8/10 @ Kobe World Hall (Buy)
Nakamura vs. Shibata was the first match of the tournament. It was wonderful, a great look into the future of New Japan. I loved the fire and intensity in both men... they really gave it their all. This was a coming of age party for the two 23-year-olds, who had Kobe World Hall in a frenzy by the end of their match. Nakamura's rope work was uncanny, he was sprinting off the ropes, ducking, and so on like a veteran, not tentative like so many rookies. I loved the fighting over holds, how every move was meaningful, I loved so much about this. Like how they entwined so many fighting styles and kept it professional wrestling at it's foundations, rather than the abysmal "pro" PRIDE style or something else. This was something of a true Strong Style, mixing the legitimacy with the traditional styles. When Nakamura won with an awesome Shining Triangle and jumped to the top rope, the response he got sent shivers down my spine. Nagata vs. Yoshie was even better! The best match of Yoshie's career, edging out the match between these two last September. This was also a break-out of sorts, as Yoshie was terrific, full of intensity and fighting spirit. He gave it his all, absorbing as many kicks as he could, and always responding convincingly while maintaining his image of a defiant brute. Nagata's kicks were sharp and vicious, and he was stylistically a heel in this match, just not officially. Kobe was mad for this, and I don't remember the region ever being this hot for New Japan in recent years, it was Osaka-esque. This match never got boring, had the crowd with it the entire way, and made both men look strong, everything a smart pro wrestling match should do. Maybe could have used a couple more minutes. Terrific stuff, though!

Nakanishi vs. Tanahashi was Nakanishi's return to pro wrestling after the TOA incident, and he was definitely way out of form and not impressive. He messed up a running bulldog awfully, but Tanahashi went down anyway. Tanahashi was just awesome though, making this really good from what was shown with the style he has developed. It mixes Fujinami and Muto's styles with contemporary stuff (although very little in terms of shoot style, which is refreshing). He attacked Nakanishi's leg viciously, and used some really cool techniques. He did a beautiful triple combo, sending Nakanishi to his knees with an enzuigiri, then using a running sommersault neck snap from the front side, and finally hitting a missile dropkick. Nice stuff at the end, leading to a good flurry from Nakanishi, a lariat, sick high-angle powerbomb, and German suplex hold, for the win. Chono vs. Nishimura seemed very good, but WPW unfortunately only showed about 8 of 24 minutes. These two have a history of good matches, using a throwback approach and 70s style. Nishimura has been a little less showy and more aggressive in recent months, and used unprotected headbutt thrusts to the head in this match. He did a great job of taking apart Chono's injured knee, and looked to have things sewn up until Chono countered a spinning toehold with an inside cradle for the win. Takayama vs. Yasuda was the most forgettable match of the show, but wasn't too bad either. The low point of the match was Yasuda completely failing to get Takayama over with a Tiger Driver, leading to a definite Tiger Driver '91. Other than that, it wasn't too bad, and Yasuda surprised by using a dragon screw into figure-four combination. Makai did interfere, but Yasuda won semi-cleanly. He made Takayama groggy with the illegal guillotine choke, and switched directly to a shoulder hold/choke. Takayama passed out, and Yasuda got a big day one win. The main event was even better than Nagata vs. Yoshie and Nakamura vs. Shibata. Tenzan vs. Akiyama chapter one was just excellent, one of the best matches of the tournament. Everything they did looked good, and there was a lot of intensity between them. Early on you knew it'd be something special, because they made a test of strength look great, and fans were even going crazy over that. Akiyama was in total heel mode, and ended up getting booed, provoking him to flip off fans. Tenzan was really popular, and looked great in his return match, although didn't show off some of his new moves (saving them for the "true" rebirth later in the tour). More great exchanges, like Tenzan catching Akiyama's jumping knee in the corner, throwing him down, then connecting perfectly with a kneel kick. Tenzan also debuted his leg-clutch Mongol slam, which got a close count. There was a really long hot spell at the end, leading to Akiyama hitting two heavy Exploders for the win. Fans were disappointed that Tenzan lost, but retribution was forthcoming. Akiyama put the NOAH flag over his back post-match to agitate fans some more.

Day one of the G1 was one of the best shows of the year, and that's without showing a junior match that could have rocked the house (Liger, Kanemoto & Fujita vs. Tiger Mask, Heat & Kakihara). Tenzan vs. Akiyama was supremely great, Nagata vs. Yoshie wasn't far behind, and Nakamura vs. Shibata was a great effort too. Nakanishi vs. Tanahashi was good, Chono vs. Nishimura looked very good, but not enough shown. Takayama vs. Yasuda was the only real weak spot of any kind, but wasn't that bad. Kobe World Hall was hot as anything, especially for the three best matches I mentioned above. Lots of big chants, with Tenzan, Nakamura, Shibata, Tanahashi, and Yoshie some of the more popular wrestlers.

8/11 @ Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (Buy)
Yoshie vs. Nakamura wasn't quite Nakamura vs. Shibata, was was still a really fun match. And it featured one of the coolest moments of the tournament. Nakamura's world-beating takedown, called the "smoothest in MMA" (or something) by Dave Meltzer, was blocked easily by SUPER STRONG YOSHIE. Yoshie's popularity was evident again, especially when he hit the diving body press on Nakamura for the win. Shibata vs. Yasuda was by a country mile the low point of the tournament. Yasuda just lay down, and Shibata didn't want to cover him. Eventually, he did, and the fans were not happy at all. One took a swipe at Yasuda when he was leaving the ring, while Shibata tore up the backstage set. Things picked up again for Tenzan vs. Tanahashi, a very good match, much better and more heated than their Tokyo Dome match in May. Tanahashi was really great again, and Tenzan once more look revived and top class. Good action, and great drama when Tenzan gave Tanahashi the TTD on the ringside mats. Tanahashi barely clawed his way to the apron at 19, only to be lariated off it again, forcing a similar struggle. The big turning point came when Tenzan went up for the moonsault, and Tanahashi caught him. Tanahashi hit a big avalanche-style backdrop suplex. Tenzan climbed to his feet in defiance, but his back was turned, and Tanahashi leaped at him with an elbow to the neck. He followed with a Dragon suplex hold for the huge win to a BIG response from the crowd. Very good stuff. Nishimura vs. Akiyama was match of the night, sublime action! Very different to his match with Tenzan, Akiyama adapted to the scientific style, and worked a scorching near-half hour blockbuster with Nishimura. It showed Akiyama's versatility, as the entire tournament would, as he went against much of New Japan's diverse heavyweight roster. I watched the first 13 minutes on IWTV, then switched to my TV, as the WPW Complete Edition version was joined in progress a little under half way through the match. Nishimura was uncanny in this match, showing the aggressive streak again and throwing the referee down at one point. The fans were into him so much, and turned against Akiyama by booing him. Nakamura studied the match at ringside, and looked totally spellbound. It was so good, and the finish was just perfect. Akiyama was in control, but Nishimura had kicked out of the Exploder. Akiyama measured Nishimura up and corner charged with a jumping knee, only Nishimura dodged it, and quickly used a ground Cobra Twist for the win! To say the pop was big would be a criminal understatement. In the background, all you could see were people jumping out of their seats! It was such a crowd-pleasing finish to one awesome match.

Nakanishi vs. Chono was okay, but nothing to write home about. Nothing wrong with the match, it was very basic, but at least focused. Nakanishi did a pretty good job of taking apart Chono's injured knee, using effective moves, such as a McEnroe lariat, stretch muffler, and kneebar. The kneelock he used to win the match started as a standing achilles tendon hold of sorts, then he quickly snapped down to the mat with the leg, and Chono tapped instantly. These two have never had any real chemistry as singles match opponents, but this was fine for what it was. The last match was a rematch of two Tokyo Dome main events, that being Nagata vs. Takayama. It was another good match between the two, but like their May clash, missing the same "oomph" of their original meeting last May. Definitely a worthy main event, Takayama did seem a little sluggish and out of form though. They traded many stiff strikes again, and Nagata managed to kick out of the "Everest" German suplex hold, turning the cover into an armlock, then cross armbreaker. A second one finished him off though, and meant both men left the show with one win and one loss. Good match, probably third best on the night behind Nishimura vs. Akiyama and Tenzan vs. Tanahashi.

Day two was another very good show. Not as good as day one, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better show from 2003 than 8/10. Nishimura vs. Akiyama was comparable, arguably better (depending on which style you prefer) than Tenzan vs. Akiyama from day one. Tanahashi continued to shine, while Yoshie and Nakamura put on a tidy match to follow up on great day one performances. Shibata was wasted in a disaster of a match (or non-match) that made a lot of fans feel ripped off, but the quality of matches following that debacle certainly made up for it.

8/12 @ Gran Ship Shizuoka (Buy)
Because of the extended three hour timeslot for the G1 SXW shows, we got to see undercards on both (unlike on the WPW tapings). Taguchi vs. Naruse was a sweet opening to the show. Taguchi gets better with every match, and did many nice things here (including a kneecap dropkick, followed by a la magistral). Liger, Kanemoto & Yamamoto vs. Tiger Mask, Heat & Kaki was really fun, one of those matches where a young lion is thrown in and has most of the focus on him. Yamamoto received a hellacious beating from Team Tiger, showing great fighting spirit. Because of his effort, despite losing, Liger and Kanemoto raised his arms after the match. Barnett vs. Samurai was the most entertaining 98 second match ever (unless someone can think of a better one?). Samurai was in SHOOTER SAMURAI mode, wearing Barnett's open finger gloves, and hitting a tope right away. He got some offense on Barnett for a while, then Josh killed him with a huge Michinoku Driver II. He won quickly after by TKO with a Captured buster (really nasty vertical drop Captured suplex). Shibata vs. Yoshie was the first G1 match of the night, and was fun, even if one of the lesser matches of the tournament. I liked Nakamura vs. Yoshie better, but this had some cool exchanges, despite the style clash, and worked well as an undercard G1 match. Chono vs. Tanahashi was really good, their first ever singles match (which is why I think it should have been higher up the card). Tanahashi did a tremendous job of taking apart Chono's knee, using the super-fast Fujinami/Muto approach with additions. Chono came back, but had problems putting Tanahashi away. Tanahashi lived through the STF, and stayed up after several Yakuza kicks, before going down and kicking out of the cover. Finally, he ran into one, and Chono got the win. Another excellent showing by Tanahashi. Takayama vs. Nakamura was different to their Budokan match, less stiff and brutal, which is to be expected in the middle of a tour like this. Still, it was pretty good, and Nakamura had a little more offense than in June. He jumped on Takayama's back and hooked on a sleeper hold, Takayama slowly going down like a giant, until Nakamura had him on the mat and in bodyscissors. Takayama won with a BRUTAL knee kick, Nakamura's head snapping back and hitting the canvas.

Tenzan vs. Nishimura was the show-stealer, an excellent 26 minute match that showed off the new Tenzan more than ever. This was because Tenzan MAT WRESTLED, something he hadn't done much of before. Tenzan went toe to toe with Nishimura on the mat, stretching him like crazy early on, and looking good down there. Eventually, the match left the mat, but stayed high quality, one of the highlights being a flurry of stiff backdrop suplexes from Tenzan. Nishimura hooked on the ground Cobra Twist out of nowhere, and everyone thought the match was over, but Tenzan kicked out. Nishimura kicked out of the TTD AND moonsault press, but directly after the latter, Tenzan applied a kakaekomi crab hold (where he clutches the knees while applying it) for the tap out. Great stuff, possibly the best match from their long-running series, which goes back to their young lion days. Tenzan was really impressive again, I was surprised by the quality of his ground work. Nagata vs. Yasuda was nothing at all like their April match, besides Yasuda's cheap tactics. It had a lot of heat, mostly for Yasuda, who was the subject of MASSIVE booing throughout the match, whenever he did something questionable. Nagata tried hard and it was pretty fun, but Yasuda is more limited than ever now, and is all character, best used against young guys or in tags. Nakanishi vs. Akiyama was a strong finish to the show, a very good and solid main event. Nakanishi remained in his rut, but performed a little better, taking apart Akiyama's knee well. Akiyama was virtually in a Nishimura role, being manhandled for much of the match, but using craftiness to make comebacks and doing a really good job. It got very heated at the end, but the low point saw Nakanishi lose his grip on Akiyama during a high-angle powerbomb, having to let him down. Akiyama quickly inside cradled Nakanishi for the flash win, a sudden and only semi-climatic ending, but one that did suit the theme of the match (Akiyama playing Nishimura).

Probably the lesser of the G1 shows for tournament matches, but even the worst of the G1 is still quality stuff. This one had the benefit of an entertaining undercard being shown, with the opener and junior (+ Yamamoto) trios match being added features. Tenzan vs. Nishimura is the match to see from this show, but Nakanishi vs. Akiyama and Chono vs. Tanahashi are two other good matches, while everything else was at least fun.

8/14 @ Miyagi Sports Center (Buy)
The second and last SXW took place in Miyagi, and once again we saw the undercard. And again, it actually added to the show by giving it an extra spice of variety. Yamamoto vs. Goto was the typical young lion opening match with some ATTITUDE, Goto showing spunk and slapping Yamamoto at the start. Tiger Mask, Heat & Taguchi vs. Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo started off slow thanks to Jado & Gedo, but turned into a strong match later on. Taguchi was in the same role as Yamamoto the day before, taking a beating for over half of the match. Tiger and Heat were limited to offensive bursts for much of the match, but had more ring time later on, leading to a great finish that saw Tiger pin Gedo (a surprise, as everyone expected Taguchi to lose). Barnett vs. Wolf was Barnett's toughest singles match of the tour, and was largely mat-based, with Wolf actually controlling. Despite the match time of around 5 minutes, it wasn't one-sided at all, and Josh's win was almost a flash finish, as he slipped out of a Mongol slam and clamped on the sleeper hold for the tap. Barnett was again a lot more popular than earlier in the year, seems to be a high respect level for him now. The G1 matches started with one of the most entertaining matches of the night, Nakamura vs. Yasuda! As I said above, one of Yasuda's best roles is working the crowd with his antics while opposite a young guy. In this case it worked to perfection, with MONSTER heat for Yasuda as the bad guy, and likewise for Nakamura as the young hero. Yasuda broke every rule in the book constantly, but couldn't put Nakamura away, even with the Tiger Driver '03. Nakamura popped the crowd big by countering a second Tiger Driver with a beautiful Frankensteiner! The finish saw Yasuda arguing a little with the referee; Nakamura sprinted across the ring, pushing the referee aside in the process, and executing the Shining Triangle on Yasuda. Yasuda faded gradually, and the referee called for the bell, Miyagi Sports Center erupting in cheers, just like Kobe did when Nakamura beat Shibata on day one! Big win for the "Super Rookie", who was again so expressive and showed his insane potential.

I was expecting more of the same from Nakanishi against Nishimura, given his underwhelming performances throughout the whole tour. By no means was he back in good form for this match, but I did enjoy it, because finally Nakanishi seemed focused on one particular persona, and surprisingly it was a new one. Nakanishi was the textbook heel bully in this match, manhandling Nishimura and just slaughtering him for much of the match. While it was not their time limit draw from last year's G1, I enjoyed it because it was something new and fresh. Like any convincing bully, Nakanishi was only vunerable to knee attacks and cradles from the smaller man. And after all his destruction, he succumbed to a backslide, Nishimura getting his second win in a row over Nakanishi. I would like Nakanishi to pursue this role more, the big, grouchy bully. With Nagata as "Killer", the two could make for a great duo insecure about keeping their high positions in New Japan (there were signs of it in their 9/21 tag against Yoshie & Yano, which was very entertaining). Takayama vs. Yoshie was my second favourite match of the night, and I was sure nothing could surpass it until two matches later. This was just so much fun, two behemoths beating each other silly. Yoshie's fighting spirit was awesome, and yet again he was crazily over with the crowd, more "Yoshie! Yoshie! Yoshie!" chants, even when he was on offense! Lots of simple duels made entertaining by the passion and intensity shown, another defining match for Yoshie, who's development as a character and wrestler over the past year has been a joy to watch. Yoshie gave Takayama many scares, getting near falls from moves like the Death Valley bomb, but eventually he fell to a third knee kick from Takayama. Heated, dramatic, just an entertaining slugfest, couldn't ask for anything more from them. Nagata vs. Shibata was another good match, pseudo-discipline, not complete as it was over 13 minutes long, and Shibata got plenty of offense. Crowd was really into Nagata, and he was nasty with Shibata, his kicks sharp, precise, and loud. Shibata was spunky as the young guy trying his best to be a tough punk, but still showing that deep down he is still a young lion. The finish was a double countout, always controversial in a tournament like the G1, but it worked in this case, unlike Yasuda vs. Shibata. Nagata had decked Shibata at ringside and tried to get back in the ring, but Yasuda kept stopping him, leading to the DCO and an outcry of fury aimed at Yasuda. Shibata attacked Yasuda after the match, and stormed off to the back. Yasuda pointed and laughed at Nagata (who snapped at him again during the match, and attacked with a chair), once more damaging his chances of advancing.

Tanahashi vs. Akiyama was match of the night and one of the best of the tournament. Great stuff, a match that both took seriously, as Akiyama had gone public that Tanahashi is his favourite young wrestler, and for Tanahashi it was another huge match. Traditional young vs. old style match, with Tanahashi fiery and spirited, winning strike exchanges unexpectedly, and putting up a grand fight. Akiyama being surly and getting booed on occasion, but showing Tanahashi respect ultimately and not underestimating him. The match had a ton of heat at the end, with everyone behind Tanahashi and sensing an upset. Probably the best near fall of the match came from rolling German suplexes from Tanahashi, the third with a bridge for a very close count. Tanahashi survived a few Exploders, so Akiyama had to bring out the wrist-clutch Exploder, finally putting the great new generation hope away after 16 minutes. He dragged a half-lifeless Tanahashi to the back post-match and tried to recruit him for NOAH, but I guess Tanahashi refused, as that has gone nowhere since. Another outstanding match between two of the G1's best performers. The main event had a hard time following up, but was a big match between mentor and pupil, Chono and Tenzan. It was kind of flat as a main event, because the three matches prior to it had been better, but fans seemed to enjoy it. The problem was, despite their bond, the two have never really clicked as opponents in the early and middle stages of their matches. But they could have hit the mat more, as both showed against Nishimura that they are able in the technical department. Luckily, the match had a strong closing stretch, including a fantastic STF sequence, where Tenzan stopped moving, and everyone seemed to think he was done. He stirred though, and dragged himself to the ropes barely. Tenzan hit his sit-out Rock Bottom move at the end, then transitioned into the Anaconda Vice. It was funny, you could almost sense what was happening through the crowd, as there was a hush, then people seemed to realize that he was debuting his new finisher, and popped massively when Chono tapped out. Overall, a decent match, better than their G1 semi final last year, but I've always hoped for more between them. In his great revival series, probably Tenzan's lowest ranked match.

Very good show altogether, definitely the better of both SXW tapings. The tournament matches were significantly stronger than those on 8/12, with every one displaying a different style in the ring. Tanahashi vs. Akiyama and Takayama vs. Yoshie are the two standouts of the show, but everything else was enjoyable, especially Nakamura vs. Yasuda, which was great story-telling, with the perfect outcome.

8/15 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (Buy)
The Sumo Hall triple header started with the closing day of group matches. Yoshie vs. Yasuda kicked off the tournament matches, and was just like Nakamura vs. Yasuda in story, which meant it rocked! Again, Yasuda was at his most effective as the hideous rulebreaker, Sumo Hall absolutely loathing him. Yoshie's popularity burst during the tournament continued with another GREAT showing by him. The reactions were all perfect, and Yoshie had to survive through many of Yasuda's choke techniques, the fans behind him all the way. Yoshie won dominantly at the end, decking the entire Makai Club, hitting Yasuda with a Death Valley bomb, then crushing him with a diving body press to a monsterous response from the crowd. Tanahashi vs. Nishimura was a choice wrestling match between Fujinami's successors, but at 14 minutes felt at least 10 minutes too short. What they did was wildly entertaining though, classic style wrestling with some cool twists, like Nishimura doing a sort of springboard armdrag. The wrestling was really exceptional, with great duels over holds, and given extra time, this could have been something special. Late on, there was this tremendous exchange of cradles, where they busted out all kinds of weird roll-ups for near falls. The best sequence was Tanahashi doing a regular rope-rush into Japanese leg roll clutch hold for 2. Nishimura kicked out, got up quickly while Tanahashi was on his stomach, turned Tanahashi over with his feet, and used his own Japanese leg roll clutch hold for a great near fall. The finish worked really well, with a figure-four predicament leading to them rolling out of the ring. The hold was broken at about 13, but they kept thwarting each other from getting back in the ring. Tanahashi slid in at 19 and picked up the somewhat indecisive win, which is a good building block for another match between them some day. Nagata vs. Nakamura continued not only the high entertainment level, but the constant modification of wrestling styles. This was awesome from the get-go, because they tore it up on the mat, and Nakamura looked terrific down there. The tempo changed when Nagata got vicious and started laying into Nakamura with kicks. Nakamura was thrust into the underdog role, but made constant comebacks, his expressions and responses again wonderful, the charisma and posture of a main eventer and future ace. He nearly upset Nagata several times, and kept persisting with a sleeper hold late on. Nagata countered the last attempt with a sick backdrop suplex, then hit a couple more, Nakamura landing heavily, before covering for the win. Great action for the 11 1/2 minutes, Nakamura having matches of this quality so early in his career is remarkable.

Tenzan vs. Nakanishi could have stalled the momentum given Nakanishi's glaring slump in the tournament, but thanks largely to Tenzan and also a style that Nakanishi is good at even in this form (slugfest), it was very good, entertaining, and had a hot crowd. Tenzan was impressive, and the match kept moving. I'd say this was Nakanishi's best bout of the tournament. Very strong closing stretch, despite Nakanishi almost Ganso bombing Tenzan like Akiyama. Tenzan got the Anaconda Vice on, and Nakanishi used his power to stand while in it. Tenzan STO'd him back down with force, and Nakanishi seemed instantly KO'd. The referee called the bell, and there was a party going on in Tokyo, Tenzan's popularity exploding with people on their feet. Takayama vs. Shibata was short, and it worked, the perfect bridge between some longish matches and a very long main event. Really, REALLY stiff and brutal match. It was almost identical in theme and quality to a Takayama match from NOAH in June against Takeshi Morishima, only done under "NWF" style, so elbows and lariats were replaced by kicks, knees, and bare knuckle punches to the face. Some of the punches they traded were disturbing, especially after Shibata tore his gloves off and was wailing fists into Takayama's face with almost no pull. Shibata had a lot of offense and looked great, winning over the fans and giving Takayama a good fight. Takayama finally put him away with the German suplex hold, advancing to the semis. Hoshino dropped a Makai mask on the fallen Shibata's chest post-match, a silent invitation back to Makai. The last match was one of the few remaining big New Japan vs. NOAH pairings, Chono vs. Akiyama. I found both Chono vs. Misawa and Chono vs. Kobashi boring and good only for novelty, but this lapped those matches ten times over and turned out to be one of the highlights of the G1. Great wrestling psychology from bell to bell. The main focus was Chono's blown out knee, which Akiyama tore apart in delightfully wicked fashion, one of the highlights being a dragon screw off the apron. Akiyama hit quite a few head-drop style moves, but the main focus was thankfully submission work, which was exquisitely done. Time limit draws can often fall flat as a main event, but this didn't. Good stuff.

Excellent, excellent show overall. It could be compared to day one, but I would give Kobe the slight nod as the best show of not just the tour, but the entire year. Six G1 matches though on 8/15, and each one was totally different to the others. So much variety, the diversity of heavyweight styles that you can only find in New Japan. Great efforts from many of the wrestlers, and an action-packed show that closed the group stage.

8/16 & 8/17 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (Buy)
I've put the last two shows together, as I only saw the four tournament matches from them. Nagata vs. Shibata, the Block B decision match to see who'd go through in second, was short and violent. Having been frustrated by Makai throughout the tour, Nagata finally lost it and slaughtered Shibata. Shibata appeared as Makai #4, signifying a return of sorts to Makai, but tore the mask off and attacked Nagata. He played punk, but Nagata wasn't in the mood, and finally snapped. He spent the rest of the match brutalizing Shibata with some MEAN kicks, some of which went near the face. Shibata made a very brief comeback, before "Killer" Nagata caught him with a sick kick to the back of the head. Shibata fell face-first down, and the referee wasted no time calling for the bell. Shibata got stretchered out, an untriumphant end to the G1 for him. Later on, it was time for the two huge semi finals. Firstly, Nagata vs. Akiyama chapter three. This was a rematch from NOAH in July, where Nagata beat Akiyama in only 6 1/2 minutes. This was definitely their best match, with great action and great heat. The popular name for matches like this now is "high spurt wrestling", with a super-hot start to get fans into the match, then gradual build-up wrestling, then another hot portion at the end. The beginning of the match was awesome, Nagata hitting a stiff backdrop suplex, then almost decapitating Akiyama with a high kick, which was a legitimate finisher after what it did to Shibata earlier on. Akiyama kicked out at 2.9, but it was mission accomplished, the crowd was pumped. Nagata controlled Akiyama for much of the latter part, but Akiyama was able to come from behind with a couple of Exploders. After an ever-so-intense struggle, he clutched Nagata's wrist and hit the wrist-clutch Exploder to advance. There was great heat throughout the match, but as soon as Nagata was pinned, the crowd died, which is the traditional response when an outsider wins. Despite that, I don't think a NJ vs. NJ final would have worked as well as a NJ vs. NOAH final this year. All would be resolved tomorrow, though. Finally for the semis, Tenzan vs. Takayama, a rematch from June where Takayama successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Tenzan. Back then, Tenzan was a Buffalo, now in August he was an Anaconda, a new man. This was even better than their Osaka match, and outstanding, one of the best bouts of the tournament. It was long, but hardly ever slow, and again, great heat. Tenzan's performance was great, he was so expressive and the crowd was into everything he did. The closing stretch was just "WOW", almost ten minutes long, non-stop action leading to a great finish where Tenzan got Takayama in the Anaconda Vice, and Takayama passed out. Another huge step for Tenzan. An even better match than Nagata vs. Akiyama, which would have been unheard of once upon a time.

There was only one match left, and that was the final between Tenzan and Akiyama. What can I say? I don't see how this match could possibly have worked better to take Tenzan to the next level. The heat was absolutely amazing again in Sumo Hall; even when they were doing nothing, like recovering from injuries, the crowd was shouting. The test of strength spot from the opening day was done again, to even MORE heat this time! This was almost 32 minutes long, but never dull and always interesting. The crowd supported Tenzan and booed Akiyama early on. Then there was a point where they cheered Akiyama and booed Tenzan when he threw a headbutt to the groin. Minutes later, it was back to how it was, with the crowd totally pro-Tenzan. GREAT performances by both men, and another perfect closing stretch that kept the fans guessing right until the very end. Tenzan hit the TTD for 2.9, and slapped on the Anaconda Vice to a mega pop. Akiyama thrashed and managed to stand, but Tenzan just LAUNCHED him down with an STO, and I think that KO'd Akiyama more than the hold itself. His arm slumped, and the match was quickly over. The camera switched to the crowd, and people were throwing G1 flyers into the ring (a substitute for pillows, which were banned from the building). Tenzan's parents were standing in the crowd, and people were dancing all around them. Tenzan shouted into the microphone, "ARIGATO!", before giving a lengthier winners interview and shedding tears of joy. Hidekazu Tanaka grabbed the microphone and shouted "BANZAI! BANZAI! BANZAI!", the crowd throwing their arms up each time he said it. A shiver-inducing moment if there ever was one. Chono glowed in pride, as at last his underachieving disciple had reached the next level. Fujinami had a big grin plastered to his face. The perfect climax, and this is the G1 Climax, where dreams are realized. An epic G1 final, in my opinion the second best ever behind the near-inconquerable Muto vs. Chono classic from 1991. Of course, this was just the start for Tenzan, with another G1 win coming shortly after, and then the biggest prize possible, the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

In closing...

For me as a wrestling fan, nothing beats the G1 Climax. The tournament suffered a real downturn in 1999 and 2000 that threatened to lessen the prestige, but 2001, 2002, and 2003 brought back the aura of it being the most important tournament in wrestling. This year's G1 may have been my favourite ever, because it had a stronger group stage/finals combination than any other. Like, the 1991 G1 had a better final, but the 2003 group stage blew it's away. 1996 had a great group stage, but a somewhat flat final by the G1 standards. But 2003 had them both, an epic final and a great group stage. Said portion of the tournament was multi-layered, with several dimensions and storylines. The invasion of Akiyama, one of the top stars of the tournament, who brought a great freshness, creating many big matches. The ongoing rise of the fourth generation, with some exceptional showings from Tanahashi, Nakamura, Yoshie, and Shibata. All four DEMANDED attention in the tournament, and showed just how special the next generation is probably going to be. And of course, the revival of Hiroyoshi Tenzan. After a shakey start with two losses, he performed the ultimate comeback, leading to successive victories over Chono, Nakanishi, Takayama, and Akiyama, four of the top stars in Japanese wrestling. As for the shows, well I can only rank the group stage ones really, as the last two didn't air in full. I would rank the group stage events in this order: 8/10, 8/15, 8/11, 8/14, 8/12. There isn't much to add, except that the tournament worked perfectly. 2001 and 2002 were strong tournaments, but I think this completely exceeded them. Classic stuff, this was New Japan at it's very best, with a great mixture of styles, great wrestling, great fighting spirit, and many memorable moments. I can't really name an MVP, as there were so many great performers, from Tenzan to Akiyama, from Tanahashi to Yoshie, from Nagata to Nakamura. Finally, for the fun part. I decided to rank the matches from bottom to top in how much I liked them. The only match I would call BAD from the tournament is Yasuda vs. Shibata, which was the big blooper that pissed a lot of fans off. The closest to that was probably Takayama vs. Yasuda, but it wasn't too bad. Anyway, here it is (some of the edited matches like Chono vs. Nishimura, which looked really good, are ranked lower than they probably would be in complete form),

34. Tadao Yasuda vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/11)
33. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Tadao Yasuda (8/10)
32. Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/16)
31. Yuji Nagata vs. Tadao Yasuda (8/12)
30. Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi (8/11)
29. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/12)
28. Masahiro Chono vs. Osamu Nishimura (8/10)
27. Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/14)
26. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/15)
25. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/11)
24. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/10)
23. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (8/12)
22. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama (8/12)
21. Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/12)
20. Osamu Nishimura vs. Manabu Nakanishi (8/14)
19. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Manabu Nakanishi (8/15)
18. Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8/14)
17. Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (8/11)
16. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/11)
15. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tadao Yasuda (8/14)
14. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tadao Yasuda (8/15)
13. Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/15)
12. Masahiro Chono vs. Jun Akiyama (8/15)
11. Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/15)
10. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (8/14)
9. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/10)
8. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura (8/12)
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jun Akiyama (8/14)
6. Yuji Nagata vs. Jun Akiyama (8/16)
5. Yuji Nagata vs. Yutaka Yoshie (8/10)
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jun Akiyama (8/10)
3. Osamu Nishimura vs. Jun Akiyama (8/11)
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (8/16)
1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jun Akiyama (8/17)

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