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The G1 Climax is a yearly 19-night tournament held by NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) to determine the most tenacious member of the roster. For the first time, all of the events will be available legally outside of Japan without a time delay via the NJPWWorld streaming service and with a delay on AXS TV.
There are two blocks with 10 fighters per block. Each fighter will have a match with every other fighter in their block, and they are awarded 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and none for a loss. The highest scoring fighter from each block will face off at the Finale. Night 2 was a B-block night, opening with 4 short tag matches.
Click through for the results and my commentary, and don't forget to give me yours on Sportskeeda's Twitter!
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Juice Robinson, Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura
No frills in the entrances of these two teams made of two veterans and one young lion. This match started and rode along on the grappling and brawling talent in the ring. When Robinson and Goto took each other on, the match became electric.
Henare took the fight to Goto, a G1 Climax winner, taking the match with an uranagi. Robinson left the ring with the blue ice pack on his groin. Will this affect his match tomorrow?
Results: Juice Robinson, Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji def. Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura via pinfall
Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita vs. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
Team Moxley entered first through the crowd, his young lion Umino at his side holding Mox’s title and wearing Mox’s shirt. The audience adored this duo. The sheer mass of Cobb contrasted sharply with his young lion Narita, a slimmer pale man.
Narita and Umino set the technical tone of the match, and the highlights were the interplay between Moxley and Umino. Still, it was Cobb who delivered his Tour of the Islands finisher and pinned Umino for the victory.
Result: Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita def. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino via pinfall
CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)
White, Takahashi, and Owens entered with the wicked Goto by their side, but CHAOS’ member YOSHI-HASHI took control early. Goto’s interference signaled Bullet Club to take the fight outside of the ring.
BC worked together throughout in near-perfect harmony attempted to eat through YOSHI-HASHI’s resources, but Ishii returned the pain to White in short order. The men traded suplexes and DDTs before tagging in Yano and Owens.
Yano kicked out of Owens’ pin, but Yano ended up pinning Owens instead after the BC member hit the referee with the loose post guard.
Result: CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii) def. Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) via pinfall
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru &Taichi)
BUSHI’s mask, Takagi’s long coat, and Naito’s casual baseball look defined Los Ingobernales’ attitude for the match. Suzuki-gun kept it simple while dominating the early phase of this match with Taichi in the lead.
The crowd wanted Naito to regain momentum, but then THE PANTS CAME OFF. Taichi continued to hold the pace until Naito could tag Takagi in. After a scuffle, BUSHI took the pin from Taichi.
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru &Taichi) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) via pinfall
G1 Climax A-Block matches began next.
Lance Archer (2) vs. Bad Luck Fale (2)
Gedo and his friendly kendo stick accompanied Fale to the ring, and Archer’s entrance took down all of the young lions in his path. Commentary let us know: “Hey don’t worry, we’ll grow more.” Both men won their first matches and look to take an early lead on Day 2 with a win.
Fale is a tank in every situation, and Archer’s seething hate-fuelled his attacks on every side of the tank. Fale took the fight into the crowd and garnered the boos he so craves. Back in the ring, Fale literally walked all over Archer, but Archer’s sheer rage brought him back to life. That didn’t stop Gedo from interfering stick-first.
Archer kicked out of Fale’s superplex and took Fale’s Grenade for his trouble. More interference couldn’t keep Archer down, and he delivered a chokeslam to the Rogue General before his EBD Claw finisher ended Fale’s chance at 2 more points.
EBD means Everybody Dies, and we're sure to not forget it.
Result: Lance Archer (4) def. Bad Luck Fale (2)
SANADA (2) vs. Will Ospreay (0)
SANADA’s mask still lends enough of royal intimidation as to be unsettling, and his entrance is crowned by that attitude. Osprey gave the crowd a cheeky smile, matching his elaborate coat to his big gold title belt. Strong grappling opened this match, but a series of flashy reversals got the crowd invested.
Osprey’s superhero landings were a delightful window dressing to the fight. Both men are known for their big personalities, and their techniques were well-matched. SANADA trapped Osprey in the ropes with a paradise lock and chipped away at his stamina with ease. Still, Osprey relied on his acrobatic style to remain a threat.
A Sasuke Special was delivered from Osprey to SAMADA with love, barely missing the English announce table. Leapfrogs, dropkicks, and dives over the top rope kept the match even and quick-paced. It was a delight to see an attempted Reverse Bloody Sunday (Prince Devitt, fka Finn Balor, used that as his finisher).
SANADA pulled off a TKO before the two men, exhausted for the moment, traded blows like the Pikachus in the first Pokemon film. They both rallied with superkicks and Osprey’s shooting star press failed to put SANADA down.
Both men’s continual pinfall attempts kept the crowd on edge. Osprey’s Stormbreaker finisher finally put Osprey away. The comparisons between Osprey and Devitt continued, and it was easy to see why during Day 3
Results: Will Osprey (2) def. SANADA (2)
Kazuchika Okada (2 pts) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (0 pts)
Cocky title holder Sabre Jr. looked ready to face the Rainmaker, who approached the ring covered in royal jewel tones and bright gold fringe. His coats are always a fashionable joy, as they stand for frivolous spending and peacock tendencies.
Complex floor grappling showed off the men’s versatility. Sabre Jr. is as talented as he is heelish, so while Okada brought the audience to his side, Sabre Jr. was the star here. He recovered from a strong kick to tangle the Okada up in his long limbs, attempting 2 pinfalls, both pushing Okada to the count of 2.
Sabre Jr.’s calf crusher/banana split combination hold took a good deal of fight out of Okada. Still, Okada’s strikes and superior brutality evened the odds once more. Sabre Jr.’s submission-based defense wasn’t enough to stop Okada from delivering a tombstone.
He rallied to tangle Okada in a black widow, but the hold was broken when Okada found the closest bottom rope. Stiff strikes, dropkicks, and submission-based pin attempts gave Okada the opening he needed to attack Sabre Jr. with his Rainmaker finisher.
Result: Kazuchika Okada (4) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (0)
Kota Ibushi (0) vs. EVIL (0)
EVIL’s entrance will not ever stop being intimidating but the Golden Star Kota Ibushi’s simple entrance reminded everyone who the good guy was. He was fighting with a slighting injured ankle, and EVIL focused on that after the men traded a slew of elbow strikes to the jaws and necks.
Red Shoes Unno was the referee, and his spirited sense of justice spiced up this already high-stakes match. EVIL’s ankle lock kept Ibushi in pain. Ibushi broke the hold and the crowd rallied behind him as he absorbed strike after strike to the chest and neck.
A dropkick changed the tide but not for long. Ibushi’s ankle injury limited his strong arsenal of kicks. EVIL still found the mat after EVIL failed to complete his finisher and Ibushi delivered a moonsault. EVIL completed a stunning superplex from the top rope and hit Ibushi with a lariat.
Ibushi gave EVIL a German suplex, and he received one as well before both men fell to each others’ running clotheslines. EVIL went back to Ibushi’s angle, and Unno had to get involved in separating the men once Ibushi found the bottom rope.
EVIL shoved Referee Unno into Ibushi, disrupting the flow of the match, and picked out of a rallying pin attempt at the 2-count. EVIL’s scorpion deadlock wasn’t enough to keep Ibushi from the bottom rope again, but his stamina was low after applying the hold.
Ibushi prepared his finisher with one knee bared. but EVIL didn’t stay down for the count. Ibushi bared the other knee and traded blows until Evil’s combination of finishers, Darkness Falls and Everything is Evil, ended the onslaught.
Result: EVIL (2) def. Kota Ibushi (0) via pinfall
KENTA (2) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (0)
KENTA’s simple entrance was all he needed to bring the crowd’s interest to the Day 3 main event. He was a grumpy guy for the duration of the match, and it added a lot of flavours. Multiple-time G1 Climax winner Tanahashi came to the ring with fewer points, far more G1 experience, and a coat with more embellishments than could ever be tasteful. He was magnificent.
Unno was the referee. The men sized each other up extensively, grappling for short periods as well. KENTA slapped Tanahashi, ready to humiliate him. Tanahashi’s elbow took the wind out of KENTA, who soon found himself hurled into the barricade.
That woke KENTA up enough to return the favour with interest in the form of a DDT outside the ring. KENTA nearly threw Tanahashi into the Japanese announce table but wasn’t able to keep him down for the full 3-count once they were back in the ring. That inspired KENTA to get serious and beat Tanahashi down with kicks, holds, and stiff knees.
Tanahashi’s ability to take damage gave him an opening to Dragon Screw KENTA. Kenta’s signature kicks lead to and aerial assault soaring dropkick and double stomp, nearly gaining him the win. Tanahashi’s Dragon screw leg whip and the same, inverted, were textbook perfection.
He put KENTA in a Texas cloverleaf hold, dragging him away from the ropes. That energy burst left an opening for KENTA to DDT Tanahashi. Tanahashi stopped any momentum KENTA got after that though with a painful-looking slingblade.
A lariat from KENTA didn’t stop Tanahashi from another slingblade, but KENTA got his knees up to foil Tanahashi’s aerial finishing move. His own finisher, GTS, ended the match and garnered KENTA 2 more points to finish the Night 3 event.
KENTA offered Tanahashi a sporting handshake, and Tanahashi didn't accept it. One day, their hands might meet in respect.
Result: KENTA (4) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (0)
