Bad Luck Fale vs. Lance Archer
It's two big beefy dudes doing big beefy dude things for about 10 minutes. Can't hate on that. Pretty much exactly what it should've been between the two, and it was good. ***
SANADA vs. Will Ospreay
This was a charming contest that was all about one-upmanship. Ospreay didn't do all that much for me, but even his dull stuff came off as somewhat interesting interacting against SANADA. Ospreay definitely had some awesome moments too though, such as that beautiful, long-ass distance SSP from the top. SANADA was extremely compelling with everything he did - he brought (& usually always brings) such fun swagger & unique energy to the thing. He probably also has my favorite pescado in the biz. Awesome match. ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
An Okada singles match going just about 12 (!!!) minutes is one of the many blessings that G1 gives us. ZSJ was definitely a great opponent to go that length with - right from the start he starts grounding Okada, twisting him like ZSJ usually does, and it's pretty awesome stuff. Really liked the way they gave Okada his big comeback too with ZSJ getting way too cocky by letting Okada get up & start trading strikes. Okada is definitely pretty focused on softening up Zack's neck for that Rainmaker, and the whole stretch after Okada's big comeback is more 50/50 with him going for the neck with his bombs, and ZSJ countering a lot of stuff & locking in his awesome submissions. Definitely liked this a lot, and I really like how they made it feel somewhat sprint'ish with its run-time, which was something I definitely wasn't expecting out of the two. ***1/2
EVIL vs. Kota Ibushi
This match was all about Ibushi's struggle with his hurt ankle, and I thought that made for some really damn compelling stuff. EVIL was pretty nasty going after it right from the start, and Ibushi sold the big time pain he was in pretty well throughout. I especially dug how EVIL just stomped on the ankle during their forearm exchange, which Ibushi was seemingly winning, but that sure changed with that STOMP. The whole finishing stretch was absolutely fantastic too + I've said this many times, but I'll never not pop for Ibushi doing the Boma Ye. ***3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
"The Takeover, the breaks over"... ♫ This was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be. KENTA as the brutal asshole invader taking on the home-promotion legend ace is such a compelling dynamic, and in many ways, it's puro at its purest & best. The staredown during the entrances is intense, and then as the bell rings, things get more intense after every moment. The stiff SLAP from KENTA during the clean break spot, Tana giving a receipt, Tana's aggressive & proud air guitar playing stopped by KENTA's lil kick to the back of his head.. My GOODNESS. Things are escalating at an incredible rate. Then as they take their fight to the outside, KENTA cements control by absolutely brutalizing Tana with kicks & a DDT on the floor. There's this great shot of KENTA's face in there where he has a complete mean-bastard-killer look. The show is his after that outside destruction - he continues beating the shit out of Tanahashi in an absolutely brutal fashion, and it's amazing. Him doing the classic kneepad pull-down spot to him was something that was expected, but oh man, the whole vibe & the setting of him vs. NJPW's golden boy added so much to that spot. Also him corner dropkicking the soul out of Tana's body with Shibata smiling is something I won't forget anytime soon. Other very memorable sequence was the slap one where Tana delivers two dramatic slaps in classic Tana fashion, but KENTA counters the third one with one of his own, followed by his vintage spinning lariat. And the whole PK sequence. Chills when he went for that, and then we he actually hit it - holy shit. This was so great. Like I said; exactly what I wanted it to be. Both guys delivered big with Tana being the fantastic ace babyface that he is with his emotional selling & dramatic comebacks, and that boy KENTA? He sure showed that he indeed is FUCKING KENTA! ****1/2
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