New Japan Pro-Wrestling G1 Climax 29 Night 2: Results and Analysis

Jon Moxley vs Taichi

It’s a tale of two entrances. With Miho Abe calling him forth, Our Holy Emperor Taichi made his way to an NJPW ring singing a beautiful tune into all of our hearts. Then came Jon Moxley, greasy and dripping wet, stomping through the stands while his adopted son (and NJPW Young Lion) Shota Umino carried the US Title behind him.

That was about all Taichi could stand. I can only assume Taichi was horrified by the lack of pomp and circumstance in Moxley’s entrance which is why he jumped his Night 2 opponent amongst the throngs of NJPW fans.

Taichi kept up his assault around the arena before making it to the ring where he cracked a chair along the spine of Mox. Once the pair finally reached the ring, Taichi may have set a world record for the earliest removal of his pants in a match to date.

The pants may have been the one thing giving Taichi his power, though, as Mox was able to rebound and begin to build some momentum as soon as they were removed. With a swift block of a head kick, Mox backed Taichi into the corner and took him off of his feet with a massive clothesline.

Not content to stay in the confines of the ring, Mox dumped Taichi to the floor and connected with a big suicide dive before pulling out a table. Reeling from the pre-match attack, Moxley struggled to put Taichi through the table on a first attempt. Taichi set up for a powerbomb through the furniture, but this too was countered by a Mox Uranage sending the former NEVER Openweight Champion crashing through the wood.

In a fun little moment, Mox admired his handiwork and offered up a truly compassionate, “That sucks, huh?” to a grieving Miho Abe. What a guy!

After a bit more back and forth in the ring, Taichi attempted to once more use a chair after shoving Mox into the referee. Mox, ever adept at the use of weaponry, took the chair and threw it into the face of Taichi. To wrap things up, Moxley planted Taichi with a gruesome Death Rider for the win.

This was a must-win for Moxley. Taichi hasn’t been treated like a super serious threat despite always having something going on somewhere on the card. Moxley, though, is poised to do some real damage and rack up a hefty number of victories as the tournament rolls on. I don’t have him as my pick to win the block, but I could see him finishing in second or third place.