NJPW G1 Climax 27: Grading All 81 Matches & Choosing An MVP

This year’s edition of New Japan’s G1 Climax has come to a close and it has once again proved why it is the premier tournament in professional wrestling. The action has contained everything from the ridiculous to the sublime, with plenty of the latter.

I have watched all 81 of the matches from this year’s tournament and I am here to grade them. There will be spoilers at the end as it wouldn’t be possible to grade the final without it. Without further ado here are the matches.

Night 1 – Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – A
Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – A+
Yuji Nagata vs. YOSHI-HASHI – A-
Togi Makabe vs. Bad Luck Fale – C+
Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii – A

What a way to kick everything off. This was the best night of wrestling in the whole tournament and the Ibushi vs Naito match remained my favourite up until Night 18. This will end the year as one of it’s best shows.

Night 2 – Block B
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kenny Omega – B-
SANADA vs. EVIL – A-
Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano – D
Michael Elgin vs. Tama Tonga – C+
Satoshi Kojima vs. Juice Robinson – A-

The first night of Block B is another good show, albeit one that would have been better if Suzuki-gun’s interference hadn’t killed the momentum of the Omega vs Suzuki match somewhat.

Night 3 – Block A
Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI – B
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – A
Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto – A-
Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii – B+
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale – C+

Ibushi vs Sabre Jr is the highlight here. They wrestle a different style from what you would expect of an Ibushi match. It was proof that Kota can adapt to any style without issue.

Night 4 – Block B
Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga – C+
Minoru Suzuki vs. SANADA – B
EVIL vs. Juice Robinson – B+
Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin – A+
Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano – D

Okada vs Elgin is an exceptional match that proves not only that Okada is the epitome of an elite level performer but also that Elgin is capable of greatness given the opportunity.

Night 5 – Block A
Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – A+
Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto – C+
Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale – D
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – C+
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata – A-

In case you couldn’t tell, this tournament started off with some tremendous matches and this show is no different. This time it is Ibushi and Ishii that take the spotlight and they thrive in it.

Night 6 – Block B
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA – B+
Kenny Omega vs. Toru Yano – D
Tama Tonga vs. EVIL – C+
Juice Robinson vs. Minoru Suzuki – C+
Satoshi Kojima vs. Michael Elgin – B+

Almost every G1 tournament hits a lull in the middle and this is the start of this year’s. It is by no means a bad show but there is nothing that stands out as must see.

Night 7 – Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto – B
Kota Ibushi vs. Togi Makabe – C+
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bad Luck Fale – C+
Tomohiro Ishii vs. YOSHI-HASHI – B+
Tetsuya Naito vs. Yuji Nagata – B+

Much like the previous day this one doesn’t feature a stand out match, though the standard remained good.

Night 8 – Block B
Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega – A+
Minoru Suzuki vs. EVIL – C+
SANADA vs. Toru Yano – C+
Juice Robinson vs. Tama Tonga – B
Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima – A

Night 8 provided two excellent matches, with Okada and Omega proving why they are considered among the best in the world and Elgin impressing again.

Night 9 – Block A
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – A-
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. YOSHI-HASHI – C+
Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – C+
Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale – C+
Togi Makabe vs. Yuji Nagata – C+

We are back to the relative lull with Night 9. Naito vs Ishii blows everything else on this card away.

Night 10 – Block B
Kenny Omega vs. Satoshi Kojima – C+
Kazuchika Okada vs. Juice Robinson – A-
Michael Elgin vs. SANADA – C+
Minoru Suzuki vs. Tama Tonga – D
EVIL vs. Toru Yano – D

This is a bit of a throwaway show to be honest. Only Juice Robinson’s valiant effort against Okada stands out as above average. One of the two worst nights of the tournament.

Night 11 – Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – A
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata – A
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Bad Luck Fale – C+
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hirooki Goto – C+
Togi Makabe vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – B

The two best matches on this show are well worth anyone’s time. The consistent quality of Nagata throughout this tournament is astonishing for a 49 year old.

Night 12 – Block B
Kenny Omega vs. EVIL – A-
Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima – D
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tama Tonga – C+
SANADA vs. Juice Robinson – B
Michael Elgin vs. Toru Yano – F

This is the other of the two worst shows of the tournament. The main event is good but it also features the nadir of Yano’s comedy act.

Night 13 – Block A
Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – A-
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe – C+
Kota Ibushi vs. Yuji Nagata – B+
Hirooki Goto vs. YOSHI-HASHI – C+
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bad Luck Fale – B

This is the first of a run of shows that feature one or two stand out matches and, for the most part, nothing below par. Naito and Sabre Jr are the ones that go above and beyond here but for some reason Tanahashi vs Makabe is in the main event spot.

Night 14 – Block B
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL – A
Satoshi Kojima vs. SANADA – B+
Minoru Suzuki vs. Michael Elgin – C+
Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano – E
Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson – A

I know I said that pretty much nothing is below par but Yano’s matches don’t count. At this stage only three wrestlers were still in contention and New Japan decided to shake things up. It’s a good night of wrestling all in all.

Night 15 – Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – A
Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe – B
Hirooki Goto vs. Bad Luck Fale – C
Kota Ibushi vs. YOSHI-HASHI – B
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Yuji Nagata – B+

This is a very consistent show. Block A had more wrestlers in contention at this point so there was vested interest in more of the matches, which helps. If you have ever seen a Tanahashi vs Ishii match before you know how good that match is.

Night 16 – Block B
Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki – A
Kenny Omega vs. SANADA – B+
Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano – D
Michael Elgin vs. EVIL – B+
Satoshi Kojima vs. Tama Tonga – C+

The Okada vs Suzuki match is the longest of the round robin stage and is an absolute war. Other than that the usual suspects perform to high standards.

Night 17 – Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito – A
Kota Ibushi vs. Hirooki Goto – C+
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – A-
Bad Luck Fale vs. Yuji Nagata – B+
Togi Makabe vs. YOSHI-HASHI – C

The final night of Block A action featured an excellent main event and the continuation of the burgeoning Ishii vs Sabre rivalry. It also featured the final G1 Climax match in the career of Yuji Nagata. It was a genuinely emotional moment and one of the best this year. Arigatou Nagata-san.

Night 18 – Block B
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – A+
Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano – D
Tama Tonga vs. SANADA – C+
Michael Elgin vs. Juice Robinson – B
Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL – B

The question here is whether or not Okada and Omega can live up to their two previous matches. The answer is a resounding yes. This is a different kind of match from their past encounters and that helps establish it as yet another classic between these two. Make no mistake, this is the pinnacle of wrestling.

Night 19 – Finals
Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega – A+

Fuck! I know I literally just said that Omega vs Okada was the pinnacle of wrestling but there is room at the top for more than one. This is every bit as good as that match and is as good a tournament final as you could possibly wish to see. The crowd are white hot, the wrestling is tremendous and the finishing sequence is a thing of beauty. For those keeping score, Kenny Omega now has the four best matches of the year. It may not seem like it to those that only watch WWE but 2017 is one of the all-time great years for wrestling.

 

MVP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6ANVj0l-20

To figure out who was the MVP of the tournament I took all of the grades, assigned a score to them and calculated an average. I then converted that score back in to a grade because I am really anal about things. Anyway, here are the average grades for everyone from first to Yano.

Tomohiro Ishii – A-
Kazuchika Okada – A-
Yuji Nagata – B+
Kota Ibushi – B+
Hiroshi Tanahashi – B+
Kenny Omega – B+
Tetsuya Naito – B+
Zack Sabre Jr – B+
EVIL – B
Juice Robinson – B
SANADA – B
Michael Elgin – B
Hirooki Goto – B
Satoshi Kojima – B
YOSHI-HASHI – B
Togi Makabe – C+
Bad Luck Fale – C+
Minoru Suzuki – C+
Tama Tonga – C
Toru Yano – D

So there you have it, Tomohiro Ishii is your G1 Climax 27 MVP. He was incredible throughout, with his worst match being graded at a B. Everybody in Block B got slightly shafted by having to wrestle Toru Yano though.

This tournament was fantastic and I urge everyone that hasn’t seen it to check out at least some of the matches, most notably the absolute classics that are Okada vs Omega III and the incredible tournament final.