Taichi, Jay White top A Block in Kobe
Night five of G1 Climax 30 saw action come to Kobe World Hall for the first time in 2020, with Taichi and Jay White ending the night on the top of the table with 6 points while Tomohiro Ishii and Yujiro Takahashi sit at zero.
The first group match of the night saw Yujiro Takahashi, still looking for his first win, take on Taichi. Yujiro got the jump on Taichi as he made his entrance, but Taichi bailed to the floor and then got revenge with the ringside bell hammer. Dominating in the ring, Taichi managed to talk too much trash when he brought up Yujiro’s tag championship winning past, firing up the Tokyo Pimp who assaulted Taichi inside the ring and out.
A rake of the eyes prevented a Miami Shine however, and Taichi landed a Gamengiri in the corner to put Yujiro to the mat. Takahashi bit his way out of a Last Ride attempt, prompting Taichi to go to the eyes as both men went to the depths of their rule breaking arsenal, and thsi time it was Yujiro playing with Taichi’s pride, baiting the Holy Emperor to take a swing, and landing a vicious elbow instead.
An Inter-Collegiate Slam scored 2 for Yujiro, but Taichi responded with a Dangerous Backdrop. The trousers came off for Taichi, but Yujiro still fought back, landing his Miami Shine. Yujiro looked to follow with Pimp Juice, but Taichi prevented the move, momentarily distracting the referee long enough to hit a low blow and the Gedo Clutch to pick up another two points.
Jeff Cobb and Minoru Suzuki were up next. While both men are feared strikers, Suzuki’s submission wrestling and Cobb’s amateur past saw the story told in the opening moments. Suzuki voluntarily went to ground and attempt to grapple Cobb, coming up with an Achille’s Hold before Mr. Athletic headed to the ropes.
A frustrated Cobb chopped at Suzuki, and charged at the King in the corner, again being caught in an armbar before Suzuki sent him into the ringside barriers. After being dominated for the first five minutes of the match, Cobb finally shrugged off a boot to create enough distance, showing his power with shoulder blocks and a running backdrop suplex.
Cobb attempted to follow with elbows in the standup, and though he lost the exchange, was able to land a dropkick and then his combination of gutwrench suplexes, brute forcing the King into a follow up Oklahoma Stampede and Gachimuchi Moonsault. Suzuki rolled out of a Tour of the Island however, and quickly maneuvered himself into a Gotch Style Piledriver for the win.
After intermission, Tomohiro Ishii looked to get his G1 on track as he entered the ring at 0-2 against Kota Ibushi looking to bounce back from his Hokkaido main event loss to Jay White Wednesday. The two locked up and tested strength in the open, Ibushi giving a clean break and Ishii slightly less so, a tense standoff drawing applause before the first strikes flew. Ibushi scored the first knockdown, but Ishii showed his own speediness, popping right back before trash talking the Golden Star.
Ishii backed the talk up, sending Ibushi into the corner with his chops. Putting Ibushi to his backside, Ishii fired in kicks to his opponent, and even as Ibushi fired up, Ishii was unfazed until a snap Frankensteiner took the Stone Pitbull by surprise. Coming back up, the two men traded kicks and chops, Ibushi gaining the upper hand and connecting with a powerslam and a springboard dropkick, but Ibushi fired up with a powerslam of his own.
Battling through pain, each refused to stay down for the others blows and German Suplexes before a dropkick from Ibushi finally sent Ishii to the mat. Expressionless, the two kicked each other from the mat and exchanged rapid fire slaps to the face before the dark switch flipped in Ibushi. A straight shotei from Ibushi followed, but Ishii was just as angered, sending chops and a lariat to the throat, but Ibushi responded in kind with a straight fist and sit out Last Ride, only scoring two.
Ishii prevented Kamigoye with headbutts, and blocked a Frankensteiner with a powerbomb for a near fall of his own. After Ibushi escaped with a short knee out of a Vertical Drop Brainbuster attempt, Ishii looked to be in trouble, but again prevented Kamigoye with a rising headbutt. A sliding lariat followed, but Ibushi was able to stay in the game, landing his own version of the Vertical Drop to get time and distance.
Said distance was squandered when a Bome Ye attempt met an Ishii lariat, but a high kick followed for Ibushi. Ishii again frustrated Ibushi as he went for the kill, but last year’s G1 winner flipped out of a German Suplex and hit Boma Ye for two. A huge lariat, a second Boma Ye, and Kamigoye followed for the win.
Shingo Takagi and Will Ospreay was match of the year for many when they met in Best of the Super Juniors in 2019. Both men met for round two in Kobe as heavyweights, Shingo with unchanged demeanour and Ospreay with renewed arrogance. After each man dared the other to score a shoulder knock down to no avail, the pace quickened with a searing exchange before Shingo elected to give Ospreay the time to show off in mid ring.
On his re-entry, Ospreay took advantage, cutting the Dragon off with strikes and a low dropkick. Ringside, Takagi tasted the guardrail steel, but it was Ospreay dealt the first heavy blow of the night, a pop-up DVD connecting on the floor for Shingo. With a target chosen for Takagi, the former NEVER champion went after Ospreay’s neck with a DDT and cravate to dictate the pace. As Ospreay came to his feet, both unleashed stinging chops before a corkscrew kick put Takagi down. The Ryukon Lariat kept the match in Takagi’s favour however, and a Dragon Screw led to a sliding lariat for two at the ten minute mark.
Ospreay found an opening when Takagi looked for a suplex, hitting a Street Cutter and Sasuke Special out to the floor. While a Stormbreaker attempt was too early, Ospreay was able to tie Shingo to the Tree of Woe, and went corner to corner on a springboard dropkick before a Reverse Bloody Sunday and Shooting Star landed for two each. A wounded Takagi dug deep however, and stopped the Briton’s momentum when Ospreay’s OsCutter attempt was caught into Noshigami.
Shingo followed with knees to the chest, but a Pumping Bomber was countered with a Liger Bomb for a nearfall. OsCutter followed for another two, but a hook kick attempt was met with Made In Japan and Pumping Bomber for the Dragon. As each dug ever deeper, a reverse Frankensteiner from Ospreay put both men down and the fans to the edges of their seats. A Spanish Fly nearly scored a victory for Ospreay, Takagi countering on instinct to his own Crucifix pin before being knocked down by a lariat.
Ospreay went for Hidden Blade at the 20 minute mark, avoided by Takagi, but a rolling elbow scored a knock down. takagi read the Super Os Cutter that had scored big in Ryogoku a year prior and lariated Ospreay off the turnbuckle, connecting with Stay Dream from the top rope for just a one. Shingo wasn’t to be denied though, and Last of the Dragon followed for the three count.
Before the main event kicked off, Jay White played mind games even as Kazuchika Okada made his entrance, trying to make the fans chant his name in spite of anti-pandemic rules for those in attendance. White continued to taunt the Rainmaker, reminding him of his betrayal of CHAOS two years prior, before refusing to engage when the bell finally sounded.
Contact eventually made Okada sent White to the floor before an intervening Gedo played the long con, baiting the Rainmaker into a chase and opening the door for the Switchblade to attack from behind. The Kiwi proved relentless as he targeted Okada’s lower back, before Okada found space with a flapjack, and picked up speed with a back elbow.
When Gedo inevitably interfered, Okada fought back, landing a DDT to both Jay and his manager on the rampway, but the damaged back prevented him from lifting the Switchblade in ring. White’s own DDT saw him back in control, with a Bladebuster following for the BULLET CLUB leader, before a reverse neckbreaker connected for Okada.
The two men began to trade forearms, an angry Rainmaker finally coming to the fore as he levelled White with a shiver. A dropkick from behind sent Gedo off the apron to the floor for an added bonus, but again White shut Okada down with a deadlift German. At Gedo’s bidding, White looked for a Rainmaker of his own, but Okada fought free, a dropkick and Tombstone leading to the Money Clip at the 15 minute mark.
White found his way out of the hold, and as Okada went again for the kill, White once more switched momentum, an Uranage finding its mark. Okada again dropkicked White out of a Bladerunner attempt and sunk in the Money Clip once more, White hitting Okada low to escape. Switchblade hit a snap sleeper suplex, and followed with Bladerunner to go 3-0.
