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HTQ on the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament Finals

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HTQ on the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament Finals

 

The 2005 G1 Climax Tournament concluded today at Sumo Hall, and we saw one of the most heated and brutal finals of recent times.

 

1. G1 Climax - Block A 1st place vs. Block B 2nd place: Toshiaki Kawada beat Shinsuke Nakamura in (17:22) after a backdrop driver

 

Another dream match here with the battle of former promotional aces, with Kawada a multiple time holder of the Triple Crown, and Nakamura the youngest ever IWGP Champion. Nakamura wrestled the match of his life as he fought his heart out against the outsider Kawada as he sought to make it to his first G1 final, and Kawada fought back just as hard to make to the final and it was Dangerous K who came out on top after stunning Nakamura with a high kick before hitting Nakamura with a brutal looking backdrop driver to get the pin and make it to the G1 finals.

 

2. G1 Climax - Block A 2nd place vs. Block B 1st place: Kazuyuki Fujita beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan in (14:03) after a running knee strike

 

Fujita and Tenzan went at it at a fast pace, looking to end the match as soon as possible and enter the finals as fresh as possible. Tenzan was looking to avenge his IWGP title loss last month while Fujita was aiming to maintain his perfect G1 record. Tenzan gave Fujita a hard battle, and almost pulled off the upset with a TTD, but Fujta came back with a wild knee that winded Tenzan and Fujita quickly followed up with a running knee that hit Tenzan right on the jaw and knocked him flat out. Fujita got the pin almost casually, and Tenzan needed to be carried out of the ring.

 

3. G1 Climax - Final: Toshiaki Kawada beat Kazuyuki Fujita in (12:15) after a high kick

 

Sumo Hall was loud and heated for this one, as New Japan ace Kazuyuki Fujita took on the outsider Toshiaki Kawada and both men were coming in with perfect records. The match itself was brutal and intense and a lot of fans said it resembled more of a fight than a wrestling match as Fujita and Kawada kicked and punched away at each other with few actual wrestling holds used. Neither man was going down easily here, and when Fujita finally knocked Kawada down to one knee with a straight right, it left Kawada with a glazed look in his eyes. Fujita looked to capitalize on that with his running knee but Kawada fired back with a spinning back kick, that staggered Fuijta a little, and Kawada was able to knock Fujita down to his knee with a spinning back fist. Kawada waited for Fujita to get to his feet before hitting him with a stiff shotgun lariat, which staggered Fuijta again. A second shotgun lariat staggered Fujita a little more, and a third shotgun lariat put Fujita down to one knee again. Kawada then pulled Fujita up to his feet and hit him with a big high kick to the back of the head that put Fujita down and Kawada covered and got the pinfall win to end a brutal but exciting match, and even though Kawada was an outsider on New Japan turf, the Sumo Hall fans still gave him a standing ovation.

 

After the match Kawada told the Sumo Hall fans that he was honored to have been invited to participate in the G1, and that he felt his winning the tournament was an endorsement of opening up promotional borders. Kawada spoke highly of Fujita, and said he was his toughest oppponent of the G1, and may have even been his toughest opponent ever. Kawada said that after beating Fujita to win the G1 tournament he now wanted to go after the IWGP title, and that he looked forward to meeting Fujita at a future date for the IWGP title. Fujita responded by telling the fans that Kawada was a very tough foe, and that he looks forward to defending the IWGP title against him. Fujita finished by saying that he knows New Japan has a Dome event coming up, and that he thinks the perfect main event would be Fujita taking on the 'Dangerous Outsider', Toshiaki Kawada, which drew cheers and applause from the crowd, and both Kawada and Fujita received a standing ovation from the Sumo Hall fans as the 2005 G1 Climax Tournament drew to an emotional close.

 

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Dangerous A

Being a huge Kawada Mark, I am pleased you went with this finish. I figured you would try to strengthen the IWGP champ (which has lost a ton of luster since Sasaki won it in such awful fashion from Fujita a year or so ago) by having Fujita win G-1. Instead, you built up a future Dome show ME by having an outsider win G-1 for the first time.

 

HTQ, I knew you were all about booking to make the most money, as opposed to booking for the shock value, pop, and/or appeasing egos. (see: WWE Creative)

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Hunter's Torn Quad
Being a huge Kawada Mark, I am pleased you went with this finish. I figured you would try to strengthen the IWGP champ (which has lost a ton of luster since Sasaki won it in such awful fashion from Fujita a year or so ago) by having Fujita win G-1. Instead, you built up a future Dome show ME by having an outsider win G-1 for the first time.

 

HTQ, I knew you were all about booking to make the most money, as opposed to booking for the shock value, pop, and/or appeasing egos. (see: WWE Creative)

Being a huge Kawada Mark, I am pleased you went with this finish. I figured you would try to strengthen the IWGP champ (which has lost a ton of luster since Sasaki won it in such awful fashion from Fujita a year or so ago) by having Fujita win G-1. Instead, you built up a future Dome show ME by having an outsider win G-1 for the first time.

 

Fujita was built up so strong, especially with everyone he faced having to get helped out of the ring, that he could afford a loss, especially one that set up a big money rematch. A high profile title match that should draw pretty big is just what the IWGP belt needs.

 

HTQ, I knew you were all about booking to make the most money, as opposed to booking for the shock value, pop, and/or appeasing egos. (see: WWE Creative)

 

It's amazing the reaction that basic common sense booking gets after you've been subjected to some really nonsensical crap.

 

I look forward to public kudos on the next TSM Radio Show. wink.gif

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World's Worst Man

I'm not sure about having an outsider win the G1. If it was me booking, I'd firstly never have let Tanahashi go to NOAH to face Rikio. Then I'd have Tanahashi win the G1 against an undefeated Fujita in the finals to setup Tanahashi vs. Fujita for the October Dome Show. New Japan has to pull the trigger on Tanahashi soon, or else he'll never have the credibility to draw. With Fujita as champ, now would have been the perfect time to give Tanahashi a big rub against a monster champion. And failing that, I would have used Nakamura instead. Even if it doesn't draw great in October, it still puts one of their young guys over huge. I don't think there's any doubt that Tanahashi and Nakamura are going to be the top 2 guys 3 years from now. The only question is will they be credible draws, or just guys who are over with the hardcore crowd, but will never put any asses in the seats.

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Hunter's Torn Quad
I'm not sure about having an outsider win the G1. If it was me booking, I'd firstly never have let Tanahashi go to NOAH to face Rikio. Then I'd have Tanahashi win the G1 against an undefeated Fujita in the finals to setup Tanahashi vs. Fujita for the October Dome Show. New Japan has to pull the trigger on Tanahashi soon, or else he'll never have the credibility to draw. With Fujita as champ, now would have been the perfect time to give Tanahashi a big rub against a monster champion. And failing that, I would have used Nakamura instead. Even if it doesn't draw great in October, it still puts one of their young guys over huge. I don't think there's any doubt that Tanahashi and Nakamura are going to be the top 2 guys 3 years from now. The only question is will they be credible draws, or just guys who are over with the hardcore crowd, but will never put any asses in the seats.

If Tanahashi had never faced Rikio, or had even won the GHC belt, I might have had him win the G1 by beating Fujita in the finals. The problem I have with that, and a reason it probably didn't happen, is that Tanahashi just lost to an outsider who a lot of people, myself included, don't see at that top level. If Tanahashi had lost to a Muto or Kobashi then it might not have mattered so much, but losing to someone like Rikio damaged him, and I think coming right back to win the G1 and beating Fujita to do so would have been too much too soon, and I think a lot of people would have 'pushed back' on the attempt to rebuild Tanahashi like that. As it is, Tanahashi did a lot better in my G1 than the real one, and I think he got something out of it by holding Nakamura and Nakankishi to draws, and lasting longer with Fujita than anyone else but Nakamura and Kawada.

 

Nakamura would have required a rematch of their G1 Block match, and I wouldn't have done that unless I really had to. Not only that, but New Japan fans are apparently 'pushing back' against Nakamura, and I don't think a Nakamura G1 win would have gone down well. This way, Nakamura makes it far and looks strong, but not so strong as to cause more backlash from the fans.

 

My thinking behind the Kawada win is to make him as strong as possible to set up an IWGP title match against Fujita at the Dome. Dome Shows invariably draw more of a mix of casual and hardcore fans, and I think a Fujita v Kawada match would draw the most amount of casual and hardcores, due to the outsider angle. I know Kawada coming in didn't do well last year, but that was down to him coming in as his Hustle persona rather than as himself, and I think Kawada coming in to headline against Fujita would do pretty good business.

 

As for the finish of Kawada v Fujita, I'm not sure I would have Fujita win, as a Kawada win might give New Japan a much needed spark. I would be tempted to give Kawada the win, and if it does spark New Japan business than I'd run with him as IWGP champion for as long as it works out. However, if a Kawada win didn't spark things as well as expected, or was somehow a negative, then I would have Kawada drop the belt to Tanahashi or Nakamura at the January Dome Show, and use them to build New Japan back up.

 

In any event, unless I really had to keep Fujita as IWGP champion, I would have him drop the belt in January to someone, most likely Tanahashi, and they could then build to another Tanahashi v Nakamura Dome match in May, where Tanahashi would finally get his major show win over Nakamura.

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Dangerous A

They can still be built into draws, but the window of oppurtunity is closing fast. Inoki was really trying with Nakamura for a bit because Inoki splooges over shooters and while Nakamura has fought mainly soup cans, he has a good shoot record. Problem there is he was pushed too hard and now there is a regurgitation effect. If Tanahashi was around in the mid-late 90's, he would probrably be at least as big as Nagata, Nakanishi, and Tenzan, maybe even bigger. However, in this day and age where the pro wrestling market in Japan has been hurt by MMA, Tanahashi is a casualty of Inoki-ism.

 

Also, Tanahashi was banged up before his NOAH Dome show match. The match just made bad injuries worse and created some very bad new injuries (leg).

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World's Worst Man
If Tanahashi had never faced Rikio, or had even won the GHC belt, I might have had him win the G1 by beating Fujita in the finals. The problem I have with that, and a reason it probably didn't happen, is that Tanahashi just lost to an outsider who a lot of people, myself included, don't see at that top level. If Tanahashi had lost to a Muto or Kobashi then it might not have mattered so much, but losing to someone like Rikio damaged him, and I think coming right back to win the G1 and beating Fujita to do so would have been too much too soon, and I think a lot of people would have 'pushed back' on the attempt to rebuild Tanahashi like that. As it is, Tanahashi did a lot better in my G1 than the real one, and I think he got something out of it by holding Nakamura and Nakankishi to draws, and lasting longer with Fujita than anyone else but Nakamura and Kawada. 

 

Yep, I pretty much agree. New Japan screwed themselves by sending Tanahashi over to be fodder for Rikio. Tanahashi winning both the New Japan Cup and the G1 would have been huge, but alas, New Japan messed it up again.

 

Nakamura would have required a rematch of their G1 Block match, and I wouldn't have done that unless I really had to. Not only that, but New Japan fans are apparently 'pushing back' against Nakamura, and I don't think a Nakamura G1 win would have gone down well. This way, Nakamura makes it far and looks strong, but not so strong as to cause more backlash from the fans.

 

If that's the case, then I guess not having Nakamura win is for the best. If New Japan knew this (which would mean Nakamura wasn't an option), it makes the move to send Tanahashi to NOAH even more puzzling.

 

My thinking behind the Kawada win is to make him as strong as possible to set up an IWGP title match against Fujita at the Dome. Dome Shows invariably draw more of a mix of casual and hardcore fans, and I think a Fujita v Kawada match would draw the most amount of casual and hardcores, due to the outsider angle. I know Kawada coming in didn't do well last year, but that was down to him coming in as his Hustle persona rather than as himself, and I think Kawada coming in to headline against Fujita would do pretty good business.

 

If Kawada is gonna be around for a while, then him winning the G1 would have been a fairly good mid-term move for New Japan. Getting 2-3 Dome Shows out of Kawada and an IWGP title reign certainly seems worth it. One thing is for sure. All of our hypothetical scenarios leave New Japan in much better shape than they are now tongue.gif

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Hunter's Torn Quad
If Kawada is gonna be around for a while, then him winning the G1 would have been a fairly good mid-term move for New Japan. Getting 2-3 Dome Shows out of Kawada and an IWGP title reign certainly seems worth it. One thing is for sure. All of our hypothetical scenarios leave New Japan in much better shape than they are now tongue.gif

 

If I put the belt on Kawada, I would only use him for occasional tag matches to build up title bouts. If we're keeping the belt on him past January, then I would have him defend against Nagata between October and January so he has at least one great title match before going into January. For January, I would go with Kawada v Nakamura, and then I'd begin building towards May, where I would have Tanahashi beat Kawada for the belt at the Dome. How long Kawada kept the belt would depend on how over he was with it, but however long he kept the belt, I'd have him drop it to Tanahashi.

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