SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
G1 CLIMAX 32 FINALS REPORT
AUG. 18, 2022
TOKYO, JAPAN
NIPPON BUDOKAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Announcers: Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton
(1) YOH & TOMOHIRO ISHII & HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL & SHO & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & DICK TOGO
Chaos blitzed the mixed Bullet Club group here. Yoh hit a double arm suplex on Togo for the pin.
WINNERS: Yoh & Tomohiro Ishiii & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi at 7:46.
(2) TEAM FILTHY (Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs) vs. TMDK (Jonah & Bad Dude Tito)
Jonah beat Isaacs after hitting the Torpedo at 10:07.
(3) UNITED EMPIRE (JEFF COBB & AARON HENARE & GREAT-O-KHAN) vs. BULLET CLUB (Juice Robinson & Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale)
This was short. Cobb caught Robinson coming off the top and nailed him with Tour of the Islands for the win.
WINNERS: Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare at 6:04.
(4) SUZUKI-GUN (Lance Archer & Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) vs. L.I.J. (Sanada & Bushi & Tetsuya Naito)
The finish saw Archer hit Bushi with a chokeslam. He then held him so that Taichi could hit him with a running forearm for the win.
WINNERS: Lance Archer & Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi at 8:56.
Sabre attacked Naito after the match with the same submission he hurt his knee with previously. Taichi also choked Bushi after the match was over. Things eventually settled down and Archer thanked the fans and told them Japan is his home. Naito recovered and eventually taunted Sabre from the floor before heading to the back.
An aid aired for a NJPW PPV set to be held in NYC at The Palladium Times Square on Oct. 28. The video package announced that Stardom Wrestlers would appear on the card.
The show will air live on Fite TV on PPV.
Another video package announced that Wrestle Kingdom would take place for one night this year on the traditional Jan. 4 date at The Toyko Dome. It was also announced that New Year Dash would take place on Jan. 5.
(Intermission)
Chris Charlton said there would be news coming from Stardom next week on NJPW’s website.
(5) L.I.J. (Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. BULLET CLUB (ELP & Kenta)
Phantasmo got the better of Shingo once again here. He shoved Shingo into the ref and then hit Shingo with a low blow. He then rolled him up with an inside cradle for the win.
WINNERS: El Phantasmo & Kenta at 8:57.
Takahashi stole Kenta’s book after the match. Kenta was not pleased. Shingo ended up throwing the book back into the ring and Phantasmo caught it out of the air. Phantasmo threw the book jacket at Takagi. He then took Chris Charlton’s copy of the book and put his slipcover on Kenta’s book.
(6) BULLET CLUB (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI & DAVID FINLAY
Finlay hit a stunner on Anderson. Tanahashi hit a Slingblade and then the High Fly Flow and it was good for the win. This seemed to be teasing a NEVER Openweight title defense for Anderson against Tanahashi at some point down the road.
WINNERS: Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay at 10:00.
(7) Tama Tonga & Kushida (w/Jado) vs. BULLET CLUB (Jay White & Taiji Ishimori)
Kushida countered a Bloody Cross attempt from Ishimori into an inside cradle for the pin.
WINNERS: Kushida & Tama Tonga at 9:29.
After the match, White went after Kushida, but Tonga made the save. He went for a Gunstun, but White blocked it and left the ring. Jado gave Tonga the IWGP World Hvt. Championship. He held it up and the fans applauded. White told Tonga from the floor that the belt would never belong to him. It looks like Kushida will be set to challenge Ishimori for the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Championship and White will defend the IWGP World Hvt. Championship against Tonga at some point in the near future.
(8) KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. WILL OSPREAY – G1 Climax 32 Finals
After an initial feeling out period. Okada took control on the floor. He hit a big DDT on the floor and Ospreay made his way back into the ring where Okada tried to wear him down on the mat. Ospreay fired back and took control. He hit the Phenomenal Forearm to the back of Okada’s head. He then hit an Os-cutter, but was slow to make the cover due to the condition of his neck and Okada kicked out at the last second. Okada blocked a Stormbreaker and hit a Rainmaker, but Ospreay wouldn’t go down. Okada held onto Ospreays’s hand. Ospreay tried to kick it away, but Okada eventually decked him with a modified Rainmaker. They went back and forth a short time later and Ospreay went for an Os-cutter, but Okada kicked him out of the air with a dropkick.
Okada went for a Rainmaker, but Ospreay hit an elbow and a hook kick. Ospreay hit the Chelsea Grin and went for a Hidden Blade, but Oakda hit him with a dropkick. Ospreay no-sold it and charged back at Okada. Okada went for another Tombstone, but Ospreay floated over. He folded up Okada’s legs and hit a modified tombstone for a nearfall. WOW! The 25 minute mark came and went and Ospray set up for the Hidden Blade and he nailed Okada. Ospreay made the cover, but Okada kicked out at the last second. Ospreay went up top and hit the High Fly Flow and connected with it for a two count. Ospreay hit the Styles Clash as he continued to hit the finishes of those that had beat Okada, but Okada kicked out again at the last second. The fans fired up and clapped as loudly as they could in Bodokon.
Ospreay hit a V-Trigger and went for a One-Winged Angel, but Okada turned it into a landslide tombstone. He then hit the Rainmaker, but Ospreay kicked out. Charlton freaked out on commentary and said, “Will Ospreay kicked out of the Rainmaker.” A short time later Charlton said emphatically, “Will Ospreay still lives in the G1!” Both men were down as the fans clapped in unison rapidly. Okada crawled over to Ospreay, who tried to fight out of his grasp. Okada set up for the Rainmaker, but Ospreay hit some elbows to Okada’s head. Okada hit a German and went for a Rainmaker, but Ospreay countered it into the Spanish Fly and both men were down once again. The fans began clapping rapidly as both men tried to get back to their feet.
The 30 minute mark came and went. The last five minutes have been absolutely crazy. Kelly mentioned the longest G1 Climax final was 35:21. Both men sat up, not even on their knees, and began trading forearms. Okada smiled and pasted Ospreay with a forearm. Ospreay fired back and they got to their feet and continued to trade as the fans clapped with each strike. Okada went down to one knee. Ospreay caught Okada with a huge kick to the head a short time later. Okada hit a neckbreaker, but Osspreay no-sold it. Okada ducked a Hidden Blade attempt and hit the enzugri. He set up for the Cobra Flosion, but Ospreay countered it. Okada went for a Rainmaker, but Ospreay popped him up and plastered him with a forearm. Ospreay set up for the Hidden Blade, but Okada countered it into the Cobra Flosion. Okada then hit the Rainmaker for the win. OH MY GOD WHAT A MATCH!
WINNER: Kazuchika Okada at 33:47 to win G1 Climax 32. (*****)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was on another level. The audience somehow magically came alive and clapped unlike they ever have during the COVID restriction era. The storytelling in this match was amazing. Ospreay couldn’t hit all of the finishers that had beaten Okada in the past. On the other hand, Okada couldn’t hit his new signature finishing sequence in order down the stretch, as Ospreay kept countering it.
The story going forward is that Ospreay can’t beat Okada straight up. Whether or not Okada goes through to Wrestle Kingdom and faces Jay White remains to be seen. Even though Ospreay lost in the final, he went up another level with his performance in this match on this stage against Okada.)
Ospreay looked despondent as The United Empire helped him to the back. Okada was presented with the G1 trophy and flag and announced as the winner of the tournament. Okada said Ospreay can come as many times as he wants, but it’s going to take more than that to beat him. He thanked the fans for being part of the month-long journey of G1. Okada said he had won back-to-back G1 tournaments. He said he wasn’t sure if G1 was at the level it should be last year. He said he didn’t want the G1 to be a stepping stone to the IWGP World Hvt. Championship. He said he wanted to elevate the challenger status. He said he will make sure that the main event of Wrestle Kingdom will be the IWGP World Hvt. Champion vs. Kazuchika Okada. He said he will carry on the spirit and will from this tournament and the support of the people into Jan. 4. He said he will make sure people fall deep in love with professional wrestling during the last 4 months of the year. He said thank you to the fans. The fans began clapping loudly. He said he wants the fans to fall deeply in love with wrestling and he will do all he can all the way to a sold out Tokyo Dome. Okada promised to keep making it rain on the rest of the 50th year.
Overall thoughts: (9.0) – This was a tremendous show. They set up a lot of programs for the fall on the undercard. The main event between Okada and Ospreay was world class. It was an amazing world class match that told a world class story. Okada’s performance here and his dramatic post-match promo about making sure winning the G1 means more was tremendous.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @sr_torch
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.