The opening match of G1 Climax 30 Night 5 saw former NEVER Openweight Champions Bullet Club member Yujiro and Suzuki-Gun member Taichi compete in A Block competition.
Coming into the match, Yujiro started his G1 Climax 30 campaign with losses to Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay and five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.
On the other side, Taichi had a great start to G1 Climax block action with victories over former NEVER Openweight Champion Jeff Cobb and current NEVER Openweight Champion and Suzuki-Gun leader Minoru Suzuki.
Yujiro wrestled as if he was someone desperate for a win, making the match difficult for Taichi, who was riding a wave of momentum coming into the match.
Much like his match against Ospreay, Yujiro used his slams to keep Taichi off balance. However, Taichi showed his ability to hang in there when in past years, he would have folded.
While nothing seemed to work for him offensively throughout the match, Taichi was able to keep Yujiro from putting him away. Taichi was able to find his opening, and he took advantage of it with an underhanded tactic.
Taichi would gain the fall over Yujiro at the 11 minutes and 3 seconds mark with his Taichi Style Gedo Clutch technique, moving him to a surprising 3-0 start.
Yujiro falling to 0-3 was the worst-case scenario for him in his first G1 Climax since G1 Climax 25 (2015). While it was never likely he would finish near the top of A Block, Yujiro can spoil the tournament for others with ambitions of reaching the finals.
Taichi is in the surprising frontrunner position and has the opportunity to solidify himself as a legitimate singles title contender within New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Even if he doesn’t win A Block, a top-half finish would do wonders for him.
