Boss Rock

Star ratings from last few days: Archer-KENTA **3/4 Disappointing match considering how much I liked the beginning with KENTA chopping Archer's legs out from underneath him. They moved on from this pretty quickly though and had a rather listless David vs. Goliath match with a few cool spots scattered about. But KENTA's LaBell Lock is better than Bryan's. EVIL-SANDA ***1/2 Pretty good match but the beginning was way too slow. I liked the psychology of both guys knowing each other so well with EVIL putting SANADA in a Paradise Lock and SANADA hitting EVIL with an Everything is EVIL. Okada-Fale *** Typical decent Okada-Fale match with the added twist of Fale attacking Okada before their entrances which I thought was clever. Okada mostly worked from the bottom and had to overcome outside interference. Perfectly fine but not on the level of their New Beginning match this year or the awesome Invasion Attack 2015 match. Fale just sucks. Okada continues to get his groove back against the folks who beat him last year with a decisive win and dropkick to send Fale packing. Tanahashi-Sabre **** Loved that they worked a sprint here with both guys in a must-win position struggling on the mat. Tana and Zack have such good chemistry together. Ospreay-Ibushi ****1/2 Match of the tournament contender and even better than their WK match. I liked the approach of both guys going after the other's injury, although the mat work went a bit too long for two guys who are known for fast-paced action. Wish Ibushi sold the leg more but Ospreay did a good job selling the neck. Incredibly dramatic finishing stretch that really put the ending in doubt even if Ibushi getting his first win was a given. Taichi-Shingo: **** The Taichi heat segment at the beginning wasn't great but this turned into an exciting, fast-paced match. I just don't get why Taichi needs to be able to withstand so much damage and kick out of a Last of Dragons. Still, another standout match for Shingo and a pretty good showing from Taichi. Cobb-Juice: ***1/4 Decent match where Juice surprisingly dominated the first half. Really like how Juice has more focus and intensity since the loss to Moxley. Cobb has his faults, but he's still fun to watch toss people around. Finishing stretch was good but still never quite took off. Yano-Jay: ***1/2 Another Yano special. He'll never have any MOTYC's, but he's always one of my favorite people to watch in this tournament. And holy crap was not expecting him to win! Glad he's been more of a spoiler this year than the last two. Naito-Goto: **** Really liked Goto attacking Naito from behind. It's one thing to say you've reinvented yourself, but you better show your work and Goto did here. Naito did a good job rallying back and working the leg. Some nice drama in the end that put the finish in question. Mox-Ishii ****1/2 Welp, this was as good as you'd expect. Ishii did a top rope splash through a table. Must watch and possibly the best match of the tournament. Ishii is the clear frontrunner for tournament MVP and Mox has continued to impress. Fale-Sabre ***1/2 Fale is usually a drag in this tournament but loved Zack's approach here. He knew he was in a must-win situation against a guy much bigger and stronger than him, so he immediately tried to go for the submission win. We got some interference from Jado and Chase, but it led to a pretty fun crowd brawl where Zack outsmarted Fale for the win. Tanahashi-Archer ***3/4 Haven't been as high on Archer's last two matches as most, but this was really good. Loved Tana's urgency by attacking Archer before the bell and Archer in turn nearly murdered him in retaliation. Really good David vs. Goliath match and further proof that Archer is capable of a good match. Tana is also still the man. EVIL-KENTA **** KENTA has acquitted himself well this tournament but thought he disappointed in the Archer match. And combined with EVIL's inconsistency, I wasn't expecting a good match here. But holy crap did they prove me wrong. KENTA was in perfect dickhead form, trying to wipe off EVIL's eyeliner and put it on himself. The crowd brawling was also really fun and didn't feel contrived. The finishing stretch had some really good, hard-hitting action. A definite sleeper hit. SANADA-Ibushi ****1/4 Don't think they quite topped the match they had last year, but this was really good. No real underlying story except two excellent athletes going fast and furious. SANADA continues to prove he can hang with the top stars in the ring. Ospreay-Okada ****1/4 Arguably the best match they've had against each other. Unfortunately, like their last two, it started off a bit too slowly. Okada is my favorite wrestler but I really wish he'd pick up the pace during these opening stretches. Still, liked how Okada wasn't afraid to go after Ospreay's neck and Ospreay in return hit him with the loudest chop I've ever heard. This became the fast-paced, reversal-heavy match you'd expect from these two with a few extra twists like Okada hitting the dropkick early and Ospreay hitting an Oscutter on the outside from the guardrail. I agree with Coffey that it got a bit overkill near the end, but I honestly though Ospreay might pull it off, so it definitely worked. Ospreay continuing to prove he's the best in the world when it comes to output this year. Great stuff.

Ospreay cleared for tomorrow.

Ishii unsurprisingly with match of the night again. But hat's off to Jay. Not only is he mechanically excellent but he heels it up so well against tough guys like Ishii. Yano-Shingo was a lot of fun and pretty much what you would want out of a Yano match. Mox-Cobb wasn't great but I really dug Mox's psychology. Went after the shoulder to take away Cobb's power, stomped on his foot to escape the suplex on the apron, hit him with the knee to set up the rope-assisted DDT because he couldn't lift him. Juice-Goto was solid but definitely the worst of their matches together. Taichi-Naito was a lot better than their New Beginning match and even if the overbooking got to be a bit much, it was at least saved for the end and the execution was much better.

Ospreay has a neck injury and will miss the 15th show. Won't have to forfeit any matches yet and there's a chance he's cleared for the 18th as the injury isn't nerve or bone damage.

Riho did a commendable job in that match given the circumstances. Tons of potential.

Agreed. I like Page, he's got a good look, and he has his moments in the ring. But he still doesn't have the star power I think would be necessary for an inaugural champion. I personally would've gone with Moxley but considering where we are, Jericho is still a good pick due to his name recognition and the fact that he can still get things done in the ring. Definitely not who I'd build the promotion around long-term, but a good pick heading into TV.

Good but not great day. Archer-Fale wasn't terrible but not very good either. Ospreay-SANADA was a tad underwhelming but really liked the second half. Ibushi-EVIL started and finished strong. The middle dragged a little but EVIL's work on the ankle was logical. Okada-Sabre was surprisingly short but I liked the story of Okada outmatching Sabre in most departments but was just one pin or sub attempt away from losing. The ME would've been amazing 6-7 years ago but was very good as sort of an aged, gunslingers fight. KENTA's offense for the most part looks good but his GTS is definitely kinda weak now.

Were there issues with Fyter Fest? I don't recall.

Mixed bag show. Allie-Brandi and Britt/Riho-Bea/Nakajima were very bad. Dark Order is a good tag team but not over. Page-Sabian was OK but way too long. And the camera cuts are still too choppy. But the six-man tag, the triple-threat tag, and Lucha Bros-SCU were very fun spotfests. The Aja-Awesome staredown was fire. Really enjoyed Kenny-CIMA and the ME. I even liked the Jericho-Page brawl. Only their third major show so they still have time to work out the kinks and I expect All Out to be much better. But there's still work to be done.

I really liked it a lot. Sort of a more reserved approach from the Bucks and I think it worked. Matt's arm selling was great as well.

Drunk, middle-aged rockstar brawler has been a good fit for him.

Foregone conclusion, but I'd say the first great match tonight.

Show has been fine, but definitely feels like a step down from the last two.

Very good G1 card today, although some of the results have me worried about who's winning the tournament. I know it's still way too early and the first two days are typically known for having surprising outcomes, but still.

Parting with JR in the near-future wouldn't surprise me in the least, although I'm sure they really want to have him for TV. Although as much as I enjoy the more modern style and presentation of AEW thus far, I definitely think it would be wise if Cody and co. take heed of the old guard's advice of having clear face/heel dynamics and established rules.

This was everything it needed to be. A sub-10 minute brawl with a table and chair. Taichi attacking Mox from the get-go really played to Mox's strengths as a brawler and keeping everything tight and compact played to Taichi's strengths. I can't stress enough how much better Mox's offense has looked since leaving WWE (although the suicide dive still sucks). A short, chaotic match like this really helps add variety to the G1, which is always a good thing. Not the best match of the tournament but might be my favorite so far. ****

Still have to finish the ME but yeah really good show. Loved the variety in the match styles: Shingo-Juice being a more typical competitive match, Mox-Taichi being a brawl, Naito-Yano being more comedic, and a hoss fight in Isii-Cobb.

Finally caught up on the rest of the show. Ishii/Umino-Cobb/Narita was really fun stuff and I loved the post-match brawl. Ospreay-Archer was great and even better than their NJ Cup match. Really impressed by Lance as of late and I hope he can keep it up. I actually thought EVIL-Fale was fairly decent, although I put that more on EVIL stepping up and busting his ass whereas Fale was slow and lumbering as usual. Okada-Tana is probably still my pick for MOTN although Archer-Ospreay is at a very close second.

It's possible Mark Cuban got them a good deal for it and they thought they could get around 10k or so. NJPW is just terrible at promoting international shows.

Agreed that this was definitely a greatest hits version of their match formula, but it worked really well in this type of setting. It also played to the story of how their last three G1 matches went the full 30 minutes so both guys worked with a bit more urgency to try and secure a victory on the first night. If you like the Okada-Tana matches but hate their usual padding, you will love this. ****1/2

Didn't catch the first two matches but liked everything else. ZSJ-SANADA was definitely longer than it needed to be but was still good. KENTA-Ibushi was easily KENTA's best match in ages and while not great, still better than I expected. Okada-Tana was basically a 20 minute greatest hits version of their previous stuff but was great. Glad they worked with a little more urgency considering the 30 minute draw story.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but KENTA's definitely the one I'm looking forward to seeing the most.

Curious if you had a chance to check out their NJ Cup match. I thought it was good.

Updates:

Good call on MJF, can't believe I forgot about him.