Pro Wrestling Report Card

New Japan Pro Wrestling
G1 Climax 32, Day 4
July 23, 2022
Ota City General Gymnasium; Ota City, Tokyo, Japan

The undercard

El Phantasmo^W, Juice Robinson, KENTA p. Ryohei Oiwa^L, David Finlay, Hirooki Goto (Sudden Death): Robinson was apparently going for the record for most F-bombs screamed in an opener.

Royce Isaacs, Tom Lawlor^W sub. Bad Dude Tito^L, JONAH: Isaacs got the crowd going by hitting JONAH with a big German suplex. Lawlor won with an unnamed (?) combination submission.

Yujiro Takahashi^W, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale p. TAKA Michinok^L, Taichi, Lance Archer (Pimp Juice): TAKA, a true competitor, demanded to face Fale at the start — Archer decided otherwise.

Great-O-Khan^W, Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay sub. Dick Togo^L, SHO, EVIL (Sheep Killer).

BUSHI, SANADA^W, Tetsuya Naito sub. Jado^L, Tama Tonga, Hiroshi Tanahashi (Skull End): Naito might have gotten dinged at one point. He and Tanahashi were completely lost during an exchange before Naito tagged out.

The report card

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Aaron Henare (C Block)
Result: Sabre sub. Henare (heel hook).
In short: Henare pounded on Sabre throughout the early portion. He’s looked very comfortable in his first two G1 matches. Sabre exploited Henare’s previously injured Achilles tendon to get a quick tap.
Highlights
+ Henare checked a low kick from Sabre and countered. Might be the first checked kick I’ve seen outside of an MMA setting.
+ The pair’s exchange in and out of Henare’s full nelson was good stuff.
+ Afterward, ZSJ rode one of the young boys to the back. Why? Why not.
Lowlights
– The match might have needed 30 more seconds to hit a proper peak.
Grade: B+

YOSHI-HASHI vs. Shingo Takagi (D Block)
Result: Takagi p. YOSHI-HASHI (rollup).
In short: A tale of two matches, really. YOSHI-HASHI and Takagi were sleepwalking their way to a pedestrian bout until things dramatically turned around in the final minutes. It’s amazing how much this match cranked up down the stretch.
Highlights
+ A lariat sequence that ended with a dragon suplex from YOSHI-HASHI finally got things going late.
+ YOSHI-HASHI reversed out of a Last of the Dragon attempt into a DDT.
+ YH hit Takagi with a flash Karma, but failed to follow with a timely pin attempt.
+ This bout had strike exchanges that got better and better.
Lowlights
– Two early moves — a dropkick from YH and armbreaker by Takagi — looked like junk.
– The crowd got whipped into a frenzy and then … a flash pin by Takagi. It wasn’t a bad finish — it fits YH’s close-but-no-cigar underdog role. In a vacuum, however, a high-impact finish would have landed better.
Grade: A-

Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano (A Block)
Result: Okada sub. Yano (Money Clip).
In short: This match started as a street fight with Yano reprising his “bad guy” demeanor. It had the nearfalls you’d expect from a Yano match; but it never really felt like the upset was going to happen.
Highlights
+ Yano mean-mugged his way to the ring with a bottle of sake, which is probably how many fans imagine themselves traveling through Japan.
+ Yano sent Okada into a chair to prompt a near countout.
+ Yano reversed out of a Rainmaker and hit a powerbomb.
Lowlights
– That falling backbreaker thing that Okada did to set up the Money Clip rarely looks good.
Grade: C+

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White (B Block)
Result: White p. Ishii (Blade Runner).
In short: Easily the best bout of the tournament so far. White set up Ishii’s comeback expertly by beating him down in the most conceited way possible. Ishii always knows the best moment to no-sell. This was a shining example of how a match can contain cheating without it pissing all over the quality.
Highlights
+ White, at his arrogant pinnacle, smothered Ishii with the ring apron. Red Shoes Unno then took his sweet time reattaching the apron, missing White’s pin attempt.
+ Ishii nearly scorpioned himself while selling a DDT.
+ Ishii fired up, selling his ribs after a superplex, and gave White the Shoulder Tackle from Hell^TM.
+ White crushed Ishii with a brainbuster and clothesline as Ishii battled to stay on his feet.
+ The closing sequence, which included sleeper suplexes from both men, was wild.
Grade: A

In conclusion

White and Ishii raised the bar for the rest of the field. Now, it truly feels like the G1 is in full swing.

Block standings

A Block
Kazuchika Okada 2-0-0 (4)
Bad Luck Fale 1-0-0 (2)
Toru Yano 1-1-0 (2)
Tom Lawlor 0-0-0 (0)
Jeff Cobb 0-1-0 (0)
JONAH 0-1-0 (0)
Lance Archer 0-1-0 (0)

B Block
Jay White 2-0-0 (4)
Taichi 1-0-0 (2)
Tama Tonga 1-0-0 (2)
Great-O-Khan 0-0-0 (0)
Chase Owens 0-1-0 (0)
SANADA 0-1-0 (0)
Tomohiro Ishii 0-2-0 (0)

C Block
Zack Sabre Jr. 2-0-0 (4)
Hirooki Goto 1-0-0 (2)
Aaron Henare 1-1-0 (2)
EVIL 0-0-0 (0)
Hiroshi Tanahashi 0-1-0 (0)
KENTA 0-1-0 (0)
Tetsuya Naito 0-1-0 (0)

D Block
Juice Robinson 1-0-0 (2)
Will Ospreay 1-0-0 (2)
Yujiro Takahashi 1-0-0 (2)
Shingo Takagi 1-1-0 (2)
YOSHI-HASHI 0-1-0 (0)
David Finlay 0-1-0 (0)
El Phantasmo 0-1-0 (0)

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