The G1 Climax Night 5 A Block marquee match was the matchup that is becoming the most intriguing rivalry within New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) five-time former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, G1 Climax 22 & 24 winner, and CHAOS member “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada faced former IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental, and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White.
Switchblade entered the match coming off a G1 Climax Night 3 victory over former IWGP Intercontinental Champion and G1 Climax 29 winner “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi. While Okada was able to defeat Bullet Club member Yujiro.
Switchblade was 2-1 over Okada in singles matches coming into G1 Climax 30 Night 5, however, his one defeat to Okada was the most high profile match between them as Jay White failed to make a successful V1 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on April 6, 2019 at Madison Square Garden during the G1 Supercard.
The match began as with the typical mind games Jay White has been known for, calling back to the days of The Great Muta during his time in NJPW. The tactic did work in getting under the skin of Okada, who seemed off his form as the match passed the opening several minutes of action.
While Switchblade was on the receiving end of a lot of offense, he was able to show the courage that has made him one of the fastest risers in NJPW over the past 15 years.
Finally, at the 18 minutes and 48 seconds mark White was able to gain the fall over Okada with his Bladerunner technique. With the win, Switchblade moved to an impressive 3-0 start to his G1 Climax 30 campaign with wins over Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) member and former NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi and the aforementioned Ibushi.
With losses to both White and Ibushi, Okada began his campaign at 1-2. However, both will likely go on to be factors on the final day of A Block bracket competition.
