After a grueling tournament, we’re finally at the home stretch. Tonight is the final matches of A-Block, and Wednesday brings the final matches of B-Block. The G1 Climax is just about done – but the A-Block remains highly contested. Coming into this night, we had a four way tie, with Shingo Takagi, KENTA, Zack Sabre Jr. & Kota Ibushi all in the running. Who would come out on top?
Can A Pimp Slay A Dragon?
The opening two matches are the only two without stakes at the end of the tournament. First one being because Great-O-Khan is stuck at 8 points and only has a special singles match tonight. He’d go to war with Satoshi Kojima, who is notable for being the first man to win the G1 while signed outside of NJPW, with his win in 2010 while signed with AJPW. A win here could get him one more G1, but when the Cozy Lariat was caught and Eliminator landed? Great O-Khan finishes his tournament strong.
The other match without stakes in the finals was Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano, CHAOS buddies and tag team partners who are polar opposites. They bring out the best in each other, and while Yano wanted to play tricks with handcuffs and tape – Ishii stayed focused and beat the fight out of Yano. However, in the end a low blow caught Ishii, and he was taken into a backslide for the Yano win.
Shingo Takagi, despite being the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, had perhaps the hardest path to victory tonight. Not in his match, Yujiro Takahashi isn’t a big problem, but he needed both ZSJ & Ibushi to lose their matches to have a chance. Takahashi just wanted to play spoiler, and would fight hard to do so – eventually settling on a DDT on the floor to try for a count out. Takagi fired up, hit a Death Valley Driver – but Takahashi caught his ankle and forced a double countout, ending the chances of Shingo.
A Rematch From Wrestling Dontaku Earlier This Year – How Far Tanga Loa Has Come
With Shingo out, Zack Sabre Jr simply needs to beat Tanga Loa and hope KENTA loses, as he would beat Ibushi in a tie. Tanga Loa has improved immensely since the tournament began, really proving himself as a legitimate player with strong matches against just about everyone. He even had a previous singles match with ZSJ, and would use that experience here to great effect.
Loa brought the fight to ZSJ, and didn’t slow as he was picked apart limb by limb, second by second. He gritted his teeth through painful submissions, and stayed focused. ZSJ would get a touch desperate and look for the European Clutch instead of a submission, which Loa was able to resist and counter to earn a hard fought win – and make this block all about this last match.
Kota Ibushi Brings Out The Best Of KENTA As Anxiety Sets In
KENTA & Kota Ibushi became a winner takes all situation thanks to BULLET CLUB, potentially the plan all along. Now KENTA just needs to beat Kota Ibushi, which is hard but far from impossible. They’d start off slow, and the crowd wanted to see the same KENTA who lit up Zack Sabre Jr. in a classic bout – but got more tricks in this crucial match. He’d even nearly steal with a countout, after beating up Ibushi outside the ring and to the backstage area.
However, as the minutes ticked closer to a draw, KENTA got serious. He’d start to lay in strikes, take down the referee to get a chair, but Ibushi shrugged the chair strike off. KENTA took a kick to the end, a splash onto a table, and still came back with the flying knee in the ring. Ibushi kicked out, blocked Go To Sleep, and nailed both a blindside and front Kamigoye to win the match.
And The A-Block Winner Is…
With the win over KENTA, Kota Ibushi is able to push forward to his fourth G1 Climax finals in a row. He’s also got two wins in a row of the tournament, and is looking to add a third. Either Jeff Cobb or Kazuchika Okada will meet him in the finals for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match on January 4th in Tokyo Dome – as their match is truly Winner Takes All.
The final scoreboard is as follows.
Kota Ibushi – 14 points
Shingo Takagi – 13 points
KENTA, Zack Sabre Jr. – 12 points
Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano – 10 points
Great O-Khan – 8 points
Tanga Loa – 6 points
Yujiro Takahashi – 5 points
Tetsuya Naito – 0 Points
Who will Ibushi meet at the finals of the 2021 G1 Climax? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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