HTQ on Day Seven of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tourny
HTQ on Day Seven of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Day Seven of the G1 Climax Tournament saw the group stages completed, and we finally found it just who had made it through to the finals
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe [2] beat Toru Yano [2] in (10:08) after a flying hammer
Makabe picked up his only win of the tournament here, and finally scored points
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie [6] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [2] in (11:56) after a diving bodypress
Yutaka Yoshie ends his G1 with a win over the veteran Goto, using his girth to squash him for the three count
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki [8] beat Kendo Kashin [2] in (16:27) with a reverse cutback cradle
This was a battle of the submission masters, and Suzuki came out on top by countering a submission attempt into a cradle to get the win
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [14] beat Osamu Nishimura [4] in (24:29) after a running high kick
Nishimura attempted to out wrestle Kawada, looking to avenge his loss in their Triple Crown title match from last year, but Kawada got his second win over Nishimura here, putting Nishimura down for the count with a hard running high kick
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Masahiro Chono [7] beat Tatsumi Fujinami [4] in (13:58) after a shining Yakuza kick
Fujinami gave as good as he got here, but the wily Chono was too much for him, and a shining Yakuza kick won the match for Chono
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [10] beat Yuji Nagata [7] in (17:12) after a moonsault
This match would dertermine who finished second in Block A, and so Tenzan and Nagata held nothing back, and the match was incredibly heated. In the end, it was Tenzan who manged to pull off the win, putting Nagata down with a TTD, and following up with a big moonsault to score the pin, and get into the finals
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [10] v Manabu Nakanishi [9] went to a draw (30:00) when the time limit expired
A win was vital for Tanahashi, if he was to keep his slime hopes alive of a spot in the G1 finals. Nakanishi knew this, and fought just as hard to try and spoil those hopes. As the match went on, the crowd rallied behind Tanahashi, the underdog, and were hopeful of seeing an upset. However, it was not to be, and the match wound up going the full 30 minutes, and as a result, Tanahashi would not make it to the finals
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [14] beat Shinsuke Nakamura [11] in (12:55) after a running knee strike
While both Fujita and Nakamura were assure of going through to the G1 finals, the winner here would win Block B, so there was still a lot of pride at stake. The match itself was very brutal, with both men using lots of strikes and submissions throughout, and it looked like it could go either way. In the end, Fujita hit a very wild looking running knee strike to the jaw of Nakamura, putting Nakamura down for the three count, and so Fujita not only won the match, but ended the group stages atop Block B with a perfect record of 7-0.
This is how the blocks finished up:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [14]
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [10]
3. Minoru Suzuki [8]
4. Masahiro Chono [7]
5. Yuji Nagata [7]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
7. Osamu Nishimura [4]
8. Kendo Kashin [2]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [14]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [11]
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi [10]
4. Manabu Nakanishi [9]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
6. Toru Yano [2]
7. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
8. Togi Makabe [2]
Toshiaki Kawada ended as Block A winner, and had a perfect 7-0 record. Tenzan's win over Nagata means he finishes as Block A runner-up, and he gets the other Block A spot in the finals. In Block B, Kazuyuki Fujita also ended as the winner with a perfect 7-0 record. Second place in Block B went to Shinsuke Nakamura, who ended with a 5-1-1 record, which is a good to have. Hiroshi Tanahashi will be regretting not being able to put Manabu Nakanishi away, as beating Nakanishi coupled with Nakamura's loss would have forced a play-off between he and Nakamura. Tanahashi must now wait another year to see if he can make it back to the G1 final.
NJPW, 8/14/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. G1 Climax - Block A 1st place vs. Block B 2nd place: Toshiaki Kawada v Shinsuke Nakamura
2. G1 Climax - Block A 2nd place vs. Block B 1st place: Hiroyoshi Tenzan v Kazuyuki Fujita
3. G1 Climax - Final: Winner of Match 1 v Winner of Match 2
The G1 comes to and end tomorrow, as the semi-finals and final takes place at Sumo Hall. The first semi sees another dream match as Toshiaki Kawada meets Shinsuke Nakamura in a battle of former Triple Crown champion versus former IWGP champon. Kawada looks to maintain his perfect G1 record, while Nakamura looks to make it to his first ever G1 final. The other semi sees Hiroyoshi Tenzan take on the man who beat him for the IWGP belt last month, Kazuyuki Fujita. Fujita is going into the match with a perfect G1 record, while Tenzan is looking to make it his third straight G1 final, and win his third G1 in a row. The two winners meet in the finals, and we will see one of these possible matches:
Toshiaki Kawada v Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Toshiaki Kawada v Kazuyuki Fujita
Shinsuke Nakamura v Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Shinsuke Nakamura v Kazuyuki Fujita
Kawada v Tenzan would be their second match of the G1, and their third ever singles meeting. Kawada would go into this match with a 2-0 record over Tenzan, and Tenzan will surely be looking to finally beat Kawada, and win his third G1 tournament.
Kawada v Fujita would be the most interesting G1 final. Both men would go into this final with perfect records of 8-0, and it would see the 'ace' of New Japan take on the big outsider, which would guarantee a heated final.
Nakamura v Tenzan would be a rematch of the bout where Nakamura upset Tenzan for the IWGP title in December of 2003, and Tenzan would no doubt be eager to avenge that stunning loss.
Nakamura v Fujita would be a rematch of their match from Block B and would see Nakamura look to avenge that loss, and stake his claim to an IWGP title shot, by winning the G1 Climax Tournament.
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