Three men in the A Block have had an especially hot start to their G1 Climax run so far.
Yota Tsuji, EVIL and Boltin Oleg lead the A Block following Night 5 on Friday at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Yota Tsuji prevailed in a back-and-forth battle against Ryohei Oiwa in the co-main event of the card. After surviving a series of high-impact moves late in the match against Oiwa, including Chaos Theory, Tsuji was able to find a crafty roll-up to steal the pinfall victory. Tension between the two remained high after the bell, with Oiwa getting in the face of Tsuji following the result.
In a performance greatly aided by cheap tactics – including exposed turnbuckles, a push-up bar and some hands-on involvement from Don Fale – EVIL scored a pinfall win over Taichi to stay among the leaders in Block A. After remaining ahead in the match with less-than-legal moves throughout, EVIL reversed a Black Mephisto from Taichi into a Reverse EVIL for the pin.
Boltin Oleg opened the night with another big performance, putting away former world champ SANADA to earn his third win through four appearances. After previously connecting with his Verdict, Oleg was able to catch a Shining Wizard attempt from SANADA for a Kamikaze finisher, giving him the win.
The headlining bout of the night saw Hiroshi Tanahashi climb up to four points with a win over David Finlay in 16 minutes. The President of NJPW reversed an Overkill attempt from Finlay into a roll-up, giving him the victory after a physical headliner.
Yuya Uemura also picked up the win in a fast-paced scramble against Callum Newman, catching him with a slam bridged into a pin attempt for the win after roughly 10 minutes. The victory earned got some momentum back for Uemura after losing two consecutive Block bouts over the past week.
News also emerged regarding the B Block on Friday, as it was announced that Gabe Kidd has withdrawn from the remainder of the tournament due to a knee injury. Medical setbacks meant that Kidd only competed once in the tournament before having to exit the bracket.
Tokyo will get some B Block action tomorrow as part of Night 6. The headlining bout of the evening is scheduled to see Konosuke Takeshita and Shingo Takagi face off in singles action.
NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 5 Results (via PuroLove.com)
- Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young def. YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato
- El Phantasmo & Jado def. Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson
- Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma
- Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero def. Shingo Takagi & Daiki Nagai
- Boltin Oleg def. SANADA (A Block)
- Yuya Uemura def. Callum Newman (A Block)
- EVIL def. Taichi (A Block)
- Yota Tsuji def. Ryohei Oiwa (A Block)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi def. David Finlay (A Block)
A Block Standings
- Yota Tsuji (6)
- EVIL (6)
- Boltin Oleg (6)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (4)
- Ryohei Oiwa (4)
- Taichi (4)
- Yuya Uemura (4)
- David Finlay (2)
- Callum Newman (2)
- SANADA (2)
B Block Standings
- YOSHI-HASHI (6)
- Shota Umino (4)
- Konosuke Takeshita (4)
- Ren Narita (4)
- Drilla Moloney (4)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (2)
- El Phantasmo (2)
- Great-O-Khan (2)
- Shingo Takagi (2)
- Gabe Kidd (0)
