Results: NJPW G1 Climax 30 Day 1
New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived
G1 Climax 30 Day 1 Results
Yuya Uemura def. Yota Tsuji (6:57)
Yota Tsuji has shaved his goatee off since his last match, and I’m personally not a fan of the clean-shaven look. These two are going to be wrestling a lot over the course of the tournament. Every date, except perhaps the last, will start with a singles match involving a combination of Uemura, Tsuji, and Gabriel Kidd, so it will be enlightening to see if anyone gets an edge against each other. These two in the ring has demonstrated the dynamic between them after their years as young lions: Tsuji being the harder hitter while Uemura has more finesse and is more easy to root for. Uemura hit a beautiful dropkick and submitted Tsuji with a high-angle Boston crab for the victory.
A Block: Will Ospreay def. Yujiro Takahashi (7:34)
Will Ospreay is back in Japan, and he got a great reception from the crowd. He has gained significant muscle mass over the last half year, and his billed weight has increased to 105 kilograms. Nevertheless, he seems not to have been slowed down too much by the weight gain, still flying through the air with ease. Yujiro tried to slow him down whenever possible, but Ospreay had too much energy and power for him. Ospreay hit the Stormbreaker for the not that hard-fought pinfall victory. Afterwards, he got on the microphone and talked about how he has nothing to fear because he is Will Ospreay. Not just his body, his head has clearly gotten bigger as well. Ospreay 2 points, Yujiro 0 points
A Block: Taichi def. Jeff Cobb (12:47)
Jeff Cobb seems to have acquired the goatee that Yota Tsuji removed, and it looks good on him. Rumor has it that he is now a contracted NJPW full-time wrestler, so he has a lot to prove. Unfortunately, Miho Abe will be absent for all of Taichi’s matches in the G1. Taichi did not want to fight Cobb head-on, and Cobb had to chase him around the ring until Taichi hit him with the bell hammer, which he had stealthily stolen. Now in control, Taichi tried to immobilize Cobb through attacking his legs, but Cobb would rise to his feet and dominate Taichi with his powerful throws. Taichi retaliated with beautiful leg kicks and slowed Cobb’s pace to a crawl, flooring him with a jumping high kick. Cobb tried to pick Taichi up for the Tour of the Islands, but Taichi slipped out of it and delivered a backdrop driver as the crowd swelled with applause. He finally was able to lift Jeff Cobb for the Black Mephisto and make it on the G1 board. Taichi 2 points, Cobb 0 points
A Block: Minoru Suzuki def. Tomohiro Ishii (13:00)
Neither Ishii nor Suzuki brought the belts they possess to the ring, which is irrationally upsetting to me. Nevertheless, these two men started as we knew they would, at each other’s throats and just slapping, punching, and mouthing off to each other without a care in the world. They both made early attempts at their match-ending moves, but these were in vain. The really loud elbow strikes they threw resounded especially in the building where the crowds can only clap, not cheer loudly. Suzuki took the edge in the battle of strikes, and Ishii crumpled to the ground, but not for long. He rose up and continued taking the fight to Suzuki. They traded headbutts before Ishii lifted Suzuki and hit a reverse piledriver! In a last-ditch effort, Suzuki hit a fast Gotch-style piledriver for the win! Suzuki 2 points, Ishii 0 points
A Block: Jay White def. Shingo Takagi (19:28)
Since we’re talking about facial hair so far on this show, Jay White still has the disgusting-looking goatee, and it suits him. As the match began, Jay White continued to stall for time, but when he finally did get in the ring to fight, Gedo helped him intermittently, such as by holding Shingo’s leg to give Jay an opening. Shingo tried for the Noshigami, but Jay blocked it and dropped Shingo on his back with repeated suplexes. Shingo tried to run to the ropes for a lariat, but Jay hit the Complete Shot to slow his roll once again, which was the theme of this whole match: Jay continuing to cut Shingo off whenever he mounted a comeback. Jay attempted the Blade Runner, but Shingo reversed it and hit the Made in Japan for a near fall. Shingo lifted Jay for the Last of the Dragon, but Jay grabbed the referee so Shingo would lose his balance. Fed up, Shingo hit the Pumping Bomber and the Last of the Dragon again, but while Jay was on Shingo’s shoulders, he kicked the referee so there was no one to count the pinfall. With the referee down, Jay hit a low blow followed by the Blade Runner when the refeee made it back in the ring. Jay 2 points, Shingo 0 points
A Block: Kota Ibushi def. Kazuchika Okada (21:35)
Ibushi and Okada were tentative to confront each other, despite the fact that if they were to last as long against each other as they did in their Wrestle Kingdom match this year, this bout would end in a time limit draw. Okada’s victory eight months ago seemed to make him not take Ibushi too seriously, as even when he gained an advantage, he would clap and stomp to rile up the crowd instead of putting the pressure on Ibushi. Okada applied the Money Clip, which is the name for the cobra clutch that he’s been using ever NJPW resumed, but Ibushi got his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. Okada pulled Ibushi outside the ring and tried to hit the tombstone piledriver on the floor, but Ibushi got out of it, and then hit an asai moonsault to Okada on the outside. Okada and Ibushi fought over another piledriver in the ring, but Okada was finally able to hit the tombstone. Okada let Ibushi get to his knees and challenged him to hit him, but Ibushi got to his feet and kicked the kneeling Okada in the head. Ibushi tried to follow up, but Okada caught him and hit a spinning tombstone piledriver, than applied the Money Clip again, but Ibushi was able to get Okada off him. Okada grabbed Ibushi’s hands like he was going for the Kamigoye himself, but Ibushi lifted him into a sitout powerbomb, and then hit the Kamigoye for the three count! Ibushi 2 points, Okada 0 points
Standings
A Block:
- 2 points – Will Ospreay, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Jay White, Kota Ibushi
- 0 points – Jeff Cobb, Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada, Shingo Takagi, Yujiro Takahashi
B Block:
- 0 points – EVIL, Hirooki Goto, KENTA, Tetsuya Naito, Juice Robinson, Zack Sabre Jr., SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI
