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.

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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.

Weekend brings two more mornings of G1 action

No time to waste as we have a packed weekend report of G1 action!

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Night 8 started with some preliminaries with little to note outside the return of KUSHIDA to Japan after a US tour that saw him working the first Global Force Wrestling tapings.

Tournament actin kicked off with Yujiro Takahashi and Satoshi Kojima. Kojima beat the holy heck out of Tanahashi for most of the match, but interference by Cody Hall allowed Yujiro to hit a low blow for the win.

Karl Anderson worked super old school against Yuji Nagata, picking him apart before getting the win in one of Nagata's best fights of the tournament.

Michael Elgin took out Tomoaki Honma in a brutal back and forth match. Honma continues to be a top performer in the tournament, but his loveable loser gimmick kept him without points again, as Michael Elgin moves up to four. The show had a bit of delay to get Honma out of the ring. Hopefully this doesn't mean an injury.

Night seven brings clear leaders to the G1 Climax A Block

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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

New Japan continues a weekend of excellence with Night Three of the G1 Climax!

Things kicked off with the regular prelims, all designed to preview some fights for tomorrow night. I of course forgot to set my alarm, so I missed all but the end of the final battle between the CHAOS unit of Okada, Nakamura and Gedo and the team of Nagata, Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi. It was a pretty solid match and Honma even got a rare win over Gedo.

Image credit: NJPW.

The G1 tournament matches for night three kicked off with Doc Gallows and Kota Ibushi. Gallows worked the match at his pace, landing one big move after another on Ibushi. But much like night one, Ibushi showed a lack of selling for much of the offense against him, but at least it took a flash pin to get the win.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - Block A part 1

G1 Climax is the biggest tournament in New Japan. Held annually in July and August, it encompasses some of the greatest stars in New Japan mixed with a few guests of high note. Its purpose is similar to WWE's Royal Rumble: it will crown the contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the January dome show, presumably called Wrestle Kingdom 10.

While this year's tournament only features 20 stars, two less than last year's record breaking 22, it will be the longest G1 tournament in New Japan history, stretching over 19 shows between July 20 and August 16.

I am always interested in informing American fans about the talent they might be missing without a NJPW World subscription, so over the next four days I will cover the talent in the tournament, broken down by the A and B blocks of the round robin tournament, each split into five easy to cover talents. I will cover them by match listings for the two opening round days of the tournament.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan: Tenzan is a New Japan living legend. A twenty year veteran of the promotion, his accomplishments in the company are massive. An eleven time IWGP tag team champion and a four time IWGP heavyweight champion, he has completed in 20 straight tournaments, by far the most of any competitor. He is the current NWA champion after scoring a win over Rob Conway in February. While he has lost a step since his heyday in the early 2000s, Tenzan can still put on great matches, but don't expect his numbers to sail too high in the tournament, especially with his initial contest against the next competitor.

Doc Gallows: Formerly known as Festus and Luke Gallows in WWE as well as TNA as D.O.C., Doc Gallows is one of the most hated men in NJPW. One of the meanest members of the reviled gaijin stable, The Bullet Club, Gallows is also the current IWGP Tag Team champion. Last year, he finished on the low end of the totals, but Gallows has only become more fearsome since that time. I expect Gallows to go far this time around, especially if his wife Amber gets involved from outside.