NJPW: G1 Climax 28
July 14th & 15th, 2018
Tokyo, Japan
Commentators - Don Callis, Rocky Romero, & Kevin Kelly
So, over on the Up & Over Podcast we decided dive into the 2018 G1 Climax, so you know I had to a written review as well. Check out the podcast above and check out my review. LETS GET INTO IT.
JULY 14TH, 2018 - BLOCK A TOURNAMENT MATCHES
Togi Makabe (GBH) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS) - Block A Tournament Match
This is Togi Makabe’s 15th consecutive G1 which is an astounding fact. He won the tournament in 2009. YOSHI HASHI here is still trying to find and reach his full potential. The match begins with the two throwing bombs and somehow YOSHI HASHI gets the early advantage and sends Makabe into the railing on the floor. He uses the to dominate for a few minutes, but Makabe fights up. Pretty soon, we are in a back & forth slugfest. The outcome of this was pretty up in the air given Makabe’s history and even though YOSHI always seems to fall short in big spots, he beat Kenny Omega in a huge upset in the 2016 G1 so it’s clear that he can dig down deep every now and again. Huge powerbomb off the top gets YOSHI a two count. He follows it up with a running meteors for another nearfall. Makabe looks very vulnerable as YOSHI puts him in the butterfly lock. The crowd begins to rumble as Makabe tries to fight his legs to the ropes and soon enough he breaks the plain of the ropes and the hold gets released. We get an awesome spot after this where Makabe tosses YOSHI with a german and YOSHI fires up. Makabe rebounds, though and follows through with a spider powerbomb off the top rope followed by the King Kong knee drop for the victory. Good opening tourney match here.
Match rating - **3/4
Bad Luck Fale (BULLET CLUB) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page (ELITE) - Block A Tournament Match
