The interesting stuff from G1 Days 15 & 16!

Day 15: Lance Archer vs. SANADA

Very basic layout with Archer dominating for the most part, and SANADA sneaking in some stuff, playing the part of the smaller underdog. It's not bad, but very, very uneventful & nothing that I will remember when thinking about the tournament. **

Day 15: KENTA vs. Will Ospreay

Good match. They played off of each others styles pretty well w/ KENTA slowing things down, blasting Ospreay with them kicks & tiring him down with them holds, and then Ospreay bringing his high energy flips to counter that. This honestly sounds even better than it was when writing about it, and I sure hope it ain't the last time we see them tangle it up. ***

Day 15: Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Definitely liked this a bit better than their IC title match from April. They did their usual with Zack being nasty & up-in-your-face with his submissions, and Ibushi bringing the explosiveness in his offense bits. It's good stuff for sure, but far from their best match against one another. ***1/4

Day 16: Hirooki Goto vs. Jon Moxley

This was a helluva nice sprint. Mostly a total smackfest, but just like in the Ishii match, Moxley brings his own unique brand of violence into the thing, which keeps the bout charmingly fresh all the way through. ***1/2

Day 16: Jay White vs. Juice Robinson

This had a real good first third, dull middle, and then a pretty damn great last third. The main focus of the match was White's attack on Juice's leg, and young Switchblade is viciously focused & compelling with it. Really liked how it came back into play in that last third of the match too, especially with that awesome chop block spot. With a more interesting middle section, this could've been great, but even with them losing me for a while there, it was still a real good one overall. ***1/2

Day 16: Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii

You know exactly what you're getting with these two, even when they haven't faced each other before. It's 20+ minutes full of nasty hits & gnarly bombs, with it getting more intense & dramatic as it goes on. Some really good selling too by both guys. Definitely not my favorite kind of a match, but Shingo & Ishii certainly did it in WAY more interesting fashion than Ishii & Goto, for an example. ***1/2