Night Two of The G1 Climax is the first night of B Block action. As usual, the undercard will be filled with wrestlers in the A Block before the actual B Block tournament matches.
Hangman Page & Chase Owens of Bullet Club b. Michael Elgin & Shota Umino when Owens pinned Umino with a Jewel Heist. Owens cheap shotted Elgin from behind, establishing who the heels were. Both teams used quick tags for some back and forth action. Elgin rallied and took the fight to both Bullet Club members. Umino tagged in and put Owens in a Boston Crab. Page tried to break up the hold to no avail. Umino slugged Page, which allowed Owens to recover. Page knocked Elgin down on the outside while Owens used the Jewel Heist clothesline to pin Umino.
EVIL & BUSHI of Los Ingobernables De Japon b. YOSHI-HASHI & Sho of CHAOS when Evil submitted Sho. Evil and Hashi started the match, as they’ll be having a tournament match on the next show. LIJ worked over Hashi and made rapid tags. Evil hit the Everything Is Evil STO on Hashi, which knocked him out of the ring. Bushi hit Sho with a MX, and Evil followed up with a submission hold to get the win.
Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado of Suzuki-Gun Togi Makabe & Toa Henare when Suzuki pinned Henare with a Gotch Piledriver. The heels jumped the babyfaces before the bell. Makabe whipped Suzuki into the railing, then joined Henare in the ring against Desperado. Suzuki returned and brawled with Makabe through the crowd. Back in the ring, the heels worked over Henare. Makabe got the hot tag and ran wild. Henare tagged in and scored a near fall with a top rope shoulderblock on Suzuki. Henare tried to stay on the offensive, but Suzuki dodged him and hit a quick Gotch Piledriver to score the pinfall.
Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa of Bullet Club b. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo of CHAOS when Loa pinned Gedo with a Tongan Driver. Fale and Okada started the match with Fale using his power. Okada used his agility and speed, even hitting a top rope bodypress. Fale landed a shoulderblock and a splash for a near fall, then tagged in Loa. Okada hit a reverse neckbreaker and tagged in Gedo, who quickly got pummeled by the larger Tongans. Okada made a save by clotheslining Fale to the outside. Gedo used a school-boy rollup on Loa. Loa kicked out and hit a Tongan Driver to pin Gedo.
After the match, Fale tried to hit Okada with a Bad Luck Fall on the outside, but Okada escaped.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay b. “Switchblade” Jay White & Yoh of CHAOS when Finlay pinned Yoh with a Stunner. While White walked past the announce table, Rocky Romero blurted out “Jay, you got some explaining to do!”, based on White’s claim that he now owns CHAOS. Tanahashi was ready to start the match, but Jay White walked out. The referee started the countout, and White changed his mind. He came back to the ring, but quickly tagged out to Yoh. Finlay tagged in and exchanged holds with Yoh. White grabbed Finlay from behind and tossed him into the turnbuckle. White an Yoh then went after Tanahashi’s leg, the same leg worked over by Suzuki the previous night. The heels worked over Finlay until Tanahshi got the hot tag. White kicked out of a senton, and hit a back Suplex. Double tag out to Finlay and Yoh. Tanahashi broke up a pinfall by Yoh. White took a chair and hit Tanahashi with it. He then handed the chair to Yoh and told him to use it on Finlay. Instead, Yoh tossed the chair aside, refusing to break the rules. Finlay came to and hit a Stunner on Yoh for the three count.
After the match, White threw Tanahashi into the guardrail again. Rocky Romero shouted “What the hell is your problem Jay?” at his CHAOS stablemate.
That brings us to the B Block Tournament Matches.
Tomohiro Ishii p. Toru Yano with a La Magistral Cradle. Another match between CHAOS stablemates, and former IWGP Tag Team Champions.. The match started right off the bat with dueling strikes. Yano surprisingly got the upper hand with running tackles. After tossing Ishii to the outside, Yano tried a whip into the guardrail. Ishii reversed it and sent Yano to the railing, which knocked Romero out of his seat. Back in the ring, Ishii worked over Yano until Yano made a comeback. Of course, this meant removing a turnbuckle pad. Yano catapulted Ishii into the exposed turnbuckle, and tried a low blow, which the referee stopped. Ishii escaped a few pin attempts, including one after getting smacked into the exposed turnbuckle a second time. Yano hit several strikes, which Ishii started no-selling. A basement clothesline got a two count for Ishii. Yano grabbed the referee to avoid a brainbuster. Ishii dodged Yano’s attempts at low blows, and stopped himself from being whipped into the referee. The referee was pushed off his feet. When this happened, Ishii hit a low blow on Yano and rolled him up for the pin.
Tama Tonga p. IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson with a Gun Stun. Tonga’s brother and GOD teammate Tanga Loa accompanied him to the ring. Back and forth mat based action, with Juice staying a step ahead of Tonga. Robinson tried a test of strength, only to have Tonga kick him in the gut and toss him to the outside. Tama tried to to smash Juice’s hand in the guardrail. Robinson dodged and got back in the ring. Tonga again could not get the upper hand on Robinson, so he tossed Robinson to the outside again. Loa attacked Juice on the floor, which put Tonga in control of the match. Tama hit a Tonga Twist for a two count. Before Juice could make it to his feet, Tonga stood on his injured hand. Robinson countered a hanging choke with a Jackhammer, and began his comeback. Loa got up on the ring apron as Juice went for Pulp Friction. Juice knocked him to the floor with the casted hand. Robinson again went for Pulp Friction, but Tonga turned it into a Gun Stun for the victory.
As the Tongan brothers made their way backstage, the announcers pointed out that Tama pinned a champion. Knowing New Japan and booking logic, this will likely lead to a title match.
NEVER Openweght Champion Hirooki Goto p. SANADA with a GTR. Goto was controlling the match well in the ring, so Sanada tossed him to the outside, and dropped him throat first on the guard railing. Back in the ring, Sanada stayed on the offense. A dropkick sent Goto to the floor, and Sanada followed that up with a plancha. Goto made his comeback and hit an Ushi-Garoushi. Sanada escaped a GTR and tried for the Skull End. Goto escaped the Skull End, but found himself locked in a Skull End. Since Goto would not submit, Sanada tried a moonsault, which Goto dodged. A lariat from Goto caused a double down. A very cool exchange then happened with each trying their respective finishers. Eventually, Goto hit the GTR for the win.
Kota Ibushi p. Zack Sabre Jr. with the Kamigoye Knee Thrust. Sabre went to a ground game in the opening minutes and countered everything Ibushi tried to do. In a cool visual, both men neck bridged out of a double pinfall. Ibushi finally got the upper hand by resorting to strikes. Sabre countered a moonsault with a Heel Hook, and went to work with several submission moves. Ibushi made his comeback with more strikes and a plancha to the outside. Sabre tried hold after hold, but couldn’t keep Ibushi down, and resorted to kicks of his own. The two traded strikes after a double down. Zack kicked out of a German Suplex. Ibushi went for the Kamigoye knee thrust, which Sabre blocked. ZSJ again went for holds, including an Octopus Hold, to no avail. Ibushi missed the Kamigoye, but hit a German Suplex for a two count. When Zack kicked out, Ibishi finally landed the Kamigoye for the hard fought victory. Very good match.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega p. Tetsuya Naito with a One Winged Angel. This is of course a rematch of last year’s G1 Finals, and of the B Block Finals from 2016. It’s also worth noting that these were the G1 Champions of the previous two years. Both men traded taunts and insults before kicking it into gear. The crowd seemed solidly behind Naito. Kenny grounded Tetsuya and took control of the match, clearly playing the heel. Omega tried the “You Can’t Escape” moonsault for a near fall. The match spilled outside of the ring, and Omega hit an impressive bodypress from the top rope over the railing. Back in the ring, Omega hit a Dragon Suplex and a Dr. Wily Bomb. After a V-Trigger, Omega tried a One Winged Angel. Naito countered with a reverse hurricanrana. Naito followed up with a top rope hurricanrana and a back suplex for a two count. Omega hit a second V-Trigger, and lifted Naito for a neckbreaker. Naito reversed into a Destino. Instead of making the cover, Naito went for a second Destino, which Omega tried to counter into a One Winged Angel. Naito escaped by rolling Omega up for a two count. After a third V-Trigger, Omega lifted Naito to the top rope and put him on his shoulders, apparently for a middle rope One Winged Angel. Naito escaped and hit a Destino. Kenny kicked out of the Destino. Naito tried repeatedly for a third Destino, but Omega kept escaping. Omega hit a pair of piledrivers for near falls. After another V-Trigger, Omega was able to lift Naito for the One Winged Angel for the pin. Excellent match to cap off the first night of B Block Action.
After the match, Omega took the mic and cut a promo. He stated Naito really gave his all, and congratulated him on last year’s win. But there’s always next year.
Standings
2 Hirooki Goto
2 Kota Ibushi
2 Tomohiro Ishii
2 Kenny Omega
2 Tama Tonga
0 Tetsuya Naito
0 Juice Robinson
0 Zack Sabre Jr.
0 SANADA
0 Toru Yano
