The headline match to G1 Climax 30 Night 16 saw an important B Block match as former two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, five-time NEVER Openweight Champion, G1 Climax 18 winner, and CHAOS member Hirooki Goto attempted to keep his finals hopes alive against former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ and Bullet Club member Evil.
Goto who came in with 8 points won his previous match against former eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, G1 Climax 17 winner, G1 Climax 25 winner, and G1 Climax 28 winner Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Evil was able to secure a key victory over current IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ and Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) leader Tetsuya Naito, allowing him to keep pace among the leaders of the block.
Goto was coming into the match with a measure of momentum, yet Evil’s manager Dick Togo was able to cause enough of a distraction to make the early portion of the match difficult for him.
However, Goto would fight back and eventually gain a measure of revenge on Togo, once again showing his fighting spirit. Yet, Evil was able to show that maybe his recent success wasn’t only down to Togo and his reliance on underhanded tactics.
Evil was able to gain the fall at the 15 minutes and 33 seconds mark with his EVIL technique after a slick counter out of Goto’s respected GTR technique. The victory moved Evil to 12 points meaning only he, Naito, and his former Cold Darkness tag team partner Sanada as having a realistic chance of advancing to the G1 Climax 30 Finals.
Evil finishes his B Block campaign against Sanada on October 17th. Goto will finish his tournament against former two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson in what should be a hard-hitting contest against two competitors looking for a future singles championship opportunity.
