The New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Climax continues and this week, we are back with three big matches from the A Block. Zack Sabre Jr. takes on Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi faces Bad Luck Fale, and Tetsuya Naito battles Yoshi-Hashi.
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
Since there are tons of matches in the G1 Climax and NJPW is only narrowing it down to the best of the bunch, not all of them will be aired on AXS TV. Before the action begins, Jim Ross and Josh Barnett take us through two matches that already took place. First, Yugi Nagata defeated Hiroko Goto to gain two points in the tournament. Second, Tomohiro Ishii picked up two points of his own by defeating Togi Makabe.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi – A Block
This is a very rare encounter. According to Jim Ross, there have been numerous times where Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi were booked to face each other but for whatever reason, something always got in the way of the match actually taking place. Thanks to the format of the G1 Climax and both men being placed in the same block, this was finally guaranteed to happen. Of course, these are the two most recognizable wrestlers for WWE fans who watched the Cruiserweight Classic, as both of these men advanced very far in the tournament, but they both failed to win.
Both men competed in their first G1 Climax matches a couple weeks ago with opposite results. Zack Sabre Jr. took on the IWGP Intercontinental Champion and the “ace” of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi and picked up a submission victory thanks to Tanahashi’s injured arm. Kota Ibushi faced the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito, and fell short in his opening bout. A win for Sabre gives him a good cushion, while a win for Ibushi is necessary to get back in the race.
Even though the match goes on for almost 16 minutes, the formatting of the show makes it seem like a two-minute long sprint. Sabre does his signature ground-based submission offense, but Ibushi is able to use his strength to power out of the brutal hold. Ibushi lifts Sabre up and jumps into a sit-out powerbomb to secure the win. Both men are now tied at 4 points. Winner: Kota Ibushi, +2 points (4 total)
Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
For those who are unfamiliar with Bad Luck Fale, he is the biggest member of the Bullet Club and New Japan Pro Wrestling as a whole. In previous G1 Climax tournaments, he has always finished with at least 10 points and as Josh Barnett points out, his size could be a factor in that due to the ability to absorb more punishment than smaller competitors. The 340 pounder takes on IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanashi who, as we have mentioned previously, lost his first bout to Zack Sabre Jr. As long as Tanahashi has an injured arm, he is the underdog regardless of his accolades.
While Bad Luck Fale is outside of the ring, Tanahashi hits a Frog Splash/Cross Body on the big man from the top rope. Tanahashi then hits a Slingblade on the apron and manages to barely get into the ring before the referee’s 20-count (In NJPW, the count-out limits at 20 instead of 10 that is seen in more Western promotions). Winner (via count-out): Hiroshi Tanahashi, +2 points (2 total)
Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
Tetsuya Naito looks to continue his momentum from a huge victory over Kota Ibushi when he faces Yoshi-Hashi. This is Yoshi-Hashi’s first featured match in the AXS TV special and he has quite the uphill battle ahead of him.
Naito counters Yoshi-Hashi into kind of a Destino, which Yoshi-Hashi kicks out of. Then, Naito hits Destino properly to pick up a second consecutive victory in the G1 Climax, getting him to the top of the leaderboard. Winner: Tetsuya Naito, +2 points (4 total)
