G1 Climax Day 17, Ryogoku Sumo Hall, October 16th:
A Block
Yujiro Takahashi defeated Jeff Cobb. This was Yujiro’s first win of the tournament and a win that kept Will Ospreay's extremely unlikely chance of winning the block alive. This wasn’t much of a match, it dragged at certain points. It picked up when Cobb went to suplex city. Yujiro used his stick behind the refs back, then hit Miami Shine and the Pimp Juice DDT to score his first points.
Shingo Takagi defeated Minoru Suzuki. This was a rematch from the Jingu Stadium show in August when Suzuki won the NEVER title from Shingo. Here, Suzuki went after the right arm. They went at it with strike exchanges, but the injured arm of Shingo was a difference maker. Suzuki used a cross armbar and went into a Fujiwara armbar, but Shingo managed to survive. Suzuki went for a sleeper, and after a struggle, Shingo muscled him up into Last of the Dragon. This will likely put Shingo in line for a NEVER championship rematch. What an incredible tournament Suzuki had. At 52 years old, he proved he is still among the finest pro wrestlers in the world today.
Will Ospreay defeated Kazuchika Okada. We had a big angle coming out of this one! Ospreay has shown a slightly more arrogant/heelish side to himself throughout the tournament, and it all came to a head. The match started hot, with a fast Sasuke Special. Okada DDT’d Ospreay on the floor, and took control of the match, focusing on the neck to set up the Money Clip. When Ospreay made his comeback, he hit a dive over the ring post in tribute to his friend, Ryan Smile, who sadly passed away a couple of days ago. From here the match picked up. Ospreay went for Stormbreaker multiple times, but Okada kept finding a way out and went for the Money Clip. There were some great counters between the two CHAOS mates. Ospreay beautifully countered a spinning lariat into a Spanish Fly. Okada was able to apply the Money Clip, but Ospreay’s girlfriend, Bea Priestly showed up at ringside. A distraction allowed a run in from Tomoyuki Oka, who has been on excursion with Rev Pro in the UK, using the name The Great O’Kharn, where he’s had a largely uneventful run. Oku dropped Okada with a claw slam and allowed Ospreay to hit Stormbreaker and score a major win.
After the match Ospreay looked shocked, but then turned and struck Okada with the Hidden Blade and shouted at Okada, saying he was “held back” by the man that brought him into NJPW. In a backstage interview, Ospreay said he has left CHAOS and is starting his own faction. It’s likely that we are heading towards an Okada vs Ospreay match at the Tokyo Dome this January.
Kota Ibushi defeated Taichi. This match was entirely kicks. Nothing else, just kicks. It was quite the spectacle. They traded leg kicks, then they challenged each other to kick each other in the back, and then it went to chest kicks. Taichi went for a back drop driver, but landed on his feet and challenged Taichi to return to kicks. The kicks just went on and on, it was mostly leg kicks, back and forth, until both men could barely stand, especially Ibushi. It was a grueling war, reminiscent of the famous Sasaki/Kobashi chop battle in the Tokyo Dome. The end came when Ibushi blasted Taich with a head kick and a Kamagoye to win the match. This put Ibushi into the position of block leader and it all came down to the final match to decide the winner of A Block.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Jay White. It came down to this. If White won, he won the block. If he lost, Ibushi did. White pissed off Ishii early and begged off. He finally lured Ishii in and went after the taped up knee of Ishii. Ishii fought through and fired back with some very heavy strikes that White sold brilliantly. White used the inverted figure four and after a long struggle, Ishii got to the ropes. Ishii then went after Whites knee. White his all of his signature moves, the sleeper suplex, the uranage, the kiwi crusher, all for near falls. Gedo got involved, but Ishii was able to fight him off. White hit a low blow, but still Ishii was able to fight out of the Bladerunner over and over again. Gedo ended up back in the ring again and ate a lariat to take him out of the match. White was then blasted with one and put down with a Brainbuster. Ishii got the win and ended Jay Whites G1 Final dreams. What a great moment this was for Ishii, the G1 legend, who had yet another outstanding tournament.
Kota Ibushi is your A Block winner and goes to Sunday’s Final. The B Block winner will be decided tomorrow.
A Block Standings:
Kota Ibushi -- 14 points
Jay White -- 12 points
Will Ospreay -- 12 points
Kazuchika Okada -- 12 points
Tomohiro Ishii -- 8 points
Taichi -- 8 points
Jeff Cobb -- 8 points
Shingo Takagi -- 8 points
Minoru Suzuki -- 6 points
Yujiro Takahashi -- 2 points