G1 Climax 30 Night 13 saw current NEVER Openweight Champion and Suzuki-Gun leader Minoru Suzuki take on former IWGP Intercontinental Champion and G1 Climax 29 winner “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi.
Suzuki needed a victory in order to remain alive in the chase to win A Block competition. He was coming off a loss to current Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay.
Ibushi was coming off a difficult loss to former NEVER Openweight Champion and Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) member Shingo Takagi, which left him at 8 points.
The match itself was a brutal brawl that saw Suzuki take it to Ibushi during striking bouts during most of the match, leaving the “Golden Star” searching for answers to the many questions Suzuki threw at him.
Ibushi was able to fight back with his Kickboxing skills, but it wasn’t enough to keep Suzuki off the offensive for the majority of the match. However, Ibushi would find enough fighting spirit to best Suzuki.
Ibushi would gain the fall at the 16 minutes and 58 seconds mark with his Kamigoye technique. The win moved him to 10 points and in the hunt to claim A Block as his own.
With remaining matches against former NEVER Openweight Champion and Bullet Club member Yujiro (October 13th) and Suzuki-Gun member Taichi (October 16th).
Suzuki’s October 13th match against former IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White gives him the opportunity to spoil a G1 Climax 30 campaign for the boisterous Jay White.
Ibushi will need to escape what could be a trap match against Yujiro and survive the dangerous Taichi on the final day of A Block competition. This is the best chance Ibushi has had to earn an IWGP Heavyweight Championship title match since losing the V5 challenge of former five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada’s fifth reign with the championship during Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 1.