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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 32: NIGHT 17 REPORT
AUG. 14, 2022
NAGANO, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Radican’s spoiler-free viewing guide for G1 Climax 32: Night 17
(8) Jeff Cobb vs. Tom Lawlor – A Block match (****)
(9) Kenta vs. Tanahashi – C Block match (****)
Announcer: Kevin Kelly
(1) KOSEI FUJITA & RYOHEI OIWA & YUTO NAKASHIMA & HIROOKI GOTO vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL & DICK TOGO & SHO & YUJIRO TAKAHASHi
Sho submitted Fujita with a cross armbreaker.
WINNERS: Evil & Dick Togo & Sho & Yujiro Takahashi at 8:05.
(2) UNITED EMPIRE (AARON HENARE & WILL OSPREAY) vs. TMDK (BAD DUDE TITO & JONAH)
Ospreay pinned Tito after the Blade.
WINNERS: Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare at 4:52
After the match, Bullet Club jumped Ospreay and Juice Robinson regained possession of the IWGP U.S. Hvt. Championship. He got on the mic and declared himself the IWGP U.S. Hvt. Champion.
(3) BULLET CLUB (El Phantasmo & Juice Robinson & Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale) vs. LIJ (Bushi & Shingo Takagi & Sanada & Tetsuya Naito)
Owens pinned Bushi after a C-Trigger
WINNERS: El Phantasmo & Juice Robinson & Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale at 7:31.
(4) CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano) vs. SUZUKI-GUN (Taka Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer)
Yano got the pin on Michinoku with a schoolboy.
WINNERS: Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano at 6:35.
(5) JADO & TAMA TONGA vs. GEDO & JAY WHITE
Tonga got the pin on Gedo with the Gunstun.
WINNERS: Jado & Tama Tonga at 7:07.
(Intermission)
Jonah joined Kevin Kelly on commentary.
(6) YOSHI-HASHI (4) vs. DAVID FINLAY (6) – D Block match
If Finlay wins, he wins the Block, but if he loses, there are scenarios where there could be a 7-way tie break. Kelly mentioned that Jay White is currently 5-0 in the tournament and the only other man in the tournament that hasn’t been pinned or submitted is Jonah, who has losses on his tally.
This was a competitive match and Finlay appeared to be on the verge of winning the match and the block, but Hashi countered the sliced bread and got a pinning combination for the win. Hashi continued to favor his shoulder after the match.
Finlay grabbed his sheleighleigh after the match, but ended up offering Hashi a fist bump.
WINNER: Yoshi-Hashi (6 pts) at 11:14. (***¼)
(Radican’s Analysis: There are a lot of scenarios in terms of who can win the D Block, but this match had a nice element of excitement to it, as Finlay would have taken the block with a win here.)
Jonah talked about beating Kazuchika Okada in G1 and talked about how it was the biggest night of his career. He told Kelly that it is a night he will always remember.
(7) GREAT-O-KHAN (2) vs. TAICHI (4) (w/Riho Abe) – B Block match
O-Khan kicked out of the Gedo Clutch. He then hit a snap suplex and made an immediate pin for the win.
WINNER: Great-O-Khan (4) at 7:06. (**)
Both men finish at 2-4 and end their runs in the G1.
(Radican’s Analysis: The finish came out of nowhere, but this is how NJPW changes things up during G1. Sometimes matches end in unexpected ways. I’d like to see more of these finishes play into other matches outside of G1 season from time to time.)
(8) JEFF COBB (6) vs. FILTHY TOM LAWLOR (w/Royce Isaacs) (4) – A Block match
This was fantastic. Lawlor had a hard time with Cobb’s power, but he started countering Cobb’s power moves by chipping away at his legs and arms with submissions. Lawlor eventually hit a big knee to Cobb’s head for a nearfall. A short time later, he hit the NKOTB for the win.
WINNER: Tom Lawlor (6) at 14:03. (****)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a big win for Lawlor over a credible opponent in Cobb. Lawlor started out slowly and promised to do better and he did by finishing 3-3 and tied with Cobb in the Block, as he also finished 3-3. However, neither man can win the block.)
(9) KENTA (4) vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (6) – C Block match
Kelly talked about how both men are 3-3 in singles matches. These two had a crazy match at Wrestle Kingdom earlier this year. Tanahashi stays alive with a win here. Kenta grabbed a chair from under the ring early, but the ref made him drop it. Tanahashi picked it up and played some guitar, so Kenta jumped him to get the upper hand right away.
Kenta went after Tanhashi’s mid-section during the match, as he tried to play the role of spoiler. Tanahashi ended up targeting Kenta’s leg at times. They built up to a strike exchange and the crowd fired up with claps. Tanahashi ended up going for a punch, but Kenta ducked and he connected with the ref. Kenta faked like he was concerned about the ref getting punched. Kenta went under the ring and grabbed a crutch, which he brought into the ring. He then hit Tanahashi with it several times.
Kenta set up a table on the outside, but he was unable to put Tanahashi through it. Kenta got the upper hand inside the ring and hit the double stomp off the top, but Tanahashi kicked out. Kenta landed on the ref after Tanahashi kicked out and Kelly said it might have been done on purpose. Kenta tossed the table right into Tanahashi’s head from the floor. He went for a GTS a short time later, but Tanahashi countered it. Kenta caught Tanahashi coming off the ropes and went for GTS again, but Tanahashi turned it into a Slingblade. Tanahashi hit Aces High, but Kenta got his knees up for the High Fly Flow. Kenta hit the busaiku knee for a nearfall.
Tanahashi turned a GTS into a pinning combination for a nearfall. Kenta decked Tanahashi while they were trading blows. He plastered Tanahashi with a big knee to the head a short time later. He then lifted Tanahashi and finished him off with a GTS for the win.
WINNER: Kenta (6) at 23:46. (****)
Tanahashi is mathematically eliminated from the tournament with the loss.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a fantastic match. They built up the drama with some key ref bumps so that Kenta could use weapons to his advantage. In the end, Kenta simply overwhelmed Tanahashi, who ran out of answers in the end.)
Kenta cut a show closing promo in Japanese. He plugged his autobiography. Kenta said the book was sold out and they had to make a second run of it. Kenta signed a copy of his book and gave it to a young fan in the crowd.
Overall thoughts: (8.0) – This was a dramatic night of Block action with most of the block matches having implications as to who would either win or stay alive in Block action heading into Tuesday, the final night of block action. The Cobb vs. Lawlor and Kenta vs. Tanahashi matches are both working checking out, as they were both fantastic matches.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @SR_Torch
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