July 23, 201510 yr comment_5686896 Takahashi vs Goto Goto on the arm. This is an early feeling out process. Takahashi is one of the worst wrestlers on the roster, but he gave a real good effort here. 2 3/4*
July 23, 201510 yr comment_5686897 Honmma vs Nagata This was a good match. Honmma working underneath early is a good choice. He makes a comeback of this is good as well. Nagata cuts him off. We have a fun little finish. Overall, a fun bout. 3 1/2*
July 23, 201510 yr comment_5686898 Okada vs Elgin Elgin establishing his strength early. Okada working the neck. I hate Elgin's flip leg drop. This was a very paint by the numbers match. 2 3/4*
July 23, 201510 yr Author comment_5686901 Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto This was my first surprise good match of the tournament. Yujiro has probably been the worst guy in Japan consistently for around 2 years now and while he didn't do anything extraordinary here, he at least stayed on offense and kept the pace going. This match was structured as a nice contrast from the big bomb fest that preceded it. Shockingly enjoyable. ***
July 23, 201510 yr comment_5686948 Just watched Shibata/Styles. Geesh, that dtd/brainbuster was SICK! Love Shibata's roll through into the abdominal stretch. AJ's so watchable right now. Good match, three and three quarters. Crowd was pretty shitty for a first night.
July 24, 201510 yr comment_5687085 Nakamura vs Anderson Nakamura shoots him. Nakamura works hoids with Anderson. Some rope running. Irish whips on the floor. Anderson starts to focus on Nakamura's neck. We get a lot of this. Overall, another solid bout. 3*
July 24, 201510 yr comment_5687088 Gallows vs. Ibushi (7/24) was fun. They lost a little steam down the stretch but I liked the layout centered on Ibushi having his rib area worked over. A nasty bump from Ibushi and nice body punches from Gallows.
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687326 Ibushi vs Gallows This was fun. They told a basic story of the big man vs little man. Gallows kicked Ibushi's ass. Ibushi sold. We had some fun hope spots. Ibushi timed his comebacks well. Ibushi sells an ass kicking better than his limb selling. Some of Ibushi rope running looked weak. 3*
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687327 Fale vs Makabe Fale goes for a nerve hold 3 minutes in.They are throwing elbows like they're in water. Not very good. 1 1/2*
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687330 AJ Styles vs Yano AJ doing a Hulkster pose was bad timing. This was a strong Styles performance. It's kinda fun watching Styles incorporating his stuff with Yano's schtick. This was entertaing. The way Styles worked the crowd was impressive, and it's stuff like that would have benefited the draw in ROH 3*
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687338 Shibata vs Naito Loved Shibata punting Naito. Nice Naito got my notes about heels and tassles on his boots.Everything Shibata does looks deadly. Loved Shibata's counter of Naito's token corner spot. That knee lock by Naito looks nasty. I enjoyed this a good deal. It was real fun. 3 1/2*
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687367 I enjoyed Tenzan vs Tanahashi.They told a basic story. I really got into Tenzans near submissions. The finish was pretty basic. 3 1/2*
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687370 Ishii vs Takanashi Day 4 is upon us. Takanashi is in full chicken shit heel mode. He's on his bike, picking his spots to attack. Takanhasi and Ishii are having a smart bout. Ishii's work underneath has been good. 2 3/4*
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687375 8 Elgin vs Kojima I kind of like this dynamic of 2 tough guys beating on each other. 2 3/4
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687378 Goto vs Anderson Anderson working gritty is nice. Another match that had parts I like.
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687379 About to watch Honma-Okada from Night 4 and this tournament has been nothing special so far. Lots of alright wrestling. Best matches so far: AJ vs Shibata Nakamura vs Nagata Nothing else is 3 3/4 for me. Although we should be comparing the first 4 shows to the first 2 shows last year and its not way behind that yet. Last year didn't get awesome till night 4 or 5, so there is still hope.
July 25, 201510 yr comment_5687485 I'm with Grimmas on the Nakamura/Nagata being one of the better matches of the tournament thus far. The slower, mat based start stoof out. I really liked the way Nagata sold the rib injury.
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687513 I thought Nagata v. Nakamura was fine, but nothing special. I've felt that way about a lot of the matches. Through four nights I think the best matches have been Shibata v. Naito, Styles v. Yano, Styles v. Shibata and Ishii v. Kojima. There is other stuff I've liked to one degree or another, but those are the only four matches I would tell people to go out of their way to see and the fourth of those is pretty borderline in that regard. Styles individual performance v. Yano is the best performance I've seen out of anyone in the tournament by a WIDE margin. Night 3 is the only one of the four shows I would even consider good. Other things to note is that I enjoy Naito's new ridiculous character, and I sort of shrug my way through Honma matches at this point because I know he has no chance so the "hot" stretch runs just feel like shit they do because it's expected.
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687535 Shibata-Naito was a great match and a reminder how much better Naito is than dorks like Goto and Anderson. He's already mastered the character work, all that's left is for him to start wrestling more like Rush and less like Mutoh.
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687554 It's a shame all of the NOAH Junior League won't make tape because based on comparing block lineups and available footage it would be hard for it not to be better than the G1.
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687576 What's the point of having a 30-minute time limit when only six matches have gone past 20 since 2010?
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687581 What's the point of having a 30-minute time limit when only six matches have gone past 20 since 2010? What's YOUR point?
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687584 It's a tournament series-- you don't need to have decisive win after decisive win and the "toss them a win here" mindset if you actually have draws, and draws actually add to the drama and story of a tournament, AND THEY ALMOST NEVER EVEN GET CLOSE TO THE TIME LIMIT ANYWAY! I think that Honma-Okada with the same result would have been a better match if they only had 20 minutes because if nothing else, you can buy that Honma might get a draw off of the champ. It's just way better for booking. I don't really see an argument for why a 30 minute time limit is better when they never, ever run draws.
July 26, 201510 yr comment_5687641 Okay I am confused. Is the show last night available on NJ World because it looks like some people have seen it based on my Twitter? Was it working fine live and then there was an issue with the replay? EDIT: It looks like some of them are out there in singles matches but the show isn't
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