NJPW G1 Climax Night 15: Penultimate A-Block Matches for Okada, Ibushi

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EVIL's fans are deeply dedicated, and they were equal in sound if not number to Okada's contingent. EVIL still has the most intimidating entrance gear, and his face paint looks just like my face if I fall asleep in my makeup! Okada is a total rockstar wherever he goes, so his entrance was perfectly gold and purple. Red Shoes Unno refereed.

Okada and EVIL were acutely aware that if EVIL won, the A-block standings would open up considerably. Once the bell sounded, the veterans with so much at stake took their time locking up. EVIL put Okada into a headlock that Okada had the strength to power out of.

They grappled again, putting Okada back under EVIL's control. When EVIL put distance between them for a powerful move, Okada threw him with a hip toss. Okada connected a neckbreaker that stunned EVIL.

EVIL reeled and Okada's elbow to the neck kept him weak enough to take a shoulder throw and a sliding face kick. EVIL went outside the ring, fighting back by kicking Okada into the blue barriers and flipping him over them with a clothesline. Okada recovered a bit on his way back to the ring; he beat the 20-count easily.

Neither Okada or EVIL kept a decisive lead, though EVIL's rest holds took quite a lot of energy to fight out of. Okada dodged a senton from EVIL to take a moment on his back to breathe.

EVOL found his feet and hauled Okada up for more, but he flew when EVIL went outside the ring. He took EVIL to the floor and rolled him back to the ring. He cornered EVIL before delivering a textbook DDT. Okada wasn't able to keep EVIL down for the 3-count.

EVIL's rally put Okada into the corner for a bronco buster, and Okada barely kicked free. Okada took a flapjack to EVIL, taking the wind out of the LIJ member. Still, EVIL was feisty enough to dodge Okada's neckbreaker attempt and punished Okada's leg.

Okada was in the corner and EVIL ran in for the attack, but Okada, with his second chance, delivered a neckbreaker and a bodyslam before climbing the ropes. Okada's elbow drop wasn't where he stopped either; he called for the wide shot and attempted a Rainmaker finisher. EVIL fought free.

Okada put Evil on the top rope and dropkicked him over the ringpost and into the arena floor. Rolling out of the ring to bring EVIL back, Okada took a moment to slam him into the blue barricades. He proceeded to kick EVIL over them, but EVIL threw a chair at Okada when he went for a third move.

EVIL brought out two more chairs to set up for his Swing for the Fences move, in which EVIL snapped one chair around Okada's neck and swung a second chair into it like a baseball bat. When EVIL brought him back to the ring, Okada stayed in the corner and absorbed damage.

EVIL pulled Okada up and slammed him to the mat from the top rope. Evil couldn't finish his Everything Is Evil finisher, but Okada also couldn't make his dropkick connect at first. Once he did, both men stayed down for quite some time. They stood, finally, forehead to forehead, and traded stiff strikes to the head, neck, and chest.

A trio of uppercuts put EVIL on his knees but Okada didn't use his opening well. It was Okada who suffered, but he fought out of EVIL's Darkness Falls finisher in the end. Okada delivered a tombstone to EVIL, prompting them to reverse finisher attempts until EVIL made Okada hit the mat.

A pinfall attempt put Okada in place to eat a Darkness Falls finisher, but he got his shoulder up at the very last moment to the crowd's elation. Okada fought for his Rainmaker to connect, and he found a short one, and then a full one, to deliver to EVIL.

EVIL reversed a third Rainmaker into a pair of suplexes, leaving EVIL to find his feet first. EVIL's lariat missed but Okada's kick didn't, and the call for 5 minutes remaining signaled another dropkick from the Heavyweight Champion.

EVIL gambled everything on a headbutt and lariat and it didn't quite pay off. Okada is a master of beating a 3-count. His short-armed Rainmaker and patented dropkick led to a spinning Rainmaker.

One last full Rainmaker finished everyone's climb to the top except Ibushi, and Okada took the 2 points in a decisive win.

Results: Kazuchika Okada (14) def. EVIL (8) via pinfall

See you tomorrow for Night 16, as the B-block goes hard!