[2017-07-25-NJPW-G1 Climax] EVIL vs Tama Tonga

[soup23]

I give Tama Tonga chance after chance and I just never am going to be on board with him. He has now been given ample opportunity but I don’t feel any violence or hatred in his brawling and much of his uniqueness revolves around a couple of speed spots inside the ring. The brawling here was really mundane and the only highlight was the final two minutes which were basic counters around the cutter of Tonga. The first match accomplished its goal but this was more boring than that match and less memorable. **1/2

[bradhindsight]

PTBN review by Ioan Morris

 

 

Straight to the floor, where Tama took control thanks to a fireman’s carry Stun Gun across the guardrail and an extended beatdown into the crowd. After a minute or two of this, Evil broke the referee’s count, but remained at the mercy of Tama and his hard head. Eventually a missed corner splash allowed Evil to hit a sidewalk slam, and he sent Tama outside where he succeded with his customary chair-on-chair-on-head violence (for which I need a snappy name). Very relaxed refereeing, it must be said. Back in, Evil hit the fisherman buster and side kick, but Tama countered out of the corner with an Alabama Slam. A swift rope-running exchange led to a lariat from Evil and Darkness Falls followed for two. The STO was blocked, Superman punch from Tama (announced as such), and the Headshrinker DDT landed for a near-fall. The Gun Stun was avoided, setting off a very nice sequence of counters which concluded with Evil flattening Tama with the STO! One, two, three. Aside from the overlong brawling in the crowd, this was a good effort, with the two men having surprisingly well-matched styles. I don’t find Tama compelling in the main, particularly in singles competition, but it was good to see him assert his dominance here and control much of the match. ***1/4