G1 CLimax A Block Night 6, 8/01 – Full Show with Japanese Commentary
Michael Elgin & Jyushin Thunder Liger b. Katsuya Kitamura & Shota Umino when Elgin pinned Kitamura with a powerbomb. Liger and Umino started the match, with Umino going on offense. Elgin tagged in and hit a fallaway slam for a two count. Liger used the Surfboard, but failed to get the submission. Double tag out to Elgin and Kitamura, who slammed into each other, and hit some dueling chops. Kitamura speared Elgin and used a suplex for a near fall. Elgin hit a Falcon Arrow, but Umino broke up the pin. Elgin then hit a double powerbomb. Kitamura looked to get his shoulder up, but the referee still counted three. Looked to be a botched finish.
Suzuki-Gun (NEVER Opwenweight Champion Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, & Taichi) b. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Hirai Kawato when Desperado pinned Kawato with the Pinche Loco. As usual, the heels started the fight before the bell. Taichi stayd in the ring with Tenzan while everybody else brawled on the outside. Taichi mocked TenCozy by hitting Tenzan with Mongolian Chops and Machine Gun Chops. Tenzan rallied and hit “real” Mongolian Chops before tagging out to Kojima. Suzuki tagged in and was quickly hit with Machine Gun Chops. Suzuki hit Kojima with a Penalty Kick for a two count. Suzuki used the sleeper, but Kojima powered out of a Gotch Piledriver attempt. Desperado tagged in and got hit with a Koji Cutter. Kawato got the tag and fired up against Desperado. Multi-Man brawl broke out, with the babyfaces clearing the ring. Kawato hit a Springboard Dropkick on Desperado, but Taichi broke up the pin. Kawato put Desperado in a Boston Crab, but once again, Taichi broke it up. Suzuki hit Kawato from behind, and by this time Desperado had come to. A Pinche Loco later and it was all over for Kawato.
After the match, Suzuki stood over the fallen Kojima, taunting him. This fired up Kojima who got in Suzuki’s face. Two Young Lions tried to separate Suzuki, but they got chairshots for their efforts.
SANADA & BUSHI of Los Ingobrnables De Japon b. Juice Robinson & David Finlay of Taguchi Japan when SANADA submitted Finlay with the Skull End. Juice and Sanada began the match, but it didn’t take long for Bushi to interfere from the outside. Finlay tagged in for some quick double teaming on Sanada. Finlay hit several running elbows to the corner, but once again Bushi interfered. Finally, Bushi actually tagged in and hit a Missile Dropkick on Finlay, follwed by choking out Finlay with a shirt. Sanada tagged back in and helped double team Finlay. Juice hit the ring and ran wild on the heels. Juice and Bushi spilled to the outside, enabling Sanada to lock in the Skull End to get the submission victory.
EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables De Japon b. IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega & Chase Owens when EVIL pinned Owens with an STO. Omega and EVIL were going to start out, but Hiromu nailed Kenny from behind. EVIL and Takahashi tried to double team Omega, but it didn’t work. Owens tagged in and successfully helped double team Hiromu. Eventually Evil got the tag and knocked around both Bullet Club. Takahashi dropkicked Omega on the outside, and Evil finished off Owens with the STO.
After the match, Omega laid out both opponents with Dragon Suplexes, and choked out Evil with a shirt. He went for the One Winged Angel, but Evil dodged it and knocked him to the outside with a STO.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kuzuchika Okada & Toru Yano of CHAOS b. Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi of Bullet Club when Yano pinned Takahashi with a roll up. Yujiro jumped Yano while Tonga hit Okada from behind. THey knocked CHAOS out of the ring, and Tonga put on Okada’s robe. Takahashi did likewise with Yano’s robe. Outside the ring, while still wearing Yano’s robe, Takahashi hit Okada with his cane. Back in the ring, Bullet Club worked over Yano. Takahashi handed off Yano’s robe to Tonga, who put it on. Tonga mocked Yano’s taunt, which got answered with a hair pull from behind by Yano. Okada tagged in and ran wild on Tonga. Takahashi blocked Okada froom jumpng off the top rope, and Tonga hit Okada with a Fireman’s Carry. Tonga mocked the Rainmaker pose, and hit a Crossroads for a two count. Takahashi tagged in and got met with a Too Awesome Dropkick. Hot tag to Yano, who immediately removed the turnbuckle pad. Takahashi almost immediately met the exposed buckle as he missed a corner splash. Yano shortly afterward low blowed Takahashi and rolled him up for the win.
Tournament Matches
YOSHI-HASHI p. Bad Luck Fale with a small package. Fortunately for the ring announcer, he got out of the ring before Fale could rough him up. Yoshi bravely, and perhaps stupidly, took it to Fale out of the gate with dropkicks and roll ups. Fale took the fight to the outside, and threw him into the seats at ringside. Back in the ring, Fale controlled the match for several minutes. Hashi tried making his comeback, but kept getting beat back down. Hashi was so spent that he could only get a shoulder up to avoid a one foot pin. Finally, Hashi hit a basement dropkick on Fale’s knee and nailed a neckbreaker rally. A Blockbuter by Yoshi for a two count. Fale leveled Hashi with a clothesline. Hashi ducked a Hand Grenade and hit a flying lariat for a near fall. Fale powered out of a Butterfly Lock and splashed Hashi into the corner. Fale hit a big splash for a two count. Fale lifted Hashi for a Bad Luck Fall, but Hashi countered with a sleeper, followed by another Butterfly Lock. Fale begane powering out of that as well, so Hashi countered with a small package. Amazingly, Hashi was able to hold Fale down for the three count. A bit of an upset in my book.
I expected Fale to beat down Hashi after the match, but that didn’t happen.
Zack Sabre Jr. s. Togi Makabe with an inverted Figure Four Leglock. The match spilled to the outside quickly, with Makabe whipping ZSJ into the ropes. Desperado tried to ambush Makabe but failed miserably and got thrown into the barricade himself. However, this enabled Sabre to jump Makabe and gain control of the match. Zack worked on Makabe’s knee. Makabe mounted a comeback with lariats. Northern Lights Suplex by Makabe for a near fall. ZSJ put Makabe in an Octopus Hold, only for Makabe to make it to the ropes. Dueling forearm shots favored Makabe. Zack dodged a King Kong Kneedrop and put Makabe in an Invered Figure Four. Surprisingly, Makabe tapped. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen Makabe lose by submission
Tomohiro Ishii p. Yuji Nagata with a brainbuster. The two came to blows right out of the gate, with neither man gaining an advantage. Eventually, Nagata was able to chop Ishii down. Ishii battled back and beat down Nagata in the corner with strikes and headbutts. Nagata countered with several kicks. Ishii landed a suplex, followed by kicks of his own. Superpluex for a two count by Ishii. Yuji countered a lariat attempt into a Shiromi armbar. Ishii made it to the ropes, and tried to battle back with forearms, only for Yuji to deck him with one shot. Nagata hit a Super Exploder Suplex for a near fall. The two traded suplexes and clotheslines until both were lying on the match, spent. Nagata kicked out of a pair of running clotheslines, and hit a brainbuster for a two count. Ishii scored a near fall with a sliding clothesline, and finished off Nagata with his own brainbuster. A VERY physical match, especially considering the age of both men involved. Ishii is 41, and Nagata is 49 (?!?!?!).
Tetsuya Naito p. Hirooki Goto with Destino. Naito attacked Goto out of the gate. Perhaps because both men have two losses and we’re getting to the point where every loss is a big deal. Naito whipped Goto into the barricade, and grounded him with holds in the ring. Goto battled back and hit a back suplex for a two count. Naito countered with his signature basement dropkicks. Super Hurricanrana by Naito. Goto wore down Naito with a sleeper hold, and hit a reverse GTR. Naito dodged a regular GTR, which frustrated Goto into beating down Naito sith strikes. Ushigaroushi by Goto, who went for another GTR. Naito reversed that into a Destino, but Goto kicked out. A second Destino gave Naito the pin.
Kota Ibushi p. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Knee Strike. Talk about a highly anticipated match! Feeling out process to start the match, with both men exchanging armlocks. Crowd was clearly backing Tanahashi. That is until Tanahashi took a cheap shot during a rope break and went on the offense. That was all it took for the crowd to chant for Ibushi. Hiroshi grounded Kota with a Figure Four variant. Ibushi battled back with strikes and dropkicks. A moonsault by Ibushi for a two count. Tanahashi charged Ibushi, and got met with a hurricanrana to the outside. Ibushi followed that up with a moonsault to the floor. Tanahashi regained control by tying Ibushi’s leg up in the ropes and droing a dragon screw. A High Fly Flow to the outside nearly gave Tanahashi a countout victory. Texas Cloverleaf by Tanahashi got broken with a rope break. Ibushi hit a snap German Suplex. Tanahashi countered it with one of his own, but Ibushi popped back up right away. In an amazing spot, Tanahashi tried a dropkick, to which Ibushi dodged by leaping in the air. Tanahashi landed under Ibushi, so Ibushi turned his leap into a footstomp. Another dueling strikes spot. Tanahshi reversed a slam into a Sling Blade, and went for a High Fly Flow. Ibushi hit a backlfip kick that knocked Tanahashi off the top rope. Ibushi then hoisted Tanahashi on his shoulder and rammed Tanahashi into the opposite buckle. Ibushi followed that up with a German Suplex over the ropes back to the inside. Tanahashi reversed a powerbomb into a Twist And Shout Neckbreaker. Bridnging German Suplex scored Tanahashi a near fall. Ibushi also kicked out of another Sling Blade. Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow bodypress and tried to follow it up with a High Fly Flow Splash, but Ibushi got his knees up. Kota dicked Hiroshi with a kick and landed a Last Ride Powerbomb, only for Tanahashi to kick out. Strangely, Ibushi got the pin with a knee to the face. Amazing match!
It’s always a little weird to see Tanahashi work heel in a match, but the story could easily be that he didn’t care for Ibushi waltzing back in after two years and trying to take a spotlight.
After the match Ibushi cut a promo, presumably thanking the fans.
STANDINGS
8 Bad Luck Fale
8 Hiroshi Tanahashi
8 Tetsuya Naito
8 Tomohiro Ishii
8 Zack Sabre Jr.
6 Hirooki Goto
6 Kota Ibushi
6 Togi Makabe
2 YOSHI-HASHI
0 Yuji Nagata
