The better Nakamura / Balor match

Image credit: NJPW.

I am not the only one to express some level of disappointment in the good but not great battle between Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor that served as Balor's last big match on NXT. Some weird no sells and a lack of intensity at spots between the two overly friendly babyfaces made the match weak at times. It often lacked some of the strong style fire both men are known for, the same fire Nakamura and Zayn showed by the ton at Takeover: Dallas.

But the two men met once before in a New Japan ring near the end of the then-Prince Devitt's run with the company. During the second round of the New Japan Cup, the two men faced off in a hard hitting battle with the heel Devitt doing everything in his power to take down the former and future IWGP Intercontinental champion. It seemed like the set up for a new storyline as Nakamura would become embroiled in a feud with the Bullet Club soon enough. But that feud would be with Bad Luck Fale, as Devitt left New Japan less than a month after this match occurred.

I strongly suspect the original plan for Nakamura's spring feud was to be Devitt and Nakamura, spinning from this match, but clearly those plans changed.

Hopefully down the line, WWE will give them a bigger chance to shine against one another. For now, check out this classic battle between two future WWE legends.

The A Block finals take shape in a big night of G1 action!

With only five nights left, Night 15 was a vitally important night for A Block as the final fighters for the G1 A Block semi-finalist would be determined.

Image credit: NJPW.

The tournament battles opened with Doc Gallows versus Tetsuya Naito. Amazingly, Gallows played the face in the battle. While Gallows has long been eliminated from contention, a powerbomb from the top kept Naito from getting two important matches going into the end of the night.

The second match of the night saw Katsuyori Shibata sadly fall yet again, this time to Hiroyoshi Tenzan. This was probably Tenzan's best tournament match, but it eliminated Shibata from any chance at a win.

Eight is the magic number at Night 11 of the G1 Climax!

Night 11 brought the action back to a single fixed camera format, which only encouraged my decision to skip the preliminaries. I've seen indies with one camera with better presentation than this gives New Japan.

Image credit: NJPW.

In a match that made me shiver not with anticipation but with dread, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Bad Luck Fale opened the tournament matches. One once-fast, now-plodding worker against one never-fast always-plodding worker does n ot a good match make. Fale hit an ugly splash from the top to stay in contention with 8 points.

Toru Yano got a quick roll up in a five minute match on Katsuyori Shibata to start a theme of the night as he also made it to 8 points. I would guess this was designed to heal Yano's still very messed up eye, but it was a depressing finish for a Shibata match, as they have been a highlight of the tournament.

Night seven brings clear leaders to the G1 Climax A Block

Image credit: NJPW.

After some solid openers including some great work by young Jay White and David Finlay in the opening, as well as a superb tag match pitting the team of Honma and Elgin against Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI, it is time for some more A Block action in NJPW.

Doc Gallows and Toru Yano started the action out and gave pretty much the showing you would expect from the pair in the ring. While it was far from bad, it was rather generic, but at least Gallows finally scores his first two points. Everyone in A Block is now on the board.

Tenzan took the fall in the second tournament match, continuing a streak of losses. Togi Makabe looked good in the battle, though he seemed to take it a bit easier than usual on the injured veteran.

In a match exactly as brutal with strikes as expected from Katsuyori Shibata and Kota Ibushi, Shibata again picked up the win with his Sleeper into PK combo. This was easily match of the night, just a really good striker versus flyer battle. Shibata has looked amazing during the tournament this year. I suspect we will see him get a push even if he doesn't win the final tournament.

Bad Luck Fale beat Hiroshi Tanahashi. I still can't believe I'm writing those words. And no, it still wasn't a very good match.

AJ Styles finally got his first G1 main event against the equally heelish Tetsuya Naito. The match was incredibly back and forth, with both villains getting some support from the fans. It ended up stronger for the native Naito though and his win came with more than a smattering of cheer. He made sure to attack referee Red Shoes post-match to get his heel heat back

A busy weekend with Night 4 and 5 of the G1 Climax!

I have two shows to cover here, so let's get right into the tournament action.

Image credit: NJPW.

Night 4 kicked off with a brutal battle where Tomohiro Ishii became the first B Block fighter with 4 points when he overcame Yujiro Takahashi. (I blame the poor substitute MAO for his loss.)

Michael Elgin and Satoshi Kojima beat the hell out of each other in a match that shows how good Kojima still is. Elgin took the loss in a true back and forth battle with a great show of respect in the aftermath by both men.

Karl Anderson continued to upset Japanese favorites, this time overcoming Intercontinental champion Hirooki Goto in a brutal match.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - Block A Part 2

Yesterday, I covered the first five competitors in the epic twenty man round robin tournament known as G1 Climax. This is the biggest tournament New Japan holds every year and some of their biggest stars take part. You will see a couple of those huge names in today's rundown.

Bad Luck Fale: The Bullet Club's "Underboss" is a one time Intercontinental champion and a former college rugby star in Japan. The Tongan wrestler made his debut in 2010, but didn't gain much traction in the promotion until he joined the Bullet Club in 2013. Many people consider his title victory over Shinsuke Nakamura last year a huge upset. While his reign was quite lackluster, he seems to only get better every year. He put in a commanding performance last year, but lost his block to Nakamura. This year he's free of Nakamura, but faces some stiff competition in his division, including a stablemate and former IWGP champion.

AJ Styles: The biggest American star in the G1, AJ Styles will have something to prove after losing his IWGP Heavyweight title to Kazuchika Okada. He came within inches of winning Block B last year, tying for first place numerically. But his loss to his perennial rival Okada in the tournament moved the other man to the finals and ultimately to win the tournament. Styles will not have to face Okada in his block this year. He could very well pull out the victory in Block A, but keep in mind no gaijin has ever won the G1 Climax tournament, and only two have made it to the finals of the 25 year old tournament (Rick Rude and Karl Anderson.) Wherever he lands at tournament's end, he should look awesome in battles with Naito, Yano, Makabe and the three remaining men on this list.