Tournament action continues in Sapporo

Sapporo’s Hokkai Kita Yell saw G1 Climax 30 action continue on September 23 in Sapporo, the main event seeing Jay White take victory over Kota Ibushi to share the top spot in A Block with Taichi and Will Ospreay.

Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb were the first A block combatants to do battle in Hokkaido, both men battling a 0-1 record after losses to Jay White and Taichi respectively in Osaka. Both looking to make a mark early, Shingo and Cobb traded chops and forearms at the bell, Takagi able to knock Cobb down with a tackle, but Cobb instantly delivering a dropkick receipt. 

It was the Olympian who got the first high impact move of the match, taking control with a huge overhead suplex. A running backdrop also found the mark, but Shingo was able to gut out the punishment to hit his Dragon lariat and a vertical suplex to get two before Cobb powerfully kicked out. At the five minute mark, Shingo sought to seize momentum, using Cobb’s weight against him for a rope assisted backdrop suplex. Cobb blocked a lariat and sent Shingo for the ride with a T-Bone suplex, but Takagi responded in kind.

Cobb and Shingo continued to trade heavy hits, Cobb looking for a Tour of the Islands but countered by Noshigami. This time the Dragon followed up with Pumping Bomber, but Cobb didn’t stay down, landing successive gut wrench suplexes and a powerbomb before the Gachimuchi Moonsault got two.

Cobb’s follow-up F5000 attempt was countered by a DDT from Shingo, who scored with Made In Japan for two. Cobb still had no give in him however, misdirecting a charging Dragon into a release German suplex and Tour of the Islands for the three count. 

Yujiro Takahashi and Kazuchika Okada were next up, both men again battling 0-1 records, and Yujiro doggedly pursuing his rival of the summer in Okada. Yujiro took control of the match early on, and brought Okada out to the floor, where he connected with a neckbreaker on the concrete and followed with a dropkick. 

Persisting with a simple and effective offense, Takahashi dominated the bout until Okada had distance to avoid a dropkick and counter with a spinning elbow and DDT; when Yujiro ducked out to try and dictate the pace once again, Okada took to the skies with a rare plancha to the BULLET CLUB member. 

A hurt back left over from the Ibushi opener Saturday however, and Okada was unable to hit a reverse neckbreaker, Yujiro connecting with a Fisherman Buster and trading with the Rainmaker. Okada was able to dropkick Yujiro on the run however, and followed a Tombstone with the Money Clip. 

Yujiro used his brain and his teeth to work out of the hold, and hit an Intercollegiate Slam to buy some time. Now with the match in his control, the Tokyo Pimp connected with Miami Shine for two, and as Okada fought back, rattled the Rainmaker with a lariat. The back of Okada gave out once more as he looked for another Tombstone, but a rolling lariat did find the mark, and the Money Clip was locked in a moment later for the victory. 

The hotly anticipated Suzuki-Gun derby was next, Taichi and Suzuki tearing into one another even before the bell and literally going for one another’s throats. 

When referee Marty Asami was caught between the two combatants, Suzuki took a ringside chair and ordered Taichi to do the same, the Holy Emperor coming off on top of the duel but unable to find the killing blow. Suzuki cut Taichi off and found a second chair to do damage outside the ring, a steel shot smacking off Taichi’s back before the chair legs choked him at the guardrail. Asami still incapacitated, the match turned into an impromptu streetfight as Suzuki went on a demented search for weapons before bringing his man back into the ring at the five minute mark.

As Suzuki once again shoved Asami to the mat, Taichi brought himself enough time to grab his mic stand and deliver a shot to Suzuki before taking his own turn to bounce the faction leader around the guardrails and choke him with a camera cable. In ring though Taichi got a little too confident, stepping kicks only serving to drag Suzuki’s sadism to the surface. 

The two traded kicks, Suzuki coming up on top but falling to a gamengiri at ten minutes. The two reset and charged at one another, Suzuki finding a sleeper hold but quickly paying with a Dangerous Backdrop and another Gamengiri, but an Ax Bomber was ducked and Suzuki sunk in a second sleeper. Taichi fought out of a Gotch Style Piledriver, coming back to his feet, but as Suzuki looked for a seond, Taichi resisted and landed Black Mephisto for a shock win, the Iron Fingers of the retired Takashi Iizuka seemingly silently speaking congratulations to the Emperor post match.  

Will Ospreay offered Tomohiro Ishii a handhsake to start, but the Stone Pitbull preferred to throw his hands instead, starting a high paced exchange of strikles before Ishii was finally able to bowl Ospreay over with a shoulder. Ishii remained in control with strikes, and showed his increase in size as Ishii looked for a suplex, but the powerful, low gravity base of the Stone Pitbull saw Ospreay meet the mat. 

With a hard chop to the throat of the Briton, Ishii pushed his advantage, but when Ospreay found distance, a corkscrew kick and shooting star was followed y a springboard forearm from current British heavyweight Champion to the former title holder. Still the pride of Ospreay led the Assassin to try and trade with Ishii, paying the price with some shots before a short range springboard kick sent Ishii to the outside.

Ospreay attempted a Sasuke Special to the floor, a high risk sequence resulting in a shocking OsCutter over the guardrail on the floor to Ishii. Ishii barely beat the referee’s count at the ten minute mark but had the wherewithal to crotch his opponent as he was looking for a Shooting Star, following with a rising headbutt to Ospreay’s jaw. 

After a superplex from Ishii didn’t get the job done, Ospreay fired up and again tried to trade with Ishii, gaining the upper hand with a hook kick, but being levelled with a forearm and powerbomb for a nearfall. The hard hits continued with a high angle German suplex, but Ospreay was able to catch his opponent on the run with a Spanish Fly and an OsCutter for 2.9. 

Ishii blocked a super OsCutter and continued to fire at Ospreay, a lariat creating some space and a chance to pull himself to his feet at the 15 minute mark. As the two continued to throw their best shots, Ishii wanted the Vertical Drop Brainbuster, countered first into an Osaka Street Cutter and then a reverse hurricarana. A gutwrench driver scored yet another nearfall for Ospreay, but Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker finally got the job done. 

Jay White took  great pleasure in riling up the crowd as his main event with Kota Ibushi kicked off, but paid the price quickly with a hard kick from the 2019 G1 winner. Quick to turn the match to his favour though, White landed a TKO over the ropes and then a knee crusher on the apron to take control. 

Relentless in the pursuit of the opening he created, White continued to work over the right knee, Ibushi gritting his teeth to hit a dropkick and a signature strike combo. A powerslam followed, and Ibushi tried to spring for a second rope moonsault, but when White evaded the move, Ibushi landed on the afflicted knee, giving Jay ample opportunity to cut the Golden Star’s momentum off. 

Ibushi’s speed edge now completely nullified, Jay moved with slickness to suplex Ibushi, who found a deperation rebound German suplex at the ten minute mark. Still the knee damage prevented an effective follow up, as Jay brought time and distance. When White found himself on the apron, Ibushi attempted his German suplex over the ropes, but again, with some help from Gedo, a Dragon screw over the ropes and Uranage was the result. 

Desperate to deal damage, Ibushi got half of his usual Bastard Driver on White; as the Kiwi continued to pound on the knee, the Golden Star tapped into his dark side to power through the pain, absorbing shot after shot to level the Switchblade with a lariat. White avoided Kamigoye however, and rolled into the ITO, Ibushi barely making the ropes 15 minutes of knee damage seemed to pay off. 

A snap sleeper from White however, and Ibushi tapped into superhuman power, delivering a Boma Ye and Last Ride for two. Now finally troubled, White employed Gedo for a distraction long enough to hit Ibushi below the belt. Ibushi kicked out of the ensuing suplex, but as Ibushi again fired back and looked for Kamigoye, White hit a Bladerunner out of the blue for a clean victory.