It’s the penultimate night of the G1 Climax 30. Ryogoku is once again the venue, this time for B Block action. We were given another fantastic night of wrestling. We didn’t quite have the drama and talking points that the previous night gave but it was still a great night of action.
Tonight’s results in short…
Gabriel Kidd defeated Yuya Uemura by pinfall
YOSHI-HASHI (4pts) defeated Toru Yano (6pts) by pinfall
Juice Robinson (8pts) defeated Hirooki Goto (8pts) by pinfall
Hiroshi Tanahashi (8pts) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (10pts) by pinfall
KENTA (10pts) defeated Tetsuya Naito (12pts) by pinfall
SANADA (12pts) defeated EVIL (12pts) by pinfall
Gabriel Kidd v Yuya Uemura
With Yota Tsuji the king of the C Block and Young Lions through the G1 tour it was up to Kidd and Uemura to fight for pride. Kidd would draw level with Uemura in the unofficial C Block with a win thanks to a beautiful dropkick and Butterfly Suplex after a great technical encounter.
Final C Block standings:
14pts – Yota Tsuji
11pts – Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura
YOSHI-HASHI v Toru Yano
We all know by now that it doesn’t matter who Toru Yano is up against, friend or foe, he’s going to try and cheat. Yes, Yoshi-Hashi is a teammate in Chaos but that’s irrelevant. Yano of course was packing loads of athletic tape as usual which Yoshi-Hashi found out and disposed of. However, it would be Yoshi-Hashi who discovered his inner Yano. After spraying Yano in the eyes with disinfectant we saw Y-H take his bo staff and tape Yano’s hand to it through the railing, harking back to Yano doing the same to ZSJ with a chair earlier in the tournament. Where ZSJ slipped the chair through the railings Yano had to slip himself through the railings to escape. He eventually made it to the ring and got untangled. The Headhunter though wasn’t done with his own dastardly shenanigans as he low blowed Yano and rolled him for the 2 points and a great end to a G1 full of redemption for Yoshi-Hashi.
Hirooki Goto v Juice Robinson
A back and forth match saw Juice work on Goto’s injured shoulder but Goto still managed to escape Pulp Friction. Eventually, after a Left Hand of God, Juice finally connected with Pulp Friction on his third attempt to win the match to bring Juice up to 8 points alongside Goto. 8 points is probably par for the tournament so not bad for either guy although they would have wanted double figures.
Hiroshi Tanahashi v Zack Sabre Jr.
Tana hasn’t had a G1 to remember. He’s had some great matches but he’s way off the pace for the most part and never been a finals threat. He managed to get some momentum with a win over the Submission Master however. What we got as a spectacle was probably the best pure wrestling match of the competition. These 2 put on an absolute clinic with mat wrestling and counter holds at it’s best without ever having to leave the ring. Eventually, the Ace headed to the top for a High Fly Flow which ZSJ managed to catch into an armbar only for Tana to roll him up for the 3 count and 2 points. This takes Tana to a respectable 8 and even with the loss ZSJ is in double figures.
KENTA v Tetsuya Naito
With feelings still bitter from Kenta’s attack at the end of Wrestle Kingdom and Naito winning their war at Osaka Jo-Hall in February this was always going to be an interesting match. Add in Naito battling for a G1 Final spot that’s exactly what we got. Both men started slowly, with Naito knowing he had to win he wasn’t willing to make any errors at all. With this in mind Kenta used his briefcase to gain the advantage. The match was a slow burner that was building to a crescendo when Naito hit Valentia and was setting up a Destino only to be rolled up by Kenta for the 3. Naito was distraught knowing he was definitely out at this point. Kenta made sure to rub this in to both Naito and Hiromu Takahashi who was on commentary at ringside. The rumour going around was that if Naito was to win the G1 and thus get to choose his opponent at Wrestle Kingdom, he was going to choose his buddy Hiromu given their match in March was cancelled due to the pandemic. In the end, both their dreams were shattered.
EVIL v SANADA
After Naito’s loss it turned into a straight shoot between these two former tag partners. Sanada had to beat Evil, whereas Evil could get away with a win or any kind of draw. The match started slowly with Evil attempting to draw out Sanada while Sanada just played it cool as always. Eventually Dick Togo provided a distraction allowing Evil to get the snap suplex on some steel chairs at ringside. Togo would get involved not long after again but this time he found himself in a Paradise Lock alongside Evil.
Sanada was picking up momentum and hit Evil with two Mutoh Moonsaults, seemingly heading to the final, only for the Spoiler to pull Red Shoes out of the ring. Togo then attacked Sanada with a chair and he and Evil then used Magic Killer. This drew out Hiromu Takahashi who tried to attack Togo but would get a low blow for his troubles and a Magic Killer.
As the match started to get going again Togo would get involved again, this time with his garotte. He would however eat a super kick from Hiromu before Sanada sidestepped Evil who barged into the Spoiler. Sanada would then get the O’Conner Roll for the 3 count, the 2 points and a place in the final of the 2020 G1 opposite Kota Ibushi.
This was a monumental win for Sanada. He’s been on the cusp so many times. He’s had multiple shots at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and always made it deep into the New Japan Cup but every time he gets close to the promised land he comes up short. Will tomorrow finally be Sanada’s crowning glory? Or will Ibushi make it two G1’s in a row?
Final B Block standings:
12pts – SANADA, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito
10pts – Zack Sabre Jr., KENTA
8pts – Hirooki Goto, Juice Robinson, Hiroshi Tanahashi
6pts – Toru Yano
4pts YOSHI-HASHI
SANADA wins the block by virtue of his victories over both EVIL and Naito. He will face Kota Ibushi in the tournament final on Sunday.
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