The opening tournament match of G1 Climax 30 Night 10 in the B Block saw two CHAOS members face off against one another. Former two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, five-time former NEVER Openweight Champion, and G1 Climax 18 winner Hirooki Goto met current KOPW (presumably King of Pro Wrestling) titleholder Toru Yano.
The two had wrestled one another in singles competition ten times before with an even 5-5 record. Only two of those matches went over 10 minutes in the past.
G1 Climax 30: Goto v Yano
Goto defeated Yano in 11 minutes and 41 seconds during the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) 35th Anniversary Tour on December 9, 2007. Goto was also able to defeat Yano in 16 minutes and 10 seconds during NJPW Resolution 2009 on April 5, 2009.
Coming into the match, Goto lost in only 3 minutes and 59 seconds to former four-time Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion and Suzuki-Gun member Zack Sabre Jr on G1 Climax Night 8, leaving with only 2 points and near G1 Climax 30 Finals elimination.
Yano lost to former two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson during his last tournament match, breaking his perfect tournament start and leaving him at 6 points.
At the start of the match, Goto immediately saw through his long-time unit mates tricks and was able to quickly gain the fall in 18 seconds by using his Goto Shiki clutch.
The win moves Goto to 4 points, keeping his slim hopes of a B Block bracket victory alive, while the loss leaves Yano on a respectable 6 points.
Goto has tough matches against another CHAOS unit mate Yoshi-Hashi (October 8th) and former eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi (October 11th).
If Goto is to make another G1 Climax run, he will need to win his next two matches. His contest against Tanahashi is one to watch for.
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