Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 8 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 8
October 1st, 2021 | Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Attendance: 1,101

We’re reaching that middle point of the G1 where things usually start to slow down as guys get tired and try to conserve energy for a hot finish. Let’s see if tonight follows that trend.

B Block: Jeff Cobb [6] vs. Tama Tonga [2]
Here we go with a first time meeting. Tama Tonga found himself in trouble pretty quickly because as agile and quick as he can be, Cobb was just too strong. It’s always a treat to see him carry people around and just slam them into the corners. He made the expected mistake of trying it more than once, which allowed Tama to slip free and get something going, including hitting Veleno. That led to a string of moves from Tama as he picked up some near falls. He even hit an impressive Samoan drop. I love how Cobb got a near fall and then immediately hit a standing moonsault. It’s the kind of pouncing on your opponent that works in the G1. The coolest spot came right at the end as Cobb caught the Gun Stun into a smooth German suplex. He added the Tour of the Islands to win in 12:47. They kept it short, told a good story with Cobb taking Tama lightly, and entertained me. Hot damn, Tama had two *** matches and his brother didn’t look awful last time out. What a surprise. [***]

B Block: Chase Owens [0] vs. EVIL [4]
Two-for-two on first time outings and this one is Bullet Club loaded. In the early stages, Owens was on the same page as EVIL and Dick Togo though that didn’t last too long. The House of Torture boys wanted a cheap win but Chase didn’t lay down for them and the fight moved outside for a bit. Owens got tossed around so EVIL could look like a beast and he could play the face in peril of sorts. It’s actually a role that Owens is better at than you’d expect. He made some comebacks with hope spots but Dick Togo was always there with interference or something to mess things up. Owens actually set up for the Package Piledriver but a Togo distraction allowed EVIL to use a low blow that led to Everything is EVIL, ending this after 12:38. Same old story. [**½]

B Block: Taichi [4] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]
Their only prior meeting came in 2010 when YOSHI-HASHI was a Young Lion. Ishii’s win yesterday got the NEVER Openweight Champions on the board officially. Taichi acted like a face on some recent shows but was back to his old tricks here, which was a shame. Some stuff worked like getting heat for standing on the NEVER Title but other stuff felt lame. The biggest gripe with this match was the length. While other stuff in the G1 has actually gone about the length I wanted, someone decided this should be 22:26. That’s not what you want from Taichi and YOSHI-HASHI. The exchanges they had were fine enough but it never grabbed me enough to justify the runtime. YOSHI-HASHI got the somewhat unexpected win with Karma and while it was fine enough, I didn’t really like it. [**½]

B Block: Hirooki Goto [0] vs. Kazuchika Okada [6]
Long ass history here with the guys being 7-7 against each other. The ones I’ve seen were in the G1 23 (****), G1 24 (****), New Beginning in Osaka 2014 (****), G1 25 (****), G1 26 (**¾), and New Beginning in Osaka 2016 (***). That last one sent Goto t midcard hell for good. This was kind of what I’ve come to expect from them in recent years. Their matches were great when both were arguably at their best in 2013-2015 but since then, they’ve both fallen in quality. This had a bit of the Okada formula as the early stages were a feeling out process without much of note happening before we got going with bigger offense. Okada’s Money Clip didn’t get the job done and Goto retaliated with the USHIGOROSHI! They went into the expected hot finishing stretch with Rainmaker counters and GTR variations connecting. The twist came on the finish itself, as Okada sat down on a sunset flip to get a flash win in 18:06. They never felt like they were going for something great and capped out as just good. Goto becomes a bigger joke each year. [***¼]

B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [4] vs. SANADA [4]
I actually love this pairing. SANADA won in the G1 26 (****), Tanahashi won at Power Struggle 2016 (****¼), SANADA won in the New Japan Cup semis in 2019 (****¼), Tanahashi won in the G1 29 (***), and SANADA won in the G1 30 (***½). They had a lengthy feeling out process but it seemed important. Tanahashi always knows how to make even a headlock feel like it matters. He did that here again while SANADA did the same with a head scissors. They moved on from neck work to start with dragon screws and things like that. SANADA had a rana countered into a Cloverleaf and I did like SANADA going for the cheap shot when they agreed to stave off kicks. You got the sense that he knew how important this win was. SANADA got his knees up on High Fly Flow only for Tanahashi to do the same on a moonsault, which was another bit that I enjoyed. Their next exchange saw Tanahashi hit a dragon suplex and then High Fly Flow to win in 25:36. A really good main event that won’t make my year-end list but is worth checking out. [***¾]