The marquee match of G1 Climax 30 Night 12 saw former eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi face former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ and Bullet Club member Evil to determine who would move to 8 points within the B Block.
Tanahashi was coming off a hard-fought win against another Bullet Club member and former NEVER Openweight Champion Kenta, while Evil was able to defeat former two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson during G1 Climax 30 Night 10.
Tanahashi was able to fight back against Evil, who relied on Dick Togo for momentary distraction early in the match. As a staple throughout his career, Tanahashi showed that he remains capable of fighting through pain to put himself in a position to win.
However, since joining the Bullet Club, Evil has shown that his willingness to do anything to win is what has taken him to the top — not an increase in his wrestling form.
Evil’s manager Dick Togo helped him survive Tanahashi’s comeback, allowing him to mount an offensive against the prolific champion. Yet, Tanahashi was again able to fight back against his bruising opponent.
Evil would gain the fall and move to 8 points at the 19 minutes and 58 seconds mark to put himself in a strong position during the final days of tournament competition.
Evil has IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ and Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) leader Tetsuya Naito (October 11th), former two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion and CHAOS member Hirooki Goto (October 14th), and his former Cold Darkness tag team partner and LIJ member Sanada (October 17th) to finish G1 Climax 30.
Tanahashi has Goto (October 11th), Sanada (October 14th), and former four-time Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr (October 17th) to finish his tournament campaign.
