Whenever Taichi & SANADA meet, their love of classic AJPW will shine. SANADA is a protege of Keiji Mutoh, while Taichi was brought up in the industry by Toshiaki Kawada. This boils down to both men walking the Kings Road, constantly upping the stakes of their matches, and the impacts of their strikes. Taichi comes into this one with two points, while SANADA is looking to get on the board – making this a must win fight for SANADA.
SANADA Gets Two Points, But At What Cost?
After some pre-match pec popping, this match would finally get started. Taichi would take control and send SANADA from the ring, before getting him with the choke into the corner when they got back into the ring. SANADA would be taken into the Cobra Twist, with a hip toss escape into a dropkick following.
Taichi would be sent tumbling to the floor, and back in the ring, SANADA would keep the pressure on the neck. A spin kick and backdrop attempt would be followed by the hook kick, with SANADA hitting the dropkick, only for Taichi to bounce off the ropes with the Axe Bomber.
Taichi would catch SANADA out of the sky with a chokeslam, a call back to Akira Taue himself. Black Mephisto would be blocked, and SANADA hit the rolling elbow and tiger suplex, before taking the Backdrop Driver and kicking out at one! Super chokeslam would be set up by Taichi but SANADA landed on his feet and got the O’Connor Roll for a two count.
TKO would land, before SANADA would apply Skull End. He’d let go and miss the moonsault, before Taichi would get the Gedo Clutch for the near fall. Kawada Style Kicks would end with one right to the eye of SANADA, before he’d get tossed to the mat.
He’d avoid the Sumo Elbow, and get the O’Connor Roll for the finish. SANADA could be a one eyed man if people target it, which seems likely in this tournament. Thankfully, tonight it was just swollen by the end – but it’s always dangerous.
Jeff Cobb Drops Bad Luck Fale
The A-Block in the G1 Climax this year has been called ‘the big boy block’ by some, and matches like Bad Luck Fale vs. Jeff Cobb is why. These two proper heavyweights will clash here tonight, with Cobb eager to redeem his recent loss to block leader Kazuchika Okada tonight – while Fale looks to fumble into another victory like he did against Lance Archer.
Fale would stand and fight, throwing some heavy blows to send Cobb into the corner, before missing a running body block. Cobb would send Fale down to the floor, but Fale got back in and was able to regain control with the body punches. He’d ride Cobb like a surfboard before getting a two count.
Cobb would stagger Fale with a dropkick, before not getting the Samoa Drop. Fale would set up Bad Luck Fall, but Cobb would slip free and hit a vertical suplex before the biggest Tour of the Islands he ever gave – for the win!
Can Cobb win the rest of his matches? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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