New Japan Pro Wrestling continued its G1 Climax tournament today from Kagoshima. This card featured matches from the B Block.
Warning: Spoilers From Here!
Tama Tonga def. Tomohiro Ishii
Tama Tonga pinned Tomohiro Ishii in a pedestrian opener. As expected, there was a ton of interference from Tonga Loa. Ishii spent most of the match fighting the two, and eventually, three-on-one advantage.
.@Tama_Tonga "Veleno"#NJPWWorld Watch now▶︎https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP
8.1 #NJPW #G128【B Block】 pic.twitter.com/rgks7aUeu9— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 1, 2018
Loa brought a chair into the ring, which Tama and Ishii used to hit each other with signature moves. Afterward, Bad Luck Fale came into the ring to interfere, though his contribution was negligible. Once all the chaos cleared, Ishii went for a Brainbuster, but Tama countered with a Gun Stun for the victory.
This gives Tama Tonga four points, same as Ishii.
Juice Robinson def. SANADA
United States Champion Juice Robinson pinned SANADA. The two started the match performing counter after counter. They came to blows on the outside of the ring and were almost simultaneously counted out at 20 before rolling back inside.
Juice stated to get advantage on SANADA, hitting him with a cannonball followed by a Crossbody. SANADA regained the momentum, countering Juice’s moves with dropkicks. Juice then countered SANADA’s skull end submission into one of his own before hitting the latter’s signature Moonsault.
Juice Robinson "Knuckle Part"#NJPWWorld Watch now▶︎https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP
8.1 #NJPW #G128【B Block】 pic.twitter.com/2aYw21MVIO— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 1, 2018
Robinson ripped the cast off his injured left hand and looked prepared to use it. There was a lot of back and forth, but Juice finally struck SANADA with a left and hit pulp friction for his second victory.
Juice now has four points, while SANADA remains at six. This is a huge loss for SANADA, who now does not have probability on his side for this tournament.
Tetsuya Naito def. Toru Yano
Tetsuya Naito pinned Toru Yano in an expectedly comedic match. Yano was impatient while Naito kept his cool and played mind games. The two did their signature poses to pop the crowd before brawling outside the ring. Yano threw Naito into the barricades and took out his tape, but Naito fought back, taping Yano outside. Yano desperately tried to free himself before the 20 count, and he was forced to drag the fencing to the ring.
More brawling ensued, with Naito smacking Yano with one of his DVDs. Back in the ring, Naito got the heat on Yano, but Yano tore off one of the ring posts to fight back. Naito threw Yano into the exposed turnbuckle and struck him with the ring post.
.@s_d_naito "DVD attack"#NJPWWorld Watch now▶︎https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP
8.1 #NJPW #G128【B Block】 pic.twitter.com/b2k2JXvp30— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 1, 2018
Yano was able to fight back, throwing Naito into the turnbuckle three times to get multiple near falls. After more shenanigans, Naito was able to hit Destino for the victory.
Naito now has 10 points, while Yano remains at two.
Kenny Omega def. Zack Sabre Jr.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega pinned Zack Sabre Jr. with a roll-up. This match started how you’d expect, as Sabre and Omega took to the ground and countered each others’ armbars. More grappling ensued, but Omega was able to take things out of the ring. The story of the match was clear: Sabre was simply trying to out-wrestle Omega, who was doing what it took to make it his style of match.
Sabre kept trying to work Omega’s injured heel, which Kevin Kelly pointed out was a running plotline on Being The Elite. Back in the ring, Omega tried to regain advantage with chops, but Sabre kept kicking at Kenny’s legs to great success. Every time Kenny attempted a signature, ZSJ was able to counter into a submission.
.@KennyOmegamanX "V trigger"#NJPWWorld Watch now▶︎https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP
8.1 #NJPW #G128【B Block】 pic.twitter.com/ErsTLr0DTS— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 1, 2018
Eventually, Omega was able to hit his power moves to regain advantage. Any submission ZSJ attempted, Omega countered with a devastating maneuver. Kenny hit the V-Trigger and went for a One-winged Angel, but ZSJ countered it into an armbar attempt. He then countered a V-Trigger into a single-leg Boston Crab on Kenny’s injured leg.
Sabre kept working Omega’s injured heel, applying a litany of submissions to make the champ tap. Kenny fought back, but Sabre had an answer for everything. Finally, however, Omega hit a V-Trigger and desperately rolled up Sabre for the 3.
Sabre remains at six points, while Omega reaches 12 and is undefeated, leading the B block.
Kota Ibushi def. Hirooki Goto
The ‘Golden Star’ Kota Ibushi pinned NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto in a very good, but not great main event. Ibushi is from Kagoshima, so he was the hometown hero going into this one. The setup was simple: Ibushi’s agility vs. Goto’s power.
Ibushi kept going for crowd-pleasing high spots, but Goto focused on power moves that damaged Ibushi’s neck. Ibushi was able to muster up the fighting spirit to stay toe-to-toe with Goto, but Goto was just so much more powerful. Thankfully for Ibushi, however, he was able to avoid the more devastating maneuvers. This included reversing a top rope code red attempt from Goto.
#G128 Bブロック公式戦 @510njpw VS @ibushi_kota ！
地元凱旋で勢いに乗る飯伏に対し、NEVER王者の実力を見せつける後藤！
視聴＆登録▷https://t.co/NxJKtVK94f
#NJPW #NJPWWorld #G128 pic.twitter.com/fRAUBTK9Wp— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 1, 2018
Ibushi moved out of several GTR attempts, but Goto kept going for the neck. Ibushi managed to fight back and hit a Last Ride Powerbomb, but Goto kicked out. Finally, Ibushi had enough, and hit the Kamigoye knee strike for the victory. After the match, Ibushi thanked the hometown crowd for the support, promising to go all the way.
Kota Ibushi is now at eight, while Goto remains at six, though he was mathematically eliminated with Omega’s victory today. The B Block now all comes down to Ibushi, Omega, and Naito.
The next batch of G1 matches is tomorrow at 9:30 GMT. The main event is Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki.
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