G1 Climax 2014: Honma’s Folly and Other Tales from the Tournament’s Second Week

One thing you notice after watching seventy New Japan Pro Wrestling matches in under a fortnight is this: there are a lot of barrier spots. Now, usually this only amounts to a wrestler being whipped into them, but by the twenty hour mark it felt like I’d seen everything I could possibly see two men do with waist-high metal barriers. And yet, despite this, come Day Seven the G1 Climax roster is still challenging this and even in match sixty-eight I’m being astonished by what AJ Styles and Minoru Suzuki are coming up with. It is this which sums up the essence of NJPW’s appeal, and it is this which has kept 2014’s G1 Climax tournament such a thrilling ride from the word go.

The Styles-Suzuki matchup this past Friday is a natural starting point, for the simple reason that it is a standout contender for the tournament’s best contest so far. It will be, for sure, a Match of the Year contender when the time comes to decide such a thing, it is that damn good. Styles has, despite still feeling like an outsider amongst the New Japan roster, showcased this MOTY potential each time he’s entered the ring during this tournament, with his clashes against Okada and Naito go-to examples of just what the gaijin Champion can deliver on such a stage as this. But with all the tension that had built between Suzuki-Gun and the Bullet Club so far in this tournament (touched upon in our Week One review), the meeting of Suzuki-Gun’s leader and Bullet Club’s Champion would surely be the boiling point, if ever there was to be one. Oh, there was to be one, alright. In a match that had everything worked out – AJ’s selling, Suzuki’s superb psychology, the background story of Bullet Club’s failure to rack up a victory against Suzuki’s faction – the powder keg would explode after a referee bump when Suzuki-Gun man Taka (Michinoku, formerly of WWE) attacked AJ Styles (who in this match would work a face for the first time since his NJPW debut), prompting Bullet Club members Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson to come to the rescue. This, however, would bring out Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr, who together make up Suzuki-Gun sub-group, the Killer Elite Squad. The interference was over quicker than the time it takes to explain it, but it only added to the hype factor of an already intense match. If any match is to draw five star ratings this tournament, then you’ve got it right here.

Styles and Suzuki gave us a rollercoaster ride until the very end. And hopefully not for the last time.

As I type this, the first match of G1 Climax’s eighth day of matches is beginning. It’s almost impossible to keep up with it all, really. Currently, Tomohiro Ishii is taking on Davey Boy Smith Jr.  but later on in the day will come the seventh opportunity for Tomoaki Honma to get his first points on the board. The replacement inclusion in this year’s tournament is on the receiving end of heartbreakingly poor luck, and his performances so far are certainly undeserving of the tournament-long points drought that continues to afflict him. Tonight he takes on the in-form Katsuyori Shibata, and the odds certainly don’t lie with Honma getting off the mark. It is perhaps time for eyes to start turning towards the tournament’s final day of round robin contests, where Honma takes on Shelton X Benjamin, a man who seems to be filling the role of the choker in this years tournament. Having won his four Week One matches, Benjamin has gone pointless since, staying stuck on eight points and now having relinquished his spot at the top of the Block A rankings to 2011 tournament winner Shinsuke Nakamura. Benjamin’s performances this week have been solid enough, but his post-match conferences have become more filled with frustration, and the Suzuki-Gun man may be Honma’s best opportunity to get some points at last when Day Ten rolls around.

We’re not going to lie, this was perhaps the tournament’s scariest moment so far.

Not every match this week has been white hot, with an all-Bullet Club hoss fight between Doc Gallows and Bad Luck Fale drawing little interest from the Day Six crowd. All in all Fale hasn’t had the best week, almost dropping Honma on his head with a dangerous looking Bad Luck Fall on Day Seven. Day Five, however, proved a magnificent affair, with even a great comedy match between Anderson and Toru Yano paling in comparison to the trifecta of brilliant contests that would dot the night afterwards. Honma clashed with Nakamura, AJ Styles met Hirooki Goto, and the main event would see Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada collide in an absolute thriller. It was hard to pick a favourite match here, as it has been on many of the days of fighting this past fortnight, but it proved so easy to sit back, relax and absorb a sublime day of wrestling talent. And whether you watch live or spend a month at a later date digesting the whole affair, it really is must-see action. The likelihood is that it will remain that way until the tournament draws to a close on August 10th. So far, so incredible,

As I write this, Shelton X Benjamin and Yuji Nagata are just about to face off. That, it appears, would be my cue to wrap this up. I’m not missing another second of this day for the world.