B Block takes center stage in the halfway point of this year’s G1. Unlike A Block, the competitors are much closer in the point spread. This means more men are likely to win this block than the A Block.
A small change in the undercard tonight as there is a singles match between two Young Lions to open the show.
Ren Narita p. Yuya Uemera with a Bridging Suplex – A standard Young Lions match, which is not a bad thing. Both men got near falls and submission holds. Narita just managed to hit his move first.
A Block Tag Matches
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens) b. Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma, & Toa Henare when Takahashi pinned Honma with a Pimp Juice DDT – For once, the heels didn’t attack before the bell. They did still take the match to the floor to take control of the match. Back in the ring, they got the heat on Henare to set up the hot tag to Ibushi. Owens tried to beg off to no avail. Ibushi ran wild for a bit until Owens caught him on the turnbuckles. A double tag out saw Honma square off against Takahashi. Owens and Takahashi double-teamed Honma, and Takahashi finished him off with the Pimp Juice DDT.
Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) b. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, YOSHI-HASHI, & Shota Umino when Kanemaru pinned Umino with a Deep Impact – Ospreay and Sabre started and effectively fought to a standstill. Hashi and Suzuki got the mutual tags, and the match once again went to the outside where the heels got the upper hand. The triple-teamed Hashi until Okada got the tag. He and Archer went toe to toe. Okada escaped a Blackout, and countered a chokeslam with a dropkick. Umino got the tag and the obligatory multi-man brawl broke out. Umino and Kanemaru were left in the ring as everybody else brawled on the floor. Umino managed to get a few near falls but eventually was put down with the Deep Impact DDT.
Los Ingobernables De Japon (EVIL, SANADA, & BUSHI Hiroshi Tanahashi KENTA, & Karl Fredericks when BUSHI pinned Fredericks with an MX – Tanahashi got cut off early and the heels worked over his knee. Kenta got the hot tag and ran wild. Fredericks got the tag and put Bushi in a half-crab. Bushi got the rope break, and after some quick triple-teaming on Fredericks, he was able to hit the MX to get the pin.
B Block Tournament Matches
Hirooki Goto (1-3, 2) p. Toru Yano (2-1, 4) with a roll-up – A very quick match with barely any contact. Yano managed to remove the buckle pad and whip Goto into it. He tried to get a low blow, but Goto blocked it and rolled up Yano for the pin.
NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii (2-2, 4) p. Juice Robinson (3-1, 6) with a Brainbuster – The two traded strikes right off the bat. Ishii had control for the first few minutes, then Juice made his comeback. Ishii managed to no-sell a superplex and came back at Juice. The two went back and forth with some exciting reversals. Ishii escaped a Pulp Friction and leveled Juice with a lariat. This time it was Juice’s turn to no-sell. They exchanged dueling headbutts, which always looks scary. Juice reversed a brainbuster into a Jackhammer. Ishii got a two count with the sliding lariat, then finished Juice off with the Brainbuster.
Jeff Cobb (1-3, 2) p. Taichi (w/ Miho Abe & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (2-2, 4) with Tour Of The Islands – Taichi started the match with an honest looking handshake only to attack Cobb from behind at the first opportunity. Yoshinobu Kanemaru distracted the referee so Taichi could use his microphone as a weapon. Cobb tried a comeback and tossed Taichi around with suplexes while Taichi relied on strikes and kicks. Cobb did an impressive series of gut-wrench suplexes and hit a piledriver at the ten minute mark. Taichi yanked Red Shoes in front of a charging Cobb for a temporary disctraction, but it was not enought to stop Cobb from hitting Tour Of The Islands for the pinfall.
Jay White (1-3, 2) p. Shingo Takagi (2-2, 4) with a Blade Runner – This match did have some intrigue. Takagi has already been beaten twice, and White only has one victory so far. Plus there is the question of Takagi’s leg after getting targeted by Jon Moxley during their match. Not surprisingly, White bailed out of the ring right away just so he could attack Takagi when he followed. Once the match got back in the ring, Takagi regained control very quickly. He focused on White’s back but slamming him against the apron. White hit a desperation DDT on the floor to stop Takagi’s momentum. Shingo made a few comeback attempts, but for the most part, it was White in control. Takagi fired up and erupted with a series of strikes. White tried several times to counter with a Blade Runner. Takagi proved to be too quick for that and got several near falls. White reversed a Last Of The Dragon into Sleeper Suplexes. White the scored the pin with a Blade Runner.
IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley (4-0, 8) p. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito (2-2, 4) with a Deathrider – Naito did his usual big match shtick of taking a long time to take his pre-match garb off. Once he was finally done, he threw his pants in Moxley’s face. Each man played mind games, by getting in and out of the ring to annoy the other. Eventually, the two locked horns and brawled through the crowd. They went back and forth in and out of the ring. Moxley got several near falls but couldn’t get the pin. Naito managed to hit a Destino that Moxley kicked out of. Moxley hit a Deathrider that Naito kicked out of. Moxley then hit a second Deathrider and scored the pin.
Not only is Moxley undefeated and in sole possession of first place, he is also four points ahead of everybody else. This now means the B Block is no longer anybody’s game.
After the match Moxley cut the customary post-main event promo. He put over Naito as crazy and vowed to win the G1.
B Block Standings
10 Jon Moxley
6 Juice Robinson
4 Shingo Takagi
4 Taichi
6 Tomohiro Ishii
4 Tetsuya Naito
4 Toru Yano
4 Hirooki Goto
4 Jay White
4 Jeff Cobb
