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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 30: NIGHT 10 SPOILER FREE VIEWERS GUIDE
I will provide a list of matches for people to watch after each show at the top of my review.
NIGHT 10 VIEWING GUIDE
(2) Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb. (****)
(3) Minoru Suzuki vs. Will Ospreay. (***¾)
(4) Taichi vs. Jay White (***¾)
(5) Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi (****¾)
RADICAN’S G1 CLIMAX 30: NIGHT 10 REPORT
OCT. 7, 2020
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
English commentary provided by Kevin Kelly.
(a) GABRIEL KIDD vs. YOTA TSUJI
Tsuji sits on top of the unofficial C block with eight points. Both men began the match going at it with strikes. The match was even and the crowd was into. They built up to another strike exchange and Kidd caught Tsuji with a big dropkick. Tsuji fired back and hit a huge running powerslam. He followed up with a big spear, but Kidd kicked out at two. Tsuji got the Boston crab a short time later. Kidd fought towards the ropes, but he couldn’t get there. Tsuji dragged him back to the middle of the ring and he really leveraged the hold and Kidd tapped.
WINNER: Yota Tsuji at 6:43 via submission. (**¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was good, but it did not build as well as some of the other Young Lions matches during G1.)
(1) YUJIRO TAKAHASHI (0) vs. TOMOHIRO ISHII (4) – A Block match
Takahashi went right after Ishii when he got into the ring and eventually caught him with a clothesline as he came off the ropes. Takahashi ended up hitting a reverse DDT on the floor. Takahashi dominated the action for a long period of time and Ishii could not get on track. Takahashi hit a fisherman buster and Ishii favored his injured shoulder. Ishii finally caught Takahashi charging at him in the corner and nailed him with a German right into the turnbuckle padding.
Takahashi fired back and hit an inverted swinging DVD for a nearfall and the fans fired up. Ishii fired back and went on the attack. He signaled for the VDBB, but Takahashi blocked it. Ishii went for it again, but he couldn’t get Takahashi up. He finally lifted Ishii up, but he couldn’t drop him. Takahashi eventually hit a fisherman buster and both men were slow to get up. Ishii surprised Takahashi with a lariat and went for a VDBB, but Takahashi got out of it. Ishii fought out of Pimp Juice and hit a sliding lariat for a two count. He then hit a VDBB for the win.
WINNER: Tomohiro Ishii (6 pts) at 15:25. (***)
(Radican’s Analysis: Takahashi dominated most of the match with Ishii selling a lot of damage to his shoulder. This was Takahashi’s best match so far in the tournament, but it would have been better if they had kept it a little shorter. This has been a miserable tournament for Takahashi as he goes to 0-6 with no real reason for anyone to care about his story in the tournament.)
(2) KAZUCHIKA OKADA (6) vs. JEFF COBB (4) – A Block match
This is a first time singles match. Cobb is coming off an impressive win over Jay White. Okada is looking to stay about .500 with a win. Cobb caught Okada going for a leapfrog and turned it into an impressive vertical suplex. Okada fired back, but Cobb halted his momentum and eventually hit a nice belly to belly suplex to ground Okada. Okada went for his signature neckbreaker, but he could not get Cobb up over his back. Cobb ducked a big boot attempt and wiped out Okada with a clothesline and both men were down on the mat.
Cobb twisted Okada all around and Okada finally tried to fight out of it, but Cobb popped him up and hit a big suplex. Cobb went for a TOI a short time later, but Okada fought out of it and eventually caught him with a dropkick. Okada hit a tombstone a short time later and applied the Money Clip. Cobb fired back and caught Okada with a dropkick of his own and the fans fired up. Cobb hit the Rainmaker pose and the fans gasped. Cobb went for a Rainmaker windup into a TOI, but Okada blocked it.
Cobb went for a TOI a short time later, but Okada rolled him up for a nearfall. Both men went back and forth. Cobb avoided a spinning Rainmaker, but Okada sat down on Cobb and held both of his legs over his head in a pinning combination for the win. That was the same way Okada beat Suzuki earlier in the tournament.
WINNER: Kazuchika Okada (8 pts) at 11:03. (****)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a tremendous performance by Cobb. He looked awesome here and dominated most of the match and the finish gave him an out, as he lost via a nasty pinning combination. Cobb has been a highlight of the A block so far in the tournament.)
They went to an intermission to clean and disinfect the ring.
(3) BRITISH UNDISPUTED CHAMPION WILL OSPREAY (6) vs. NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPION MINORU SUZUKI (6) – A Block match
Both men met in the middle of the ring and began trading blows. The action spilled to the floor and Suzuki fired back on Ospreay and went to work on his arm. He had a chair and the ref tried to take it from him, so he shoved the ref over. Suzuki set up Ospreay’s arm around the guardrail and he nailed it with a kick. He then locked in an arm submission around the ringpost, but the ref had recovered and made him break the hold. Suzuki continued to work over Ospreay’s arm back inside the ring a short time later. Suzuki taunted Ospreay in English saying, “F–k you boy” while hitting some light kicks to his head.
Ospreay had the advantage and went for PPC, but Suzuki turned it into an arm bar. Ospreay tried to block a PK, so Suzuki adjusted and kicked his injured arm. The fans fired up and tried to rally behind Ospreay. They went to a strike exchange and Suzuki laughed at Ospreay trying to hit him with his left arm, which wasn’t worn down. Ospreay suddenly fired back from the apron and hit PPC. He made a deep cover for a two count.
They went back and forth trading bombs and Ospreay connected with a HUGE hook kick and both men were down. They went to another strike exchange and Suzuki eventually dropped Ospreay. Ospreay fired back and hit a suplex for a two count. He set up for a Hidden Blade, but Suzuki ducked it. They went back and forth and Suzuki FLOATED OVER Ospreay into a rear-naked choke! WOW! Ospreay had gone for a Stormbreaker previously, but hadn’t connected. He was going back and forth with Suzuki and he suddenly caught him out of nowhere with a Stormbreaker for the win.
WINNER: Will Ospreay (8 pts) at 14:26. (***¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a really good match. Suzuki worked over Ospreay’s shoulder for most of the match and really dominated most of the match, but in the end Ospreay mounted a comeback and caught him with his finish.)
Taichi got in Jay White’s face and sang once he got into the ring while making his entrance. White clapped and seemed to appreciate Taichi’s beautiful singing. White teased going after Taichi with the chair he was sitting in, but stopped and handed it to the ref.
(4) JAY WHITE (6) (W/GEDO) vs. IWGP HVT. TAG TEAM CHAMPION TAICHI (6)
Both men went to roll out of the ring after the bell rang. The fans applauded. They teased going at it and both men rolled to the floor again on opposite sides of the ring. The ref decided to back Gedo away from Taichi while he was CHOKING JAY WHITE WITH A CAMERA WIRE ON THE FLOOR. White fired back on the floor and sent him back first into the barricade.
White dominated the action and gave himself a round of applause to mock the fans. White mocked the fans as they got behind Taichi. Taichi fired back with an eye rake and hit a big head kick in the corner. The fans fired up with both men down on the mat. White avoided a kick in the corner and chop blocked Taichi’s knee. He then hit a flash DDT.
The action picked up later in the match and Taichi no-sold a deadlift German, but White caught him with a Urangi. White then went for the Blade Runner, but Taichi countered it into a Dangerous T. Both men were down after the big exchange and the fans fired up once again. They had a big back and forth exchange of strikes and counters. Taichi finally hit a jumping kick. He got the Taichi Clutch, but Gedo distracted the ref. White ended up sending Taichi into the ref. Gedo ran at Taichi and took a low blow. Taichi blocked a low blow from behind from White.
They went back and forth and Taichi eventually kicked White right in the groin. He then got the Taichi Clutch for a nearfall and the fans applauded. Taichi hit the last ride and stacked him up with a leverage pin for a two count. Taichi tore his pants off and set up for a kick, but White shoved the ref at him. Both men went for their finishers. Taichi caught White with a forearm. He went for a superkick, but White countered it into Bladerunner for the win.
WINNER: Jay White (8 pts) at 15:16. (***¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a very entertaining match with two heels trying to outwit each other. Taichi overcame Gedo’s interference and they had some great exchanges late in the match, but ultimately Taichi just got caught with the Bladerunner. Taichi has been very impressive during G1.)
(5) SHINGO TAKAGI (4) vs. KOTA IBUSHI (8) – A Block match
They had a crazy exchange early. Shingo avoided a standing moonsault and then Ibushi barely avoided a sliding lariat. Both men came to a stalemate and the fans fired up. It didn’t take long for both men to begin trading forearms in the middle of the ring. The fans fired up and Ibushi eventually sent Shingo to the floor with a dropkick. Ibushi was setting up for a slingshot to the floor, but Shingo got out of the way. Shingo caught Ibushi and dropped him neck first over the top rope. He then clotheslined Ibushi over the top to the floor.
Shingo controlled the action on the floor. He eventually took Ibushi back into the ring and landed a big vertical suplex. They began trading bombs. Shingo suddenly hit a dragon screw and the fans applauded. Shingo went after Ibusi’s leg and Ibushi glared at him. Ibushi no-sold a big clothesline in the corner and caught Shingo by surprise with a big dropkick.
Ibushi set up for a Last Ride, but Takagi managed to hit a backdrop. They traded blows and Shingo hit a straight right and then a huge clothesline and the fans applauded. Shingo got out of a Kamigoye attempt and hit a Noshigami a short time later for a nearfall. Both men traded suplexes a short time later and ended up down on the mat as the fans once again fired up.
Both men traded headbutts from their knees. Then they began trading slaps from their knees a short time later. Shingo took a hard slap to the face and had to cover up. They got to their feet and continued to trade. Shingo took three kicks and went down to his knee. Shingo got up and caught Ibushi by surprise with a straight right hand and he almost went down to his knees.
Ibushi fell down after taking a German while attempting to stand up out of it, but he managed to get up and hit a dropkick to the back of Shingo’s head. He hit a Last Ride a short time later for a two count. Takagi caught Ibushi running at him out of the corner and hit a pop-up DVD. Both men were once again slow to get up.
Takagi went for LOTD, but Ibushi slipped out and went for Kamigoye. Shingo his several headbutts, but got caught by an overhand palm strike. Shingo blocked a kick and hit Made in Japan, but Ibushi kicked out at the last second. Ibushi got nailed with a Pumping Bomber to the back and didn’t go down, so Shingo came off the ropes and leveled him with a Pumping Bomber for a nearfall.
The fans fired up yet again as both men tried to regroup. The 20 minute mark came and went. Ibuahi fought out of LOTD, but he got decked with a big strike. Ibushi fired up and got to his feet. Shingo hit two big clotheslines and IBushi went down to his knees. They went back and forth and Ibushi caught Shingo off the ropes with a clothesline. He then hit a Boma Ye for a nearfall. Ibushi had both knees exposed and went for a Kamigoye, but Shingo countered it into Last of the Dragon for the win! WOW!
WINNER: Shingo Takagi (6 pts) at 21:56. (****¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was just an amazing all out performance from both men from start to finish. They paced the match well and built up their counter sequences bit by bit. The finishing sequence was crazy, especially considering all the other counter sequences they had in the match. Go out of your way to see this one.
This is a huge win for Takagi going forward in the tournament. He has beaten the defending G1 Champion and he’s in contention at the top of the leaderboard deep into the tournament.)
Kelly said if Shingo wins on Saturday, he will sit at 8 points. He has a tiebreaker over everyone in contention except for Jay White.
Takagi got on the mic after the match and cut a promo in Japanese.
G1 CLIMAX 30 RECORDS AND STANDINGS THROUGH NIGHT 10
A BLOCK
Kota Ibushi (4-2, 8pts)
Jay White (4-2, 8pts)
Will Ospreay (4-2, 8pts)
Kazuchika Okada (4-2, 6pts)
Shingo Takagi (3-3, 6pts)
Taichi (3-3, 6pts)
Minoru Suzuki (3-3, 6pts)
Tomohiro Ishii (3-3, 6pts)
Jeff Cobb (2-4, 4pts)
Yujiro Takahashi (0-6, 0pts)
B BLOCK
Toru Yano (3-1, 6pts)
Tetsuya Naito (3-1, 6pts)
Juice Robinson (3-1, 6pts)
Kenta (2-2 ,4pts)
Zack Sabre Jr. (2-2, 4pts)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (2-2, 4pts)
Evil (2-2, 2pts)
Hirooki Goto (1-3, 2pts)
Yoshi-Hashi (1-3, 2pts)
Sanada (1-3, 2pts)
Contact Sean at radicansean@pwtorch.com. Follow Sean on Twitter @SR_Torch.
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