All Aboard the S.S. Strong Style: G1 Climax 25 – Day 3 Recap

Shelly Deathlock cares too much about Japanese wrestling and, as Captain of the S.S. Strong Style, she’s here to welcome you on board and fill you in on what’s going on in the world of puro. In this series, she’s talking about the G1 25.

HEY EVERYBODY WHAT A FUCKING SHOW, RIGHT? YES. Day 3 marks a return to mutli-cam, but no commentary. It’s the best show of the tournament so far. Watch Day 3 on NJPWWorld.

I’m not going to recap every match on every show, but I will pull out bits of shows to say some words about as necessary so you can be caught up on my opinions!

G1 Climax 25 Day 3: Non-tournament matches

Yohei Komatsu, Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Satoshi Kojima vs. Jay White, David Finlay, Mascara Dorada, Michael Elgin

Actually very cool — Elgin continues to impress me on this tour, throwing Satoshi Kojima around like a ragdoll. NICE. I’m looking forward to their 1-on-1 match in the morning. And the Young Lions — uppercut chop uppercut uppercut ouch lariat ooh another lariat sorry man. It was great though. I might even watch it again.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, Yuji Nagata vs. Gedo, Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura

Really good — you should actually watch this if you’re interested in any of these guys. Some funny bits with Gedo, and Nakamura & Nagata get in the ring and wrestle SUBSTANTIALLY in advance of their face off in the G1 B Block tomorrow morning. I got a little lost in it and forgot it was a tag match. Great stuff from everyone, including Taguchi, who got kicked a lot.

G1 Climax 25 Day 3 – Block A: Results & Review

I’ll give some quick tips here about whether or not you should take time to watch these if you haven’t, based on my own knowledge and taste in professional wrestling.

Kota Ibushi vs. Doc Gallows

On paper I was all ready to skip this, except I’d never skip an Ibushi match. Stop whatever you’re doing and watch it. It’s short, but it’s great: Doc Gallows with clubbering offense and SCARY STRIKES, Kota Ibushi getting killed, Kota Ibushi jumping off things like a madman, everything pretty tight and effective (except the end but HEY what are you gonna do).

Should you watch this? YEP. I MEAN, I’M AS SURPRISED AS YOU ARE BUT YEP.

Winner: IBUSHI

Togi Makabe vs. Bad Luck Fale

I like watching Togi throw dudes into the crowd and beat them up. I wouldn’t re-watch this and I barely remember it, actually, now that I’m typing this. It was fine, though.

Should you watch this? If you like watching Makabe beat dudes up it might be worth a look, otherwise, skip it.

Winner: FALE

Toru Yano vs. AJ Styles

This was my second-most-anticipated match of the night and it really delivered. AJ Styles being absolutely flustered by Trickster Demon Genius Yano’s techniques is amazing. Yano is better at cheating than most dudes are at wrestling. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. The chair just materializes where he wants it. How does he do that? It was a lot of fun, competitive, with good wrestling and great storytelling.

Should you watch this? ~Absolutely~

Winner: STYLES

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito

A first time matchup. A murder-eyed wrestler who doesn’t give a fuck. A former fan favorite who’s learning not to give a fuck but still wants to be technically impressive. A hot crowd. Cockiness. Tempers. Suits. Glares. Figure four leg locks. It was like an action movie in a wrestling ring. It was perfect.

Should you watch this? PUT IT ON RIGHT NOW IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU.

Winner: SHIBATA

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

This was pretty good! Tenzan has been in a million G1 tournaments and he’s getting older, but he still wanted to go hard against Tanahashi. The crowd was crazy for it, as they were all night. A good end to a good show.

Should you watch this? If you love Tenzan or Tanahashi, you should. Otherwise, you could skip it.

Winner: TANAHASHI

Block A:

Block B:

Next time in the G1 Climax!

The next show is Saturday, July 25 featuring B Block tournament matches. It’s a fixed-camera show. I’ve bolded the matches I’m particularly looking forward to. Oh look it’s ALL OF THEM. See you in the morning!

Tomohiro Ishii vs, Yujiro Takahashi
Satoshi Kojima vs. Michael Elgin
Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson
Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada