NJPW G1 Climax 2021 - Day 5 - 26/09/2021
G1 Climax 2021 Block A Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi
I thought this was awesome. Kota Ibushi is not on his best run of his career since returning while Zack is on a purple patch of form and the match plays on that really well, with ZSJ being the more aggressive and dominant of the two. This was really smart booking as well being shorter than your usual main event as it reinforced ZSJ’s dominance. Ibushi’s arm was the main focus of the match, being ZSJ’s primary target of the match which proved to be the deciding factor. But this had a lot of shit talking from Zack who seemed keen to tick Ibushi into a rage for which he could take advantage of. Ibushi looks better and better with each match. He was mostly limited to counter wrestling and quick strikes due to the structure of the match but it was a great way to get the best out of him. Zack’s variations of the octopus with the leg extended over the head was a great finish. It was both gross and a great display of in the moment thinking. ***3/4
NJPW G1 Climax 2021 - Day 7 - 30/09/2021
G1 Climax 2021 Block A Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Great O-Khan
I wonder if it would be considered harsh to say that I thought this would be better than it was. It had a neat narrative of two submission heavy wrestlers going against each other, especially when Zack Sabre Jr is involved, and some of the exchanges were rather good but still let me down somewhat. O-Khan was a little awkward at times in his set up for things, such as the inverted torture rack. And he had a tendency of dropping the holds he was in for not much reason. At least in Lucha Libre, the way ZSJ does it, it's usually to lock on a different hold but that wasn't always the case. Zack Sabre Jr put O-Khan over as being “strong” in his post show interview on Day 5 and this followed that idea basically. ZSJ is able to capture a triangle for the sub win. ***1/4
G1 Climax 2021 Block A Match: KENTA vs. Shingo Takagi
A solid, solid Korakuen Hall main event. KENTA can be pretty tedious to watch with his style and pacing of his matches but when he steps up the gas pedal a bit and has an opponent like Shingo Takagi, who'll push him hard, he can be a joy to watch. The work on the arm was really good, giving Shingo a chink in the arm which benefited the match great. The closing stretch was surprisingly tame, with not a lot of the usually big kick outs, but good nonetheless. ***1/2
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