It’s time for more A-Block action in the G1 Climax. This block has been hitting an interesting spot – as Zack Sabre Jr. has been taking a steady lead. He has submitted four men, and even completely removed Tetsuya Naito from the tournament with an injury. Tonight, he looks to keep moving, and we also get the Tokyo Dome main event that was halted when Shingo Takagi takes on Kota Ibushi.
Toru Yano Gets A Fun Match Instead Of Brutal Battle With Tetsuya Naito
Kicking off action for the night was Young Lion beatdown time with Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Kosei Fujita was on the menu tonight, after Kanemaru tapped out Ryohei Oiwa on the last show. These are not winnable matches for Young Lions, they just need to hope to survive to a Time Limit draw of 15 minutes at best. Kanemaru once again won, and it was two seconds faster than his win over Oiwa.
Next up, we had our forfeit match of the night. Tetsuya Naito would have faced Toru Yano tonight, but BUSHI would step in for a special singles match. They both came with bags of tricks, and literally put bags over each other’s heads. The referee stopped this nonsense, but they’d both proceed to try and tie each other to the barricade. In the end, Yano would hit a mighty low blow and get a roll up for a fun win.
First bit of tournament action of the night came with Great-O-Khan taking the fight to KENTA. After a long battle of mind games, this one would prove to really just be a slow paced brawl. O-Khan showed some technical wrestling acumen again, and KENTA played his hits. However, it was a beatdown late in the match with a steel chair after the referee fell that turned the tide for KENTA, and a roll up that got the finish. Not either man’s best showing.
Tomohiro Ishii Puts A Stop To Zack Sabre Jr.
After the intermission, we’d get another downer of a match. Tanga Loa has been alright in his first G1, and Yujiro Takahashi is really trying his best this year. This Bullet Club derby would be a clean and hard hitting match of respect, with a highlight of Loa hitting a standing moonsault – something very new for him. Takahashi would take this one into deeper waters than Loa likes, but fall to ApeShit. Loa finally earns his first two points in the G1!
Zack Sabre Jr. came into this night maybe a bit over confident for his match with Tomohiro Ishii. He’d tapped out some of the biggest names in the block and was undefeated – but Ishii doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit. He is known for being able to take inhumane amounts of punishment, and send it right back. ZSJ tried to destroy the right arm – but failed. Ishii would pound ZSJ with heavy chops and headbutts before a brainbuster for the win.
In the main event, we’d see Shingo Takagi finally get the match he wanted for Wrestle Grand Slam. He wanted the first IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kota Ibushi – but illnesses took Ibushi away from the mix. Hiroshi Tanahashi challenged Shingo instead, which was great. However tonight, Ibushi met Shingo head on in a brilliant battle of strikes and stamina. It was not a pretty match, with them battling for holds and strikes, with some blows that’d knock out a normal man. Shingo fell to two exposed knee Kamigoye strikes, a combo that could beat anyone.
Who’s Block Is This Anyways?
After this night of action, the scoreboard in A-Block looks like this:
KENTA, Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr., Great O-Khan – 8 points
Toru Yano, Shingo Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii – 6 points
Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa – 4 points
Tetsuya Naito (withdrawn) – 0 points
Can Zack Sabre Jr. bounce back from this major loss? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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