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SEP.28.2020

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G1 Climax night 7 Preview 【G130】

A Block hits Korakuen

After B Block action saw the first G1 Climax 30 matches in Korakuen on September 29, B Block hit Korakuen Hall on the next night, with a rematch of one of last tournament’s best bouts in the main event. 

Watch G1 Climax 30 Live and on demand with NJPW World!

Tomohiro Ishii (0-3) vs Shingo Takagi (1-2) 

Singles record 2-0 Takagi G1 record 1-0 Takagi

Whether against Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma or last year with Jon Moxley, Tomohiro Ishii seems to have a monopoly on intense G1 matches inside Korakuen Hallin recent years. This time he faces off with Shingo Takagi, but does so at a 0-2 defecit against the Dragon. 

Will it be third time lucky for Ishii against Shingo? Last year, his Yokohama G1 match with Takagi was one of the classics of the tournament, and was ranking high in year end match of the year polls. Then in February, Shingo and Ishii again went to war for the NEVER Openweight Championship, in Korakuen, in another fantastic bout that had the fans on their feet, but ultimately, Ishii on his back. 

Now, with Shingo finally on the board after a scintillating victory over WIll Ospreay in Kobe, and Ishii still at the bottom of the table with zero points, this bout comes at a crucial point in both men’s campaigns.  As the opening stretch gives way to the attrition of the tournament’s middle act, both men will doubtless leave with the adoration and respect of fans in Korakuen and watching around the world; the question is who will leave with the all important W?

Will Ospreay (2-1) vs Jay White (3-0)

NJPW singles record: 1-0 White

At this point of the G1 Climax last year, Jay White was stuck at 0-3, desperation setting in as criticism mounted. Some even questioned if Gedo had hitched himself to the wrong horse, as Switchblade struggled to gain momentum after losses to Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano. Yet it was on match four that White kicked into high gear, winning his last six matches in a row and booking a place in the finals opposite Kota Ibushi. 

That end result went in Ibushi’s favour, but White since avenged the loss both in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom, and in this year’s G1 (sorry, Jay-1), where he’s started his campaign with three wins in contrast to last year’s run of losses. In fact, White has remained undefeated in singles competition since January 4; as happened in 2019, does match four see White shift into an even higher gear?

Or will fates be reversed, and will runaway freight train momentum end with a crash off the rails? Certainly Will Ospreay wouldn’t mind playing a part in White’s downfall. With a brashness bordering on outright arrogance, Ospreay picked up impressive wins against Yujiro Takahashi and Tomohiro Ishii, and with the Kobe World Hall crowd held rapt, only narrowly came up short in a thriller with Shingo Takagi. Now 1-1 with the Dragon, Ospreay left content that there’ll be a rubber match down the line; for Ospreay and Jay that rubber match time, after a win for Ospreay while the future Switchblade was on ROH excursion avenged at Anniversary in 2019, is now.  

 

Kazuchika Okada (1-2) vs Taichi (3-0)

Singles record 1-1

Kazuchika Okada and Taichi meet for the second time this year in Korakuen, but much has changed since their February encounter in Sapporo. Then, Taichi was looking to make a statement at the Rainmaker’s expense, mocking Okada for losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship that defined him, and evoking their past as men who came to NJPW at the same time, leading to Taichi (then Ishikari) beating Okada on his official full debut. 

12 years on, and despite the Holy Emperor brutally attacking Okada 24 hours before their New beginning in Sapporo night two main event, Okada got his win back over Taichi, but ever since, the form of both men has seen the Suzuki-Gun member firmly on top. For Taichi, IWGP Tag Team Championship gold, pinfall victories over Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi in the New Japan Cup, and three wins to kick of G1 Climax 30, including over his faction leader Minoru Suzuki himself. For Okada, lower profile matches with Yujiro Takahashi through the summer, and his only win so far in this year’s G1 campaign being against the Tokyo Pimp. 

Even within that bout, Okada himself later expressed frustration that his win was less convincing than he would like. With losses to Kota Ibushi and Jay White already tarnishing the Rainmaker’s record, Okada can ill afford another loss, neither in terms of his G1 standing nor public perception. A victory, and a commanding one, is much needed for Okada, but that isn’t something Taichi will easily hand over. 

Kota Ibushi (2-1) vs Jeff Cobb (1-2)

First singles meeting

An intriguing first time matchup on the Korakuen card sees Kota Ibushi face off against Jeff Cobb. Ibushi is known for blending his incredible athleticism with heavyweight striking power, that ability keeping near the top of the running in A Block at the moment with Jay White his only blemish. 

Cobb meanwhile has augmented his own heavyweight power and grappling ability with Ibushi like incredible athleticism. For Cobb the combination of power and flying ability hasn’t granted him a positive record in his first three matches, but makes him intimidating opposition nonetheless, and the stylistic contrast between Mr. Athletic and the Golden Star will make this an intriguing encounter to watch. Will Ibushi move up to six points, or will both he and Cobb leave Tokyo with even scorelines?

Minoru Suzuki (2-1) vs Yujiro Takahashi (0-3)

Overall singles record: 3-0 Suzuki (G1s 2012, 2013, 2014)

The form book is not kind to Yujiro Takahashi when it comes to the first group match of the evening. With nobody in the modern framework of the G1 making the finals with anything less than 12 points, Takahashi might not be on the bubble in a mathematical sense, but a 0-3 record effectively puts him at a must win scenario against a motivated Minoru Suzuki. Still smarting from his loss to Taichi in Sapporo, Suzuki took great sadistic pleasure in putting away Jeff Cobb in Kobe before promising that he would take G1 Climax 30 for himself; he is overwhelmingly the favourite to move two points closer to that goal, having already beaten Takahashi thrice in successive G1s between 2012 and 2014. 

Is the match a write-off for the Tokyo Pimp then? Yujiro tends to find his ways, and to discount him would be dangerous indeed. In Korakuen Hall six years ago, it was against Tomohiro Ishii that Yujiro became NEVER Openweight Champion for the one and only time. Could he score a significant win over the current NEVER champ in the same venue in 2020?

Yota Tsuji (2-2 this tour) vs Yuya Uemura (2-2 this tour)

Overall singles record: 9-6-21 Tsuji (1-1 this tour)

The night’s action kicks off with the epic war between three Young Lions enter its middle act. Yota Tsuji was left licking his wounds after Gabriel Kidd shut the confident Young Lion’s mouth in Kobe, a spectacular double arm suplex giving the Briton his first win over the larger man. Uemura too has been able to score victory over Tsuji, on night one in Osaka, but the former American football player was quick to right that perceived wrong, tapping Uemura out in Hokkaido last week to settle the score. As all three men continue to exchange wins, can any one Young Lion set themselves apart in the middle leg of the G1?

 

 

 

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