New Japan G1 Climax Results
Night 1 of 13
July 21, 2014
Hokkaido, Japan
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The entire G1 Climax tournament is available on New Japan's Internet PPV Ustream channel HERE.

(1) IWGP IC champion Bad Luck Fale beat Tomohiro Ishii at 9:40 in a G1 Climax A Block match. Strong opening match with the pitbull, tough-guy Ishii fighting uphill against the much-larger Fale. Ishii continues to have good matches with wrestlers of all sizes.

(2) Shelton Benjamin beat IWGP Hvt. tag champion Luke Gallows at 8:58 in a G1 Climax A Block match. Luke dragged Shelton to the outside early on and nearly scored a count-out victory, but Shelton lunged back into the ring at 19. Shelton eventually finished off Gallows for a clean win. The crowd was lightly invested, essentially rooting for Shelton as the non-Bullet Club participant in the match.

(3) NWA World tag champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat IWGP Hvt. tag champion Karl Anderson via submission at 10:12 in a G1 Climax B Block match. Tenzan forced Anderson to tap out to a chicken-wing submission. Early on, the story was Anderson mockingly stealing Tenzan's signature double chops to the shoulders/neck. Tenzan answered with double chops of his own to get the match rolling.

(4) NWA World tag champion Satoshi Kojima beat Yuji Nagata at 11:22 in a G1 Climax A Block match. Kojima won with a decisive lariat after a good old fashioned slugfest between two veterans.

(5) Toru Yano beat Minoru Suzuki at 2:18 in a G1 Climax B Block match. This was a brawl early on, then Yano shocked Suzuki with a shady quick pin for the win in less than three minutes. Afterward, Suzuki took out his frustration on a ringside attendant before threatening violence in the crowd.

[Intermission. Fine start to the show. Nothing blow-away in the first-half, but they're laying the foundation and setting the tone for the two-week tournament.]

(6) NEVER Openweight champion Yujiro Takahashi beat 2013 G1 winner Tetsuya Naito in a G1 Climax B Block match. This match built well to Naito going for his top-rope Stardust Press, but Yujiro moved out of the way and Naito sold a knee injury. Yujiro capitalized with a German Suplex with a bridge for a close two count. He followed up moments later with his Miami Shine Death Valley Driver for the pin and the win.

(7) Hirooki Goto beat Togi Makabe at 11:38 in a G1 Climax B Block match. Very strong match featuring several close nearfalls until Goto finished off Togi with an emphatic swinging sideslam that was good for a three count.

(8) Tanahashi beat Tomoaki Honma at 11:02 in a G1 Climax A Block match. Tanahashi won with High Fly Flow after Honma came close to winning a few times. The crowd was really behind underdog Honma, who was a last-minute replacement for the injured Kota Ibushi. Tanahashi gave Honma a lot of offense to make this an exciting singles match.

(9) Katsuyori Shibata beat Shinsuke Nakamura at 15:30 in a G1 Climax A Block match. Shibata dominated Nakamura throughout, asserting himself as a force in the tournament. Nakamura came back late in the match with a combination of kick thrusts culminating with Boma Ye for a close nearfall, but Shibata responded with a Go 2 Sleep into the Penalty Kick for the pin and the win. Another very good singles match.

(10) "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada (w/Gedo) beat IWGP World Hvt. champion A.J. Styles at 18:05 in a G1 Climax B Block match. Styles started things off with a lot of trash-talking, which Okada responded to with forearm strikes that rocked Styles across the ring. Styles retained control for the most part, with Okada having flashes of his trademark offense. Suddenly, the ref was bumped when Styles went flying across the ring. Bullet Club's Yujiro Takahashi then hit the ring and the crowd was ready to riot. But, Okada smashed him out of the ring, popping the crowd. Styles tried to capitalize on the distraction with the Styles Clash, but Okada avoided, hit a German Suplex for a nearfall, then nailed the Rainmaker for the pin and the win.

Post-match: Okada kept the feel-good start to G1 going with a promo vowing to become IWGP World Hvt. champion again by winning the tournament. Okada handed the mic to Gedo, who talked up Okada and sent the crowd home happy with hope for Okada winning G1 to get another title shot at A.J. Styles.

Overall, a very good start to the tournament. Good wrestling, big stars, and an engaged crowd connected to the product. This should be a very strong G1.

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