Two competitors share the lead in the G1 Climax A Block after day 13 of this year’s tournament.
Yuya Uemura and EVIL moved into a tie for the lead of their block after securing victories on Thursday at a sold-out Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
The night’s results also led to the official tournament eliminations of SANADA and Taichi.
In the main event, David Finlay kept his tournament hopes alive with a victory over Yota Tsuji. After an evenly matched start, the two men exchanged their signature offenses, with Tsuji hitting a powerbomb and Finlay answering with one of his own. Finlay survived a Gene Blaster by getting his knee on the ropes. In the closing moments, Finlay countered another Gene Blaster attempt with a knee strike, followed by the Overkill to secure the pinfall.
The semi-main event saw Yuya Uemura defeat Ryohei Oiwa to move to 10 points in the standings. The match began with technical chain wrestling before Oiwa took control with a German suplex and a Chaos Theory. Uemura rallied, countering a discus lariat attempt into a cross armbar. After another series of counters, Uemura caught Oiwa with the Deadbolt Suplex to earn the victory.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated SANADA in a must-win match for both competitors, eliminating SANADA from the tournament with the loss. After SANADA used the referee as a distraction to cause Tanahashi to fall from the top rope, he hit Tanahashi with a guitar shot to the head. When SANADA went for the cover, Tanahashi reversed it into a small package for the surprise win.
EVIL also moved to 10 points with a win over Oleg Boltin. House of Torture ambushed Boltin before the match began. Oleg fought back against the three-on-one odds, but accidentally knocked out the referee during his comeback. This allowed Don Fale and Dick Togo to put Boltin through a table at ringside, setting up EVIL to hit Everything Is EVIL for the victory.
The night’s first tournament match saw Callum Newman defeat Taichi in an elimination decider. Taichi focused his attack on Newman’s injured back. Newman fought back and, after surviving a Burning Lariat, hit two consecutive Prince’s Curse attacks to win and eliminate Taichi from contention.
In non-tournament action, the teams of Jado & El Phantasmo, Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita, and Rocky Romero & Konosuke Takeshita were all victorious in their respective tag matches. After his match, Takeshita brawled with Shota Umino and hit a brainbuster on the floor, leaving Umino to be helped to the back.
Full results
- A Block: David Finlay def. Yota Tsuji
- A Block: Yuya Uemura def. Ryohei Oiwa
- A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. SANADA
- A Block: EVIL def. Oleg Boltin
- A Block: Callum Newman def. Taichi
- Rocky Romero & Konosuke Takeshita def. Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita def. Daiki Nagai & Shingo Takagi
- Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson def. Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori
- Jado & El Phantasmo def. Shoma Kato & YOSHI-HASHI
Current standings
| Rank | A Block | B Block |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVIL (10) | Ren Narita (10) |
| 2 | Yuya Uemura (10) | Konosuke Takeshita (10) |
| 3 | Boltin Oleg (8) | Zack Sabre Jr. (10) |
| 4 | Callum Newman (8) | Drilla Moloney (8) |
| 5 | David Finlay (8) | Great-O-Khan (8) |
| 6 | Hiroshi Tanahashi (8) | Yoshi-Hashi (8) |
| 7 | Ryohei Oiwa (8) | Shota Umino (8) |
| 8 | Yota Tsuji (8) | Shingo Takagi (6) |
| 9 | SANADA (6) | El Phantasmo (6) |
| 10 | Taichi (6) | Gabe Kidd (0) |
