Pro Wrestling Report Card

New Japan Pro Wrestling
G1 Climax 32, Day 9
July 31, 2022
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium; Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

The undercard

SHO^W, Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo, KENTA sub. Ryohei Oiwa^L, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi (arm bar).

JONAH^W, Bad Dude Tito p. Tom Lawlor, Royce Isaacs^L (Black Forest Bomb).

Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare^W, Will Ospreay sub. David Finlay, Tama Tonga, Jado^L (Ultima).

BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi^W p. TAKA Michinoku^L, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. (Pumping Bomber).

The report card

Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer (A Block)
Result: Cobb p. Archer (Tour of the Islands).
In short: This bout was filled with great power and agility spots between the two big men. It was fun and just the sort of fixture that NJPW likely envisioned when assembling the “Monster Block.” Cobb hit Archer with three German suplexes, a big forearm and the Tour to win.
Highlights
+ Prematch, Archer slowly pulled down the mask of a young lion before smacking him in the face.
+ Cobb, for some reason, used John Cena’s “You can’t see me” taunt.
+ The pair established the pace early with a sequence where they showed their speed while running the ropes.
+ Archer, while outside, launched Cobb off the bottom rope from the floor in a unique spot.
+ Cobb flashed his impressive strength by Spin-Cycling his opponent after catching Archer doing a rope walk.
+ Archer absolutely planted Cobb with a chokeslam that led to a good nearfall.
Grade: B+

Juice Robinson vs. YOSHI-HASHI (D Block)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI p. Robinson (Karma).
In short: A relatively brief but hard-hitting match. Also a result that showed despite his persona change, Juice still has the same place in the pecking order.
Highlights
+ YOSHI-HASHI beat Juice’s chest raw with chops.
+ Robinson got physical with the referee, which nearly led to a flash pin by YH.
+ YOSHI-HASHI had a great sell of the Left Hand of God.
Grade: B

Chase Owens vs. Jay White (B Block)
Result: White p. Owens (Blade Runner).
In short: I guess you could call this match story-driven? There was a lengthy opening segment where White tried to pay Owens to lie down. Then, Owens discovered Jay was shorting him. It went on and on, until Chase finally blasted Switchblade with a knee. Serviceable stuff.
Highlights
+ Owens hit a Styles Clash for a two-count that kicked off a good ending sequence.
Lowlights
– They were too heavy with histrionics after the match started in earnest.
Grade: C

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale (A Block)
Result: Okada sub. Fale (Money Clip).
In short: A sleepy bout that no one believed Fale was going to win. Why is Okada in this block?
Highlights
+ The two biggest spots of the match were a back body drop and powerslam. (You can count on Okada to get the most out of taking a back body drop.)
+ Okada lifted Fale for his trademark neckbreaker drop.
+ Fale countered Okada with a Grenade out of the Rainmaker — a spot that might have slipped past the announce team.
Lowlights
– It’s possible Fale is too big to take a DDT. It just doesn’t look good.
Grade: C

EVIL vs. Tetsuya Naito (C Block)
Result: Naito p. EVIL (Destino).
In short: This grudge match had a methodical tempo that worked well, though some moments lagged. It was a good main event despite a couple sloppy segments by Naito.
Highlights
+ EVIL revisited his betrayal of Naito with a Bullet Club salute before the match’s start.
+ Naito stole EVIL’s chair-around-the-head spot as Kevin Kelly referenced Howie Rose for all the Mets fans out there.
+ Red Shoes Unno ducked Naito’s legs to avoid a ref bump.
Lowlights
– Naito nearly fell down while trying to set up EVIL for a piledriver off the apron and through a table on the outside. It was a mess that needed clear cooperation between both competitors to avoid disaster. The actual impact of the move was effective, though.
Grade: B+

Block standings (after Day 9)

A Block
Kazuchika Okada 3-0-0 (6)
Jeff Cobb 2-1-0 (4)
Bad Luck Fale 2-2-0 (4)
JONAH 1-1-0 (2)
Lance Archer 1-2-0 (2)
Toru Yano 1-2-0 (2)
Tom Lawlor 0-2-0 (0)

B Block
Jay White 3-0-0 (6)
SANADA 2-1-0 (4)
Tama Tonga 1-1-0 (2)
Taichi 1-1-0 (2)
Chase Owens 1-2-0 (2)
Tomohiro Ishii 1-2-0 (2)
Great-O-Khan 0-2-0 (0)

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

D Block
Will Ospreay 2-0-0 (4)
David Finlay 2-1-0 (4)
El Phantasmo 1-1-0 (2)
YOSHI-HASHI 1-1-0 (2)
Juice Robinson 1-2-0 (2)
Shingo Takagi 1-2-0 (2)
Yujiro Takahashi 1-2-0 (2)

New Japan Pro Wrestling
G1 Climax 32, Day 10
Aug. 2, 2022
Hamamatsu Arena; Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

The undercard

Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare^W p. JONAH, Bad Dude Tito^L (Streets of Rage).

EVIL, SHO^W, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi p. Lance Archer, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku^L, Zack Sabre Jr. (foreign object): Togo vs. Archer at the start was high drama.

Bad Luck Fale, El Phantasmo, Chase Owens^W p. BUSHI^L, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito (Package Piledriver).

Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, YOSHI-HASHI^W sub. Juice Robinson, Jay White, Gedo^L (Butterfly Lock).

The report card

Great-O-Khan vs. Tomohiro Ishii (B Block)
Result: O-Khan p. Ishii (Eliminator).
In short: This bout, which was fought entirely in the ring, was a boilerplate Ishii match, if there is such a thing. It built to an entertaining conclusion. There were really no highlights or lowlights — it was exactly what New Japan fans would expect from the combination.
Grade: B-

Tom Lawlor vs. Toru Yano (A Block)
Result: Lawlor p. Yano (KNOTB).
In short: A comedy match that ended when Lawlor no-sold multiple low blows before kneeing Yano in the back of the head. Filthy then revealed he was wearing a cup. It was worth a couple chuckles.
Highlights
– Prematch, Lawlor traded copies of Sister Act and Sister Act 2 for Yano’s latest DVD release. The box Yano gave was empty — tragic.
– Lawlor wore a wig to successfully foil a hair-pull attempt.
– Yano and Filthy both removed their pants … Filthy more than once.
Lowlights
– Considering all the nonsense, the match was too long.
Grade: D-

SANADA vs. Tama Tonga (B Block)
Result: Tonga p. SANADA (Gun Stun).
In short: A praiseworthy clash between two of the company’s best athletes. It had a smooth, impactful finish.
Highlights
+ Tama has apparently commandeered Macho Man’s old signal for going to the top rope.
+ SANADA creatively countered the Gun Stun with a Skull End.
+ The finish was slick. Tama kicked out of an O’Connor Roll at 2.9 and then hit a Gun Stun.
Grade: A-

Hirooki Goto vs. KENTA (C Block)
Result: KENTA p. Goto (GTS).
In short: It was a rugged bout that stumbled to the finish line, hampered by too much bullshit.
Highlights
+ KENTA hit Goto with a well-placed knee to escape an Ushigoroshi attempt.
Lowlights
– There were back-to-back ref bumps and neither was executed all that well.
– The ending was botched. KENTA missed the GTS and, literally, just picked Goto up and tried again.
Grade: B-

David Finlay vs. Will Ospreay (D Block)
Result: Finlay p. Ospreay (Trash Panda).
In short: A fantastic 15-minute sprint that left plenty of room for a rematch in the future (or several rematches). It was a great performance from both wrestlers and should do wonders for Finlay as a single.
Highlights
+ This match separated itself from the others immediately with an intense strike battle.
+ Finlay hit a huge top-rope superplex. It sounded like a cannon went off when they landed.
+ Ospreay’s OsCutter to the apron was nice, but it was outdone by Finlay reversing an OsCutter into a stunner later. Tremendous counter and nearfall.
+ Another good-looking, sudden finish to an Ospreay bout: Finlay backslid away from a Hidden Blade attempt and hit the Trash Panda.
Grade: A

In conclusion

The biggest news out of the last two shows is that Finlay sits atop D Block. His main event opportunities have gone really well — and this is coming from someone who rolled his eyes at Finlay’s potential years ago.

Block standings

A Block
Kazuchika Okada 3-0-0 (6)
Jeff Cobb 2-1-0 (4)
Bad Luck Fale 2-2-0 (4)
JONAH 1-1-0 (2)
Lance Archer 1-2-0 (2)
Tom Lawlor 1-2-0 (2)
Toru Yano 1-3-0 (2)

B Block
Jay White 3-0-0 (6)
Tama Tonga 2-1-0 (4)
SANADA 2-2-0 (4)
Taichi 1-1-0 (2)
Chase Owens 1-2-0 (2)
Great-O-Khan 1-2-0 (2)
Tomohiro Ishii 1-3-0 (2)

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

D Block
David Finlay 3-1-0 (6)
Will Ospreay 2-1-0 (4)
El Phantasmo 1-1-0 (2)
YOSHI-HASHI 1-1-0 (2)
Juice Robinson 1-2-0 (2)
Shingo Takagi 1-2-0 (2)
Yujiro Takahashi 1-2-0 (2)

Contact Pro Wrestling Report Card at prowrestlingreportcard@proton.me.