[Results] New Japan, 8/11/09

Today saw the smallest show of the G1 Climax but it wasn't without incident or a big main event. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi have been side by side throughout their entire careers but have had a major shortage of singles matches in recent years, their 60 minute draw over the IWGP Heavyweight Title in March '03 being the last time they met... until today. Six and a half years later the men generally considered top of their generation collided in an exciting main event that saw Nakanishi score a much needed win to earn his fourth point of the tournament. After the match Nagata asked fans to not belittle the third generation - the lost generation some say as already the new generation seem to be surpassing their accomplishments quickly - and the veterans, who now find themselves in the same position as the 3 Musketeers were in when they were younger, will continue to provide tough challenges for the young guns.
Togi Makabe and TAJIRI went to war in a bloodbath that saw Makabe finally achieve his first win of the tournament, albeit by DQ. TAJIRI's DQ losses seem to have followed a pattern of him being on the verge of a normal defeat only for him to spit green mist into the opponents' eyes and get himself disqualified. Today's loss makes semi final qualification impossible for the Hustle invader but he still has a match with Tanahashi, his main target in the tournament. Masato Tanaka suffered his first setback of the tournament but it wasn't a loss as his impressive tournament thus far continued. He and Giant Bernard, who has come back well from a poor start to be in contention for a spot in the semis, fought to a double countout, one of three inconclusive finishes on the day. The other saw Takashi Iizuka, on the back of being taught a lesson by his CHAOS leader Nakamura yesterday, back in vintage form - iron glove, choking, and blood. NOAH's Takashi Sugiura was no special case as he saw his head gouged by the dastardly villain en route to his second win of the tournament, this one by DQ.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan has, like last year, stumbled into a brick wall in the G1, raising new questions about his health and spirit. The G1 Climax is not a tournament of mercy and young upstart Hirooki Goto showed no mercy, beating Tenzan easily in just 7 minutes. While Nagata and Nakanishi continue to prosper fairly well, Tenzan is heading south unless he can regain his old vigor at some point. Takao Omori's lightning start to the G1 has failed to sustain as his third loss on the trot today saw him pinned by Toru Yano. With only one match left, he can pretty much wave his chances of a spot in the semis goodbye just like the man he faces next, TAJIRI.