Back in southern Honshu in the city of Okayama we see the return of B Block action. We saw A Block really tighten up yesterday but B Block went the opposite way tonight as the top of the table spread out somewhat.
Here’s a quick rundown of the night’s results:
Gabriel Kidd defeated Yuya Uemura by pinfall
Hirooki Goto (6pts) defeated YOSHI-HASHI (2pts) by pinfall
Zack Sabre Jr. (6pts) defeated Toru Yano (6pts) by submission
SANADA (6pts) defeated KENDA (4pts) by pinfall
Tetsuya Naito (10pts) defeated Juice Robinson (6pts) by pinfall
EVIL (8pts) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (6pts) by pinfall
Gabriel KIdd v Yuya Uemura
A crucial win for Nottingham’s Gabriel Kidd thanks to a double arm suplex. Gabe now joins tonight’s defeated opponent, Uemura, on 7 points as they chase down Yota Tsuji at the top of the unofficial C Block:
10pts – Yota Tsuji
7pts – Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura
YOSHI-HASHI v Hirooki Goto
Yoshi-Hashi went for Goto’s injured right shoulder early. The Fierce Warrior fought through the pain, even battling out of a Kimura/Butterfly Lock combination to hit the GTR for the win. Goto is now in the 6 point chasing pack.
Toru Yano v Zack Sabre Jr.
I make no apology in saying this was my favourite match of the night. If you have read my previous recaps you will know I am a total Yano mark and this match was just about perfect for my tastes. A wonderful combination of great wrestling and comedy. ZSJ bears a lot of similarities to Kurt Angle in that you can buy him as a legitimate wrestling badass 2 minutes after he’s involved in a comedy segment that had you chuckling away.
Yano looked like he had the win after he taped ZSJ’s hand to a chair while his arm was through the railing but he got the chair through the railings and back into the ring on the 19 count. Yano got in at 19 count after ZSJ dragged Yano up the aisle in an ankle lock. Yano hung with ZSJ for most of the matches wrestling segments showing off some of his long forgotten amatur skills but it was a combination Ankle Pick/Figure 4 that won the match for ZSJ who joins Goto and Yano in the chasing 6 point pack.
SANADA v KENTA
After the ring disinfectant break we saw LIJ and Bullet Club lock horns. Kenta attempted to smash in Sanada’s head with the US Challenge briefcase (looking a bit battered from Tanahashi’s head) but Sanada ducked and dropkicked it into Kenta. Eventually Sanada rolled up Kenta for the 2 points. This means that my pick for the G1, Kenta, is now just about out of it with 4 points. Don’t ask me for betting advice. Sanada though is slowly rising through the ranks and is that 6 point pack.
Juice Robinson v Tetsuya Naito
Juice is almost there. He’s one big win of being a genuine top contender. Tonight wasn’t that big win though. This was a fantastic back and forth encounter where Juice could have beat the Double Champion at almost any point. It took Naito 2 Destinos to get the job done but Juice came out looking like a bigger star because of this match. Naito now leads at 10 points. If Naito wins 2 of his last 3 matches then he will be in the final.
EVIL v Hiroshi Tanahashi
We saw Evil at his most evil here. He snap suplexed Tana’s biggest fan, Yota Tsuji, on some steel chairs and used every dirty trick in the book. Every time the Ace looked like he was going to win though Dick Togo was there to… erm… spoil it. Tana has the Texas Cloverleaf on Evil then Togo gets Tana with the garrote. Tana is about to hit the High Fly Flow then Togo throws a chair at Tana, which he catches, but it gives Evil enough time to recover. An Everything is Evil later and the leader of Darkness Club goes into second on his own with 8 points.
B Blocks standings after night 12:
10pts – Tetsuya Naito
8pts – EVIL
6pts – Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Zack Sabre Jr., SANADA, Juice Robinson, Hiroshi Tanahashi
4pts – KENTA
2pts – YOSHI-HASHI
Check out our official store at PRO WRESTLING TEES, show us your support and buy a shirt. You can visit our store by clicking here.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter @BodySlamNet and on Instagram @BodySlamDotNet
Also check us out on Facebook and give us a like and share by clicking HERE.
