HTQ on Day Four of the G1 Climax Tournament

Day Four saw a slight upset, a pretty surprising upset, and a great main event, that sadly lacked a little when it came to heat.

G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [8] beat Togi Makabe [0] by forfeit.

Another forfeit loss for Makabe, not that he would have won had he been able to wrestle.

G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [8] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [2] (6:11) with a cross  armbreaker.

It doesn't look like Goto is going to pull off his trademark upset this year, but you never know. Nakamura continuing his apparent march towards the finals.

G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [6] beat Toru Yano [1] (5:17) with the Hercules Cutter.

No upset here, with Yano barely lasting past five minutes.

G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] beat Kendo Kashin [4] (12:19) with the TTD.

Tenzan keeping his comeback going, and still a possible finalist.

G1 Climax - Block A: Osamu Nishimura [3] beat Masahiro Chono [4] (20:55) with a figure-four leglock.

Not the result I expected, and I picked Chono to win. And I don't care, because it means Nishimura is no longer at the bottom of the rankings in Block A.

G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [3] beat Yutaka Yoshie [4] (15:01) with a high-angle front cradle.

The Tanahashi win was mostly expected, but Yoshie still surprising us by being ahead of Tanahashi at this stage, though that will likely change soon.

G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami [4] beat Minoru Suzuki [3] (10:17) with a cross armbreaker cutback cradle.

Another upset, and again it is down to a submission hold getting countered. I still would have liked Suzuki to win, but we'll see how this plays out.

G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [6] beat Yuji Nagata [2] (26:55) with a low-altitude dropkick.

This match was reportedly great, but lacking in crowd heat, which is something that this region is apparently noted for. If Kawada was going to lose a match in the tournament, I would have had it be this one, but I guess they wanted Kashin to get the boost, and it does also leave open a rematch between these two, which should be even hotter, as it would likely take place in front of a better crowd.

After four days of action, this is how the rankings look:

Block A:

1. Toshiaki Kawada [6]

2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]

3. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]

4. Masahiro Chono [4]

5. Kendo Kashin [4]

6. Osamu Nishimura [3]

7. Minoru Suzuki [3]

8. Yuji Nagata [2]

Block B:

1. Shinsuke Nakamura [8]

2. Kazuyuki Fujita [8]

3. Manabu Nakanishi [6]

4. Yutaka Yoshie [4]

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi [3]

6. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]

7. Toru Yano [1]

8. Togi Makabe [0]

Block A is relatively open, with Kawada and Tenzan heavy favorites for the Block's spots in the finals, but Fujinami, Chono and Kashin all in a position to get a look in. Strange and sad to see Nagata at the bottom of the Block. Block B is more decisive, with Nakamura and Fujita all but locked into the finals portion, though Manabu Nakanishi could theoretically pull something off. Makabe will finish last due to his injury, though that was almost certain to happen anyway. Tanahashi being where he is does surprise me a little, but not totally, due to his injury and, for me, the politics concerning his match at the NOAH Dome Show.

They have tomrrow off, and come back Wednesday for Day Five. Tournament matches are Nakamura v Yano (Nakamura winning), Tanahashi v Goto (I expect Tanahashi to win, but I do not rule out a Goto win), Nagata v Kashin (I hope Nagata wins, but I think Kashin will get the win), Yoshie v Fujita (Fujita to win), Fujinami v Nishimura (Nishimura to win), Tenzan v Suzuki (Tenzan to win), and Kawada v Chono (Kawada should win, but I'm picking this one to go the distance).

For Day Four, I was 5-2, which isn't bad.