It was always my goal to fill in the gaps of New Japan’s U.S. shows that took place prior to 2020, and with Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer coming up this Sunday at “Dominion”, I thought revisiting their beloved match from Dallas in 2019 was as great a reason as any to revisit the whole show. But first, Ospreay and Archer also had a match in the New Japan Cup in 2019, so I wanted to watch that as well:

New Japan Cup 2019 Second Round Match
Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer
New Japan Cup 2019 Night 6 – Nara, Japan – 3.14.2019

In the opening round, Archer defeated Toa Henare, and Ospreay defeated 2014 and 2017 New Japan Cup runner-up Bad Luck Fale. Ospreay gets the early advantage when Archer is unable to take him down and makes him flinch when faking a dive. Archer makes him pay by grabbing Ospreay when he attempts a springboard off of the barricade and throws him overhead to the floor. He also drops him on the barricade and counters a back handspring kick with a fallaway slam. Commentary notes that Jay White did significant damage to Ospreay’s ribs when they met at the anniversary show a few weeks ago, and Archer is capitalizing on those lingering injuries. The beating continues until Ospreay slips out of the Blackout and successfully pulls off the back handspring enzuigiri. Archer kicks out at one after being taken down with Pip Pip Cheerio. Stun Dog Millionaire and a satellite DDT get him closer to three, but not quite. Archer shuts him down with a Black Hole slam. Ospreay dodges a big boot and uses the momentum for a German suplex. Ospreay also dodges a Pounce, but when he attempts the OsCutter, Archer Pounces him out of mid-air and to the floor! Archer chokeslams him on the ring apron and back in the ring, and Ospreay impressively kicks out from his pin. He flips out of the Blackout and surprises Archer with the Robinson Special. Archer catches the OsCutter, but Ospreay prawn holds him and then hits the OsCutter on the third attempt. Archer kicks out, surprising Ospreay, who then tries for the StormBreaker. When he can’t lift Archer, he softens him up with multiple kicks. Archer ducks the Hidden Blade and hits the Blackout, but only for two. Archer places Ospreay on the top turnbuckle and climbs up with him. Ospreay cracks Archer in the head with an elbow strike and slips through his legs. After the Cheeky Nando’s kick, Ospreay pulls Archer down into the StormBreaker for the pin at 18:09. That was a great story to follow, with Ospreay fighting through his back injury and the size disparity to get the win, also knowing that he was capable of pinning Archer if he was able to hit the StormBreaker (Ospreay did so previously in a tag match.) The crowd was also invested which made everything that much better. He would lose to eventual tournament winner Kazuchika Okada in the next round, but this was an excellent first dip of the toe into the heavyweight singles pool for Ospreay. ****

Dallas, TX – 7.6.2019

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly & Rocky Romero.

Starting in 2017, New Japan had begun using the G1 branding to identify special shows in the United States. In 2017, the first United States champion was crowned in a two night tournament. One year later in San Francisco, a proverbial supercard was headlined by the highly anticipated singles match between Kenny Omega and Cody. Three months before this show, New Japan and ROH co-promoted the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden. For the first time and possibly only time, ROH decided to host an actual night of G1 tournament action in the United States. The first night of the A Block matches would be held in Dallas, TX, with the undercard serving as preview for the first night of B Block action that would take place a week later in Japan. The show aired live on AXS TV.

Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)

GoD are the current IWGP Heavyweight and ROH World Tag Team Champions. They try to attack Roppongi 3K before the bell, but the former Jr. Tag Champs are too quick for them. They wipe out GoD with stereo suicide dives, but Tonga distracts them long enough for Loa to blind side them with a double clothesline. Tonga sends YOH crashing into the barricades, giving GoD room to beat down SHO back inside the ring. SHO escapes by side stepping a yakuza kick from Loa and spearing Tonga, and tagging YOH who is now back on the apron. YOH gets a nearfall on Tonga with a bridging suplex, but Tonga blocks a superkick and back suplexes YOH. YOH blocks the Gun Stun and superkicks Tonga. Roppongi 3K wiped both Tonga and Loa out with stereo knee strikes. Tonga blocks the 3K with a Gun Stun to SHO. Tonga splashes YOH in the corner and then assists Loa with a super powerbomb to YOH for the pin at 6:42. The constant momentum swings and the SUPER hot crowd made for a really fun match. This was an “on” night for GoD, and Roppongi 3K are always a hoot. **½

Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino vs. Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita

Ishii and Cobb face each other in the B Block on G1 Night 2. They get into a big boy battle, refusing to budge and intensely locking up. Narita blind tags himself in when they come to his corner. Umino back elbows him down into a basement dropkick. Narita surprises Ishii by countering his brainbuster with one of his own. Cobb release belly-to-belly suplexes Ishii and Umino back-to-back, and then impresses the Dallas crowd with a one-armed vertical suplex. Cobb scoops him up into the Spin Cycle for two. Ishii ends a forearm strike exchange with a German suplex. Umino dropkicks Cobb across the ring and knocks Narita off of the apron so he cannot tag out. Umino fights for and gets Cobb down with a suplex for two. Narita interjects when Ishii does, dropkicking him to the floor. He half hatch suplexes Umino and Cobb follows up with a standing moonsault. The Tour of the Islands on Umino then gets Cobb the pin at 7:18. That was a totally solid tag match that successfully fired up the crowd for Cobb and Ishii’s singles encounter next Saturday. Ishii and Cobb also had a post-match brawl that had to be broken up by their partners, as well as LA DOJO students Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin. Spoiler: Ishii won that match, and it ruled. ***

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. BULLET CLUB (Jay White & Chase Owens

Gedo is in the BULLET CLUB’s corner. Goto and White face each other in the B Block on G1 Night 2. White attacks Goto from behind as he and Owens are ready to lock knuckles. Goto valiantly fights back against both of them, drilling Owens with a hard forearm strike and then approaching White on the floor. Gedo distracts Goto and Owens wipes him out with a spicy dropkick. Goto isn’t down for long, taking out Owens with a rolling clothesline back in the ring. YOSHI-HASHI dropkicks Owens on the top rope, but a hair pull from White and a throat thrust into the top rope turn the match in the BULLET CLUB’s corner. White drives YOSHI-HASHI back first into the ring frame thrice before feeding him back to Owens inside the ring. YOSHI-HASHI escapes their grasp with a running Blockbuster to White. Goto finally gets his hands on White, taking him down with a high hip toss and Saito suplex. Owens’ run in fails to help White, but White does side step a corner attack and drops Goto with a Saito suplex of his own. Owens cracks Goto with a gamengiri and a knee strike before dropping him with the Jewel Heist for two. White’s twisting brainbuster and Owens Doppler Effect have Goto down, but YOSHI-HASHI saves him from being pinned. Goto escapes a Package Piledriver attempt. YOSHI-HASHI spin kicks White, and Goto clotheslines him to the floor. The Ushigoroshi and GTR put Owens away at 8:38. Another fun tag match to set up a G1 match from next Saturday. The interactions between White and Goto were the highlight of the match, but Owens stepped up as well. ***

Jushin Thunder Liger, Toru Yano & Juice Robinson vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)

Yano faces Naito and Robinson faces Shingo in the B Block on G1 Night 2. The fans are especially into Liger, who at this point had made it known he’d be wrapping up his in-ring career at the end of the year. Fans were angry at BUSHI for grabbing at Liger’s mask during their opening moments, and even more angry when Naito and Takagi came in to attack him illegally. Liger escapes LIJ’s grasp by hitting Takagi with a shotei. Robinson and Takagi get into a forearm strike exchange, ending with Robinson taking out Takagi with a scissor kick. Takagi avoids the Juice Box but succumbs to an Uncle Slam. Takagi blocks the Left Hand of God with a straight jab, but Robinson hits it on the second try. Takagi then blocks the Pulp Friction with Noshigami. Naito and Yano enter as the legal men. Yano is able to pull off one of the turnbuckle pads, but falls to the Combinación Cabrón in the opposite corner. BUSHI and Naito double dropkick a seated Yano for a two count. Takagi and Naito bring Liger and Robinson to the floor. BUSHI sets up Yano in a fisherman’s position. Yano escapes in a way that also turns around the referee, giving Yano the opening to low blow BUSHI and schoolboy pin him at 8:18. This was a mess, but a pretty fun one. Takagi and Rbinson’s exchange was excellent and the fans were happy to see Liger one last time in person. **

The remainder of the card is G1 tournament matches, all of which have a thirty minute time limit.

G1 Climax 2019 Block A Match
Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer

Ospreay enters the tournament as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament just one month earlier. Archer tried to attack Ospreay before entrances and got caught with a Spanish Fly. A twisting splash to the floor and a springboard 450 almost earned Ospreay an early pin., but the wounded Archer still managed to kick out at two. Archer also caught a Sasuke Special and chokeslammed Ospreay through a table on the other side of the barricades! Archer’s onslaught on Ospreay continues back in the ring, including an impressive rope walk into a single ax handle. In a daze, Ospreay surprises Archer with a back handspring enzuigiri. After a tiger feint kick he nails Pip Pip Cheerio for barely a two count. Just like at the New Japan Cup, Ospreay is able to avoid Archer’s first Pounce, but not able to avoid the second. Although Ospreay is chokeslammed on the apron, he avoids a powerbomb partially up the entrance ramp, countering it into a Yoshi Tonic. Archer tries to get a count out victory by shoving Ospreay down, but Ospreay makes it back into the ring and makes Archer pay with a springboard dropkick to the side of the head. The crowd erupts as Ospreay follows that up with a shooting star press for two. The Robinson Special connects, and it takes two tries but Ospreay does hit the OsCutter. To Ospreay’s surprise, Archer kicks out from that offensive combination. Archer strikes Ospreay as Ospreay gets to the top rope and brings him down in a Muscle Buster for two. Ospreay is nearly unconscious when Archer drops him with the Blackout, and unbelievably, he kicks out at two. Archer’s EBD Claw leads to an Avalanche chokeslam attempt, which Ospreay counters with an Avalanche Spanish Fly. Archer avoids the StormBreaker, so Ospreay hook kicks him twice and tries a super OsCutter. Archer crotches him on the top turnbuckle and cracks him with a step-up knee strike. A super Blackout and EBD Claw earns Archer the pin at 18:16. This was unbelievable. Ospreay’s counters and dodges had the crowd roaring, and Archer’s aggressive, violent presence only helped the crowd get even more behind Ospreay. The crowd got louder as each combatant was forced to escalate their offense and the nearfalls piled up. It is also fitting that Archer would get a big win in Dallas with a Claw. I wouldn’t have predicted this match would steal the show, but that was absolutely the case. ****½

G1 Climax 2019 Block A Match
EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale

I have a hunch this won’t be as good as the previous match. EVIL successfully kicks Fale to the floor at the bell, but unsuccessfully slams him on the entrance ramp, and ends up being slammed on the ramp himself. Fale clobbers EVIL in the ring for a while. Fale misses a corner splash, and his momentum allows EVIL to successfully pull off a bodyslam. He also wraps a chair around Fale’s neck and sends him into the ring post. Kevin Kelly explains referee’s give the wrestlers a long leash in terms of what they can and can’t do in the G1, which I will accept over no explanation, except the referee refuses to let Fale use chairs later on. If he’s going to give EVIL leniency, it’s only fair if Fale gets some too. Anyways, EVIL avoids being hit with a chair but takes the Grenade for two. EVIL throws Fale’s boot to the referee to avoid a boot and knocks him down with a clothesline. The referee rolls to the outside from the fallout. EVIL attempts to hit a chair onto EVIL’s neck but Fale low blows him and gets the chance to do it to EVIL himself. The Bad Luck Fall then gets Fale the pin at 11:33. This definitely wasn’t lifeless, but it was a bit of a slog, and the inconsistent treatment of chair usage by the referee is something I have trouble overlooking. *½

G1 Climax 2019 Block A Match
SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre enters the tournament as the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion. Sabre successfully defended the title against SANADA in RevPro the previous weekend. In 2018, Sabre defeated SANADA during the New Japan Cup, but SANADA defeated him in the G1 Climax. Their exchanges get quite heated. After their second stalemate, SANADA goes to the floor, and Sabre invites him back into the ring. SANADA gets the better of Sabre after the next exchange, dropkicking him to the floor. He invites Sabre back in, mocking Sabre’s previous act of disrespect. Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker to evade the Paradise Lock, and SANADA gets to the ropes right away. Sabre snaps his arm and also blocks a hip toss with a Cobra Twist. SANADA shuts him down with a dropkick and maneuvers Sabre into a Paradise Lock in the bottom rope. He dropkicks him to release the hold and follows him to the floor with a pescado. Sabre blocks a TKO with another Cobra Twist, bending back SANADA’s left arm and adding a bodyscissors. SANADA falls to the mat, where Sabre converts into a high angle armbrar with a neck scissors. SANADA kicks in agony, finally getting his foot on the rope to free himself from the hold. SANADA briefly gets Sabre into the Skull End, but he twists his way free. Sabre tornado DDT’s SANADA into his own version of the Skull End. SANADA impressively stands up with Sabre on his shoulders, though Sabre slips down and places SANADA in a guillotine choke. SANADA counters that into Total Anarchy and then pulls off the TKO for a two count. Sabre evades a moonsault and counters a backslide with a PK. SANADA counters a Zack Driver with Skull End, swinging him around before placing him on the mat. He goes for the moonsault again, but Sabre catches him in a triangle choke! SANADA muscles Sabre up to escape. SANADA gets up an elbow to block a corner attack and moonsault presses himself into position for the Skull End. Sabre flips over SANADA and pulls him down into a clutch. SANADA counters into a Skull End, which Sabre then counters into a European Clutch. SANADA counters that into a back bridge to get the pin at 21:12. This was superb, and the kind of match I think of when a match is described as a “game of human chess.” The constant counters and transitions made for an engaging match that did not feel nearly twenty minutes long. These two are tremendous together, and I understand why they were paired up in so many tournaments around this time, as well as on the 2020 Wrestle Kingdom card. ****¼

G1 Climax 2019 Block A Match
Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA

Katsuyori Shibata is watching the match from the arena floor. Shibata brought KENTA to New Japan, introducing him at Dominion on June 9th. This is KENTA’s first match with the company as a regular, and his first match since leaving WWE. He and Ibushi have had multiple tag matches in NOAH, as well as a time limit draw in ROH, but this is their first singles encounter. KENTA tests Ibushi with an open hand strike after backing him to the ropes, but Ibushi nearly knocks out KENTA with his open hand strike response. KENTA returns to form after a knee strike to Ibushi’s neck as Ibushi is laid on the middle rope, teasing him with little kicks to the head and then throwing hard kicks to his chest and back. Ibushi breaks out of a side headlock and dropkicks KENTA. Ibushi powerslams him, rolling right up into a moonsault off of the middle rope for two. KENTA takes Ibushi down with a leg lariat. Ibushi ends up elbowing KENTA off of the top turnbuckle and to the apron. He backflip kicks KENTA to the floor. Ibushi tries a pescado, but KENTA knees strikes him in mid-air, and Ibushi twists his ankle upon landing. KENTA places Ibushi chest first onto a barricade and double stomps him onto it. Ibushi rolls back into the ring just before being counted out, and KENTA lands a top rope double stomp onto him for a two count. Ibushi escapes a Go 2 Sleep and hits a Last Ride powerbomb for two. KENTA blocks a Kamigoye and tries to Go 2 Sleep again. Ibushi crucifix pins KENTA to escape, but KENTA then knocks him down with the Busaiku Knee. During a strike exchange, KENTA wipes out Ibushi with a pair of kicks to the head. Ibushi kicks out of the pin, but he is dazed enough for KENTA to blast him with a knee exposed Go 2 Sleep and get him the victory at 20:51. If KENTA wanted to remind us of his old self, he was successful. He and Ibushi were game to beat each other up, and the build to KENTA finally pulling off the GTS was well executed. The match’s only real issue is that it wasn’t as exciting as two of the other G1 matches that preceded it, but it was still very good. Watching this match after dealing with BULLET CLUB KENTA for four years makes me really miss this KENTA. ***½

G1 Climax 2019 Block A Match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Okada comes into the tournament as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and Tanahashi comes in as the G1 Climax 2018 tournament winner. This is their fourth G1 match against each other, and Tanahashi won all three previous matches (2013, 2016, and 2018). This is their first singles match in the United States. The crowd goes nuts just for them existing. Tanahashi earns the mental advantage by avoiding the Rainmaker and playing his air guitar after an elbow drop. Okada dropkicks him off of the top turnbuckle and to the floor, where he drops Tanahashi with a DDT. When it looks like Tanahashi is gearing for a comeback, Okada takes him down with a dragonscrew leg whip and a neckbreaker. Tanahashi blocks a boot and gives Okada his own dragonscrew leg whip. He slams Okada into a somersault senton off of the second rope for two. Okada however takes Tanahashi down again with a back elbow after ducking a Slingblade attempt. He drops Tanahashi with another DDT. Tanahashi shuts Okada down again with a dragonscrew leg whip in the ropes. When he charges at Okada, he flapjacks Tanahashi and goes back to nursing his knee. Tanahashi dropkicks his knee, and Okada unwisely uses his bad knee for an Air Raid Crash. Okada lands a top rope elbow drop and calls for the Rainmaker, but Tanahashi prawn rolls him from the mat and dragonscrew leg whips him once again. Okada gets the ropes to escape a cloverleaf. After Tanahashi gives him another dragonscrew leg whip, Okada rolls to the floor, and Tanahashi wipes him out with a High Fly Flow crossbody. Back in the ring, Tanahashi drops him with a Twist and Shout. Okada takes him down with a Jon Woo dropkick, and Tanahashi quickly responds with a Sling Blade. Okada dropkicks Tanahashi and gives him a tombstone piledriver. Tanahashi counters the Rainmaker with another Sling Blade. A second High Fly Flow crossbody connects, but the High Fly Flow that follows is blocked by Okada getting his knees up. Tanahashi moves around as Okada tries a tombstone, successfully escaping his grasp. Okada counters a Sling Blade with a backslide, pulling Tanahashi up into the Rainmaker! He holds onto Tanahashi’s wrist and hits him with another Rainmaker. Tanahashi counters a third Rainmaker with a small package, almost getting the pin off of it. He then Dragon suplexes Okada, adding a bridge to get another two count. Tanahashi strikes Okada to stop another Rainmaker, but Okada holds onto his wrist. He maintains his grip through one slap from Tanahashi, but not two. As Tanahashi comes off of the ropes, Okada scoops him up into the tombstone piledriver. Another Rainmaker does in the Ace, getting Okada the pin at 22:04. There was a very clear story of High Fly Flow vs. Rainmaker, which works in a result-based match in front of a crowd who is happy to see you play the hits. But they did more than that – they whipped in plenty of drama that had us doubting who would be victorious the entire time. It wasn’t the best match of the night, but the most star studded, and a great way to end this show. ****

This show ruled, and a big part of that was the hot, loud Dallas crowd. I really hope we can get a show with an atmosphere like this outside of Forbidden Door again.