Night nine of G1 Climax 29 saw A block tournament action head to Aichi.
Match 9: Kazuchika Okada (5-0) defeated KENTA (4-1) via pinfall.
The crowd was overwhelming in their support of Okada at the bell. The match started clean on the mat, but KENTA elected not to break clean in the ropes and slapped Okada, following with kicks and a knee across the middle rope.
KENTA proceeded to exploit that opening and dominated Okada, mocking his Rainmaker pose to a chorus of boos. Okada found a response with a DDT to KENTA, but any momentum for the Rainmaker was culled by a sudden powerslam and a brutal swinging Stungun over the top rope.
KENTA was able to land sustained offense, but Okada was able to use his size advantage to respond with big moves and create breathing room. One such big moment seemed to come when the IWGP Heavyweight Champion was able to dropkick KENTA from the top rope out to the floor. From there he was able to launch KENTA out over the railings and attempt a DDT to the floor, but he was blocked, and KENTA responded with a massive running dropkick from ring apron to the guardrail.
Okada barely made the count, and KENTA was right on top of the champion as he reigned in boots. KENTA missed a crowning double stomp however, and then it was Okada’s turn, hitting a John Woo dropkick and then a corner dropkick of his own. When Okada blocked a KENTA superplex and tried to hit his diving elbow though, it was countered, and KENTA locked in Game Over at the 20 minute mark.
While Okada made he ropes, he appeared to be fading fast. A pair of Busaiku knees and a double stomp saw weaker and weaker kickouts from Okada, but the champion went low and blocked one Go2Sleep attempt before catching the knee on a second and creating distance for a huge dropkick. Okada followed with a Tombstone, but the move took a lot out of the Rainmaker, and a Rainmaker was not forthcoming.
Instead the two exchanged elbows and some vicious palm strikes from KENTA. Okada prevailed however, with a twisting Tombstone and a Rainmaker to hand KENTA his first G1 loss.
Match 8: Hiroshi Tanahashi (3-2) defeated SANADA (1-4) via pinfall.
Tanahashi seemed to have the early edge on the mat over SANADA, but the fans were further in Cold Skull’s corner than the Ace expected. At the five minute mark, SANADA was able to catch Tanahashi in the Paradise Lock to the delight of the Aichi fans, and followed with a dropkick.
Tanahashi was frequently frustrated by SANADA, and even a Dragon Screw from Tanahashi was followed by a dropkick to the knee from SANADA and a Dragon Screw of his own, echoing Tanahashi’s battles with Keiji Muto long ago. When Tanahashi attempted to send SANADA into the corner, SANADA responded by floating expertly out to the apron, hitting a springboard dropkick and a plancha to the floor.
The Acer finally got his break when an elbow exchange led into a Twist and Shout, followed by a second, only to be countered on a third attempt; The Ace simply unable to press an advantage. Tanahashi eventually did hit his third Twist and Shout, but missed with High Fly Flow; SANADA got ahead of himself however and missed a follow up moonsault.
Tanahashi attempted to counter a Skullend first into an inside cradle and then into an O’Connor Roll, but SANADA was tenacious, and got his hooks in to effectively ground the Ace. Incredibly, however, Tanahashi bridged out, and the two entered into a thrilling exchange of their own versions of the Dragon Sleeper hold. With the Ace on top of the exchange, Tanahashi managed to get the adrenaline to flow, and found stable enough footing on the top rope to hit High Fly Flow for a victory for the first time in the tournament this year.
Match 7: EVIL (3-2) defeated Zack Sabre Junior (1-4) via pinfall
EVIL and ZSJ did battle on the mat early; Sabre had the upper hand but EVIL gave him a run for his money. The King of Darkness sought to use the powerful arms that brought him to the dance, but was cauight by a ZSJ triangle; EVIL managed to power out however.
Power again came in useful as Zack managed to lock in his own Scorpion Deathlock; EVIL dragged himself outside, where he managed to step in whis wheelhouse. A suplex to ZSJ on the floor, and EVIL was in control in ring; while his trademark groin koick was countered to a leglock, EVIL was able to roll through and lock in his original Scorpion.
ZSJ came close with a European Clutch and PK for two counts, but EVIL ultimately scored with EVIL for the win.
Match 6: Will Ospreay (2-3) defeated Bad Luck Fale (1-4) via disqualification.
Chase Owens accompanied Bad Luck Fale to the ring and grabbed Ospreay’s ankle as he amde his entrance, allowing Fale to go on the attack. Jado would try to hit Ospreay with his cane, but Ospreay turned Owens around so he took the cane instead. Fale nevertheless caught Ospreay coming in and went to work picking away at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Owens ripped off the tape on Ospreay’s neck as Fale continued to work the Briton over. After Ospreay managed to fire off a Robinson Special, he attempted to hit the OsCutter, but Fale threw the referee into the ropes, leading to Ospreay crashing to the floor. As Ospreay came back in the ring, Fale attempted to his a Bad Luck Fall, but was countered; while there was no way Ospreay was going to hit Strombreaker, an OsCutter did connect. The win seemed to be in Ospreay’s grasp but Owens pulled the refereee outside the ring.
Owens hit a Package Piledriver to Ospreay as Fale and Red Shoes came to; Fale couldn’t capitalize however, as Unno decided enough was enough and disqualified Fale.
Match 5: Kota Ibushi (3-2) defeated Lance Archer (2-3) via pinfall.
Ibushi went right at Archer out of the gate, and when it looked like Archer had caught him, Ibushi hit a huge Frankensteiner outside of the ring. Ibushi’s advantage was short lived however, as Archer cut off an attempt at the Golden Triangle and went to work on Ibushi on the outside.
In the ring, Ibushi found some success with leg kicks to Archer, but the big man was quick to cut Ibushi off. When Archer looked to score with a big Pounce however, Archer managed to land a huge double knee attack to the American Psycho’s head. His lingerign ankle injury slowed Ibushi but he nevertheless went up to the top rope; a slight delay led to an Archer superplex attempt but Ibushi countered with a phenomenal Last Ride for two.
Archer shrugged off more Ibushi leg kicks to hit a massive chokeslam, which was followed by the EBD Claw, but Ibushi managed to find the ropes. On instinct, Ibushi found separation with a Boma Ye, and went for Kamigoye but was met by Archers own knee. Archer got caught trying to beat Ibushi at his own game though, and missed a follow-up moonsault. He attempted Blackout, but Ibushi escaped, allowing for a second Boma Ye for two. Archer wouldn’t fall to a Kamigoye, but did to a second as Ibushi moved to six points.
Match 4: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) defeated Jon Moxley & Shota Umino when Takagi pinned Umino.
Naito angered Moxley by taking his time during his entrance, but Mox’s complaints fell on deaf ears. Umino started the match, and despite his heavily wrapped left arm, charged directly at Takagi. LIJ took over on Umino before Naito’s actions incited Moxley into charging in without the benefit of a tag.
Moxley did eventually get his tag, and had a spirited exchange with Naito, but was perhaps shockingly outdone by Umino’s intense aggression in going after Takagi. He couldn’t keep up with the LIJ numbers game though, and soon fell to a Takagi Pumping Bomber.
Post match, Moxley grabbed a chair and swung at Naito, but El Ingobernable took it all in his tranquilo stride.
Match 3: CHAOS (Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii) defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) when Yano pinned YOSHI-HASHI.
Yano attempted to outmaneuver Goto early, but the Fierce Warrior was having none of it. Yano would tag in Ishii, and he and Goto tore into one another with forearms and shoulder charges, with Goto gaining the upper hand.
After YOSHI-HASHI was tagged in, he went impressively toe to toe with Ishii, but was cut off by a brainbuster. Yano couldn’t roll-up or out cheat Goto, but was able to hit a low blow and schoolboy on YOSHI-HASHI to scoop a victory.
Match 2: BULLET CLUB (Jay White, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Juice Robinson, Tomoaki Honma & Henare when Owens pinned Henare.
BULLET CLUB focused their early efforts on the neck of Honma. Honma created enough distance to Juice, but Robinson showed a rare lack of focus when distracted by Pieter at ringside. That allowed Jay White to take advantage of his August 8 tournament opponent, but Juice was able to land a Full Nelson Slam and tag in Henare.
Henare looked to hit a Rampage Tackle to Owens, but the referee was pulled in his path. That created the opening for Owens to hit a Package Piledriver.
Match 1: Suzuki-Gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Jeff Cobb, Ren Narita & Yota Tsuji when Kanemaru pinned Tsuji.
After a customary Suzuki-Gun jump start, Taichi charged at Cobb outside the ring while the Young Lions were abused within it. Narita bore the brunt of offense before surprising Taichi with a dropkick, allowing Cobb in to tee off on Taichi. In the end Tsuji was left in ring with Suzuki and Kanemaru, and a Deep Impact soon followed.
Post match, Taichi surprisingly shook Cobb’s hand, but seemed to have ulterior motives in mind.
