SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NJPW G1 CLIMAX 32: NIGHT 18 REPORT
AUG. 16, 2022
TOKYO, JAPAN
NIPPON BUDOKAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
RADICAN’S SPOILER-FREE VIEWING GUIDE
(1) Will Ospreay vs. Juice Robinson – D Block match (***1/2)
(2) ELP vs. Shingo Takagi – D Block match (***1/2)
(5) Tomohiro Ishii vs. Sanada – B Block match (***1/2)
(6) Tama Tonga vs. Jay White -B Block match (****)
(8) Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer – A Block match (****)
Announcers: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, and Chase Owens.
(1) WILL OSPREAY (6) vs. JUICE ROBINSON (4) – D Block match
If Ospreay wins and Shingo loses, Ospreay wins the block. Ospreay must win to advance to the semi-finals tomorrow. Ospreay jumped Robinson as he made his entrance. They brawled around ringside and into the ring. Ospreay immediately sent Robinson back to the floor after the bell rang to officially start the match and nailed him with a crazy dive. Robinson is still alive if everyone is 3-3 and there would be a 7-way tiebreaker tomorrow.
Robinson did not bring the IWGP U.S. Championship with him to the ring. The ref got bumped and Robinson went under the ring and grabbed the IWGP U.S. Championship. He hit Ospreay with it and made the cover for a near fall. Robinson hit a piledriver on the floor and then Pulp Friction back inside the ring for a really good near fall. Ospreay hit the Hidden Blade and it was good for the win. (***1/2)
Everyone in the block except Ospreay and Takagi are eliminated. If Takagi wins tonight, he advances to the semi finals.
WINNER: Will Ospreay (8) at 11:07. (***1/2)
Ospreay finishes at 4-2. Robinson finishes at 2-4. Ospreay managed to get his hands on the U.S. title after the match and he carried it to the back.
(2) ELP (4) vs. SHINGO TAKAGI (6) – D Block match
They had a competitive back and forth match. ELP hit CR2, but Takagi kicked out at the last second. ELP hit a pair of kicks and teased CR2, but hit a cross-arm piledriver for the win.
ELP and Shingo Takagi both finish 3-3 in the block. ELP’s win means that Will Ospreay will advance to the semi-finals.
WINNER: ELP (6 pts) at 12:12. (***1/2)
ELP told Kevin Kelly the move he used to finish off Takagi is called CR3.
(3) HIROOKI GOTO (6) vs. EVIL (4) (w/Dick Togo) – C Block match
Evil and Togo tried to jump Goto during his entrance, but he used his staph to fend them off.
Goto needs a win to stay alive in the block. He also needs Naito to beat Sabre to create a three-way tie at the top of C Block and force a tiebreaker match. Evil held the ref so that he couldn’t see Togo run in and hit a low blow on Goto late in the match. He then hit Everthing is Evil for the win.
WINNER: Evil (6 pts) at 8:40.
Goto is eliminated and both men finish at 3-3 in the block.
If Naito beats Sabre in the upcoming match, he advances. If Sabre wins he also advances.
(4) ZACK SABRE JR (8) vs. TETSUYA NAITO (6) – C Block match
They were trading pinning combinations and Naito faked like he was going for Destino, but instead he got a pinning combination for the win.
WINNER: Tetsuya Naito (8 pts) at 1:58. *Naito wins the C Block
Sabre threw a fit after the match. Both men finish with 8 points, but because Naito beat him head-to-head, Naito advances.
It was announced that the first semi-final match would be Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay tomorrow.
(Intermission)
(5) TOMOHIRO ISHII (2) vs. SANADA (6) – B Block match
The announcers said this could be Ishii’s last G1 and pointed to his disappointing tournament. They had a hard-hitting match that Ishii won with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster.
Ishii finishes with 4 points and 2-4 overall. Sanada finishes 3-3 with 6 points.
WINNER: Tomohiro Ishii (4 pts) at 12:35. (***1/2)
(Radican’s Analysis: Good, hard hitting action. Hopefully Ishii isn’t done in G1.)
(6) TAMA TONGA (8) (w/Jad0) (8) vs. JAY WHITE (w/Gedo) (10) – B Block match
If Tonga wins, he makes the semi-finals. If White wins, obviously he is in. If the match ends in a count out or draw, White wins. Tonga came out hot, but White took control of the match. They traded counters late and and Tonga hit Bloody Sunday for a nearfall. White blocked a Gun stun. A short time later Tonga hit a Gun stun out of nowhere for the shocking win.
WINNER: Tama Tonga (10 pts) at 13:56. (****) *Tonga wins the B block
(Radican’s Analysis: This was really good. It seemed all but inevitable that White would win here. Tonga’s win was a complete shock.)
Kevin Kelly was tremendous on the call after Tonga won.
(7) BAD LUCK FALE (4) vs. JONAH (w/Bad Dude Tito) 6) – A Block match
Jonah won with the Torpedo.
WINNER: Jonah (8 pts) at 9:13. (**)
Jonah needs Okada to lose to stay alive for a tie breaker tomorrow. The announcers said because Jonah lost via count out to Archer, he could appeal to match makers for a tie breaker if Archer bears Okada.
(8) LANCE ARCHER (6) vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (8) – A Block match.
Archer just stood in the middle of the ring once he finished his entrance. Okada walked up to Archer and he surprised him with a choke slam. Archer ran wild on Okada for a long period of time until Okada finally countered Blackout into a Rainmaker. Archer fired back with a big drop kick and a Rainmaker for a near fall and the fans went nuts. Archer hit Blackout and Archer made a lazy cover. That allowed Okada to get a pinning combination for a near fall.
Okada countered a Blackout. He went after Archer’s leg and applied the Money Clip. Archer escaped and wiped out Okada. The fans fired up and Archer charged at Okada. Okada nailed him with a dropkick. Archer no-sold if and went after Okada again only to take a landslide tombstone and a Rainmaker for the win.
WINNER: Kazuchika Okada (10 pts) at 12:43. (****) *A Block winner
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a really fun match from start to finish. Archer was fantastic despite taking the loss.)
Okada cut a promo after the match. He said there’s just two days left in G1 Climax 32. He said they would bring even more fire. He asked the fans to bring even more energy to tomorrow. He thanked the fans for their support.
Tomorrow the semi-finals will see Naito vs. Ospreay and Okada vs. Tonga with the winner advancing to the finals.
Overall score: (9.0) – This was a really good show filled with good matches, a big crowd, and a lot on the line with most of the wrestlers still alive to make the semi-finals going into the night.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him @sr_torch
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.