The G1 Climax returned to Osaka on Tuesday, as the B Block has started to weed out the bottom of the pack, with two people having been eliminated.
The show aired from INTEX Osaka in front of 1,142 fans, which is the lowest attended G1 show this year.
In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. eliminated Shingo Takagi after absorbing Last of the Dragon but managing a counter as he bridged back and hooked Takagi’s legs for the pin.
The win places Zack Sabre Jr. into a three-way tie with Ren Narita and Konosuke Takeshita at ten points on top of the block, while Takagi leaves Osaka with six points and is officially out of contention.
NJPW World Television Champion El Phantasmo was already mathematically eliminated before his match with Drilla Moloney. The two only went five minutes and three seconds, but packed a lot into the short tournament match, ending with multiple iterations of the CR II, a CR III, and a Thunderkiss’ 86 as ELP moved to six points, and Moloney is stuck with eight.
The House of Torture presentation was in full force when Ren Narita submitted Great O-Khan to stay on top of the block. Narita attacked O-Khan’s knee throughout the match after Yoshinobu Kanemaru struck his knee with a whiskey bottle. Narita grabbed the push-up bar, and O-Khan had back-up with Jakob Austin Young getting involved, including ringing the bell as Narita relinquished a kneebar in a role reversal. It ended after Narita spat whiskey in O-Khan’s face, hit the Double Cross, and used an Inverted Figure-Four to force the submission.
The B Block matches began with one of the best matches of G1 as Konosuke Takeshita beat YOSHI-HASHI, and this tore the house down. YOSHI-HASHI had the audience behind him with plenty of fire for his major sequences. The two engaged in a series of rolling counters ending with a Power Drive knee to YOSHI-HASHI and ending with Raging Fire. This was exceptional and among the very best of the tournament.
Full results
- B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. [10] over Shingo Takagi [6] in 20:53
- B Block: El Phantasmo [6] over Drilla Moloney [8] in 5:03
- B Block: Ren Narita [10] over Great O-Khan [8] in 12:13
- B Block: Konosuke Takeshita [10] over YOSHI-HASHI [8] in 15:13
- David Finlay & Gedo over Yota Tsuji & Daiki Nagai in 6:36
- Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson over Yuya Uemura & Shoma Kato in 6:01
- SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru over Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima in 6:27
- Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano over EVIL & Dick Togo in 4:57
- Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young over Taichi & Masatora Yasuda in 7:55
Current Standings
| Rank | A Block | B Block |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVIL (8) | Konosuke Takeshita (10) |
| 2 | Yota Tsuji (8) | Zack Sabre Jr. (10) |
| 3 | Yuya Uemura (8) | Ren Narita (10) |
| 4 | Oleg Boltin (8) | Yoshi-Hashi (8) |
| 5 | Ryohei Oiwa (8) | Drilla Moloney (8) |
| 6 | Callum Newman (6) | Shota Umino (8) |
| 7 | Taichi (6) | Great O-Khan (8) |
| 8 | David Finlay (6) | Shingo Takagi (6) |
| 9 | Hiroshi Tanahashi (6) | El Phantasmo (4) |
| 10 | SANADA (6) | Gabe Kidd (0) |
The G1 Climax continues on Thursday with the following A Block matches at Korakuen Hall:
- A Block: David Finlay [6] vs. Yota Tsuji [8]
- A Block: Yuya Uemura [8] vs. Ryohei Oiwa [8]
- A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [6] vs. SANADA [6]
- A Block: Oleg Boltin [8] vs. EVIL [8]
- Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero vs. Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma
- Shingo Takagi & Daiki Nagai vs. Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson vs. Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori
- El Phantasmo & Jado vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato
