G1 Climax B Block Night 9 Results, 8/12 – Full Show with English Commentary by Kevin Kelly, Don Callis, & Rocky Romero
Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, El Desperado, & Taka Michinoku) b. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA, Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, & Hirai Kawato when Desperado pinned Kawato with Pinche Loco. The heels attacked before the bell. Desperado and Kushida were the only men in the ring at the bell, so they’re the legal men. Quicke exchange between the two before Liger tagged in. Surfboard on Desperado by Liger got broken up. Tiger Mask tagged in and fended off everybody from Suzuki-Gun. Tiger Driver on Taka, but the pin got broken up. Double tag out to Kushida and Desperado. Kushida ran wild on the heels for a bit. Desperado put Kushida in the Stretch Muffler, but Kushida turned it into a roll-up. Kawato wanted and got a tag in. Rapid Fire moves on Desperado from all the faces capped off by a missile dropkick by Kawato. Taichi broke up the Boston Crab by Kawato on Desperado. The heels quickly teamed up on Kawato, enabling Desperado to hit the Pinche Loco for the win.
After the match, the heels continued to beat down the faces. Desperado hit Kushida with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Belt, and left with it.
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI) b. Bullet Club (Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens) when Goto pinned Owens with a GTR. Bullet Club came to the ring accompanied by Yujiro’s scantily clad escorts who had temporary tattoos in subjective places. Hashi and Takahashi looked to start the match, except Hashi got jumped from behind by the other Bullet Club members. This sparked a multi-man brawl out of the gate. Yoshi and Yujiro remained in the ring while everybody else fought on the outside. Bullet Club took turns beating on Hashi. Ishii got the hot tag and ran wild until Loa shoulderblocked him down. Blue Thunder Bomb by Loa for a two count. Owens tagged in and got met with a lariat by Ishii, who then tagged out to Goto. Triple team by Bullet Club on Goto, but Goto rallied and hit a Ushigaroushi and a GTR to pin Owens.
Zack Sabre Jr. & Takashi Iizuka of Suzuki-Gun b. Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata when Sabre pinned Nagata with a Penalty Kick. As usual, El desperado accompanied his fellow Suzuki-Gun members to the ring. ZSJ and Iizuka jumped Nagata & Makabe like good heels do. Sabre and Nagata wound up being the legal men in the ring, as Iizuka and Makabe fought to the outside. Iizuka still managed to trip Nagata while brawling. Desperado and Zack double teamed Yuji, while Iizuka used a chair on Makabe. Back in the ring, Iizuka tagged in and started biting and choking Nagata. Makabe tagged in and pummeled Iizuka in the corner. Double tag out to Nagata and ZSJ. Nagata Lock I and III on Zack, who countered into a pinning combination. Sabre with an Octopus Hold which got broken up by Makabe. Exploder Suplex for a two count. Desperado distracted the referee so Iizuka could run in and hit Nagata with an iron claw. Sabre followed that up with a Penalty Kick to steal the win.
Backstage, Zack cut a promo saying he wants a title match since he beat Tanahashi.
The Bullet Club (ROH World Champion Cody, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions Matt & Nick Jackson, & Bad Luck Fale) b. War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson), Ryusuke Taguchi, Ricochet, & Katsuya Kitamura when Page pinned Kitamura with a Right Of Passage. Cody said the finish would be a moonsault in 8-10 minutes. Fale threw the ring announcer out of the ring. Ricochet and Nick started out with fast paced back and forth action. Matt tagged in and was met with a Ricochet Hip Attack. Double tag out to Hanson and Cody, which saw Hanson get the better of Cody. Tag in to Rowe, who hit backbreakers and gutbusters on most of the heels except Fale, because Bullet Club ganged up on Rowe. Taguchi tagged in and ran wild with Hip Attacks, including one that sent Fale to the outside. Quadruple superkick decked Taguchi, but he was able to tag in Kitamura, who was immediately dropkicked to the outside. The Bucks teamed up to slam Hanson. Cody, Page, and The Buck all climbed the turnbuckles, boasting a quadruple moonsault, but the faces rallied and piled up the heels in a stack so Hanson could moonsault all of them. However, Fale came back in and stopped Hanson. Cody hit the Crossroads on Rowe. Kitamura made his way back in, but again was superkicked out of the ring. Ricochet hit a corkscrew moonsault to everybody on the outside, followed by a top rope somersault by Hanson. Kitamura fired up for a dive, but was met with a clothesline and Right Of Passage by Page.
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, & David Finlay b. Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, & Hiromu Takahashi) when Ibushi pinned Bushi with a knee strike. While the babyfaces couldn’t decide who would start, LIJ jumped them before the bell. Naito and Takahashi tried to double team Ibushi, but he escaped and tagged in Finlay. Bushi choked Finlay with a shirt and tagged in Takahashi. Basement dropkick on Finlay for a near fall. Double tag out to Tanahashi and Naito. Double team attempt on Tanahashi was thwarted. Tanahashi hit a Dragon Screw and went for the Cloverleaf, only for Takahashi to break it up. Ibushi tagged in and felled Naito with strikes. Standing twisting moonsault for a near fall. Naito countered with an enziguiri and Tornado DDT before tagging in Bushi. Missile Dropkick by Bushi on Ibushi, followed by a neckbreaker. Bushi went for a MX, which Ibushi avoided. Multi-man fight ensued with everybody hitting their big moves. In the end, a knee strike by Ibushi put Bushi down for the count.
Tournament Matches
Juice Robinson p. Michael Elgin with Pulp Friction. Not only is this a battle between babyaces, but it’s a battle between Taguchi Japan members. Both men shook hands before the match. Dueling chops, followed by a back suplex by Juice. Juice hit a corner splash, and tried to whip Big Mike into the opposite corner. Elgin reversed the whip, and it sent Juice to the outside. Elgin follwed up with a somersault senton to the outside, and dropped Juice on the apron for a two count. Elgin lifted Juice for a superplex, but fended him off and hit a high cross body, which Elgin rolled through and countered with a firemman’s carry. Juice countered that with an inverted DDT. Elgin with an enziguiri. Juice with a Full Neslon Slam for a near fall. The two traded clotheslines. Elgin caught a leg lariat and turned it into a slam. Another clothseline by Elgin for a two count. Juice escaped a powerbomb attempt and hit a reverse DDT.Elgin hit a superkick and went to the turnbuckles, but got powerbombed off them by Juice. Juice impressively got Elgin on his shoulders for a gutbuster, and followed that up with a cannonball. Elgin literally caught Juice and delivered a Buckle Bomb. Juice reversed an Elgin Bomb attempt into a roll up for a near fall. Elgin positioned Juice for a Burning Hammer, but Juice countered with a Pulp Friction to get the upset victory. That was a very good match. And the announcers did a great job pointing out that Elgin beat so many champions in the tournament, and now Juice just beat the guy that beat the champions.
Tama Tonga p. SANADA with a Gun Stun. Fast paced start to the match, with both men trading dropkicks. Sanada removed his shirt early. Tonga did likewise, but neatly folded his shirt before handing it off to a Young Lion at ringside. Some heel comedy with both men trying to cheap shot each other before trading hurricanranas. Tonga tried, and failed, to put Sanada in the Paradise Lock, so he resorted to stomps. The action spilled outside with Sanada putting Tonga in the Paradise Lock on the ramp. Tanga Loa and Yujiro Takahashi ran out to try to get Tonga out of the hold. Tonga did get free and beat the countout, but it looked like he was late in getting in. Sanada chased Tonga gained control of the match after leveling Sanada with a Lariat. Sanada countered with a springboard dropkick and a plancha to the outside. Sanada went for a Skull End on the floor, however Takahashi distracted the ref so Loa could deck Sanada with a clothesline. Another near countout for both men, as they each ran into the ring at 19. TKO by Sanada for a near fall. Sanada kicked both Loa and Takahashi off the apron. Exciting exchange of reversals between Skull End and Gun Stun attempts. It was Sanada that actually hit the Gun Stun for a two count. After another great exchange, Tonga hit the Gun Stun for the victory. A very athletic match that was quite entertaining for a heel vs. heel matchup.
Toru Yano p. Minoru Suzuki with a rollup. Now this is an awkward matchup. Taichi accompanied Suzuki to the ring. Suzuki jumped Yano and threw him to the outside, where he got stomped by Taichi. The crowd chanted “Taichi go home”. Kevin Kelly pointed out that Yano holds three victories over Suzuki. Back in the ring, Yano thumbed Suzuki in the eye and removed the turnbuckle pad. Suzuki twice blocked attempts to whip him into the exposed turnbuckles and put Yano in the sleeper. Yano avoided the Gotch Piledriver by grabbing the ref. Suzuki got in the ref’s face while Taichi stomped Yano on the outside. Yano countered with a reverse atompic drop on Suzuki, and found tape to tie Suzuki’s legs together. Suzuki kicked Yano away, causing Yano to squish the ref against the guardrail. Suzuki then taped Yano’s legs together and rolled him into the ring. Penalty Kick by Suzuki, followed by a sleeper. By this time the referee came to and tried to break up the sleeper due to Yano still being taped. With the ref distracted by Suzuki, Taichi came into the ring with a chair. Rocky Romero, fellow CHAOS member who’d been doing color commentary, ran into the ring to fend off Taichi. The visual of seeing a man in suit pants doing a flying headscissor was quite memorable. However, that left Romero effectively alone with Suzuki. Romero and Suzuki exchanged blows, but before Suzuki could do any real damage, Yano came to and taped Suzuki’s body. The usual low blow and roll up gave Yano yet another victory over Suzuki.
After the match Suzuki went into a rage and laid to waste all the Young Lions at ringside with a chair.
EVIL p. Satoshi Kojima Kojima with a STO. shoulderblocked Evil out of the ring, but missed a plancha. Evil whipped Kojima into the guardrail, and did his dual chair spot. Kojima made it back in the ring to beat the countout, and tried to fight back with strikes. Senton by Evil for a two count. Kojima rallied with Mongolian Chops, and laid in the Machine Gun Chops. Top rope elbow by Kojima for a near fall. Koji Cutter knocked Evil to the ring apron. Kojima tried to suplex Evil back into the ring, but Evil countered by dropping Kojima’s throat across the ropes. Evil picked Kojima up into a firewman’s carry, which Kojima reversed into a Koji Cutter on the apron. A third Koji Cutter, this time off the top rope, scored a two count. Evil ducked a lariat and hit a German Suplex. Fisherman Buster on Kojima for a near fall. Kojima also kicked out of Darkness Falls. Evil hit a lariat, which felled Kojima. Evil hit a second lariat, to which Kojima popped back up. Kojima leveled Evil with his own lariat, and followed it up with a brainbuster. Evil tried reversing another lariat into the STO, but Kojima blocked it with a lariat to the back. Kojima lifted Evil, presumably to go for another lariat, but Evil headbutted his way out and hit the STO to finish off Kojima.
IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega p. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada with a One Winged Angel to win the B Block. In order to make it to the finals, Omega has to beat Okada, as a time limit draw would still put Okada on top in points. Both men went 100mph right out of the gate, probably due to the 30 minute time limit, which is shorter than either of their two previous matches. Okada went for the Too Awesome Dropkick and Rainmaker early, and missed both. Omega went for the One Winged Angel early as well, and also missed. Okada dropkicked Omega to the outside, whipped him into the guardrail, and hit a bodypress into the seats. Back in the ring, Okada hit the elbow and signaled for the Rainmaker. Kenny countered by leveraging Okada out of the ring and hitting a plancha. Back in the ring, Omega hit a missile dropkick from behind. Omega then controlled the next few minutes of the match, laying in kicks and chops. Okada powered out of a piledriver attempt, and hit a neckbreaker. Okada followed that up with a pair of corner elbows and a DDT. Kenny kicked out of a Running Uppercut at 1. Okada went for a Tombstone, but his neck gave out. Omega smelled blood and started clubbing and chopping the back of Okada’s neck. Okada countered an Omega moonsault by getting the knees up. Omega hurricanrana’d Okada to the outside and hit a sliding dropkick to the back of Okada’s neck. Kenny fired up for a dive, but was met with a flapjack. Okada then dropkicked Omega to the outside, and went for a Tombstone on the floor. Omega countered with a reverse hurricanrana. Referee Red Shoes called over a doctor to examine Okada. This was literally the first time the audience could catch their breath. Omega stepped in and used a Dragon Suplex on the apron. He then hit another neckbreaker in the ring for a two count. Kenny hit a pair of V-Triggers, only for Okada to block a third. Okada reversed a One Winged Angel into a Tombstone. The two battled atop the ropes, with Omega throwing Omega down and hitting a missile dropkick. Another dropkick blasted Kenny into the corner. Omega blocked a Rainmaker and hit another V-Trigger. Okada hit with the Too Awesome Dropkick. Kenny blocked another Rainmaker with another V-Trigger. Okada hit a German Suplex and again went for a Rainmaker. Omega dodged and hit a uranage. Okada dodged a One Winged Angel attempt and finally hit a Rainmaker. Omega kicked out of the Rainmaker, and reversed a Tombstone into a small package for another near fall. Okada hit two more Rainmakers, but missed a third. Omega countered with two more German Suplexes and hit another reverse hurricanrana for a near fall. Kenny went for the kill with a One Winged Angel, to which Okada tried to counter. Omega hit another German for a near fall. Okada hit another Too Awesome Dropkick and went for another Rainmaker, which Omega reversed into a V-Trigger. Double Underhook Piledriver by Omega for another near fall. Kenny followed that up with another V-Trigger, and finally hit the One Winged Angel to at last pin Okada and win the B Block. Simply AMAZING match and legit MOTY contender along with the first two Okada/Omega matches.
After the match, Omega cut a promo in Japanese. I assume he put over Okada. He then said in English that he would beat Naito.
FINAL B BLOCK STANDINGS
14 Kenny Omega
13 Kazuchika Okada
12 EVIL
9 Minoru Suzuki
8 Juice Robinson
8 Michael Elgin
8 Sanada
8 Tama Tonga
8 Toru Yano
2 Satoshi Kojima
