Time to rest is scarce with a tournament like the G1 Climax, and it’s time again for more action from the A Block. This one is getting tense, as five men are tied at the top making every single match matter at this point. Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, and Jay White all enter this night with six points, meaning the only match that doesn’t matter too much is Shingo Takagi vs. Yujiro Takahashi, as none of those men are in that match. Otherwise, every match matters, wins and losses are more important than ever before.
G1 Climax 2020 Block A Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shingo Takagi
Few believed Yujiro Takashi would make much of a splash in his first G1 Climax in five years, and his 0-4 record reflects that. One more loss, and he’s done as far as being in the runnings is concerned, and he needs to face Shingo Takagi for the first time ever, who with his 1-3 record, needs every win he can get. Takahashi has a chance to play spoiler in the rest of his matches, starting tonight.
As expected from Takahashi, this was a slow paced match that only got moving in the final section. He did everything he could to prevent Shingo from winning, failed, Shingo hit Last Of The Dragon and walked away with his second win of the tournament. Not a bad match, just an unremarkable one.
Match Rating: 2/5 (**)
G1 Climax 2020 Block A Match: Jeff Cobb vs. Jay White
Much like Shingo & Takahashi, Jeff Cobb is floating around the bottom of the A-Block bracket. He’s got a record of 1-3, and needs to try to overcome Jay White, who is one of the favorites to win it all. Cobb is a very straight forward wrestler focusing on power and momentum, something White loves to use to his advantage as an incredible defensive wrestler. They’ve only met once before, with White winning in last year’s G1. A win here for Cobb could be horrible for White however, making this one important.
In perhaps his best NJPW performance yet, Jeff Cobb was able to use his power to break through the tricks of White & Gedo. They did their best to slow him down, but nothing seemed to work. He just kept moving, and would counter the Blade Runner into a powerslam, throw Gedo right into White with a Military Press Slam and nail Tour of The Islands on White to get his second win of the tournament. This puts him to four points, and stalls Jay White at six.
Match Rating: 3.75/5 (*** ¾)
G1 Climax 2020 Block A Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada
Nine times now we’ve seen Minoru Suzuki & Kazuchika Okada, and we know that rain or shine they put on amazing performances. Okada has won five of their matches, Suzuki won one, and there have been two time limit draws including the one where they wrestled a flawless match under heavy rainfall. Suzuki hasn’t beaten Okada since 2013, but with Okada refusing to use his signature Rainmaker in favor of a horrible Cobra Clutch, the Money Clip, and Suzuki might have this one.
These two never have a bad match, this one focused on Okada trying to use the Money Clip on Suzuki only to be easily counted every single time by the true submission master. Okada got a personal lesson in submissions once again from Suzuki, only to sneak away with the win using a flash pinfall. Typical for their matches, but at a quarter of the length. You’d think after ten matches with Suzuki, Okada would be better with submissions.
This win puts Okada to six points, and opens the door for him to challenge for the NEVER Openweight Championship if he chooses to pursue a championship not the IWGP Heavyweight Championship following the tournament. An interesting option for sure.
Match Rating: 3.5/5 (*** ½)
G1 Climax 2020 Block A Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi
Ishii finally got his tournament started beating Shingo in a brutal brawl on the last show, and now has to face unexpected block leader Taichi, who just lost to Okada at the same show. History is on Ishii’s side, beating Taichi in four of their five encounters, but Taichis sole win was in the 2019 G1 Climax. If Ishii wins, he continues an underdog finals run, and if Taichi wins he gets closer to the magic number of twelve points which could get him to the finals.
When Taichi & Ishii spent the first five minutes of this match just hitting each other as hard as possible, the pace was set. This was just a slugfest, something which favors Ishii, but we also saw some influence from Taichi’s trainer, Toshiaki Kawada. He can be downright deadly with kicks, and has been having a great tournament, with this match being one of his best ever.
Natural chemistry between Ishii & Taichi has been clear since 2019, and it isn’t going anywhere. Ishii would hit the Vertical Drop Brainbuster, and rise to four points as Taichi stalls at six.
Match Rating: 4.5/5 (**** ½)
G1 Climax 2020 Block A Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay
While the other three leaders face people lower than them on this night, Ospreay & Ibushi are both in this category, but that isn’t lasting. They’ve only lost one match each, Ibushi falling to White and Ospreay falling to Shingo. History puts them on equal footing, as they’ve each won a match against each other. Ospreay beat Ibushi in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 13, while Ibushi beat him later that year in the G1. They’re equal in power, speed and technique, and this one will come down to heart.
As expected, this match was excellent. A slow start into a flurry of high spots and high strikes, from two men who mastered this particular style of match. There was some clear respect between them, and they were sure to give their all. We even say them redo their now iconic spot where Ospreay landed on his feet from a top rope frankensteiner. It was back and forth until the very end, when Ibushi dodged the Hidden Blade to hit a Last Ride, followed by a series of reversals ending with the Kamigoye putting Ospreay away.
With this win, Ibushi moves on to eight points, no longer tied at the top and simply being the front runner of A-Block. Now, he just needs to keep that pace up.
Match Rating: 4.25/5 (**** ¼)
What was your favorite match of Night Nine? Who is your current pick to win this block after this important night? Let us know in the comment section down below!
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