Hello friends, and welcome to the G1 Climax where we will find out who will be challenging for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom, Hiroshi Tanahashi or Kota Ibushi. Let’s get started.
Today’s show is from the Budokan in Tokyo.
Yuji Nagata, Shota Umino, and Ayato Yoshida vs. Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe, and Michael Elgin
Winners: Honma, Makabe, and Elgin at 7:12. Makabe pinned Yoshida with the King Kong Knee Drop.
Toa Henare vs. Bad Luck Fale
Winner: Bad Luck Fale at 1:49. Fale hit a Grenade then a Bad Luck Fall.
Taichi with Miho Abe and Takashi Iizuka vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto
Winners: Suzuki-gun at 8:03. Taichi hits a Last Ride powerbomb on Hashi. Taichi felt he should have been in the G1 over Yoshi-Hashi which led to a post match beat down with the mic stand. Look for a future match with Goto and Taichi for the NEVER Openweight Championship.
Cody and Hangman Page vs. David Finlay and Juice Robinson
Winners: Bullet Club at 8:56. Cody pins Juice after Cody countered the Pulp Friction and turned it into a Vertibreaker. After the match Cody puts the United States title over his should and gets on the mic saying he’s sick of hearing how much Juice has improved and all he’s really done is do a bad Kairi Sane impression.
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match
Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Taiji Ishimori vs. Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson
Winners and new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions: The Guerrillas of Destiny and Taiji Ishimori at 11:26. Before the match, the titles were actually not on the line, but Tonga Loa baited the Bullet Club Elite into making it a title match. Tama Tonga hits a Gun Stun to Scurll to win the titles. After the match the new champions attacked the Bucks and tossed the 6-Man and Heavyweight Tag Team titles outside in front of New Japan President Harold Meij.
They make an announcement that Wrestle Kingdom 13 will be held on January 4, 2019. I mean it’s always January 4 but they did reveal the logo so I guess that’s something new.
Weird how they have the Golden Lovers logo as apart of that. Possible foreshadowing?
El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki vs. Bushi, Sanada, Evil, and Tetsuya Naito
Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon at 10:41. Kanemaru tapped out to the Skull End from Sanada. After the match Suzuki assaulted a bunch of guys on the outside. Looks as if the Suzuki-gun and LIG feud will continue.
Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Jay White vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi with Pieter, and Kenny Omega
Winners: Chaos at 9:40. Ishii pins Owens with a brainbuster. After the match Ishii handed Omega his IWGP title then pointed at himself.
Pro Wrestler Sengoku Enbu, Kushida, and Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Sho, Yoh, and Kazuchika Okada
Sengoku Enbu is actually Ryusuke Taguchi in a mask. Okada, other than his dyed hair, is back to his Rainmaker entrance gear, perhaps the quarter life crisis is over? Not sure how many more Mysterio matches I’ll get so I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to recap one in detail.
Rey and Okada start things off which is not a match I knew I wanted to see. It’s a lot of great looking back and forth between the two. Okada avoids a 619 and the crowd actually booed him for it.
Kushida and Sho are in. Kushida takes over early with a dropkick to the face. Kushida and Mysterio keep tagging each other and doing arm wringers to Sho meanwhile Enbu just stands there looking puzzled. The announcers don’t know, or at least are pretending not to know who Enbu is. He did get a different haircut since the mask only covers the nose and mouth.
Yoh is in with Kushida now and has an body scissors applied. Sho is tagged in and Roppongi 3K double team Kushida. They try for a double team move in the corner, a poetry in motion set up, but Kushida launches himself off the kneeled oppoenet and drills Sho.
Finally Enbu is tagged in and instantly blows his cover with hip attacks. Enbu hits a bulldog to Sho then a sloppy looking standing moonsault for a 2. Enbu then goes for a hip attack but Sho catches him and hits a German suplex.
Okada is in and stomping on Enbu and the fans are not happy. Okada tries a Rainmaker but Enbu counters into a short arm hip attack. Enbu tags in Mysterio. Mysterio dives into a tombstone but counters and hits off the ropes but Okada hits his flapjack.
Yoh is tagged in and he and Sho are double teaming Mysterio. They hit a double knee strike. They go for the 3K but Mysterio counters with a DDT to Yoh. Rey then gets both 3K members in the 629 position but as he hits off the ropes Okada nails him with a dropkick.
Enbu and Kushida take out Okada and Sho and hit double dives to the outside. Yoh is then sent into the middle rope by Rey and the fans finally get to see the 619. Rey then does a top rope splash to Yoh for the win.
Winners: Mysterio, Kushida, and Enbu.
G1 Finals, the winner will challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13
B Block Winner Kota Ibushi with Kenny Omega vs. A Block Winner Hiroshi Tanahashi with Katsuyori Shibata
I love that Shibata is in Tanahashi’s corner, really made this feel like a huge match, which it is. Crowd is red hot for this match right as the bell rings. Fans seem mostly behind Tanahashi but it’s close.
The match starts off with a lot of chain wrestling. The story is Ibushi wants to turn the match into a strike fest but Tanahashi keeps baiting him into mat wrestling, which of course he excells at. Tanahashi is able to lock on a new submission called the triangle scorpion which is a standing cloverleaf.
Ibushi is able to break the hold and is able to hit a second rope moonsault for 2 but after he gets up he’s favoring the right knee. Ibushi dropkicks Tanahashi out of the ring but is again favoring the knee. On the apron Ibushi goes for a dropkick, Tanahashi ducks, but Ibushi then turns that into a double stomp.
Back in the ring, Ibushi drills Tanahashi with kicks but Tanahashi catches one and hits a dragon screw. Ibushi is back up and tries a lawn dart but Tanahashi turns it into a slingblade. Both men are up and exchanging forearm shots. Tanahashi then targets the knee again and locks in a cloverleaf.
Ibushi gets to the ropes and climbs out to the apron but Tanahashi traps the leg and hits a dragon screw. Tanahashi follows up with a High Fly Flow cross body to the outside. Ibushi gets back in the ring at 18 and Ibushi hits a hurricanrana sending Tanahashi to the outside. Ibushi then does a springboard moonsault to the outside and wipes out Tanahashi.
Ibushi gets back into the ring with a springboard dropkick and has all the momentum now. Ibushi pulls off a top rope hurricanrana to Tanahashi for 2. Tanahashi now selling the neck. Ibushi follows up with a dragon suplex for 2.
Both men are up and Ibushi delivers a huge palm strike to the chest of Tanahashi. Ibushi now toying with Tanahashi as Omega yells to just pin him. Tanahashi fires back up and just absorbs the shots and the men exchange slaps to the head. Tanahashi gets the better of Ibushi until Ibushi fires back with a big lariat and both men are down.
Tanahashi is up and counters and Irish whip into a slingblade for 2. Tanahashi follows up with a straight jacket German suplex for 2. Tanahashi goes for the High Fly Flow but Ibushi gets the knees up but hurt himself at the same time. Ibushi comes in and nails a flying knee strike to the back of the head of Tanahashi. Ibushi then hits a standing moonsault into a double knee drop, that looked very painful.
Ibushi hits a lawn dart to Tanahashi. Tanahashi is on the apron and Ibushi grabs him and hits a 2nd rop German suplex into the ring. Ibushi then hits a Last Ride powerbomb for just a 2. Ibushi pulls down the knee pad and tries a Kamigoye but Tanahashi ducks it. Ibushi keeps ahold of the wrists, hits a straight jacket German. Ibushi tries the Kamigoye again but Tanahashi counters with 2 twist and shouts.
Tanahashi then hits a dragon suplex for 2. Goes up top and hits a High Fly Flow, Ibushi gets up and Tanahashi hits the High Fly Flow cross body, Tanahashi then hits a 3rd High Fly Flow for the 3.
G1 Climax Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi at 35:00.
After the match Tanahashi is awarded the trophy and flag, which does not break this time. Tanahashi calls himself the survivor and he will carry this company on his back like he has always done. Tanahashi then plays some air guitar to the delight of the fans. Tanahashi gets back on the mic and yells, “The Ace is back!” as confetti explodes in the ring.
Well there you have it folks, the tentative Wrestle Kingdom 13 main event is Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. Probably not what most people figured but I’m not mad about it. It’s a new feud and they’ll of course have a great match. I’ll see you all next month with New Japan Destruction. Thanks for reading.