Wrestling fans know no borders, and that was evident this weekend in Queens at MLW’s Summer of the Beasts event.
Major League Wrestling’s event took place on Thursday evening at the Melrose Ballroom, drawing a sold-out crowd. The excitement wasn’t limited to New Yorkers—Art, a fan who traveled all the way from Russia, made MLW his first stop in the U.S. to experience the action firsthand.
“I came to America to see all these cool guys smashing each other around. I’m gonna see all my favorites like KENTA, Matt Riddle, Paul London—you name it. All the international talents are here tonight, and I’m really psyched to see that. So it’s going to be a bop.”
MLW fans aren't a nation, army or a universe. They're fam and this one came to America from Russia to see #MLW live last night in NYC. ? pic.twitter.com/JtmPRNs5ui
Though legends like Ivan and Nikita Koloff weren’t in attendance, Art wasn’t exaggerating about the international talent packed into Thursday’s event. KENTA was joined by the likes of Mistico, Minoru Suzuki, Atlantis Jr., TJP, and Hanako. Additionally, the reigning World Champion, KOJIMA, who recently lost the World Tag Titles to CONTRA Unit, headlined the event.
The evening also showcased the ongoing Opera Cup, with four matches determining the semi-finalists. Mistico triumphed over Atlantis Jr. in the main event, while TJP bested Tom Lawlor, Bad Dude Tito defeated Alex Kane, and KENTA took down AKIRA.
This recap was originally written on MLW.com by SEScoops’ Dominic DeAngelo.
Major League Wrestling is back in the notorious Coliseum in St. Petersburg, FL and its a stacked card and a main event with high stakes between Matt Riddle and Sami Callihan. We kick it off with a unique clash that features the opening round of The Opera Cup.
MATCH 1 Opera Cup Round 1 Atlantis Jr. vs. Shigeo Okumura
It’s a youngster vs. a veteran in this first round fight and Okumura was ready to unleash some tough love on Atlantis Jr. Okumura slowed the pace down to keep Atlantis underwater. However, the innovative generational talent got Okumura off-his-game with an airplane blue thunder bomb. Although Okumura kicked out Atlantis quickly followed up with a frog splash for the 1-2-3.
WINNER & ADVANCING: Atlantis Jr.
Post-match, both fighters paid one another respect. Can Atlantis go the distance and become the first CMLL star to capture The Opera Cup?
Alex Kane nor does Mr. Thomas plan for that not to happen, but they actually have to go through one another in their own opening round match. If you thought their match between could cause a rift with each other, think again. Both Kane and Thomas know it’s called the BOMAYE “FIGHT” Club!
MATCH 2 Opera Cup Round 1 Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Crist
Lawlor is a former Opera Cup winner and Crist was well-aware of that. The Ohio-born boy wasted no time in taking it to Filthy Tom, not even letting him get to the ring before starting the fight. The two used all elements of the ring in attempt to keep one another down, but it actually took Lawlor a superplex turned to Kimura Lock to cause Crist to pass out.
WINNER & ADVANCING: Tom Lawlor
Post-fight, Lawlor got on the mic to talk trash to Tampa, but up on the screen popped Paul Walter Hauser who issued a major challenge to Lawlor – an MMA cage fight! MSL banned from the building! Lawlor accepted!
It’s Suzuki’s first match as a CONTRA soldier and joining the ranks may have even furthered his sadism. AKIRA, however, was game for the battle. Some intense shots were traded as AKIRA found it hard to shake Suzuki, but the Death Fighter kept bringing it. However, a Gotch Piledriver was good enough for Suzuki to ultimately get the 1-2-3.
WINNER: Minoru Suzuki
Post-fight, there was no respect shown as Minoru and Ikuro Kwon went on to further attack AKIRA devastatingly laying him out with more diabolical ideas in mind. Minoru was going for another Gotch when MLW World Champ Satoshi Kojima ran down to clear the evil out!
A concerned Cesar Duran saunters down to the ring to demand to see who Salina de la Renta’s baby daddy is after she revealed she has a bun in the oven. Well Salina showed up, but she was not without her mind games to her estranged daddy. Before making the reveal, she teased that the father was Bad Dude Tito and EVEN MSL but it was a surprise that made Duran literally sick: one of his own AZTECA henchman. The mysterious man pulled off the mask, revealing a Rudolph Valentino face with an even stronger libido as he and Salina started making out! Duran couldn’t take the discuss and fainted in the ring!
MATCH 4 Three Stages Of Destruction (First Blood + Street Fight + Medical Evacuation) Mads Krule Krugger vs. Matthew Justice (Bill Alfonso)
Matthew Justice was not only ready to roll for this intense battle, but so was Fonzie who certainly has had his issues with CONTRA. Do both bring it to Krugger in the First Blood round of the fight as plenty of plunder is used. Justice gets Krugger off his feet with the indirect help of his own CONTRA soldier as he leapt off the back of a downed man to spear Krugger! Fonzie then tossed Justice a chair with barbed wire as he cracked Krugger HARD with it. Then Justice had some Mr. PPV plans as Fonzie held the chair for Justice to leap all the way across the ring for a Van TERMINATOR!! A few more cracks with the chair had the ref call for the bell noting that Krugger has poured enough crimson!
WINNER of STAGE 1: Matthew Justice
Next stage was a street fight and Justice continued to keep at his business of violence. He even showed his strength by hoisting the monster Mads up for a Death Valley Driver onto a chair! A massive ladder gets set up and Justice has to fight off a CONTRA soldier, allowing Mads to climb up and superplex Matt through a table! Krugger does drape an arm over Matt for the 1-2-3!
WINNER of STAGE 2: Mads Krugger
Someone will now be leaving in an ambulance. The two begin to brawl on the entryway as another ladder is presented. Justice gets Krugger on a table for his own plans of retribution, but the table collapses under the weight of Krugger. That doesn’t stop Justice who still decides to splash on top of Mads! Justice has a gameplan in mind as he gets a dolly. Both he and Fonzie get Krugger on it and push the massive man to the back! Fonzie hydrates Matt as they get Krugger to the ambulance, but when he opens the door to the back Ikuro Kwon is there to spray mist into Matt’s eyes! The fix was in! Kwon and Krugger gang up on Matt, set up a table, light it aflame and powerbomb Justice through it! Krugger tosses Matt in the ambulance and the match is over.
WINNER: Mads Krule Krugger
MATCH 5 MLW World Featherweight Championship Gigi Ray vs. Janai Kai (c)
The Kick Demon Kai aimed to keep the momentum moving for CONTRA against Gigi Ray who definitely showed up ready for battle. Ray received plenty of kicks in this fight, but she had her own share of offense in this fight. However, Kai caught Ray with a roundhouse thrust in the corner and it was good to keep Ray down for the pinfall.
WINNER and STILL MLW World Featherweight Champion: Janai Kai
MATCH 6 Opera Cup Round 1 Bobby Fish vs. KENTA
Fish is ready to unleash “beautiful violence” onto KENTA who is making his Major League debut tonight. KENTA had an off-the-beaten path gameplan against Bobby as he was very disrespectful to the squared circle veteran, basically treating him like a young boy in the ring. Both men delivered in this battle though and Fish got his fair share of strikes in, but KENTA did take the mouthpiece out of Bobby with a GTS and it was good enough to advance in the Opera Cup.
WINNER & ADVANCING: KENTA
MAIN EVENT No Ropes, No Hold Barred Sami Callihan vs. Matt Riddle
The stakes are high in this brutal battle as if Riddle loses, he forgoes his future World Title shot to Callihan, the right he won at Battle Riot VI.
Tampa was all behind The Super King Of Bros and Callihan was less than pleased, getting on the mic to say he’s going to beat Riddle in less than five second. That didn’t happen as Riddle rocked him with a foot to the face. Despite that, Callihan had some nasty plans in mind.
Sami pulled out all types of violent ideas including paper cuts, lemon zest and staple gun tags. He got Riddle right in the foot with one but before that, wrapped Matt’s hair around a barbed wire bat! A broken beer bottle was introduced and its remaining chards became a factor.
The ring was ripped up, boards were broken and literal nuts and bolts became a bed of brutalitiy. Despite all that, Riddle persevered and caused Callihan to submit when he crossfaced Sami with loose ring ropes!
For KENTA, his WWE career was one of the worst experiences in the wrestling business because he wasn’t able to use the GTS move he created.
The Japanese star joined WWE back in January 2014 as Hideo Itami. It was around the same time when CM Punk made his infamous departure from the promotion.
Since Punk used the GTS move as a finisher in WWE for a long time, KENTA wasn’t allowed to use the maneuver during his 4 years long run with the company.
KENTA then made another comment referring to Punk and his time in WWE recently. He mentioned how he wasn’t able to use the GTS move during this period:
“Let the world know. One of my worst experience in this business is that I was not allowed to use MY finishing move for 4 years. A move which I created on my own. WHAT A LIFE.”
Let the world know. One of my worst experience in this business is that I was not allowed to use MY finishing move for 4 years. A move which I created on my own.
CM Punk has not yet responded to the remarks from KENTA. Though we can be certain that the former WWE champion has taken a note of it and Punk may fire back at him at the right time.
Posted September 12th, 2022 in WWE, News. Tagged: KENTA.
The NJPW star took to Twitter to respond to the recent interview comments made by former AEW talent Bobby Fish, who unleashed his true thoughts on Punk following the disastrous events from last Sunday’s ALL OUT media scrum and the backstage brawl that occurred afterwards. Fish’s full comments can be found here.
At one point in the interview Fish stated that Punk was in the wrong for stealing KENTA’s finishing maneuver, the GTS, and not even having the decency to give him any credit over the years. The former Undisputed Era’s exact quotes were, “Phil, you took a man’s finishing maneuver. Anyone who knows pro-wrestling knows that’s f***ed up. You weren’t even decent enough to change the name.”
KENTA Agrees With Fish
So how did KENTA feel about what Fish said? He tweeted out the quotes on his persona account and writes, “Hey Bobby. You Are 100% right.”
This isn’t the first time KENTA has made his feelings about Punk known. Ahead of Forbidden Door (prior to Punk breaking his foot) he wrote “It looks like the forbidden door won’t open for me But I’m totally fine as long as he pays royalty.”
It looks like the forbidden door won’t open for me But I’m totally fine as long as he pays royalty ???#Go2Sleephttps://t.co/CkCwUthqJF
New Japan Pro Wrestling star KENTA has thrown out the challenge to All Elite Wrestling’s CM Punk for a match at the upcoming AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door PPV.
On this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, president Tony Khan and NJPW president Takami Ohbari announced the joint promotional PPV for the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 26. Shortly after the announcement, KENTA took to Twitter to challenge CM Punk to a match at the event, selling it as “G2SvsGTS.”
Punk and KENTA pair have been linked to each other for several years for using the same finisher inside the ring. Punk has admitted to taking the move from KENTA after switching his finisher from the Anaconda Vise submission hold. Punk has yet to respond to KENTA’s challenge as of this writing.
As for The Forbidden Door, no matches have been announced for the PPV yet. Fans shouldn’t expect any match announcements until after AEW’s Double or Nothing event in May. However, fans should expect an unforgettable show at The Forbidden Door, as the biggest stars from both AEW and NJPW will finally collide.
There has already been speculation about the involvement of stars such as Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada and their involvement in the show. For now, fans will have to be patient until the card begins to take shape for the blockbuster event this summer in Chicago.
Let us know some of the matches you’d like to see go down at The Forbidden Door PPV event this June in the comments below! Is Punk vs. KENTA one of them?
The first night of the G1 Climax tournament has come to an end.
Night one was held inside Edion Arena in Osaka on Sept. 18. The card was headlined by an A block match between IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi and Tomohiro Ishii. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito served as the co-main event.
In total, there were five A block matches and one non-G1 Climax match. The non-tournament match was SHO going up against Young Lion Ryohei Owia. The other A block matches were KENTA vs. Toru Yano, Great-O-Khan vs. Tanga Loa, and Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi.
Here are the full results from night one of the G1 Climax 31.
NJPW’s KENTA has noted on Instagram stories that he recently tested positive for COVID-19. He did experience symptoms, including a fever and loss of smell but is doing better now.
“I got COVID last few weeks,” he wrote. “First of all, I apologize to everyone who had to [change plans] because of me. Fortunately, my symptom was not too bad. Just [had a] fever a few days (102 F) and lost my smell. But now I’m totally fine. And got [a negative test]. Stay safe and healthy, everyone.”
KENTA hasn’t wrested in a month. His last match was the 22-man New Japan Rando match at Wrestle Grand Slam in the Tokyo Dome on July 25th. The night before he lost a singles match to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Summer Struggle in Nagoya.
On August 15th, NJPW announced that several wrestlers had been pulled from shows due to COVID-19 protocols. KENTA was not on the tour by this point, however. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi was pulled from the tour and hasn’t wrestled since August 14th.
In NJPW, KENTA is a 1x Never Openweight Champion and won the USA Cup on New Japan Strong in 2020. In Pro Wrestling NOAH, KENTA is a former 1x GHC Heavyweight Champion and 3x Junior Heavyweight Champion.
KENTA responded to CM Punk’s return to pro-wrestling on Friday night’s The First Dance event:
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that the New Japan Cup USA will be returning this year. The tournament proper will kick-off on April 2nd but qualifying matches will be taking place over the next month on episodes of New Japan Strong. The winner of the tournament will earn a shot at Jon Moxley and the IWGP United States Championship.
Last year’s winner, KENTA, recently was defeated by Moxley on Friday’s edition of New Japan Strong.
The 8-person tournament will be contested under single-elimination rules. It will run throughout April on New Japan Strong episodes. Tournament participants have yet to be revealed.
Two qualifying matches for the tournament have been announced for upcoming episodes. The DKC will face the leader of Team Filthy, Tom Lawlor on this coming week’s edition of the show. Additionally, Lio Rush will face Rocky Romero in the second New Japan Cup USA qualifying match.
ICYMI
New Japan Cup action is coming to the US as well as Japan!
Starting Friday on #njpwSTRONG, prelim matches to determine the eight man lineup!
Kenny Omega won the inaugural IWGP United States Championship at the G1 Special in USA in Long Beach on July 2nd, 2017. Since its creation, 6 people have held the title.
Kenny Omega (1x champion) 4 defenses + 210 combined days spent with title.
Jon Moxley (2x champion) 3 defenses + 552 combined days spent with title.
Juice Robinson (2x champion) 3 defenses + 237 combined days spent with title.
Jay White (1x champion) 3 defenses + 160 combined days spent with title.
Lance Archer (1x champion) 1 defense + 96 combined days spent with title.
Cody Rhodes (1x champion) 0 defenses + 82 combined days spent with title.
AEW star Jon Moxley and KENTA of New Japan Pro Wrestling will share a ring at least twice this month. According to Moxley, it’s almost time for KENTA to pay for all the trash talking he’s done.
This Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, Moxley and Lance Archer team up against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and KENTA. The match is historic for multiple reasons. Most notably, it’s the first time a talent contracted with NJPW will wrestle for AEW.
The match will serve as an ‘appetizer’ to the main course – when Jon Moxley defends the IWGP United States Championship against KENTA at NJPW New Beginning USA on February 26th.
Jon Moxley Ready for KENTA
Jon Moxley recently spoke with New Japan Pro Wrestling about the upcoming title defense. The master of the Paradigm Shift / Death Rider says it’s almost time for KENTA to pay for all his trash talking.
“People like to talk a lot of trash, and people are running around with briefcases, and contracts, and they’re fighting over the right to be the United Stated champion and hold that belt or whatever,” said Moxley. “I still hold that belt, so that’s my belt. You’re going to have to beat me in the ring for it.”
Moxley continued by saying that running your mouth can make you a lot of money in this business. It can also bring upon you a world of pain you might not be able to handle.
“When I get into the ring with KENTA, sh*t’s going to go down, and he’s going to have to answer for all this stuff that he said with his mouth,” he said. “And you know, your mouth can make you a lot of money in this business, but your mouth can really cause you a lot of pain and torture and pain, blues, and agony in this business you know when you overstep your boundaries with the words that come out of your mouth.”
You can watch Jon Moxley’s comments about KENTA in the player embedded below:
The forbidden door is open and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) have formally established a working relationship.
“The deal is done and the sides have a working relationship,” said Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. “The pandemic probably sped it up but it also holds it back at the same time. The only way to get Moxley was to make a deal.”
It has been a long road for AEW and New Japan to find common ground and join forces. Dave Meltzer explains that NJPW has not taken AEW seriously up until now.
AEW & NJPW
“When AEW first started, I think New Japan had no clue as to how successful they would be,” said Meltzer. It was essentially that they wanted Tony Khan to come and see them and he didn’t. Even though they sent Chris Harrington and even though the Young Bucks were office and they were ready to make the deal, New Japan thought that they were just fly by nighters and it’s not going to mean anything. They kind of just big-leagued them and they were wrong. They went their separate ways but then they needed Jon Moxley.”
Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance for NJPW last week by attacking KENTA. KENTA returned the favor at the conclusion of this week’s AEW Dynamite. The two will face off for the IWGP United States Championship at the New Beginning in USA show on February 26th, 2021.
NJPW tweeting about KENTA’s appearance on AEW Dynamite is the latest indication that the two organizations are collaborating in a significant way.
KENTA shocked the wrestling world Wednesday night!
Next week on AEW Dynamite, KENTA will team with AEW World Champion Kenny Omega against Jon Moxley and Lance Archer. Since KENTA is not under contract with AEW, this will be an unsanctioned “Lights Out” street fight.
Kenta made his AEW debut after the main event match during this week’s episode of Dynamite which saw Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers defeat Jon Moxley, Rey Fenix and Pac in a 6 men tag team match.
Lance Archer came out to clear the ring of the Good Brothers following their win. Kenta then showed up to respond to Mox’s attack on last week’s NJPW Strong.
Kenny Omega caught Kenta outside of the Daily’s Place after the show. Omega tried to welcome him to ‘The American Club’, to which he responded “Shut the f**k up, I’m not your friend. I’m here to beat Jon Moxley'” and walked away.
Though the response did not stop the AEW chamion and he issued a challenge and asked Tony Khan to book a match for next week’s episode of Dynamite.
Kenny Omega said that after he ‘smoothes things over’ with his new friend Kenta, he would like the AEW president to let them fight Mox and Lance Archer in a bout. He mentioned that since the NJPW star is not under contract with the company, the fight will have to be unsanctioned.
None of the other stars have responded to this challenge issued by Omega yet. You can check out his post-show interview in the video below:
Former WWE and current NJPW star Kenta made his AEW debut during this week’s episode of Dynamite and attacked the IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley.
The main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite: Beach Break saw Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers defeat the team of Moxley, Pac and Rey Fenix in a six-man tag team match.
The two sides continued the brawl after the match before Lance Archer ran to the ring. Archer cleared out the Impact stars which left Moxley and Omega in the ring but Jon was then attacked from behind by a masked man.
The masked man then revealed himself to be Mox’s upcoming opponent Kenta. The NJPW star picked up his rival and delivered Go To Sleep. He then left the ring, leaving Omega celebrating to end the show.
KENTA in AEW
Kenta won the New Japan Cup USA tournament in August 2020 to become the #1 contender for Jon Moxley’s IWGP US Championship and he had been calling the champion out since then.
Jon Moxley responded to the taunts during NJPW strong last week where he attacked his challenger. After that the company announced that Kenta will finally be getting his title shot at The New Beginning USA 2021 on February 26.
Kenta will make his AEW debut next week on Dynamite. He will team with AEW World Champion Kenny Omega against Jon Moxley in Lance Archer. This will be a non-sanctioned Lights Out match.
NJPW has confirmed that the IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley will be defending his title against the #1 contender Kenta on February 26 at New Beginning USA 2021. This announcement came after the former AEW world champion made his NJPW Strong debut earlier this week and confronted the Bullet Club member.
Kenta had been calling out Moxley for a while. The confrontation between the two finally took place during the main event segment of the show. Kenta, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo were in the ring and the lights went out.
Mox was there when the lights came back and the US champion quickly got rid of El Phantasmo and Hikuleo so he can take on his challenger alone. The segment ended with the AEW star delivering a Death Rider to the NJPW star.
The company announced the details of their match alongside several other bouts for The New Beginning USA 2021 after this confrontation via the following tweet:
Huge matches are coming up February on #njpwSTRONG!
Feb 5: Rey Horus vs TJP: first time ever!
Feb 12: Chris Dickinson & Danny Limelight vs TJP & Ren Narita!
Jon Moxley won the IWGP United States Championship by defeating Lance Archer at Wrestle Kingdom 14. Kenta then became the #1 contender for the title when he won the New Japan Cup USA tournament in August last year.
Following the ending of the G1 Climax 30 tournament yesterday, NJPW is moving forward with the Power Struggle tour. The live-streamed events for this tour on NJPW World will October 23, November 1, November 2, and the major event to end the tour on November 7th.
It was also announced that the Wrestle Kingdom 15 contract will allow its holder to challenge for both the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at Wrestle Kingdom.
NJPW Power Struggle 2020 Card
New Japan has announced the full card for the upcoming Power Struggle event on November 7th. Six singles matches are signed:
King of Pro-Wrestling 2020 Championship: Toru Yano (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Shingo Takagi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Great O-Khan
IWGP US Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match: KENTA vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Wrestle Kingdom 15 Contract Match: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Jay White
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch live on NJPW World with a paid subscription. English and Japanese commentary are available! This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Gabriel Kidd def. Yuya Uemura (8:16) Based on the math, Yota Tsuji has already clinched his place as the winner of the unofficial “C-Block” between these three young lions. Neverthe less, Uemura and Kidd did not give off the impression that they were any less motivated to fight their hardest. Both men jockeyed for position, trying to attack each other’s arm to set up for their finishing arm-trap suplex, before the match devolved into an energetic slugfest. Gabriel Kidd’s standing dropkick followed by the double underhook suplex sealed the deal for Uemura. This would put Kidd, unofficially, in second place, and Uemura in last.
B Block: YOSHI-HASHI def. Toru Yano (6:10) Yano spent all of fifteen seconds calling for a “clean fight” before he attempted to remove a turnbuckle pad. As it turned out, YOSHI-HASHI had hidden a roll of tape in his own trunks that the referee did not find before the match. He used them to tape his staff to Yano’s wrist between the bars of the guardrail on the outside. Yano was barely able to find a way to get his hand free and make it back in the ring before being counted out. From there, he tried to roll YOSHI up repeatedly, and even hit a low blow from behind. As he did, YOSHI-HASHI caught Yano’s arm between his own legs, and used that to roll into an arm-trap cradle for the pinfall victory over his CHAOS stablemate. He has truly performed well above his station and I’m glad he ended his tournament on a happy note. YOSHI-HASHI finishes with 4 points (2 wins, 7 losses). Toru Yano finishes with 6 points (3 wins, 6 losses).
B Block: Juice Robinson def. Hirooki Goto (12:07) Both Goto and Juice have ended up with fairly unfavorable G1 records after starting off strong. Goto in particular, his story the whole tournament has been his hurt arm, which KENTA caused by targeting it relentlessly in their match together, and has dragged his performance down since. At first, Juice went to targeting the hurt arm as well, before switching gears to trying to prove that he could brawl with a weakened Goto. Juice won a battle of lariats, but Goto caught the running Juice with an Ushigoroshi. Still, Juice had the werewithal to catch Juice’s kick and rise to his feet, then rock Goto with a right-handed punch. He called for Pulp Friction, but as he was setting it up, Goto applied a sleeper hold and tried to transition it into a pinning combination, but only achieved a near fall. Out of nowhere, Juice landed a big left-handed punch, then one more, and finally the Pulp Friction to end his G1 with a win. Hirooki Goto finishes with 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses) Juice Robinson finishes with 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses)
B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Zack Sabre Jr. (12:01) I wonder if Zack Sabre Jr. spins a wheel with different names of body parts to decide what he’s going to focus on for his match on any given day. Today, it would be Tanahashi’s neck. With locks and cranks, Zack did his best to immobilize the Ace with neck work. Tanahashi, being technically-versed in his own right, was never at Zack’s mercy for too long. He turned a headscissors neck lock into a modified cloverleaf. Tanahashi used all his bursts of momentum to attack the leg, as he usually does, and it was a battle of who could be clever and creative enough to take control long enough to steal the win. Suddenly, Tanahashi was able to hit a Sling Blade, then immediately went for the High Fly Flow. He managed to land it on a standing Zack, but Zack rolled through it to apply an armbar. Thinking quickly, Tanahashi got to his feet and, with his arm-still trapped, rolled Zack into a lateral press cradle for the victory! He even kept pinning Zack after the three had been counted, because he’s just that cool. Hiroshi Tanahashi finishes with 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses). Zack Sabre Jr. finishes with 10 points (5 wins, 4 losses).
B Block: KENTA def. Tetsuya Naito (21:06) No one who knew what KENTA was like before entering NJPW would have thought that this match with Tetsuya Naito would be a battle of mischevious personalities. At first, KENTA tried to provoke Naito by repeatedly bailing from the ring, but he had a clever plan in mind. As KENTA left the ring again, Naito followed him, but KENTA picked up his IWGP US Heavyweight Championship #1 contender briefcase and hit Naito with it as he leaned over the ropes, making a loud smacking sound. He was trained on Naito’s neck in much the same way that Zack just was against Tanahashi, hoping to hurt it before finishing with the Go 2 Sleep. After landing the Shibata-style corner dropkick into the diving foot stomp, Naito was really struggling to find any breathing room for himself. However, as KENTA lifted Naito onto his shoulders, Naito sat up and hit a reverse frankensteiner, and then went after KENTA with repeated elbows to the back of the neck. He pressed his new advantage with a super frankensteiner and the Gloria slam for a near fall. He tried for the Destino, but KENTA elbowed him away easily, and then lifted Naito’s feet onto the second rope for a DDT. He tried again for the Go 2 Sleep, but Naito would turn it into a counter Destino! He followed up with Valentia and went for the arm-trap Destino, but before he could lock it in, KENTA turned it into an inside cradle roll up for the flash pinfall victory on Naito. KENTA can’t win the G1, but now Naito is out. KENTA finishes with 10 points (5 wins, 4 losses). Tetsuya Naito finishes with 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses).
B Block: SANADA def. EVIL (27:01) EVIL left the ring immediately upon the first bell and offered a too-sweet to Hiromu Takahashi, who was a guest commentator at ringside. Hiromu just gave him a goofy grin and a thumbs-up. SANADA eventually got tired of waiting for EVIL to fight him, and chased him, but this gave EVIL the opportunity to suplex him on a pile of chairs that he had taken out on the outside. The hurt SANADA was a sitting duck for EVIL’s offense, and a smattering of well-timed aid from Dick Togo. SANADA finally rose up and delivered a standing dropkick and plancha to EVIL to take him out. He then brought Dick Togo into the ring and put him in the Paradise Lock, and would do the same to EVIL upon his recovery. He followed up with a springboard dropkick and a bridging tiger suplex for a near fall on the former double champion. SANADA then landed the giant swing into the Skull End, but released it too soon to hit the moonsault and EVIL was able to move out of the way. EVIL would rise to his feet first to deliver a superplex before applying the scorpion deathlock, and held it for a good long time before SANADA finally managed to grab the bottom rope to force the rope break. Still reeling, he barely managed to kick out of Darkness Falls as it was announced that the time limit would come in 10 minutes. EVIL tried for the EVIL (STO), but SANADA blocked it and locked in the Skull End with bodyscissors once again. SANADA stood up and landed two top rope moonsaults on EVIL, but Dick Togo pulled the referee out of the ring and started hitting SANADA with a chair. The two of them landed the Magic Killer on SANADA, but Hiromu, having seen enough, got out of the commentary chair and laid Togo out with a superkick, but EVIL would hit a low blow on Hiromu. Togo and EVIL then hit the Magic Killer on Hiromu as well. EVIL picked up SANADA and threw him back down with a running lariat, and then Dick Togo started choking SANADA. Hiromu came back again to hit another superkick on Togo. But, finally, SANADA pushed EVIL into Dick Togo, and then pinned him with the Japanese leg roll clutch! EVIL finishes with 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses). SANADA finishes with 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses).
Due to his victories over both other men who have 12 points, Tetsuya Naito and EVIL, SANADA is the winner of the B Block. He will face Kota Ibushi and one of them will leave tomorrow the 30th G1 Climax winner!
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Yota Tsuji def. Yuya Uemura (7:56) Once more, the classic and always compelling dynamic of technique versus power was on display between Uemura and Tsuji. Uemura took advantage early with a keylock to weaken Tsuji’s arms in preparation for his “deadbolt” double arm suplex. Tsuji showed that he’s not all brute force as well, when he rolled through Uemura’s hold to get on top and apply a single leg Boston crab. Uemura was able to break the hold, but Tsuji landed a spear followed by a giant swing, then the Boston crab for the submission victory.
B Block: KENTA def. YOSHI-HASHI Soon into the match, KENTA left the ring and started playing with the staff that YOSHI-HASHI carries to the ring. Perturbed by this, YOSHI-HASHI would follow him to the outside, but be thrown head-first into the ring post. From there, KENTA went about systematically dismantling YOSHI’s left arm. YOSHI’s comebacks were short-lived, and KENTA hit a diving foot stomp and went for the Go 2 Sleep. YOSHI-HASHI managed to avoid it and hit a spin kick to grant himself some reprieve. He hit a running powerbomb and tried to apply the Butterfly Lock even with one bad arm. KENTA did not tap, and YOSHI broke the hold to hit a running double knee attack, but KENTA got out of the way and punished YOSHI-HASHI with heavy kicks. He attempted the Go 2 Sleep again but YOSHI would reverse it into a DDT to the crowd’s pleasure. He hit the Kumagoroshi for a near fall and went for Karma, but KENTA avoided it and applied the Game Over facelock. YOSHI-HASHI nearly earned a rope break, but KENTA rolled him back into the center of the ring and YOSHI-HASHI submitted. KENTA goes to 8 points
B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Juice Robinson To the surprise of likely everyone, the match began with Juice Robinson grinding Zack Sabre Jr. down on the mat, using his weight advantage to keep the spindly submission artist beneath him. All the skill and leverage in the world won’t help if you can’t move. Eventually, Juice stood up and started trying to lift Zack for power moves, at which point Zack was able to mount a comeback, targeting Juice’s left arm to weaken the left handed punch that often signals the end for his opponent. Juice still had one good arm and was able to put up a fight, but Zack would repeatedly interrupt his comebacks with guillotine chokes and bodyscissors attacks. He kept going back to the left arm, and when Juice tried to powerbomb him out of an armbar, he needed two tries to do so. Juice hit a big right-handed punch and went for the Pulp Friction, but Zack dropped out of it and rolled him into the European Clutch for the three-count. Zack Sabre Jr. goes to 10 points
B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. Toru Yano (8:04) Tetsuya Naito was walking especially slowly to the ring as he entered, which made Yano get restless. Of course, when the bell rang, Yano was not actually interested in wrestling Naito, and spent a long time going in and out of the ring to delay the inevitable. Soon, though, he had pushed both Yota Tsuji at ringside and Tetsuya Naito down and taped their wrists together between the guardrail, but they were able to make it back in the ring before before Naito was counted out. Naito offered Tsuji a fist bump after they had delivered a double clothesline to Yano and freed themselves from the tape. Tsuji was going to accept it, but it was just a fake out; Naito kicked Tsuji and body-slammed him on top of Yano. Yano hit a sneak low blow on Naito and tried to roll him up, but Naito kicked out. Naito retaliated with a pop-up kick to the groin and a jackknife pin to defeat the Sublime Master Thief. Tetsuya Naito goes to 12 points
B Block: EVIL def. Hirooki Goto (15:33) With Naito now at 12 points, Goto is ostensibly out of the running, while EVIL has the best chances of defeating him since he has the tiebreaker victory. If Goto does win, it will be a matter of honor and sportsmanship conquering… evil. With the aid of Dick Togo at ringside, EVIL dominated Goto in the early stages of the match. Goto fired back up to lift the running EVIL and hit the Ushigoroshi, but Togo’s distraction enabled EVIL to stop Goto as he climbed to the top rope to capitalize on his first bit of momentum. EVIL hit a heavy lariat followed by Darkness Falls only for Goto to kick out, and attempted the EVIL STO, but EVIL avoided it. He forced EVIL out of the ring and hit a plancha on both EVIL and Togo! Goto hit a headbutt and a reverse GTR on EVIL for a near fall. He tried for the regular GTR, but EVIL dodged it. He attempted a discus lariat and EVIL caught his shoulder to transition into the STO finish. The G in G1 does not stand for Goto this year. EVIL goes to 12 points
B Block: SANADA def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (28:25) Matches between Hiroshi Tanahashi and SANADA are always interesting because a trained eye can spot all the ways that they wrestle like each other. Being both proteges of Keiji Mutoh, their offense, largely based on attacking the neck and knees to make them more susceptible to both submissions and bursts of high-speed offense. Tanahashi exemplified this, as he caught SANADA with his first dragonscrew, sending him reeling to the outside, and then landed on him with a High Fly Flow crossbody. He brought SANADA back and continued attacking his legs with Dragonscrews, but SANADA was able to make it to the ropes to break Tanahashi’s Texas Cloverleaf. SANADA was able to make it to his feet and fight back with a rope-hung Magic Screw and a springboard dropkick. SANADA went for the top rope moonsault, and he could see that Tanahashi had moved while he was in flight. When he landed on his feet, he felt it in his knees, and his stumble allowed Tanahashi to hit a Sling Blade. He followed up with a bridging full nelson suplex for a near fall, and looked to capitalize with the High Fly Flow. SANADA lifted his knees to block the move, but it hurt him just as much as Tanahashi. He managed to trap Tanahashi in the Skull End and soon went for the top rope moonsault again, but Tanahashi got his knees up! Feeling the pressure, SANADA tried for a hurricanrana, but Tanahashi caught his legs in midair and twisted SANADA into the Texas cloverleaf again! SANADA scratched and clawed and made it to the ropes. Tanahashi hit another Sling Blade and tried for the High Fly Flow, but SANADA hit him with a cutter in midair! With two top rope moonsaults, he stays in G1 contention. SANADA goes to 10 points
G1 Climax 30 Standings
A Block: 12 points – Kota Ibushi, Jay White, Kazuchika Okada 10 points – Will Ospreay 8 points – Jeff Cobb, Taichi 6 points – Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi 0 points – Yujiro Takahashi
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Gabriel Kidd def. Yota Tsuji (7:09) The longer this tournament lasts, the less patient and the mroe aggressive the young lions are getting with each other. It’s as if they are losing their inhibitions and becoming more willing to wrestle all-out, whether they win or lose. Also, you see both Uemura and Kidd gunning for Tsuji as he proves himself the favorite. Kidd, in particular, has been showing his LA Dojo training more and more, using body language while throwing elbow strikes that even commentary mentioned as being patterned after Katsuyori Shibata. Kidd landed a dropkick and double underhook suplex for the three-count.
B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. def. YOSHI-HASHI (13:34) In the early going, Zack went after YOSHI-HASHI’s left arm, controlling the pace and forcing the first-time champion to rely on rope breaks to escape his holds. With strikes from his good arm, YOSHI-HASHI was able to fight back, taking advantage of Zack’s lack of durability. Zack clung to his game plan, throwing kicks to the bad arm and applying an Octopus hold, but YOSHI was able to reverse it into a cobra twist, and he transitioned into the Butterfly Lock. Zack was able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold and land more stomps to the left arm, but YOSHI’s thrust kick sent him flopping to the mat again. YOSHI tried for Karma, but Zack was not having it, and he continued trying to rip YOSHI’s left arm out of its socket. YOSHI-HASHI was trapped, and did not have the mental capacity to give up, but the referee made that decision for him. Zack Sabre Jr. goes to 8 points
B Block: KENTA def. Toru Yano (8:56) KENTA and Yano spent a good few minutes yelling at each other to put away the foreign objects that they brought to the ring: Yano’s red steel chair and KENTA’s IWGP US Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender briefcase. It was ruled that neither object was allowed. Finally having touched after nearly five minutes, Yano threw KENTA into the guardrail, sprayed sanitizing fluid in his face, then threw a turnbuckle pad at him, but KENTA was able to make it back into the ring in time. KENTA worked over Yano and then pulled him, along with the briefcase, to the entrance stage. He hit Yano in the head with the briefcase, causing it to open, and countless rolls of tape to spill out. KENTA taped Yano’s arm to the truss of the entranceway and left him to be counted out. KENTA goes to 6 points
B Block: SANADA def. Juice Robinson (15:06) Both Juice and SANADA’s ability to factor into the finals of this tournament are largely dependent on the result of this match. Surprisingly, only a few days after SANADA’s victory over Tetsuya Naito, Juice was getting the better of him, while delivering some prime banter. Between calling SANADA “Cold Stone” and telling the referee that he has until five in Japanese, showing his personality is where Juice shines. SANADA was finally able to create some momentum for himself after he dodged Juice’s cannonball splash and hit a dropkick and plancha. SANADA’s comeback did not last long, though, as Juice caught him with a full nelson slam, then hit a superplex and jackhammer to press the advantage. SANADA was still able to dodge Juice’s Left Hand of God and block his attempts at Pulp Friction. SANADA tried multiple times at the Skull End, but Juice avoided it in creative ways multiple times. Finally, SANADA was able to hit the dragon sleeper giant swing into the Skull End, followed by the top rope moonsault to put Juice away and stay alive. SANADA goes to 8 points
B Block: Hirooki Goto def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (13:38) Another match with both men on the bubble of elimination. Tanahashi, as he is apt to do, targeted Goto’s knees with laserlike focus. Goto was already worn down by this tournament, having a wrapped right shoulder since his second match, and now his base was being removed from him as well. Tanahashi tried early for the Texas cloverleaf, but Goto got out of it without too much difficulty and hit the Ushigoroshi to finally inflict some offense. He tried for the Shouten Kai, but Tanahashi sandbagged it and hit Twist and Shout, followed by a counter Sling Blade. He perched on the top rope for the High Fly Flow, but Goto climbed up with him and slowed his roll with multiple headbutts. He lifted Tanahashi on his shoulders and dropped him to the mat with a nasty looking Ushigoroshi, but this also hurt his own knees in the process. Goto followed up with the reverse GTR, and Tanahashi desperately tried to apply a flash pin, but Goto kicked out of it. He hit the normal GTR and put the Ace down for the three count. Goto is still in; Tanahashi is out. Hirooki Goto goes to 8 points
B Block: EVIL def. Tetsuya Naito (23:57) After wrestling two main event title matches, Naito and the new EVIL are well-acquainted with each other. However, even though Naito definitively won at Summer Struggle, his animosity for EVIL, the man who betrayed Los Ingobernables de Japon, was more evident than ever. He smiled as he cranked EVIL’s neck in holds and refused to break them, even when he was told to by the referee. However, this did not mean he was immune to EVIL’s nefarious deeds, or those of his new right-hand man, Dick Togo. Togo was still there to distract the referee at times, or even be the aggressor, but Naito was smarter about avoiding their tactics this time. Nevertheless, Naito was on the back foot for most of this match. He got out of EVIL’s Scorpion Deathlock and retaliated with a rolling kick and Gloria for a near fall. EVIL pushed Naito into an exposed turnbuckle and used this opportunity to take control again. EVIL got Naito up for Darkness Falls but received a counter Destino for it. EVIL tried for his self-named finish but Naito avoided it, only to be hit by Darkness Falls this time. EVIL kept trying for EVIL, but Naito kept foiling his attempts. Dick Togo got in the ring yet again, and Naito disposed of him easily, but EVIL had the opportunity to hit a low blow on Naito in the meantime. This did not deter Naito, who hit a flying forearm on EVIL, followed by a running Destino for a near fall. He tried for one more Destino, but EVIL countered it into his self-named finish hold for the victory. EVIL goes to 10 points
G1 Climax 30 Standings
A Block: 10 points – Jay White, Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi, Kazuchika Okada 6 points – Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi, Jeff Cobb 0 points – Yujiro Takahashi
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Gabriel Kidd def. Yuya Uemura (8:47) Over the course of this G1, which is past the halfway mark at this point, Gabriel Kidd has shown himself to be the most adaptable of the three young lions, in my view. He has the strength to strike with Tsuji and the technique to grapple with Uemura, while the two Japanese young lions are more specialized. Kidd and Uemura were both able to reach the ropes with their dueling Boston crabs early in the match, but, and Kidd had enough fight in him to stuff Uemura’s attempt at a double arm suplex. He hit a dropkick, a vertical suplex, followed by his own double underhook suplex for the win.
B Block: Hirooki Goto def. YOSHI-HASHI (14:12) Goto’s last several matches have ended in very decisive fashion, lasting only several minutes combined. His right arm and shoulder are bandaged and it is a wonder whether that has made Goto fight with more urgency. YOSHI-HASHI focused on Goto’s hurt arm, applying a keylock that Goto needed a rope break to escape. Goto rallied with a spinning kick and a running bulldog, followed by the Ushigoroshi, but the pain in his arm stopped him from capitalizing. YOSHI-HASHI smartly countered with a lariat to the arm, followed by a Dragon suplex and the Butterfly Lock. He transitioned it into a sleeper hold and backstabber when Goto started moving towards the ropes, followed by the Kumagoroshi for a near fall. He tried to hit the Karma, but Goto stuffed it and lifted YOSHI-HASHI for the GTW. He tried to follow up, but YOSHI-HASHI hit a headbutt, only for Goto to return the favor. Finally, he hit the GTR for the pinfall win. Goto 6 points, YOSHI-HASHI 2 points
B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Toru Yano (12:20) Toru Yano claimed to want a clean fight with Zack Sabre Jr., and voluntarily removed many rolls of wrist tape from his trousers. He then proceeded to challenge Zack to grappling, followed by amateur wrestling, but Zack was not interested in engaging. Zack then adopted an amateur wrestling stance as well, but Yano instead ran to remove a turnbuckle pad. He left to retrieve a chair from outside the ring, along with a roll of tape, and he tied Zack’s arm to a chair outside the guardrail. Still, Zack was able to pull the chair through the bars of the guardrail to make it back in the ring before he could be counted out. The referee removed the chair and Yano apologized profusely to Zack, before hitting a belly-to-belly suplex. Yano pulled him out of the ring and tried to hit a German suplex on the floor, but Zack pulled him into an ankle lock and dragged him away from the ring. Yano was still able to limp back to the ring before the 20-count, though. The slowed Yano was a sitting duck for more leg attacks from Zack. Yano got to his feet and removed a turnbuckle pad, but then engaged Zack in a series of fighting for pinning combinations. Zack trapped him in an ankle lock yet again, then transitioned it into a heel hook, and Yano had nowhere to go. Zack 6 points, Yano 6 points
B Block: SANADA def. KENTA (11:24) KENTA’s “IWGP US Heavyweight Championship #1 contender” briefcase had a big crack in it from when KENTA hit Tanahashi across the face with it two days ago. It had a note taped over the crack with Tanahashi’s name written. KENTA controlled the match early, grinding SANADA down with strikes and holds to the head. SANADA blocked a kick of KENTA’s and applied the Paradise Lock, which to this day amuses the audience very much. With a running dropkick followed by a diving double footstomp, KENTA brought the momentum of the match back in his favor. Hew went for the Go 2 Sleep, but this may have been premature, as SANADA avoided it easily. SANADA hit a pop-up TKO and applied the sleeper hold, but KENTA pushed him into the referee and left to pick up the briefcase again. He tried to hit SANADA in the face with it, but SANADA dodged it and dropkicked the briefcase into KENTA’s face. He then went for a moonsault, but KENTA blocked it with his knees. Seeing the opportunity, he tried for the Go 2 Sleep again, but SANADA avoided it and pulled KENTA into a Japanese leg roll clutch for the pinfall win. SANADA 6 points, KENTA 4 points
B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. Juice Robinson (25:01) Juice has been one of the best at engaging a crowd that isn’t allowed to cheer, but Naito was the more popular man in the building. Naito dominated Juice in the early going, almost mocking him, and perhaps his Blues Brothers cosplay outfit, as he scraped his boot across Juice’s face. He mimicked Juice’s crowd-rallying pose while holding Juice in a headscissors hold, but Juice was finally able to get to his feet and grant himself some space with a spinebuster. This did not last long, though, as Naito pounced with a neckbreaker drop into the Pluma Blanca necklock. Naito condescendingly encouraged Juice to try harder, only for Juice to catch his flying forearm and hit a full nelson slam. He fired up the crowd as he lifted Naito to the top rope and landed a superplex into a jackhammer for a near fall on the double champion. Naito wriggled out of Juice’s Pulp Friction finish and awarded Juice a reverse Frankensteiner for his efforts. Naito went for the running Destino, but Juice caught him with a leg lariat as he yelled profanely. He caught Naito’s rope-assisted tornado DDT, but Naito modified it into a reverse Destino. Juice reversed Naito’s next Destino attempt into a falling powerbomb as the crowd applauded. Past the 20 minute mark, Juice hit a big lariat and tried once more for the Pulp Friction, but again Naito avoided it, but was knocked to the mat by the Left Hand of God. Juice tried yet again for his finish, but again Naito managed to hit another running Destino. The crowd came unglued as Juice kicked out! Naito was unfazed, though, and landed one last Destino to extend his lead on the rest of B Block. Naito 10 points, Juice 6 points
B Block: EVIL def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (19:58) It didn’t take a long period of Tanahashi getting the better of EVIL for Dick Togo to interfere on EVIL’s behalf. EVIL whipped Tanahashi into the barricade, and while he was down, he pulled out a pile of chairs, suplexed Yota Tsuji onto them, and removed a turnbuckle pad. Togo would repeatedly be there when Tanahashi was starting to take control. EVIL tried to throw Tanahashi to the outside, but he skinned the cat to get back in the ring, only to get thrown halfway across with a German suplex. Tanahashi fought off EVIL’s Scorpion Deathlock attempt and tried to apply the Texas cloverleaf, but EVIL grabbed his hair to get Tanahashi off of him. Tanahashi hit a sliding dropkick to knock down Togo, followed by multiple Dragonscrews and another go at the cloverleaf. EVIL’s back was severely arched, but he managed to crawl to the bottom rope and free himself. EVIL returned to form with a big lariat, but Tanahashi reversed his Darkness Falls into a Sling Blade. Tanahashi climbed to the top rope for a High Fly Flow, and Togo tried to distract him, but Tsuji pulled him away. He hit the crossbody on a standing EVIL and transitioned into the Texas cloverleaf once more, but Togo came in and started choking Tanahashi with his wire. Tanahashi was able to lift it off of his neck and slap Togo in the face to send him reeling. From there, he hit a Sling Blade and a High Fly Flow to EVIL’s back, then went for another. However, Dick Togo pulled his leg, making his groin land on the turnbuckle, and giving EVIL the opening he needed. He superplexed Tanahashi off the top rope and landed Darkness Falls for a two-count. Finally, he landed his self-named STO for the three count. EVIL 8 points, Tanahashi 6 points
G1 Climax 30 Standings
A Block: 8 points – Kota Ibushi, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Jay White 6 points – Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi 4 points – Jeff Cobb 0 points – Yujiro Takahashi
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Yuya Uemura drew against Yota Tsuji (15:00) A lot of non-young lion wrestlers throughout the entire sport could learn from young lions about how to make working a hold compelling. Young lions don’t slap on a headlock to kill time because they don’t have time to kill; rather, this is how they learn to do more with less. The raucous applause Tsuji and Uemura would receive received for scratching, clawing, and eventually reaching the bottom rope to break each other’s Boston crabs was a testament to that. After the ring announcer announced that only one minute was left, they immediately scrambled for flash pinfall attempts, but neither could make one stick. The match ended in a 15:00 time limit draw.
B Block: Hirooki Goto def. Toru Yano (0:18) Similar to how he did towards Juice Robinson, Toru Yano tried the trick of giving one of his t-shirts to Goto and asking him to put it on, so that he could get a flash pin while their shirt was over their head. Goto was not having it and threw the shirt to the mat. As Yano turned around to pick it up, Goto hit a lariat to Yano’s back, then applied the Goto Shiki pinning combination and got the three-count. This was the shortest match in the history of the G1 Climax, and likely one of the shortest in all of NJPW’s history. Goto 4 points, Yano 6 points
B Block: SANADA def. Zack Sabre Jr. (14:31) Zack Sabre Jr. has a reputation for pulling SANADA’s more technical side whenever they wrestle, and that was more than evident in this match. However, most of SANADA’s attempts at matching Zack hold for hold ended in vain, as the lanky Brit rotated between SANADA’s arms, legs, and neck as targets for submission holds. He had SANADA scouted as well: he dodged SANADA’s plancha to the outside and applied an Octopus hold, but had to break it to avoid being counted out. Later, he blocked SANADA’s TKO and avoided multiple attempts at the his leg roll clutch. He even got a bit cocky, applying his own variation of the Skull End, but this may have been his undoing. SANADA reversed Zack’s dragon sleeper variation, then lifted Zack’s legs onto the top rope for a rope-assisted TKO. He followed up with the top rope moonsault for his second victory of the G1. SANADA 4 points, Zack 4 points
B Block: EVIL def. Juice Robinson (15:35) Not long into the match, EVIL suplexed Juice into a pile of steel chairs that he pulled out from under the ring, then used the time while Juice was laying in agony to remove a turnbuckle pad. When he was finally able to get back into the ring, EVIL put him in a half Boston crab, but the anguished Juice would crawl to the bottom rope to break the hold. With a big leg lariat and a spinebuster, Juice would make his comeback, then hit a plancha on Dick Togo to temporarily take him out. The crowd clapped and stomped rhythmically for Juice as he hit a superplex followed by a Jackhammer for a near fall on the former IWGP double champion. However, EVIL would push Juice to the ropes so that the recovered Togo could slam a steel chair into Juice’s back. This gave EVIL the opportunity to hit Darkness Falls for a two count, but Juice would block the EVIL, only for EVIL to block the Pulp Friction as well. EVIL hit a low blow as Juice was going for the Left Hand of God, and from there he hit his eponymous STO for the tainted victory. EVIL 6 points, Juice 6 points
B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. YOSHI-HASHI (24:43) Coming off of winning the first ever championship of his career, YOSHI-HASHI is in a stronger position than he has ever been. This provided him the fire he needed to hold the advantage against Naito, hitting a tope con hilo followed by a top rope Headhunter for a two-count. However, the double champion Naito would not go down without a fight. He reversed YOSHI-HASHI’s running powerbomb into a Frankensteiner, and followed it with a tornado DDT. He fought off the first attempt at the Butterfly Lock with relative ease as well. He hit the Gloria for a near fall, then followed up with a first Destino attempt, but a western lariat from YOSHI-HASHI thwarted it. YOSHI-HASHI fought back with a shoulderbuster followed by another try at the Butterfly Lock. He transitioned it into a backstabber when he saw Naito inching towards the ropes, and applied it again. For what seemed like an eternity, Naito was in the Butterfly Lock, but was finally able to get a rope break as it was announced 20 minutes of the match had elapsed. Still, as soon as Naito got to his feet, YOSHI-HASHi capitalized with a running lariat, but his attempt at the Kumagoroshi ended in Naito hitting a reverse Destino. YOSHI-HASHI’s counterplay was countering Naito’s next Destino attempt with the Kumagoroshi, and going for Karma. Naito stuffed the Karma and hit a rolling kick, followed by Valentia for a near fall. A final Destino finished off YOSHI-HASHI. Naito 8 points, YOSHI-HASHI 2 points
B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. KENTA (23:41) KENTA was able to take advantage early and execute his plan: neutralizing Tanahashi’s known bad legs to make him more averse to using the High Fly Flow. Also, he was feeling particularly smarmy today, playing the air bass guitar while Tanahashi was writhing in agony on the mat. Tanahashi was able to give himself breathing room with a Dragonscrew and a front flip senton, but soon enough KENTA was back to working the knees with a Figure Four Leglock. He took Tanahashi to the apron and gave him a Dragonscrew from the apron to the floor, leaving him to be nearly counted out. KENTA pounced with a diving double foot stomp when Tanahashi came in and went for the Go 2 Sleep, but Tanahashi managed to wriggle out of it. He came back with a Sling Blade and multiple Dragonscrews while the crowd were with him, but sustained some cracking backhand slaps from KENTA in the process. KENTA pushed Tanahashi into the referee, making them fall to the mat, and hit multiple splashes on the two of them. He grabbed his IWGP US Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender briefcase from ringside and hit Tanahashi square in the face with it. Tanahashi rose to his knees only for a Busaiku Knee Kick to greet him. KENTA lifted Tanahashi for the Go 2 Sleep, but Tanahashi got out of it again and hit multiple Twist and Shouts. After a High Fly Flow on a standing KENTA, Tanahashi applied a Texas cloverleaf for the submission victory! Tanahashi 6 points, KENTA 4 points
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Yota Tsuji vs. Gabriel Kidd ended in a draw (15:00) Gabriel Kidd has come along a great deal since joining NJPW. He worked a headlock on Tsuji in the most interesting way I’ve ever seen someone do it, cranking on it and reversing all of Tsuji’s attempts to break it in creative ways. His creative holds and transitions enabled him to dominate the majority of the match against Tsuji. Tsuji retaliated with a body slam into a single-leg Boston crab, but it was enough to make Kidd’s crumble after he tried a body slam of his own. Kidd locked in a full Boston crab, but Tsuji was able to make it to the ropes to break the hold. Tsuji hit a back body drop and applied a Boston crab of his own. Kidd was able to get out of it and hit a dropkick as the ring announcer said there was less than 1 minute to go. They both attempted flash pins but the 15 minute time limit arrived before either man was finished Both men kept striking each other after the bell rang until they collapsed in a heap.
B Block: Juice Robinson def. Toru Yano (6:42) Toru Yano threw one of his t-shirts at Juice and asked him to put it on. Juice was suspicious of Yano’s intentions, but he insisted, and then attempted to roll Juice up, but failed. He then left the ring and told Juice to come after him, but Juice ripped the Yano shirt off and rubbed it between his legs before running after Yano. Yano outsmarted him and taped Juice’s legs together, then bolted back into the ring for the countout victory, but Juice hopped on his taped-together legs back into the ring in time. Juice managed to rip the tape off and hit the Left Hand of God, but Yano blocked Juice’s Pulp Friction. He tried for another roll up but Juice reversed it into a prawn hold for the pinfall victory. Juice 6 points, Yano 6 points
B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Hirooki Goto (3:59) Following his loss at the hands of KENTA, Zack Sabre Jr. wasted no time trying to dismantle the bandaged right shoulder of Hirooki Goto. He brought Goto to his knees with an octopus hold, then hit a cheeky penalty kick for good measure. The angered Goto hit a lariat with his bad arm and paid the price, collapsing in pain. He managed to still perform the Ushigoroshi on Zack, but when he went for his finishing move, the GTR, Zack dropped out of his grip and flipped Goto into the bridging European Clutch for the three-count, in a very fast match.
B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. YOSHI-HASHI (18:41) YOSHI-HASHI, seemingly in defiance of one of the elder statesmen of NJPW, adapted part of Tanahashi’s trademark strategy for himself, going after Tanahashi’s legs early in the match, including a Dragonscrew. Irate, Tanahashi pushed YOSHI-HASHI into the corner with elbow strikes and then repaid him with a Dragonscrew of his own. Shockingly, YOSHI-HASHI overpowered Tanahashi in a chop battle and then put him down for a 2-count with a sitout powerbomb. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade when YOSHI-HASHI ran off the ropes, and then went for the High Fly Flow, but YOSHI-HASHI blocked it with his knees! He then hit a big lariat and applied the Butterfly Lock as the crowd rallied behind Tanahashi. He could see Tanahashi inching toward the rope and transitioned into a backcracker. Tanahashi tried to come back with repeated Dragonscrews, but YOSHI-HASHI managed to hit the Kumagoroshi for a near fall. Tanahashi blocked YOSHI-HASHI’s attempt at the Karma and hit a fast Sling Blade, followed by two High Fly Flows to put YOSHI-HASHI away. 4 points Tanahashi, 2 points YOSHI-HASHI
B Block: EVIL def. KENTA (15:40) I was interested in this match before the tournament began, with the potential interactions between two Bullet Club members who have not interacted recently, and how Dick Togo’s allegiance might factor in. KENTA offered a 2-Sweet at the start of the match, and EVIL and Dick Togo gave each other a 2-Sweet instead of KENTA. Seemingly perturbed by this, KENTA whispered something to Dick Togo and then went about beating EVIL from pillar to post. He asked Dick Togo to help him but Togo did not get involved. EVIL irish-whipped KENTA into the ropes and Togo grabbed his foot, making him trip, which made KENTA furious at how a Bullet Club member could cheat against another one. From here, EVIL controlled the pace, grinding KENTA down and wrenching on his bad left shoulder. KENTA retaliated with powerful kicks and a flying lariat for a near fall, but when he tried to follow up, Dick Togo jumped onto the apron to distract him and put EVIL back in control. KENTA pushed the referee into EVIL and went to grab his “IWGP US Heavyweight Champion #1 contender” briefcase. Dick Togo asked KENTA for it, and got hit in the face with it. KENTA then hit EVIL with it as well and followed up with the Busaiku Knee Kick, but EVIL kicked out. EVIL then came back with the Darkness Falls, but KENTA blocked the EVIL, and lifted the interfering Dick Togo into the Go 2 Sleep. This gave EVIL the opportunity to hit a low blow from behind and then the EVIL STO for the dirty win over KENTA. 4 points EVIL, 4 points KENTA
B Block: SANADA def. Tetsuya Naito (27:08) Naito and SANADA have met in the G1 several times since SANADA joined LIJ, but no LIJ member has ever defeated Naito in the G1. However, the crowd today, being in the same prefecture that SANADA was born in, was on SANADA’s side. They clapped in bursts of three, as if chanting the syllables of his name. Naito took this personally, finding every opportunity possible to crank on SANADA’s neck while urging the crowd to chant for their hometown hero. Naito softened SANADA’s neck up with a top rope Frankensteiner and the Esperanza, but SANADA reversed his running Destino into the TKO cutter. From there, he landed the moonsault into the Skull End, reapplying the bodyscissors when Naito managed to get to his feet. He broke the hold to hit the top rope moonsault, but Naito rolled out of the way! As the ring announcer said that 25 minutes had passed, Naito hit a Destino only for SANADA to kick out. He wound up for another, but SANADA blocked it and hit a Destino of his own! He followed up with two top rope moonsaults and got the pin on Naito! SANADA 2 points, Naito 6 points
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Yuya Uemura def. Gabriel Kidd At the start, Gabriel Kidd was laser-focused on Uemura’s arm, using a bridging arm lock to weaken him, so that he would be unable to break free of the double underhook suplex that Kidd has been using to finish matches lately. Uemura was able to reverse the hold into a leglock, but Kidd grabbed the bottom rope to break it. They engaged in a battle of strikes but Kidd was getting the upper hand, but Uemura hit a beautiful dropkick and locked in a high-angle Boston crab; Kidd had no choice but to tap out.
B Block: YOSHI-HASHI def. SANADA (15:15) SANADA trained his offense on YOSHI-HASHI’s neck, likely a setup for the Skull End. YOSHI-HASHI hit a lariat to SANADA against the ropes, sending him tumbling to the outside, but when he went to the outside to follow up, SANADA lifted YOSHI-HASHI’s legs onto the barricade and gave him a body dragonscrew. SANADA looked to have YOSHI-HASHI’s number, rallying the Korakuen Hall crowd. YOSHI-HASHI finally hit a desparation lariat, followed by a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. He rose to the top rope, but SANADA blocked the Swanton Bomb with his legs. He then hit a moonsault on a standing YOSHI-HASHI into the Skull End. YOSHI briefly got his head free, but SANADA pulled him back into it. SANADA broke the hold to hit his finishing top rope moonsault, but YOSHI-HASHI blocked it with his knees, in an act of retribution. He rose to his feet and delivered a dragon suplex followed by the Kumagoroshi for a near fall as the crowd clapped for him. Finally, he hit the Karma for the three-count! YOSHI-HASHI 2 points, SANADA 0 points
B Block: KENTA def. Zack Sabre Jr. (15:46) KENTA did not begin the match by retreating to the outside of the ring like he did against his prior opponents. Zack laid on the mat and challenged KENTA to grapple with him, but KENTA just kicked him in the chest. KENTA pelted the spindly ZSJ with strikes for quite a while. Zack even sat up and put his arms behind his back, challenging KENTA to kick him, but he soon regretted it. Zack finally realized he couldn’t sustain much more of this and brought the match onto his terms, attacking KENTA’s right arm. KENTA tried to hit a lariat, but was clutching his arm in pain after he did so. KENTA decided to use his other limbs to fight, landing multiple shotgun dropkicks and a diving foot stomp for a near fall. He tried to lift Zack for the Go 2 Sleep, but Zack started cranking on his arm and he had to stop. Zack hit a guillotine choke and transitioned into the Jim Breaks armbar, but KENTA forced the rope break. Zack hit the ropes, but ran into KENTA’s knee strike on the way back. KENTA lifted the dazed Zack for the Go 2 Sleep and the pinfall victory. KENTA 4 points, Zack 2 points
B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Juice Robinson (14:16) Tanahashi found himself outpowered by Juice in the early going, as Juice worked over the Ace’s lower back with punches, backbreakers, and a sidewalk slam. He placed Tanahashi in a seated full nelson while egging on Tanahashi to do better. He broke the hold to hit another lower back punch, but the freed Tanahashi put Juice on his back with a dropkick to the leg and a dragonscrew. Slowed, but not beaten, Juice continued to push Tanahashi, hitting a big lariat and the cannonball splash, as the crowd flared up with rhythmic applause. Juice hit a jackhammer for a near fall, but when he went for the Pulp Friction, Tanahashi blocked it and hit a Sling Blade. He went to the top rope for the High Fly Flow, but the standing Juice rolled through it into a pinning combination for a two-count. Juice hit his Left Hand of God punch on Tanahashi and went for the Pulp Friction again, but Tanahashi dropped to the mat to avoid it and pulled Juice into a victory roll for the pinfall victory, to finally make it on the board. Tanahashi 2 points, Juice 4 points
B Block: Toru Yano def. EVIL (4:33) Yano immediately went after EVIL’s second, Dick Togo, so that he would not be present to give EVIL the advantage. He taped Togo’s arm to the outside barricade, but EVIL was able to break him free later on. As Togo distracted the referee, EVIL hit a low blow on Yano, but then Yano whipped him into the referee. EVIL stopped before hitting the referee, but it gave Yano the opening to hit a low blow of his own. Immediately, Dick Togo came in and hit a low blow on Yano, but Yano retaliated with a mule kick. He whipped Togo into EVIL and then hit a low blow on both of them at once, then pinned EVIL with a roll-up. Yano 6 points, EVIL 2 points
B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. Hirooki Goto (21:58) Goto’s right shoulder was already taped up from his match with KENTA and Naito focused on it immediately, using arm wringers, strikes, and a Kimura lock to further damage Goto’s dominant arm. Naito had said in a recent interview that he viewed Goto as just a guy, whose presence did not mean much in the grand scheme. This was Goto’s chance to prove that statement wrong, but his early comebacks were all thwarted by Naito. When Naito lifted Goto to the middle rope for his super frankensteiner, Goto slid under and delivered a superplex, sending Naito reeling to the outside. He followed up with the first plancha I’ve ever seen him do. As the match reached 15 elapsed minutes, Naito was back on the offense again, catching Goto with a swinging DDT and repeated elbows to the back of the head, and then successfully performing the super Frankensteiner. Naito went for the running Destino, but Goto blocked hit and hit the reverse GTR! He followed up with a rope-hung GTR for a near fall, but when he went for the Ushigoroshi Naito countered it into a Destino. Naito went for the final Destino, but Goto caught it and hit the GTW! Goto attempted the GTR, but Naito blocked it, then finished Goto off with the Valentia and Destino! Naito 6 points, Goto 2 points
Yota Tsuji def. Yuya Uemura (8:13, Submission, Boston Crab)
B Block: Hirooki Goto def. SANADA (11:03, Pinfall, GTR)
B Block: Toru Yano def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (7:15, Pinfall, Leg Hook Cradle)
B Block: Juice Robinson def. KENTA (17:01, Pinfall, Pulp Friction)
B Block: EVIL def. YOSHI-HASHI (17:21, Pinfall, EVIL)
B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr. (28:28, Pinfall, Destino)
Standings
A Block 4 points – Will Ospreay, Taichi, Jay White 2 points – Jeff Cobb, Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, Kota Ibushi 0 points – Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi, Yujiro Takahashi
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Yota Tsuji def. Gabriel Kidd (9:15) I would recommend that everyone reading this go to NJPW’s English website and read Gabriel Kidd’s interview, in which he discusses Shibata grabbing his stomach fat and telling him to lose weight before he could join the LA Dojo. He certainly has, but it may have been Yota Tsuji’s weight may have helped him press the advantage, as he overpowered Gabriel Kid with strikes, and was too heavy for Kidd to lift when he attempted a suplex. Kidd hit a great standing dropkick to cut off Tsuji briefly, but in the end Tsuji caught him in the Boston Crab for the submission victory.
B Block: Juice Robinson def. YOSHI-HASHI (15:57) Unlike Ishii yesterday, YOSHI-HASHI entered while proudly displaying his NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Meanwhile, Juice Robinson entered in a white tank top and tight black pants and shoes, looking like a Blues Brother. These two hit some of the loudest chops I’ve heard recently, up there with the one sin yesterday’s match between Ishii and Suzuki. Juice made the crowd stomp and clap to the rhythm of “We Will Rock You” by Queen. His focus on the crowd let YOSHI-HASHI catch him in the Butterfly Lock, but the crowd resumed the rhythmic noise-making to support Juice. YOSHI-HASHI broke the hold to hit a swanton bomb, but Juice kicked out at two as the crowd. His chest red from chops, he went for the Karma, but Juice was able to sprawl to stop the hold and a heavy lariat. Finally, he hit two big punches and the Pulp Friction to put YOSHI-HASHI away. Juice 2 points, YOSHI-HASHI 0 points
B Block: Toru Yano def. SANADA (6:16) SANADA also decided to bring new gear to the G1, wearing a black and silver outfit that looks like something a supervillain would wear, but a comically small skull mask. Toru Yano was carrying three rolls of tape in his trunks, which were removed by the referee early in the match. After being unceremoniously worked over, Yano retreated to the outside and told SANADA to come after him, but SANADA didn’t take the bait and Yano had to run back to the ring to stop from being counted out, and SANADA hit a plancha to the outside to press his advantage. From there, SANADA pulled Yano to the entrance walkway and put him in the Paradise Lock, then left him to trapped to be counted out. However, a young lion, thinking this was unfair, rolled Yano onto his back to set him free. This enabled Yano to tie SANADA and the young lion’s legs together with his last roll of tape, and win the match by countout. Also, the young lion wasn’t wearing his mask over his nose, shame on him. Yano 2 points, SANADA 0 points
B Block: KENTA def. Hirooki Goto (17:15) Goto also didn’t bring out his NEVER 6-Man title, and it’s getting on my nerves that YOSHI-HASHI is the only one who did. KENTA had promised on Twitter that he would win this match using his Game Over submission, which he had used in this same building to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship when he was in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He put that plan into action, targeting Goto’s right arm with holds and kicks. As KENTA kicked Goto in the chest, Goto rose to his feet went for a lariat, but KENTA grabbed his arm, immobilizing Goto in pain. Goto fought back and started working on KENTA’s arm too. KENTA was able to get his foot on the rope to break Goto’s seated armbar, and got Goto back on the defensive again with a diving foot stomp. He lifted Goto for the Go 2 Sleep, but Goto grabbed KENTA’s knee to stop its impact. He applied his Shoryu Kekkai arm submission, but KENTA was able to reach the bottom rope to break it. Goto tried to finish the match with the GTR, but KENTA forced him into the Game Over and there was nowhere for Goto to go. KENTA wins by submission. KENTA 2 points, Goto 0 points
B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. def. EVIL (15:54) With one of the briefest IWGP Heavyweight Championship reigns in recent history behind him, EVIL has a lot to prove in the G1. Credit to him, he was beating Zack from pillar to post in the early going, a little bit of help from Dick Togo notwithstanding. With his quickness, Zack was able to make his move and went to twisting EVIL’s neck and arms in a brutal fashion. EVIL was able to break Zack’s abdominal stretch by pulling on his ear, living up to his name. He went back to pummeling the wiry submission master with strikes and big suplexes. Zack countered EVIL’s lariat with an arm drag into a submission hold, but Dick Togo came onto the apron as a distraction. Zack casually kicked him away, but EVIL whipped him into the referee, and Dick Togo came in to lay boots to Zack. After being hit with one senton from each, Zack was able to fight back to take Togo out. EVIL went for a mule kick, but Zack caught EVIL’s leg in between his knees. EVIL hit the Darkness Falls for a near fall, and went for the EVIL STO, but Zack rolled him into the European Clutch for the pinfall victory. He was hurt and struggling to walk afterward, but the points go to him, overcoming a two on one disadvantage. Zack 2 points, EVIL 0 points
B Block: Tetsuya Naito def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (27:16) Tanahashi’s plan, as it often is, was to attack Naito’s knees to neutralize his advantage of speed. However, early on, Naito was always one step ahead of Tanahashi, avoiding his front flip senton while laying on the mat in his tranquilo pose. Naito held control until Tanahashi hit a dragonscrew legwhip to send Naito retreating to the outside, and then hit the High Fly Flow to Naito standing outside. He said he was going to retire that move four years ago and yet here we are. He brought Naito back into the ring and landed more dragonscrews with Naito hung up in the ropes, then went for the Texas Cloverleaf, but Naito was able to stuff the hold. Tanahashi hit more Dragonscrews and was able to lock in the Texas Cloverleaf this time, which he used to tap out Naito in their last match and win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, three years ago. He locked it in at an even higher angle, but Naito grabbed the middle rope and saved himself. Tanahashi pushed his advantage with a bridging arm-trap suplex for a very close near fall. He went for the Sling Blade but Naito dodged it and landed a twirling DDT to put Tanahashi on his back. He hit repeated clubbing blows to the back of the neck, then hit Gloria only for Tanahashi to kick out at two. Naito went for the Destino, but Tanahashi countered it into the Sling Blade as the crowd applauded wildly and the ring announcer called that 25 minutes had passed. He hit a second Sling Blade and then the High Fly Flow, but then went for another High Fly Flow and Naito rolled out of the way. Naito capitalized with a gnarly running Destino that got a 2-count, then hit the Valentia and another Destino for the three-count! Naito 2 points, Tanahashi 0 points
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling released a video announcement made by NJPW of America CEO, Takami Obari. He discussed how NJPW wrestlers based in the United States are not currently able to travel to Japan to partake in NJPW events.
In the meantime, NJPW Strong will be a weekly show on NJPW World. Obari mentions that it’s difficult for US-based wrestlers to compete in Japan. Starting Friday, at 10PM Eastern, NJPW Strong will be presented on NJPW World.
It will begin with New Japan Cup USA 2020, an eight-man single elimination tournament, and the winner will be eligible to challenge for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship, currently held by Jon Moxley, at a later date.
The first round matches are as follows, and are scheduled for the premier episode on August 7th.
LEC presents the official NJPW Cup 2020 in the USA bracket!
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the lineup for the first round of their annual springtime single-elimination tournament, the New Japan Cup.
NJPW has confirmed that the winner of the New Japan Cup 2020 will challenge Tetsuya Naito for his IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at Sakura Genesis on March 31st. All days of the New Japan Cup 2020 will be broadcasted live on NJPW World with an English commentary option.
Similar to last year, the field will consist of 32 NJPW wrestlers. The first round will take place over four events on March 4, 7, 8, and 9. The second round will take place over four events as well, on March 10, 12, 13, and 14. The quarter-finals will be held over three events on March 16, 17, and 18. Finally, the semi-finals will take place on March 20th, with the final match to decide the New Japan Cup winner on March 21st.
In the 2019 New Japan Cup, Kazuchika Okada took victory against SANADA in the final, and used the victory to challenge Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Supercard event at Madison Square Garden during WrestleMania weekend.