[2017-07-20-NJPW-G1 Climax] EVIL vs SANADA

[soup23]

I appreciated that we didn’t get any faction collusion teasing up front. However, they really seemed to make this into a big brawl from the onset and I didn’t feel the hatred or intensity whatsoever. The chair flying into the cameraman was nice but coincidental. Inside, the action was really back and forth without any flow. My hope was that the stunner to the floor would kickstart things and the selling by both men getting in was excellent. Then they just do a forearm exchange so EVIL who just took a stunner to the floor is still able to go 50/50. Talk about a wasted highspot. The back and forth as we head to the finishing stretch is full of good looking moves mainly based off of SANADA’s bumping and athleticism but I fail to see any strategy for any man as far as gaining the victory. It’s just an exchanging of holds. The struggle with SANADA looking for the Skull End was the most cohesive part of the match overall and gained back my investment. He seems to wind EVIL and then hits a moonsault for the victory. **3/4

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Went on a bit too long, but I thought this was a fun back & forth match between two stablemates. ***1/4

[bradhindsight]

Weirdly, even if one wanted to say "well they're stablemates, there won't be hatred", you'd still think things would escalate here and maybe both guys would get fired up as they pounded on each other. This didn't get to that gear for me either. And this is laid out to be all moves - and some certainly innovative, the top rope cutter was a big spot, and some of the counters later were well done - and it did come off pretty choppy.Thought Evil's selling was particularly good also down the stretch. ***1/4