G1 Climax Night 5 saw two-time and current NEVER Openweight Champion Suzuki-Gun leader Minoru Suzuki face former NEVER Openweight Champion Jeff Cobb in A Block competition.
Suzuki came into the match with a victory over CHAOS member Tomohiro Ishii and a loss to fellow Suzuki-Gun member Taichi thus far in G1 Climax 30. Cobb started his campaign with a loss to Taichi before following it up with a victory over Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) member and former NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi.
Cobb, a former Olympian Greco Roman wrestler and Suzuki a well-trained Catch Wrestling shooter (with a long history in Mixed Martial Arts) began the match with an amateur wrestling flavor, with both looking for the advantage on the mat.
Eventually, Suzuki and Cobb would stand the match up and began exchanging blows. Cobb would use several suplexes to give Suzuki some trouble, yet Minoru Suzuki didn’t back down from the challenge Cobb presented.
Suzuki would gain the fall over Cobb at the 9 minutes and 24 seconds mark with his Gotch Style Piledriver technique to move his G1 Climax 30 A Block record to 2-1. Cobb fell to 1-2, yet is proving that he will take everyone he sees competition to their limit.
While Suzuki isn’t favored to win G1 Climax 30 by oddsmakers, he remains a consistent threat for every wrestler taking part in the A Block. With matches coming up against some of the tournament favorites, Suzuki’s form could end up determining who ends up advancing to the tournament finals.
Cobb is searching for a singles championship match within New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), as he came close to securing the New Japan Cup USA 2020 and an opportunity against IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.
It will be interesting to follow how both fair throughout the rest of the tournament.
