The first tournament match of G1 Climax 30 Night 17 saw former NEVER Openweight Champions face one another. Bullet Club member Yujiro looked for his first victory of the campaign against Jeff Cobb who has shown impressive form as of late.
Cobb came into the match with 6 points and coming off a victory against current Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay during G1 Climax 30 Night 15. While Yujiro took former IWGP Intercontinental Champion and G1 Climax 29 winner “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi to him limit on the same night in a losing effort.
Yujiro came out prepared to fight, showing the good form he’s displayed throughout his tournament campaign, while Cobb wanted to finish strong after defeating a champion in his previous match.
The former amateur wrestlers traded impressive suplexes on one another, yet it was Yujiro who used his walking cane for the first time during the tournament to give him the unfair advantage over Cobb.
Unfortunately for Cobb, who has dealt with such tactics from Bullet Club members as of late, he was caught off guard by Yujiro and was unable to regain his composure.
Yujiro was able to gain the fall at the 10 minutes and 30 seconds mark with his Pimp Juice technique giving him his first two points of the tournament.
While the victory likely didn’t push Yujiro towards a single title challenge opportunity, it does serve his pride as he was able to cash in a victory after coming close multiple times throughout the tournament.
While Jeff Cobb’s G1 Climax 30 campaign ended without a positive result, Cobb has put himself in a solid position to receive an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match sometime next year if he can retain his form.
It would not be unsurprising to see Cobb win that championship sometime during 2021.
