A couple weeks ago, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) started a weekly series on AXS TV showing an abridged version of this past summer’s G1 Climax. While last week focused on the A Block of competitors, this week focuses on the B Block. Matches include Juice Robinson vs. Satoshi Kojima, EVIL vs. Sanada, and Minoru Suzuki vs. IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega.
Just as a reminder, the tournament is set up with a point system as opposed to a typical single-elimination format. One win of any kind (pinfall, submission, disqualification, or count-out) grants the victor two points. A 30-minute draw grants both competitors one point and all matches will have a 30-minute time limit. If you lose, of course, you get no points. There are two blocks of competitors, the A Block and the B Block. The G1 Climax is setup in a Round Robin style, meaning that each wrestler will face every other competitor in their respective block before the tournament is over.
Highlights
Before the full match action gets underway, commentators Jim Ross (who also does commentary for the Mae Young Classic) and Josh Barnett go over some highlights to get the viewers up to speed. The highlights show Tama Tonga defeating Michael Elgin and Kazuchika Okada forcing Toru Yano to tap out. Both Tonga and Okada now have two points each in their start in the G1 Climax.
Juice Robinson vs. Satoshi Kojima – B Block
Because there is so much action, not all matches can be shown in full throughout this one-hour long weekly series. We saw that earlier with the highlights, but this match is being aired in progress, so it is hard to tell how long the match has been going on before they decided to start airing it.
WWE fans might recognize Juice Robinson, who used to work in NXT as the very pro-environment CJ Parker. The former NXT Superstar seems to have benefitted greatly from joining New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he can compete against some of the best athletes in the world while also being taken seriously as a competitor.
At 46 years old, Satoshi Kojima has been wrestling since the early 1990s, competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling throughout his 20+ year long career. American fans will recognize his accomplishments in NWA, holding the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships once each. Kojima is also a former two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the 2010 G1 Climax when he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals.
While Kojima has the experience advantage, Robinson picks up the win with a move known as “Pulp Friction.” Winner: Juice Robinson, +2 Points
EVIL vs. Sanada – B Block
This is an interesting match, considering that both EVIL and Sanada are part of the popular group Los Ingobernables de Japon. The group, of course, is led by Tetsuya Naito, who earned his first G1 Climax victory last week against Kota Ibushi.
Both men are two of the current NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions, along with Bushi, but they also have their own accomplishments as singles wrestlers. EVIL has held the NEVER Openweight Championship, while Sanada has held numerous titles in All Japan Pro Wrestling, as well as the TNA X Division Championship under the name “The Great Sanada.”
The teammates don’t hold anything back from each other, knowing how important this match is. After a ton of back and forth action, Sanada finally hits a moonsault to put EVIL away. Winner: Sanada, +2 Points
Kenny Omega vs. Minoru Suzuki
If you have never watched NJPW, you have probably still heard Kenny Omega’s name dozens of times. Omega has been “the guy” in Japanese wrestling for the past few years and the Bullet Club leader has tons of accolades to back that up. He is the current and only IWGP United States Champion, the 2016 G1 Climax winner, holder of almost every championship in Japan and he has put on matches that have been rated 6+ stars on a five-star scale. That is just NJPW, too. He has topped PWG, DDT Pro Wrestling, and wherever else he goes.
Minoru Suzuki is currently the leader of a group called Suzuki-gun and the 49-year old competitor is also the current NEVER Openweight Champion. Suzuki has won numerous championship in NJPW and AJPW, and he has had Match of the Year candidates against the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi and the current WWE United States Champion, AJ Styles.
Fighting through a knee injury, Kenny Omega is barely able to put Minoru Suzuki up on his shoulders, but he has just enough in him to land the One-Winged Angel to pick up the victory. Winner: Kenny Omega, +2 Points
