Main Card – Tag Team Matches

Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Daiki Nagai & Shingo Takagi

(Moloney has the killer instinct, and matches the power presented by Takagi. This will make their upcoming B-Block matches interesting with both men currently tied at 8.)

Moloney and Takagi locked horns until a shoulder tackle gave the latter control. Ishimori and Moloney isolated Nagai from his partner. Nagai blasted Ishimori with a Spinebuster. Moloney ate a lariat from Takagi. Ishimori held Nagai deep with a Bone Lock, which ultimately resulted in the Young Lion tapping out.


TMDK (Hartley Jackson & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated Shoma Kato & YOSHI-HASHI

(Only a brief taste of Sabre and YOSHI-HASHI. Very brief, I might say. The story I saw coming out of this is that despite Jackson getting the better of him, Kato’s heart wouldn’t let him stay down for long, no matter what size his opponent is. Plus, he changed tactics early on whereas some Young Lions might’ve stubbornly stuck to the same method.)

Jackson swiftly leveled the playing field with both YOSHI-HASHI and Kato lain flat. Sabre worked on the neck of young Kato. YOSHI-HASHI drove Sabre into the mat with a DDT. Kaito unwisely attempted to flip Jackson over his shoulder but changed strategy to a leg hold that knocked down the girthy giant. Jackson compressed Kato’s midsection with a devastating senton. In the center of the ring, Jackson flattened Kato with a Jagged Edge, warranting a pinfall.


United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young) defeated Katsuya Murashima & Shota Umino

(Young was almost a non-factor in the match following his August 8 tag with Callum Newman against Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai. Khan’s much maligned ruined knees during this tournament didn’t deter him, however.)

Khan denied a thirsty Umino of a chance to lock up, lending a still-hurt Young to suffer his knee to the Roughneck. To give his weakened partner more of a chance, Khan laid ruin unto Umino, hurling him into the barricade. Mongolian chops and his patented top rope sit-down may have rocked Murashima, but the Young Lion sent him flying with a pounce. He aligned with his more senior partner to level Khan. Tenzan Tombstone Driver and a vice grip wrought enough agony for Murashima to tap out.


House Of Torture (Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero)

(Standard House of Torture fare, albeit without weapons or the accursed interference. Romero sold believably. Takeshita was presented as formidable and likely to handle Narita in the B-Block, but even the numbers game may prove too much for him.)

House of Torture struck first after the bell, with Narita disposing of Takeshita into the chairs in the crowd. He and Kanemaru targeted Romero’s knee. Takeshita returned, sending Narita downward with an exploder suplex. Romero briefly had control on Narita, but his knee gave out during a Sliced Bread attempt. Narita tapped Romero out with an Indian Deathlock.


G1 Climax B-Block Matches

Oleg Boltin (10) defeated Taichi (6)

(Boltin’s matches excite when he’s up against someone who is either more cunning than him or relatively close in strength. Taichi was just that, so seeing how Boltin had to pull through on sheer will made this a battle for survival that tested the merits of his tenacity.)

The more-experienced Taichi controlled the early goings, but a Dangerous Backdrop, Boltin Shake, and backbreaker incurred a deep woe into Taichi’s ribs. Boltin’s momentum came to a screeching halt after an enzuigiri laid him out. A Dangerous Backdrop lent Taichi a moment to recuperate. Boltin landed a short-range Kamikaze, softened by his worn back and hobbling knee. Taichi rocked Boltin with a roundhouse kick. Boltin swung a brief comeback through a Kamikaze. He then unleashed another, full-force Kamikaze to pin Taichi.


SANADA (6) defeated Ryohei Oiwa (8)

(SANADA played spoiler to Oiwa’s last chance to stay in the G1 so dirtily. At least he can live in the solace that he dragged Oiwa down with him; neither man advance in the tournament. Foreshadowing this in the tag match against Oiwa and Hartley Jackson on August 8, it paid off in a different way for the House of Torture member. I may not like it, but we move on.)

Try as he might, SANADA struggled to escape Oiwa’s headlocks. Even when he tried a Side Headlock Takedown, SANADA found himself in Oiwa’s grasp. SANADA ruined Oiwa’s neck following a DDT to the floor from the ring apron. Oiwa transitioned SANADA’s Skull End to another headlock. Firmly locking hands across SANADA’s waist, Oiwa flung his opponent about with suplexes. After some Eddie Guerrero-esque shenanigans with his guitar, SANADA blasted Oiwa with the musical instrument for the pinfall.


Yota Tsuji (10) defeated Callum Newman (8)

(Selling not just the wear and tear of the G1 Climax, but the disappointment of elimination, Newman did admirably here. Walker Stewart on commentary mentioned a Tsuji win may cost Oleg Boltin the oturnament here, so in any event this match still gives hope to someone moving forward in the tournament at this juncture in tonight’s show.)

Newman, having been told he was eliminated from the finals, sourly and halfheartedly struck Tsuji. Soon, it annoyed Tsuji so much that he pitched Newman into a row of chairs. Sensing Newman’s exhausted state and his strength in fast-paced action, Tsuji slowed the match to a crawl as he worked his opponent’s neck. As Newman steadily gained momentum, Tsuji quelled it with a double-stomp. Spanish Fly by Newman thwarted a potential Gene Blaster.

From the top rope, Newman crushed Tsuji’s midsection with a double-stomp. Tsuji unsheathed a Gene Blaster, short-range, leaving Newman retching by the ropes. Marlowe Crush from Tsuji punished Newman to the point of collapse. Seventeen Crosses gave Tsuji the vital three seconds to win.