Night 14 is here and, as I explained a few days ago, an Okada victory in the main event will eliminate both EVIL & SANADA.
Block B Match - Toru Yano vs Tama Tonga
Both of these men are already eliminated so there is nothing to play for here. They fuck about for 3 minutes and Yano wins with the low blow/roll up combination. *
Block B Match - Satoshi Kojima vs SANADA
This was a really good match that finished just short of being great. SANADA spends the early portion acting like a dick to the veteran but he would regret that. SANADA tried to follow up the Skull End with a moonsault but Kojima escaped and hit with a big lariat. The crowd was spurring Kojima on and he no sold a dropkick before hitting another lariat, only for SANADA to kick out at 1. A third lariat followed though and Kojima finally got himself on the board. ***3/4
Block B Match - Michael Elgin vs Minoru Suzuki
This match was very much like any other Suzuki match in this tournament. They brawled on the outside, Suzuki-gun interfered and Suzuki attacked Elgin with a chair. The difference here was that Elgin was having none of that shit. He managed to fight them off and picked up the win. It was good enough. ***
Block B Match - Juice Robinson vs Kenny Omega
Well, I don't think many people would have picked Juice to win this in their predictions but win it he did. It was a really good match that played into the strengths of both men, with Omega playing the cocky main eventer to Juice's underdog babyface. In the end, just as Omega looked like he had the match fully in his control, Juice reversed the One Winged Angel into a roll up pin for the very surprising victory. It is exactly the kind of storytelling that I love from New Japan with Robinson proving that despite being out of the running he will continue to be a threat to anyone. This win should earn him a US Title shot in the future. ****1/4
Block B Match - Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL
So, the other day I said that EVIL didn't really feel like someone who would beat Kenny Omega, well I'm going to have to eat my words on that. This is because at the end of a fantastic main event EVIL hit the Everything Is EVIL and handed Okada his first defeat in a year. EVIL took the fight to the outside, cutting off Okada's barricade dive with a chair to the face and following that up with a Darkness Falls onto a pile of chairs. In the end though, as predicted, it was Okada's hubris that got the best of him as he tried to hit multiple Rainmakers instead of going for the pin. In the end it was a reversal of a Rainmaker into the Everything Is EVIL that scored EVIL the massive victory. ****1/2
Standings
Kazuchika Okada: 6-1 - 12 points
Kenny Omega: 5-2 - 10 points
EVIL: 5-2 - 10 points
SANADA: 4-3 - 8 points
Minoru Suzuki: 4-3 - 8 points
Toru Yano: 3-4 - 6 points (Unable to top Block)
Michael Elgin: 3-4 - 6 points (Unable to top Block)
Tama Tonga: 2-5 - 4 points (Unable to top Block)
Juice Robinson: 2-5 - 4 points (Unable to top Block)
Satoshi Kojima: 1-6 - 2 points (Unable to top Block)
Overall Grade - A
I thought this was an excellent show with a host of surprising outcomes. EVIL keeps his G1 hopes alive and in all likelihood has earned himself an IWGP Title match down the line. I look forward to it too.
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