G1 Climax A Block Night 2 7/21, Korakuen Hall – Full Show with English Commentary by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis
EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables De Japon b. Juice Robinson & David Finlay when EVIL submitted Finlay with the Banshee Muzzle. Evil and Juice started the match, but Takahashi jumped Juice from behind. Juice hit a cross body on both heels and tagged in Finlay. Evil whipped Juice into the barrier as Takahashi went to work on Finlay. Juice tagged in. Evil and Juice went back and forth before Finlay tagged back in and ran wild for a bit. However the heels double teamed Finlay to cut him off. Evil locked in the Banshee Muzzle to get the submission victory.
After the match Evil put Juice in the Banshee Muzzle because he’s a big jerk.
NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki & Taichi of Suzuki-Gun b. SANADA & BUSHI of Los Ingobernables De Japon when Taichi pinned BUSHI. El Desperado accompanied Suzuki and Taichi to ringside. A brawl broke out before the in-ring introductions, and it spilled to the outside. Sanada brawled with Suzuki, while Bushi and Taichi went at it in the ring. Sanada tagged in and wanted Suzukie. Suzuki obliged and the two went back and forth. Suzuki put Sanada in a sleeper and went for the Gotch Piledriver, but Sanada powered out. Double tag out to Bushi and Taichi. Taichi tried to unmasked Bushi. Sanada and Suzuki went back to the outside while Bushi went for the MX. Taichi pulled the referee in the way to avoid the move. Desperado got on the apron to distract the ref. At this point Bushi had Taichi rolled up for what would’ve been a three count. Bushi tried to get the ref’s attention back, but Taichi hit him with a mic stand to steal the win.
After the match, Taichi unmasked Bushi and put the mask on himself. Bushi was quickly attended to with a towel to protect his identity.
IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi b. Tama Tonga & Chase Owens when Takahashi pinned Owens with the Pimp Juice DDT. Both teams were part of The Bullet Club, so there was bound to be some heel comedy. Takahashi was accompanied by a scantily clad escort. Tonga and Takahashi started the match with a hug. A lot of comedy with everybody mockingly running the ropes and criscrossing. Once Owens got in the ring with Omega, he took Omega down and went for a leglock. This angered Omega, as his leg was hurt by Suzuki the previous night. Omega demanded Tonga tag in because “he knows what we’re doing”. However, Tonga went for the knee as well. Owens and Tonga took turns working over Omega’s knee. Kenny eventually got the tag into Takahashi. Owens and Tonga double teamed Takahashi. A brief four way brawl broke out, with Takahashi hitting the Pimp Juice on Owens for the win.
After the match, everybody made up.
Michael Elgin, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan b. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, & Gedo) when Tenzan submitted Gedo with the Anaconda Vice. I’d forgotten how fun Tenzan’s theme is. Yano and Kojima began the match for their respective teams, but Tencozy quickly double teamed Yano. Kojima hit Yano with his rapid fire chops. Gedo tried to attack Kojima, but he got caught and also got hit with the rapid fire chops. While Kojima was chopping Gedo, Yano removed the turnbuckle pad. Kojima got whipped into the exposed turnbuckles, which lead to the heat. All three CHAOS members took turns working over Kojima. After a desperation Koji Cutter, Kojima tagged in Elgin, who went at it with Okada. Elgin motioned for the buckle bomb to the exposed turnbuckles, but Okada got out of the move. Tenzan tagged in and used the Mongolian Chops on Okada. Okada responded woth the Too Awesome Dropkick and tagged out to Gedo. Tencozy hit Gedo with a 3D, but Okada broke up the pin attempt. Tenzan locked in the Anaconda Vice on Gedo while Elgin cleared Okada out of the ring. Gedo submitted to the Vice, and the babyfaces celebrated their victory.
Tournament Matches
Hirooki Goto (1-0) p. Yuji Nagata (0-1) with the GTR. Back and forth mat wrestling in the opening minutes. Goto whipped Nagata to the barriers to gain control of the match. Goto used several submissions, but got frustrated and slapped Nagata. This angered Nagata and started his comeback. Nagata laid in several kicks, and the two went back and forth with dueling strikes. Goto hit the Ushigaroushi for a near fall. Nagata locked in the Shiromi Armbar, which Goto got to the ropes to break. A suplex on Goto scored a two count. A back suplex also got a near fall. Goto responded with a bulldog. Another round of dueling strikes. Goto ended the match with a sleeper followed by a GTR.
Tomohiro Ishii (0-1) p. Togi Makabe (0-1) with a brainbuster. This is a match we’ve seen many times, but it’s usually a great hossfight. The two started the match by charging into each other like raging bulls, then resorted to dueling forearms. The action spilled outside the ring where they threw each other into the barriers. Back in the ring neither man truly gained control, and they contoinued to trade blows. Makabe hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Ishii his a German Suplex and a Superplex, which shook the ring. Makabe still kicked out at two. Makabe hit a powerbomb for a near fall. Ishii started firing up after getting leveled by several clotheslines. Makabe lifted Ishii for a top rope German Suplex, but Ishii countered with a headbutt. Makabe responded with a release suplex from the top, but missed the King Kong Kneedrop. The two continued to charge into each other. Ishii finally leveled Makabe with a lariat, only for Makabe to kick out at one. A German Suplex scored a two count for Makabe. Ishii got another near fall with a running lariat. Finally, Ishii hit Makabe with a brainbuster to at last get the pinfall victory. A great hossfight as always.
Kota Ibushi (0-1) p. Zack Sabre Jr. (1-0) with a Last Ride Powerbomb. I’ve been looking forward to this match. Mat Wrestler vs. Accomplished Striker. Kevin Kelly pointed out that this is the first meeting between the two, despite the match being booked several times. As usual, El Desperado accompanied Zack to the ring. Fast paced mat based action early on. Zack focused on Ibushi’s neck, which has a history of injuries. Ibushi would try to rally with kicks, but Sabre would grab the leg and ground him again. Sabre went for a sunset flip, but Ibushi countered with a double footstomp. Ibushi battled back, but again got caught in a submission hold. Dragon Suplex landed a near fall for Sabre. Ibushi leveled Sabre with a knee and went for a powerbomb, only for Sabre to avoid it. Sabre did a flying headscissors into a triangle choke. Ibushi countered with a powerbomb to score the pinfall. I can’t do this match justice. This is another match worth seeking out, as it is so much different than what you see stateside.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (0-1) b. Bad Luck Fale (1-0) via Countout. Fale tried to rough up the ring announcer again, but this time the announcer got out of the ring in time. Hiroshi tried to win early with a rollup. Fale tried to muscle Tanahashi around, but Tanahashi used his quickness. Fale turned the tide by slamming the injured arm of Hiroshi across the tope rope. From there the big man resorted to pummeling The Ace. Tanahashi hit an impressive German Suplex on Fale. However a bodyslam didn’t work as well, as Fale crashed onto Tanahashi. Fale then scored a few near falls with vertical and regular splashes. Fale threw Tana to the outside, but Hiroshi did a ONE ARMED skin the cat to get back in the ring. Fale tried the Bad Luck Fall, but Tanahashi reversed it into a Slingblade, and followed it up with a High Fly Flow to the outside. Red Shoes started the countout. Fale was getting back in the ring, but was met with a Slingblade on the apron at the count of 15. This caused Fale to collapse back to the floor, and allowed Tanahashi to make it back to the ring in time. Unusual to see a countout victory, especially for a top babyface, but it absolutely worked and made sense.
Tetsuya Naito (1-0) p. YOSHI-HASHI (1-0) with Destino. Very athletic moves sto start things out, but it didn’t take long for Naito to take things outside and whip Yoshi into the guardrail. Naito worked over Hashi’s neck for the next few minutes. Yoshi tried to make a comeback, but kept getting cut off. Finally, Hashi got some momentum with a shoulder breaker and a powerbomb. He went for Karma, but Naito blocked it. Naito landed a super hurricanrana and a side suplex for a two count. Crowd is solidly behind Naito. Hashi reversed Destino into a slam. Dueling strikes went well for Yoshi. Hashi locked in his Butterfly Lock submission finisher, but Naito got out of it. Hashi responded by using a sleeper hold to put Naito down, and followed that up with a swanton for a two count. Yoshi went back to the Butterfly Lock. Naito eventually made to the ropes. Hashi levelled Naito with a clotheline. Naito reversed a slam into Destino for a near fall. Finally, Naito simply hit a second Destino to get the win. Great match that made Hashi look strong even in defeat.
After the match, Naito cut a promo as the rest of Los Ingobernables De Japon joined him in the ring
STANDINGS
4 Hirooki Goto
4 Tetsuya Naito
2 Bad Luck Fale
2 Hiroshi Tanahashi
2 Kota Ibushi
2 YOSHI-HASHI
2 Zack Sabre Jr.
2 Tomohiro Ishii
0 Togi Makabe
0 Yuji Nagata
