi (4 pts.)
- Satoshi Kojima (4 pts.)
- Yuji Nagata (4 pts.)
- Honma (2 pts.)

***

Please click HERE; ; ;;; ; and click “like” to join the Radican’s Wrestling Community Facebook fan page.

Follow Sean on Twitter at Twitter.com/SeanRadican

Email Sean at PWTorchSean@Gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

CALDWELL'S ROH ASE PPV REPORT 9/18: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of All-Star Extravaganza - Jay Lethal defends two titles, ANX, more

RADICAN'S "EVOLVE 47" iPPV REPORT 8/15 - Tremendous all-around show, Bailey vs. Chris Hero, Thatcher-Sabre for EVOLVE Title, more

RADICAN'S NJPW "G1 Climax Finals" PPV Report 8/16: ReDRagon-Young Bucks, KUSHIDA-Ricochet, Tanahashi-Nakamura match for the ages in final