Mathew’s NJPW G1 Climax 30 A Block Results & Review: Day 11

Now that we are now past the halfway point of the tournament, things are now going to heat up as a win for anyone is important for them from here on out since just losing one or two more matches could cause you to get eliminated. Got another stacked show with some first time ever matches happening on top of that. We got one guy in the lead while 5 are tied for second with some able to catch up, and one still eliminated.

Let’s see if that changes as we…dive right in.

Star Rating System:

• 0 Stars: Dave Meltzer
• 1 Star: Vince Russo
• 2 Stars: Tony Schiavone
• 3 Stars: Eric Bischoff
• 4 Stars: Bruce Prichard
• 5 Stars: Jim Cornette

G1 Climax A Block Match
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi

Review: Time for our first match as we kick things off with Tomohiro Ishii taking on Yujiro Takahashi. Ishii was able to win his last two matches to try and catch up but if he loses one more, he’ll be out and will have a difficult time to catch up. Yujiro is still the only one out and could potentially take Ishii with him. Can he still stay in the game?

Yujiro attacks Ishii before he could get into the ring and he’s looking to hit the Pimp Juice but Ishii fights out of it but gets caught in a Reverse DDT on the entrance ramp! Yujiro gets control of the match once he gets Ishii back into the ring but it’s not enough to put him away yet. You can see how frustrated Yujiro is getting during every match since he still has no wins and is trying different methods to try and get a victory, but none of those ideas have been working thus far. Ishii would forearm Yujiro after having his hand bitten and went for a kick but was pushed down, failing to get some momentum in the match so far. Ishii finally gets to get a small comeback after hitting Yujiro with a Backdrop but Yujiro would give him a German Suplex after and it looks like Ishii is hurt. Yujiro charges at Ishii into the corner but Ishii would hit him before hitting a German Suplex into the corner.

Ishii gets Yujiro on the top rope and hits a Brainbuster but Yujiro would kick out at two. Ishii attempts a Powerbomb but Yujiro lads on his feet to hit a Lariat but Ishii stood still, hitting him with a forearm but Yujiro would reply with an Alabama Slam to get the pitbull down again. Yujiro catches Ishii with the Incolle Slam and Ishii kicked out at two. Ishii would hit Yujiro with a headbutt but Yujiro counters to get him up for the Suisha Otoshi and goes for the cover again but Ishii kicked out again! Yujiro gets a Superkick in before attempting to hit the Pimp Juice but Ishii would get behind him to hit a German Suplex. The two slowly get up as Yujiro kicks Ishii back a couple of times until Ishii hits a Jumping Enziguri onto Yujiro, hitting the ropes to hit a Lariat as Yujiro kicked out. Ishii fails to get him up for the Vertical Drop and once he does, Yujiro reverses it into a Brainbuster! Ishii attempts to hit the Brainbuster again but Yujiro counters into a Small Package but kicked out, leading to Yujiro to get him for the Backslide, turning it into the Pimp Juice but Ishii pushed him off to hit a headbutt! Ishii hits a Sliding Lariat before picking him up for the Vertical Drop Brainbuster and it’s over! Solid match by both men, almost believed Yujiro would get a victory.

Highlights from “#G1CLIMAX30 Night11” (Oct 7th)
Watch full matches on New Japan World!

Let's go!

The first of our group matches tonight sees Tomohiro Ishii (2-3) take on Yujiro Takahashi (0-5)!

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— njpwworld (@njpwworld) October 7, 2020

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a half

G1 Climax A Block Match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb

Review: Time for our next match-up as we have a first-time-ever taking place with Kazuchika Okada and Jeff Cobb. Okada was able to quickly catch up and if he can win here, he’ll be tied for first. Cobb is at risk of being eliminated if he loses here but a win here would also be huge for him in terms of beating their ace. Can Cobb beat Okada or will he be eliminated?

Basic lock-up to kick things off until Okada gets Cobb into the ropes, tapping his chest before backing up as he would usually do. Okada would quickly get him into a Headlock but Cobb pushes him off to hit a shoulder tackle, having a look of confidence right there but knows to not showboat due to who he’s dealing with. Okada attempts to jump over Cobb but is caught mid-air as he turns it into a Suplex, causing Okada to roll out of the ring to regroup. Okada would soon get control of the match after having Cobb hit the turnbuckle when he moved out of the way but still makes sure to sell his back despite the tape being torn off during the match. With how he’s selling it, you get the feeling that it will slowly come back to him in one of these matches to make it an even bigger downfall for him. With the way Cobb wrestles with the style he has, he can definitely be the one to cause a lot of damage to it win or lose, like how he tosses him into the turnbuckle twice and then tosses him over with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Great selling by Okada right here.

Cobb charges into Okada into the corner and lifts him up for a Back Suplex but Okada kicked out. Looked like Cobb was going to throw Okada into the turnbuckle but he fights off him, ducking his Lariats while running the ropes to get enough momentum to hit Cobb with his elbow, getting him down. Looked like Okada was going for the Reverse Neckbreaker but Cobb doesn’t budge, so Okada tries to kick him as Cobb answers with a Lariat. Cobb lifts him up Gutwrench style as he tosses him back and forth, still keeping the position until he tries to go for the Powerbomb as Okada lands a few punches in but it doesn’t work as Cobb gets to cradle him before slamming him back. Cobb calls for the Tour of the Islands but Okada gets off him to hit a chop before being able to get him down with a Dropkick. Okada hits the Tombstone and applies the Money Clip right away with Cobb fighting to get to the ropes as Okada turned it into a Backslide before they get up, attempting a Lariat but Cobb would give him a Dropkick of his own. Cobb looked like he was gonna go for the Rainmaker but he instead catches him for the Tour of the Islands as Okada rolled him into a Small Package as Cobb kicked out. Okada hits a Rolling Lariat but Cobb doesn’t budge as he goes for a Lariat, leading to Okada flipping him over but grabbed his legs to pin him and he gets the victory! Because of this loss, Cobb is now mathematically eliminated.

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a quarter

G1 Climax A Block Match
Minoru Suzuki vs. Will Ospreay

Review: Our second first-time-ever match takes place as Minoru Suzuki takes on Will Ospreay. The two of them are tied with three wins and two losses, meaning one of them is gonna be around the middle while the other will move to the top spot with Ibushi and Okada. This match has been requested ever since Will moved to the heavyweight division and now we’re getting it. Who will win this encounter?

Ospreay rushes in with a kick soon as the bell rang as Suzuki would do the same thing, leading the both of them to brawl with each other, which is smart when you’re against someone like Suzuki. The two would get outside the ring and it seemed like Ospreay had control but got tossed into the turnbuckle, catching himself to jump over and as he attempts to jump over, Suzuki catches his arm to apply the Fujiwara Armbar. Suzuki would torture his arm more, showing no mercy and it’s smart since that would kill his arsenal and would make it rather difficult to hit the Stormbreaker. When Suzuki is in killer grandpa mode, that’s when he performs better as this sadistic masochist, enjoying to hear you scream while he breaks your body apart. I’m loving the selling by Ospreay here and Suzuki goes a great job applying pressure onto the arm with submission holds. Seeing a little blood on Ospreay’s chest there, nice to show a little battle scar against the king. Ospreay would work through the pain for a moment as he hits Suzuki with a handspring kick to get him down for the moment.

Ospreay hits Suzuki with the Atomic Drop and gets him down with a chop before hitting a standing Shooting Star Press but Suzuki kicked out. Looked like Ospreay was going for the Pip Pip Cheerio but Suzuki catches his arm for the Fujiwara Armbar again, really stretching it out to hear him scream but Ospreay’s foot gets to the ropes. Suzuki rolls him over with the Snapmare and went for a Pentality as Ospreay blocked with his arms to try and soften the blow but his bad arm was kicked, making it much worse. Will is just losing this forearm battle since he’s just using his bad arm to punch him, only hurting himself in the process while Suzuki’s arms are fresh and ripe for abuse on his face. Ospreay goes over the ropes and kicks Suzuki before finally hitting the Pip Pip Cheerio on him, selling his arm in the process. Will goes to the top rope as Suzuki hits him to attempt the Kimura Lock but Ospreay gets him down, attempting the 450 Splash but misses. Suzuki charged at him with a kick as Ospreay would return with a kick of his own, hitting the Marufuji kick to get him down. Looked like Will was going for the handspring again but Suzuki catches him with the Sleeper but Will grabbed one of his arms to hit it on his shoulder and hits a stiff forearm to get him down again. Will misses the Hidden Blade and Suzuki kicked his bad arm, ran the ropes and it looked like Will was going for the Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker but Suzuki turned it into the Fujiwara Armbar once again! Suzuki quickly applies the Sleeper and looks like Will is fading but Suzuki tries to turn it into a Gotch Style Piledriver as Will spun around to hit an Enziguri! Will goes for the Stormbreaker but Suzuki turned it into the Sleeper once again, only for Will to reverse it into the Stormbreaker and gets the victory! I know the move looked sloppy but with how he sold his arm, it looked perfect and showed he just got lucky and barely survived it.

Rating: Eric Bischoff and three quarters

G1 Climax A Block Match
Jay White vs. Taichi

Review: Time for our semi-main event as the leader of Bullet Club takes on our Holy Emperor, Taichi. The two fought each other last year with Jay coming out the winner but with how much Taichi has improved, things could be different between them. Much like the previous match, only one will move up to the top and the other will be in the middle. Will Jay prevail again or does Taichi get another big win this year?

The bell rang as Jay would start to roll out of the ring but Taichi does the same thing as they two stared at each other. Taichi seems to be doing some mind games for this match as he mimics Jay again with the rolling out of the ring attempt. They get in the middle of the ring as Jay quickly goes for the Blade Runner, Taichi pushing him off as he rolls out of the ring. Taichi pretends he doesn’t see Jay running towards him as he kicked him in the gut and tosses him into the guardrail. With the two of them considered the top heels in the promotion, they would at least make it somewhat comical with the heel tactics while also taking it seriously at the same time. After choking Jay out with the cord, he would eventually get some payback on Taichi, tossing him into the guardrail and gets back in the ring, grabbing his microphone to tell Taichi to sing something to him. With how they act in the ring with their characters, it works out for both of them while making it a bit comical in the process. These two are usually the highlights of the night with their characters making the matches more interesting and do their best to make it memorable with how into it they are, how can you dislike either of these two guys?

Jay hits a quick DDT onto Taichi and picks him up to hit a Spinning Brainbuster as he went for the pin but kicked out. Jay went for the Uranagi but Taichi held his ground until he’s hit with a chop but Taichi pulls him in to attempt the Backdrop but now Jay won’t budge, leading Taichi to hit him in the back of the head as Jay’s face hits the ropes. Taichi hits the Kawada kicks on Jay’s head and before he could go for a Powerbomb, Jay gets his foot and hits a Dragon Screw. Jay hits a German Suplex as Taichi stands up, going after him as he’s caught in a Uranagi as it hits this time. Jay looks like he’s going for the Blade Runner but Taichi hits the Backdrop! The two start to get up as they would deliver strikes on each other but Taichi hits his Jumping Kick and goes for the Gedo Clutch but Gedo would distract the referee, making sure he didn’t get the pin. Taichi went to kick Jay below the belt but Gedo quickly turned the ref around to stop him and Jay pushes Taichi into the ref as Gedo gets involved now. Taichi catches Gedo’s foot to kick him below the belt and does the same to Jay before going for the Gedo Clutch again as Jay kicked out at two. Taichi hits the Last Ride Powerbomb but Jay kicked out again. The pants finally come off and Taichi went for a kick as Jay goes for the Blade Runner, Taichi reversing into the Black Memphisto but Jay tries the Blade Runner again but gets pushed off with Taichi hitting a stiff forearm. Taichi goes for the Superkick but Jay quickly catches him for the Blade Runner and gets the win!

Rating: Eric Bischoff and three quarters

G1 Climax A Block Match
Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi

Review: Time to close the day with our main event as we have Kota Ibushi taking on Shingo Takagi. They have crossed paths before but this is the first time these two will be fighting each other in singles competition and is considered a dream match. Ibushi is still in the lead and if he can win here, he’ll still be in first. Shingo only has two wins and if he wants to stay in the game, he has to win here or he’s out. Who will win in this dream match?

The two seem to be testing the waters with each other before kicking into high gear with a tie-up to the ropes, Shingo attempting to forearm him as he ducks, the two getting a strike or two in before Ibushi gets the kick on his chest. Ibushi goes for the Moonsault but Shingo rolled out of the way and attempts a Sliding Lariat as Ibushi ducked, the two staring at each other while the crowd applauds them. A good way to make it even between the both of them to test out their strengths to see what the other is dealing with since it is their first time fighting each other. The slow-acing start of this match works well since you don’t always need to do crazy stuff at the beginning of the match to get the crowd invested, you just tell the story in the ring and you work your way up to it so that it makes it more special when they send the match home. Shingo would have Ibushi up on his shoulders and makes him land on the ropes, hitting a Lariat to get Ibushi to the outside of the ring. Shingo showing his power here is exactly what he needed to do to dominate the match because if he really wants to step up to that next level, he needs to show it against someone like Ibushi, who is considered one of the top guys in the promotion, so a pairing with him makes him look like a big star and yeah, you can definitely see these two main event for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the future. Ibushi gets Shingo out of the ring and launches himself on top of him and seems to be getting the ball rolling now. Seems like no matter how many times Ibushi tries to strike him, Shingo always seems to have a counter reaction to hit him just as harder and make his hits impactful each time.

Shingo attempts the Blood Fall but Ibushi reverses it to try and Backslide him to turn it into the Kamigoye but Shingo would reverse it into the Blood Fall as it connects this time around. Kota would go for the Lariat but Shingo catches him with a quick Backdrop but Ibushi it already up and hits Shingo the Half Nelson Suplex as they go down. The two are on their knees, hitting each other back and forth until they get on their feet with the strikes continue, Ibushi getting some stiff kicks in but Shingo does a quick punch to the face to daze him. A barrage of forearms on Ibushi and goes for the German Suplex but Ibushi overshot it when he landed on his feet, tripping into the ropes but quickly gets up to kick the back of his head. Ibushi gets him up for the Last Ride but Shingo kicked out at two. Ibushi waits for Shingo to get up and looks to hit a knee but Shingo catches him for the Death Valley Driver. Shingo gets him up for The Last of the Dragon but Ibushi fights him off to attempt the Kamigoye as Shingo headbutts his gut but Ibushi responds with a kick. Ibushi goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Shingo ducks to hit the MADE IN JAPAN but Ibushi kicked out at two! Shingo hits Ibushi with a Pumping Bomber and does another one on the back of his head before hitting a third one, causing him to flip and Shingo goes for the pin and Ibushi kicked out. Shingo hits Lariat into the ropes and goes for the Pumping bomber as Ibushi catches him with a Lariat of his own. Ibushi hits the Boma Ye and as soon as Shingo kicked out, Ibushi pulls his knee pad down to call for the Kamigoye one more time, he hits it but Shingo catches his leg in time to soften the blow and lifts him for The Last of the Dragon and hits it, getting the victory! Great match and they did enough to make me want to see them go at it again!

／
G1 CLIMAX30広島大会(10/7)を公開‼️
本日はAブロック公式戦🏆
＼

同年デビュー同い年、因縁のある両者🐉⭐️‼️
Aブロックトップの飯伏、このまま独走となるか…🔥⁉️

🆚 @ibushi_kota × @Takagi__Shingo
📲 #njpwworld で配信中✨#G1CLIMAX30 全戦生配信👉https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw pic.twitter.com/u4FyKtLCO9

— njpwworld (@njpwworld) October 7, 2020

Rating: Bruce Prichard and a quarter

Overall: Another fun and successful night of the G1 with plenty of solid matches all across the board. For the next show, we got Shingo taking on Okada and it’s something I’m very much looking forward to seeing. Hope the rest of the show delivers and get more eliminations to happen.

Favorite Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi

Least Favorite Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb

Score: 8/10

A Block Standings:

1. Kota Ibushi: (4-2) (8 Points)
2. Jay White: (4-2) (8 Points)
3. Will Ospreay: (4-2) (8 Points)
4. Kazuchika Okada: (4-2) (8 Points)
5. Minoru Suzuki: (3-3) (6 Points)
6. Taichi: (3-3) (6 Points)
7. Shingo Takagi: (3-3) (6 Points)
8. Tomohiro Ishii: (3-3) (6 Points)
9. Jeff Cobb: (2-4) (4 Points) (Eliminated)
10. Yujiro Takahashi: (0-6) (0 Points) (Eliminated)