Pro Wrestling Report Card

New Japan Pro Wrestling
G1 Climax 32, Day 17
Aug. 14, 2022
White Ring; Nagano, Japan

The undercard

SHO^W, EVIL, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi sub. Hirooki Goto, Kosei Fujita^L, Ryohei Oiwa, Yuto Nakashima (arm bar).

Will Ospreay^W, Aaron Henare p. JONAH, Bad Dude Tito^L (Hidden Blade).

Juice Robinson, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens^W, El Phantasmo p. BUSHI^L, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito (C-Trigger).

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano^W p. Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku^L, Zack Sabre Jr. (school boy).

Tama Tonga^W, Jado p. Jay White, Gedo^L (Gun Stun): White clobbered Tama with a chair afterward, which was one of the few times there was a postmatch angle in the preview tags prior to a block match — although it was the second of the night after Juice jumped Ospreay on the ramp earlier.

The report card

David Finlay vs. YOSHI-HASHI (D Block)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI p. Finlay (rollup).
In short: A short, solid fight in which Finlay brutalized YOSHI-HASHI’s injured arm. You could see Finlay’s return to earth coming from a mile away.
Highlights
+ Finlay hit three straight uranage backbreakers as part of his onslaught to YH’s shoulder area.
Lowlights
– Finlay had a counter cutter that was a bit of a mess.
Grade: B-

Great-O-Khan vs. Taichi (B Block)
Result: O-Khan p. Taichi (fisherman suplex).
In short: There wasn’t much to this bout, especially if you eliminate the stalling in the beginning. They stared at each other — Taichi in a sumo stance; O-Khan on his back — until the referee stood them up. Then, they battled a long time over a sumo toss before Taichi finally prevailed.
Highlights
+ O-Khan countered Taichi’s Yokozuna Forearm with a smooth throw.
Grade: D

Jeff Cobb vs. Tom Lawlor (A Block)
Result: Lawlor p. Cobb (NKOTB).
In short: Lawlor ended his tournament on the right foot. This was an entertaining match with good grappling.
Highlights
+ Cobb launched Lawlor with a big fallaway slam.
+ Cobb snatched Lawlor by his throat before sending him for a ride with an overhead suplex.
+ Lawlor got a pop for planting Cobb with a side slam.
+ Filthy used a double-wrist lock to escape a series of German suplexes.
Grade: B+

KENTA vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (C Block)
Result: KENTA p. Tanahashi (GTS).
In short: Just some old-fashioned pro wrestling. This was a milder version of their Wrestle Kingdom match, which is to say that there wasn’t a ladder, but there was a table. Good stuff that was well-paced.
Highlights
+ Red Shoes Unno got CRACKED by a slap from Tanahashi when KENTA ducked. Possibly the stiffest ref bump in history.
+ An atypical weapon spot: KENTA threw a table into Tanahashi’s head.
+ Tanahashi had a slick slingblade to counter the GTS.
Grade: A-

In conclusion

The Nagano crowd seemed lackluster, unless it wasn’t mic’d properly. In other news, JONAH was entertaining on English commentary.

Block standings

A Block
Kazuchika Okada 4-1-0 (8)
JONAH 3-2-0 (6)
Lance Archer 3-2-0 (6)
Tom Lawlor 3-3-0 (6)
Jeff Cobb 3-3-0 (6)
Bad Luck Fale 2-3-0 (4)
Toru Yano 1-5-0 (2)

B Block
Jay White 5-0-0 (10)
Tama Tonga 4-1-0 (8)
SANADA 3-2-0 (6)
Chase Owens 2-4-0 (4)
Great-O-Khan 2-4-0 (4)
Taichi 2-4-0 (4)
Tomohiro Ishii 1-4-0 (2)

C Block
Zack Sabre Jr. 4-1-0 (8)
Hirooki Goto 3-2-0 (6)
Tetsuya Naito 3-2-0 (6)
KENTA 3-3-0 (6)
Hiroshi Tanahashi 3-3-0 (6)
EVIL 2-3-0 (4)
Aaron Henare 1-5-0 (2)

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

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