Retro Rowe: NJPW Climax 2018 (Part 15)

NJPW G1 Climax 28 (Night 15)

August 5, 2018

-From Osaka, Japan. Our hosts are Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero.

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii and SHO) vs. IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson and Shota Umino

It's kind of funny how much of a size advantage Robinson has over the rather scary Ishii, and he wins a running-the-ropes exchange with a shoulder block. Umino tags and Ishii no-sells everything he does. SHO tags and continues to beat up on the young lion. Umino gets tired of being disrespected and finally hits Ishii hard enough for a reaction, and follows with a missile drop-kick. Robinson returns and dominates Ishii with a cannonball. Ishii is selling injuries from his Omega match and is in a daze while Robinson jabs him. Ishii saves himself with a vertical suplex and tags in SHO, who gets dropped hard. Umino gets a hot tag of sorts and manages a spinebuster on Ishii. Robinson spinebusters SHO and sets him up for Umino's missile drop-kick. Ishii saves SHO From the Boston Crab, and Robinson dispatches him with a crossbody to the floor. Umino hangs with SHO for a while but succumbs to a bridged German suplex at 8:12. Just a match, but a good showing for the young guys, **.
Winners: SHO and Tomohiro Ishii

Retro Rowe: NJPW Climax 2018 (Part 14)

NJPW G1 Climax (Part 14)

August 4, 2018 

(Originally written in August 2018)

-So, when the G1 Tournament first started, I felt like I had to either review the entire thing (which was never going to happen) or none of it. I feel like recapping some of the later shows in the tournament might be a good compromise. Full disclosure, I'm skipping ahead of several shows in the tournament because it started while I was away and I have been unable to catch up, so it's getting to the now or never portion of the summer.

-From Osaka, Japan. Our hosts on the English broadcast are Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa) vs. CHAOS (SHO and YOSHI-HASHI)

YOSHI-HASHI's shoulder is taped up so he's an easy target for Fale and has to fight an uphill battle. He has a better time against Loa, who suffers combination offense from CHAOS. Loa regains his composure and hits a delayed vertical suplex on SHO. Loa remains largely in control of the match until he hits his modified piledriver, eloquently known as "Apeshit" for the win at 5:33. Not much to this opener, as the CHAOS guys were presented as too banged up or inexperienced to hang, *½.
Winners: Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa

Retro Rowe: NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco 2018

NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco

July 7, 2018 

-From the Cow Palace in Daly City, er "San Francisco", California. Our hosts on the English broadcast are Jim Ross and Josh Barnett. Fan attendance seems to have filled the floor area and parts of the lower bowl, not sure if this is considered a success or not.

CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Sho, Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI, and Gedo) vs. Bullet Club (King Haku, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens)

Haku still looks like he could murder you just by looking at you. Haku is too tough for Sho to handle. Romero tags and is not intimidated by Loa's size advantage or smack talk, and delivers a hurricanrana. Owens drives Romero into the turnbuckles for a vicious Stinger Splash by Tonga! Romero kicks out of Haku's piledriver, but gets stuck in the Bullet Club corner. Romero saves himself with a double head scissors counter and YOSHI-HASHI gets a hot tag to clean house. Tonga cuts off the comeback, but Gedo gets him with jabs and chinbreaker. The match breaks down and it's "let the bodies hit the floor" time. Haku pops the crowd by grabbing Gedo in the Tongan death grip and serving him up for Tonga's stun gun for the win at 9:20. The Tongan family reunion elevated this above being an average filler opener, **�.
Winners: Bullet Club