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THE A BLOCK FINALS - 10/16 NJPW G1 CLIMAX REPORT

By James Kurokawa on 2020-10-16 17:24:00

English commentary was up on New Japan World, which means Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero and Chris Charlton did it live.  

Opening Match: Yota Tsuji vs. Gabriel Kidd

Tsuji with a giant swing and a Boston Crab for a submission win.  

A Block Tournament Matches:  Jeff Cobb vs. Yujiro Takahashi

Takahashi tried to use his quickness to avoid the power of Cobb.   Takahashi got the first big attack with a reverse DDT on the ring floor.  Takahashi hit a legdrop, elbow and headbutt combination.  Takahashi drives this face to the mat.  Two count by Takahashi.  Cobb fights back with chops, but misses a standing moonsault.  Takahashi blasts him in the head with a sliding dropkick.  Cobb reverses the momentum of the match by trapping Takahashi in the corner and throwing him across the ring an over-the-head belly to belly suplex.   Cobb with a running European Uppercut, then a running back suplex.  Cobb with a two count.   Takahashi hits a Hot Shot, a lariat and a Fisherman Buster.  Two count.   Cobb tries for a gutwrench move, but Takahashi bites his way out.  Takahashi with a mafia kick.  Takahashi misses a charge in the corner but Cobb rocks him with a lariat.  Takahashi slumps in the corner.  Cobb pulls him off the mat by the ankles and catches him in a spinning back suplex.   Two count.  Cobb with a standing moonsault.  Two count.  Cobb goes for a Tour of the Islands.  Takahashi spins out of the move.  Cobb goes for a suplex.  Takahashi reverses into a small package.  Two count by Takahashi.  Takahashi pushes the referee into Cobb.  Takahashi grabs his pimp stick and hits Cobb.  Takahashi hits an Olympic Slam.   Takahashi with Miami Shine.   Two count.  Takahashi hits Pimp Juice, for the first time all Tournament.  Takahashi pins Cobb.   

Good match!  I am happy for Yujiro Takahashi to get a win.  Yujiro was the face of Bullet Club during the COVID era.  He deserved much more. 

Yujiro Takahashi finishes with 2 points. 

Jeff Cobb finishes with 8 points. 

Shingo Takagi vs. Minoru Suzuki

This is a rematch from their NEVER Openweight Championship match, when Suzuki took the Title from Takagi.  

Both men started to throw elbows.  Suzuki traps Takagi in the ropes and locks him in an arm bar.   Match spills to the floor and they throw each other in to guardrails.  Back in the ring, Suzuki attacks the right arm of Takagi by going for submissions.    Suzuki with a mafia kick.  Takagi blocks a punt kick and hits a suplex on Suzuki.   Takagi hits a right arm lariat and winces in pain.  Suzuki kicks him in the right arm.  Suzuki eats an elbow.  Takagi whips him across the ring and hits a left arm lariat.   Then a left arm Pumping Bomber.  Takagi stomps on Suzuki.  Both men start throwing vicious elbows.  Takagi hammers Suzuki in the jaw with a right elbow.  Takagi winces in pain.  Suzuki drops to a knee, but slowly stands, with an evil smile on his face.  The crowd goes silent as they hear the smacks of Suzuki connecting with the face of Takagi.  Pace of the match quickens.  Both men going for quick strikes.   Suzuki locks in a sleeper.  He goes for a Gotch Piledriver but Takagi reverses.  Suzuki ducks a Sliding Lariat.   Suzuki applies another sleeper and Gotch Piledriver.  Takagi reverses into a Death Valley Driver.   Takagi with elbows and a Sliding Lariat.  Two count.   Takagi goes for a Pumping Bomber.  Suzuki jumps up and grabs Takagi's arm and takes him over into a cross arm breaker.  Wow!!  Takagi tries to escape, but Suzuki transitions to a Triangle Choke.   Takagi lifts him for a power bomb but not very high off the mat due to his weak arm.  Suzuki lets go of the hold, but still holding onto the wrist of Takagi and kicks him repeatedly in the face.   Suzuki takes him down by the arm and locks in a double wrist lock, twisting his fingers.  Takagi makes it to the ropes.  Suzuki gets the sleeper and tries for another piledriver.  Takagi chops his way out.   Suzuki responds with open hand slaps and chops.  They trade elbows and head butts.  Takagi picks up Suzuki for Last of the Dragon.  Suzuki counters into another sleeper.  Suzuki lefts go for another offensive move but Takagi drops him with a right fist to the jaw.     Takagi hits Last of the Dragon and gets the pin.   Shingo Takagi wins and earns two points.   

Great match!   This win has implications for the NEVER Openweight Championship.   Shingo Takagi pinned Suzuki tonight.  Also, Taichi also pinned Suzuki earlier in the G1 Climax.   These will be two potential challengers for Suzuki's Title.

Shingo Takagi finishes with 8 points.

Minoru Suzuki finishes with 6 points. 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay has never beaten Okada according to the announcers.  This match starts of fast with Ospreay attacking Okada with aerial moves in and out of the ring.  Ospreay with Pip Pip Cheerio for a two count.  Okada blocks Stormbreaker.  Okada blocks an Oscutter.  Okada slaps on the Money Clip.   Ospreay gets to the ropes for a break.  Okada pushes him to the ring floor and throws him into the guardrail.  Okada hits a draping DDT to the floor.  Ospreay beats the count and back in the ring by 15.  Okada with a neckbreaker.  Okada with a sliding dropkick to the neck of Ospreay.   Two count.  Okada applies a rear chin lock, attacking the neck of Ospreay.   Ospreay with backdrop, a high kick and a standing shooting star press.  Two count.  Elbow by Okada, with a DDT.  Okada with a two count.  Ospreay hits a flipping spin kick to Okada's head.  Both men know each other's moves well.  Ospreay puts Okada on the top rope and dropkicks him to the floor.  Ospreay leaps over the turnbuckle and hits Okada on the floor.   Crazy!   He rolls Okada into the ring, then comes off the top rope with an elbow to the back of Okada's head.   Two count.  Okada blocks another Stormbreaker.  Ospreay starts kicking Okada in the head, almost mocking him.  Okada gets pissed, and clocks Ospreay with an elbow to the jaw.   Both exchange elbows.  Too much to call here.  Ospreay hits three super kicks.   Ospreay goes for Stormbreaker but Okada hits a lariat.  Okada with a dropkick, tombstone, and a Money Clip.   Ospreay gets to the ropes.   Okada with a shotgun dropkick which sends Ospreay sailing across the ring.  Okada goes for a lariat which Ospreay turns into a Spanish Fly.  Okada reverses out of Stormbreaker into a pin attempt.  Two count.  Okada's tombstone is reversed by Ospreay into a Poison Rana.   Ospreay with an Oscutter.   He holds on for Stormbreaker, but Okada reverses into the Money Clip.  Ospreay rolls out.   Okada hits lariat and applies the Money Clip again.   Ospreay's girlfriend, Bea Priestley, comes to ringside for the first time and cheers him on.   Okada hits a tombstone and reapplies the Money Clip.  Priestly enters the ring to distract the referee.  The Great O-Khan, aka Tomoyuki Oka, enters the ring and hits a iron claw slam to Okada.  Ospreay hits Stormbreaker and pins Okada.  Ospreay looks stunned and surprised.  Ospreay kisses Priestley as his music plays.  She points at Okada and Ospreay hits a Hidden Blade on Okada.   Ospreay flips off Okada and officially turns heel.  Ospreay tells Okada that he held him back.   Ospreay tells the camera that he and Priestley are the new power couple in New Japan.  

Wild match.  This was storyline set up for the future.  Ospreay turns heel and will probably team with The Great O-Khan to feud with CHAOS.  They may team for World Tag League as well.  

Kazuchika Okada finishes with 12 points.

Will Ospreay finishes with 12 points.

Kota Ibushi vs. Taichi

Both men start with kick strikes.  They exchange kicks to the face.  They exchange more kicks to each other's chest.    Taichi goes for a Dangerous Suplex but Ibushi rolls out.  They both trade high kicks to the heads.  More kicks.  Taichi with a sweeping low kick, taking out his knees.  Ibushi fights back with more kicks.  Taichi writhes in pain, grabbing his leg.  Ibushi hits Kamagoye.  Ibushi pins Taichi.

Fine for what it was.  A match of all kicks is not a really a wrestling match.  For Taichi and Ibushi, kicks are a part of their arsenal, but they are more than just kickers.   So it could have been better.  Ibushi is now in the lead with 14 points.  If he is the winner, he has a day to rest before the G1 finals on Sunday.  

Kota Ibushi finishes with 14 points.

Taichi finishes with 8 points. 

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White, with Gedo

White leaves the ring as the bell rings, which is his gameplan.  White slaps Ishii.  Ishii drops him with an elbow.  White heads to the floor and Ishii follows. Ishii gets thrown into the guardrail.  Back in the ring, White goes to work on Ishii's back and neck.  White with a neckbreaker.  Ishii hits a powerslam.  Ishii grabs his left ankle, which may have been tweaked.  Ishii attacks White in the corner with punches and elbows.  Ishii is limping.  White hangs Ishii up on the top rope and hits a DDT.  White with a running European Uppercut and a Blade Buster.  Two count.  White with a leg whip on Ishii.  Ishii shrugs off the pain as White starts throwing elbows.   White hyperextends the knee of Ishii which give White a breather.  Ishii tries for Sliding Lariat, but White hits a German Suplex.  White with a uranage.  White suplexes Ishii into the turnbuckle.  Ishii with German suplex on White into the turnbuckle.  They crawl into the ropes.  Ishii tries to suplex White from apron into the ring.  Gedo holds onto White's leg.  Red Shoes goes after Gedo.  White leg whips Ishii.  Ishii headbutts White in the chest and sends him flying into the guardrail.  Ishii sets up White for a superplex and hits it.   Two count.  White attacks Ishii with two leg whips.  He locks in a TTO leg submission.  Ishii screams in pain and struggles for the ropes.  Ishii gets a break in the ropes.  White picks up Ishii and chop blocks him.  Ishii fights him with chops.  White with a sleeper suplex.  White hits a Kiwi Krusher.  Two count.  Ishii tries a neckbreaker on White.  But Ishii drops White neck first on his bad knee.  Both are rolling on the mat in pain.  White attempts a kick but Ishii blocks it and hyperextends White's knee.  Ishii attacks White's knee.  Ishii applies an ankle locks and goes for a knee bar.  White pulls Red Shoes and Gedo enters the ring.  Ishii lets go of the hold to confront Gedo.  White knocks Ishii into Gedo and Red Shoes.  Gedo tries to attack Ishii, but Ishii goes for a suplex on Gedo.  White attacks Ishii and tries for a Bladerunner.  Ishii counters and pushes White into Gedo who falls from the ring.  Ishii hits a Sliding Lariat.  Two count.  White with a low blow.  White with a Regalplex.  Two count.  White goes for a DDT but Ishii nails him with a headbutt.  White with two sleeper suplexes.  They exchange reversals.   Ishii reverses out of a suplex and hits a cutter on White.  Gedo enters the ring and eats a lariat from Ishii.   White eats a lariat.   Ishii with a two count.    Ishii hits a brainbuster.  Ishii pins White!

Great match.  Ishii was a warrior in this whole G1 Climax.  He had many tough matches.  Ishii leaves the ringside limping first.  

Tomohiro Ishii finishes with 8 points.

Jay White finishes with 12 points.

G1 Climax 30 A Block FINAL Standings as of Oct. 16:

Wrestler

Points Earned

Jay White

12

Jeff Cobb

8

Kazuchika Okada

12

Kota Ibushi

14 (Winner)

Minoru Suzuki

6

Shingo Takagi

8

Taichi

8

Tomohiro Ishii

8

Will Ospreay

12

Yujiro Takahashi

 

2

White has words for Ibushi in the after match interview.  White says he will cheer for EVIL if he makes it to the G1 Climax Final against Ibushi.

 

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