NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night 17: Results, Grades from A Block Final

CREDIT: njpw1972.com

NJPW G1 28’s A block has been gaining momentum down the stretch, turning in highly enjoyable shows on Nights 13 and 15. Night 17 looked to continue this trend with two massively important matches: Jay White vs Evil, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada. Who advanced to Sunday’s final? Which match stole the show?…

Togi Makabe vs Michael Elgin

Result: Togi Makabe defeated Michael Elgin

This starts off as a standard strong style hoss fight. Stiff strikes and big power moves. After some evenly matched exchanges, Big Mike uses his athleticism to gain the advantage. Makabe shows toughness and fights back. They trade suplexes for awhile and have some more hard hitting back and forth. Eventually Makabe connects with the DVD and the King Kong Knee Drop finishes it.

This was a solid match, but lacked any semblance of drama. Elgin is one tough SOB, continuing to wrestle with a torn bicep, but I mean… he’s been eliminated for a while now so he probably should’ve phoned it in a while ago. Makabe winning is a bit of a curious booking decision, but honestly, no ones going to remember or care in a few days.

Rating: **3/4

Yoshi-Hashi vs Hangman Page

Result: Yoshi-Hashi defeated Hangman Page

Hangman gets ahead from the start with big move after big move. Page starts taunting, telling his opponent to “show (him) something”. Hashi takes advantage of the over-confidence and hits a neckbreaker and a Headhunter. He holds onto the momentum until Page hits the Buckshot Lariat out of nowhere.

They move onto a tremendous closing sequence. Both guys go for their finish multiple times but neither can connect. On the third Rite of Passage attempt, Hashi reverses into a devastating destroyer. The backstabber and Karma ends it.

This was a lot of fun. Even though both guys have been eliminated for awhile now, they worked with an intensity that made the stakes feel high. They clearly have great chemistry, so I’d love to see them go at it again down the road.

Rating: ***3/4