Here are results from the first night of NJPW’s G1 Climax 32 tournament, which was held in Hokkaido.
Non-tournament matches:
Tom Lawlor (with Royce Issacs) defeated Yohei Fujita with the NKOTB.
JONAH and Bad Dude Tito defeated Toru Yano and Ryohei Oiwa. JONAH pinned Oiwa with a powerbomb.
EVIL, SHO, and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Jado, David Finlay, and Tama Tonga. Yujiro pinned Jado following the pimp juice DDT.
KENTA, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, and Juice Robinson defeated Lance Archer, Taka Michinoku, Taichi, and Zack Sabre Jr.. Robinson pinned Michinoku following the Left Hand of God.
YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hirooki Goto defeated BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito. Ishii pinned BUSHI with the vertical brainbuster.
Tournament matches:
Aaron Henare defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi following the Streets of Rage.
Will Ospreay defeated El Phantasmo via pinfall with the Hidden Blade.
Jay White defeated SANADA, pinning him following the Bladerunner.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Jeff Cobb following an Emerald Flowsion and the Rainmaker.
Happy Friday! Join on-camera personality Denise Salcedo as she recaps both WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage!
Topics include Andrade vs. Rey Fenix with the AEW formation of La Faccion Ingobernable, more matches added to Forbidden Door, and the continued build towards Money in the Bank!
NJPW’s The Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb appeared on AEW Dynamite, making their intentions for the ROH World Tag Team titles clear.
FTR were defending the titles tonight during Dynamite against Roppongi Vice. The match ended when Khan and Cobb ran in and attacked both teams. Cobb ended up hitting the Tour of the Islands and put Dax Harwood through a table. O-Khan then took Trent Beretta, grabbed him in an iron claw, then slammed him off the apron and through another table. The segment ended with Cobb and O-Khan holding the ROH Tag Team titles.
In NJPW, O-Khan and Cobb are part of Will Ospreay’s United Empire stable. They held the IWGP Tag Team titles earlier this year, winning them at Hyper Battle 2022. However, they lost them after only 22 days, losing to Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens at Wrestling Dontaku on May 1.
NJPW and AEW will hold a joint show, Forbidden Door, on June 26 at the United Center in Chicago.
NJPW has confirmed that several big names will be at the Best of the Super Juniors finals on June 3.
The promotion revealed on Friday that members of Bullet Club, the United Empire, G.O.D, and more will be on the show.
Bullet Club’s Jay White, Juice Robinson, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows have been confirmed. As have the United Empire’s Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare. The Guerrillas of Destiny, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa will also be present at the Nippon Budokan for the event. Zack Sabre Jr. has been announced for the show as well.
Many of those scheduled for the BOSJ Finals will have big matches upcoming at NJPW Dominion on June 12. White will challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Championship on the show. Tama Tonga will also defend the Never Openweight Championship against Karl Anderson while Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan will challenge Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
New IWGP Tag Team Champions were crowned during tonight’s Hyper Battle event.
Jeff Cobb and The Great-O-Khan defeated YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship for the first time. Cobb pinned YOSHI-HASHI following the Tour of the Islands. This ends YOSHI-HASHI and Goto’s run with the titles after over 95 days, defeating Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr.) back on January 4.
Additionally, Taichi defeated Toru Yano in a sumo match to become the provisional KOPW Champion, dumping Yano to the floor to win. Taichi then challenged Shingo Takagi to a match after he won the trophy.
The rest of New Japan’s champions retained their titles tonight. Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi retained the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship over El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori, while EVIL retained the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiromu Takahashi. El Desperado retained the Junior Heavyweight title over SHO, and in the main event Kazuchika Okada retained the IWGP World Heavyweigh title over Zack Sabre Jr..
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced this morning new changes to their Golden Series tour due to COVID-19 protocols and injuries.
NJPW announced that Jeff Cobb is currently recovering from a left patellar tendon tear and a muscle strain in his left leg following his match against Tetsuya Naito on January 5. As a result, he will not be on the Golden Series tour. Young Lion Yuto Nakashima is also out of action after suffering a blow to the head on February 7 and will be out up to February 13. Additionally, YOSHI-HASHI and Taiji Ishimori have been pulled from the February 11 event in Sendai due to COVID protocols.
Cobb was originally set to team with Great-O-Khan on February 11 against Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Instead, Great-O-Khan will face Kojima in a singles match and will continue to wrestle in singles matches for the rest of the tour, including the February 13 event in Osaka where he will face Togi Makabe.
Nakashima was originally set to team in the kickoff match on February 13. That match has been changed to Ryohei Oiwa, Kojima, and Tenzan facing Kosei Fujita, Tomoaki Honma, and Yuji Nagata.
A six-man tag that YOSHI-HASHI was scheduled to be in will now have Hiroyoshi Tenzan take his place as he teams with Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii to face EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi. Gedo will replace Ishimori in a singles match against Tiger Mask.
Jeff Cobb suffered a knee injury at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Cobb hurt his knee on night one of Wrestle Kingdom in a six-man tag where Cobb, Will Ospreay and Great-O-Khan faced Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI.
“Cobb’s knee was definitely hurting in the match, even though it really got hurt more the second day,” Meltzer said.
Cobb then took on Naito in a singles match on night two of the event, where Meltzer again said Cobb’s knee was hurt.
“Cobb got injured very early in the match,” said Meltzer.
There is no word as to the nature or severity of the Cobb injury, nor any word on if it will force him to miss time.
Cobb is coming off a banner 2021 in NJPW, having made it to the finals of the G1 Climax 31 tournament undefeated, before dropping his last bout in the series to Kazuchika Okada.
With Will Ospreay out due to injury and Aaron Henare unabe to enter Japan due to travel restrictions for much of the year, Cobb and O-Khan carried the United Empire faction for the bulk of the calendar year.
All told, Cobb wrestled 87 dates for NJPW in 2021, with 85 of those dates taking place in Japan. The other two dates were for NJPW Strong in the United States.
This week’s MLW Fusion: Alpha saw Jeff Cobb make his return to the promotion after a three-year absence in addition to an Opera Cup semifinal match being added to next Thursday’s Thanksgiving night special.
Cobb, who returned under the Matanza Duran moniker, was the surprise Cesar Duran-made addition to MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone’s War Chamber team. Although Cobb came out dressed in his old Lucha Underground style gear, he wrestled as Cobb after taking it off. The explanation was that when he goes to his dark place, he mentally flips to being Matanza. It had been reported that he didn’t feel comfortable wrestling in the mask again.
Cobb wrestled a handful of matches for the promotion in 2017-18.
The 2021 Opera Cup is also wrapping up soon as the remaining semifinal match is set for the Thanksgiving edition of Fusion: Alpha as Calvin Tankman faces TJP. The winner will meet Davey Richards in the finals which will air on the December 1st edition of Fusion: Alpha.
The debut of Gnarls Garvin is also set for next Thursday as the 26-year-old has competed in Paradigm Pro, Black Label Pro, Limitless Wrestling and IWA Mid-South among other promotions.
That show will be headlined by a five-way ladder match for the vacant National Openweight title.
NJPW’s Jeff Cobb and TJP have been announced for the Friday, November 19 CMLL show at Arena Mexico in Mexico City.
No opponents have been announced for the United Empire members, nor whether the two will be teaming or in singles competition on the show.
Cobb was the runner-up in NJPW’s G1 Climax 31 B Block last month, losing just once in his nine tournament matches. He dropped his final Block match to eventual tournament winner Kazuchika Okada.
Cobb became the fourth member of the United Empire stable at the start of NJPW’s 2020 World Tag League, teaming with founding member Great-O-Khan in the tournament. Will Ospreay, O-Khan and Bea Priestley were the group’s original trio. Ospreay kicked Priestley out of the group at the 2021 New Japan Cup finals. Priestley eventually moved to WWE’s NXT UK, where she now appears under the ring name Blair Davenport.
TJP joined the United Empire at the NJPW Strong Autumn Attack tapings on September 26 of this year. The week prior, Aussie Open’s Mark Fletcher and Kyle Davis joined the group at RevPro’s High Stakes 2021 event.
Details on all the WWE cuts, reasons some were cut, and new philosophies on talent
WWE finances, its future, how the return of arena shows has impacted business, short and long-term TV rights fees talked about by Nick Khan, why certain cities are getting stadium shows in 2022
How WWE ratings are doing compared to the rest of television
Update on Survivor Series
2021 Hall of Fame ballot, leading candidates to go in, how the balloting works, which active wrestlers have the best qualifications, candidates that aren’t well known in North America, which wrestlers have gotten the highest vote totals in history, the list of first ballot Hall of Famers, which active wrestlers have been voted into the Hall of Fame
Ticket sales for the upcoming major WWE & AEW shows
Jon Moxley talks about a ton of different subjects
An early look at the first AEW special on TNT
Jim Ross talks battle with skin cancer
Television ratings from the past week, international TV ratings
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and my weekend show is up on the site, talking Angelo Mosca, WWE cuts, UFC and New Japan big shows and more. We will be back tomorrow night talking Raw.
Garrett Gonzalez will be among those ringing the opening bell tomorrow morning at the New York Stock Exchange as Nextdoor, the company he was one of the founders of, goes public tomorrow.
As far as Google searches for the past week, the two big ones obviously were the Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant fight at 2.5 million and the UFC PPV show from Madison Square Garden at 2 million. WWE cuts on Friday were No. 14 at 100,000.Jon Moxley was No. 13 on Wednesday also at 100,000.
Regarding last night’s two title matches, in the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight, Judge Derek Cleary gave Usman the first, second, third and fifth rounds. Sal D’Amato gave him the first, second and fifth. Dave Tirrell gave Usman the first, second and third round. None of the three gave Usman a 10-8 second round. In media scores, 68 percent had a 10-8 second round. 86 percent of media scores were for Usman with nine percent having it even and five percent had it for Covington.
In the Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili fight, 61 percent of reports had it for Namajunas, 35 percent had it for Weili and four percent had it even. Judge Mike Bell gave the first three rounds to Zhang. Judge Eric Colon have only the first round d to Zhang. Judge Douglas Crosby gave the first and third rounds to Zhang. I had the first three for Zhang close and the last two clearly for Namajunas.
We are doing polls this weekend on both the UFC show last night and the New Japan Power Struggle show yesterday. You can vote for a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]’re also looking for reports from yesterday’s WWE show at SSE Wembley in London to [email protected].
Results from today’s Smackdown brand house show in Liverpool, England:
Finn Balor b Sheamus
Shayna Baszler b Natalya
Walter b Cesaro (said to be the best match of the show)
Tommaso Ciampa b Bron Breakker & Sami Zayn
Shinsuke Nakamura b Jinder Mahal
Jeff Hardy b Madcap Moss-DQ
Jeff Hardy & Drew McIntyre b Happy Corbin & Madcap Moss
Charlotte Flair b Sasha Banks to keep the Smackdown women’s title
So Balor won’t be on Raw tomorrow since he’s on the tour. (thanks to Stephan Lyon and Liam Armstrong)
Jeff Cobb will be going to CMLL soon with TJP as reps from New Japan.
Charlie Bruzzese was announced as the newest member of the 2300 Arena Hardcore Hall of Fame. Bruzzese helped produce the ECW television show
Rob Black’s XPW is doing a rebirth show tonight from the Armory in Rochester, NY at 76 p.m. There will be a one night tournament to crown a new XPW champion with first round matches of Masada vs. Rhino, Bill Collier vs. TJP, Brian Cage vs. KC Navarro and Willie Mack vs. Matt Cross. Also on the show are Silas Young, Vincent, Shlak,,G-Raver, Colin Delaney, Facade and Madman Fulton.
Pro Wrestling All-Stars from Friday night in Taylor, MI: Royce Carney III & Tanner Nix & Brutus Atwell b Alex Van Zant & Frank Isaac Anderson & Kyler Coleman, Chuck Stein & Sean Lawhorn & The Spider b Top Fun & Iron Eagle & Roadhouse-DQ, Chinstrap Jesus b Solo, N8 Mattson & Breyer Wellington & Zach Main b Royce Carney III & Tanner Nix& Brutus Atwell, Mysterious Movado & Adam Wick b Top Gun & Iron Eagle in a non-title match, Zach Gowen b LJ Lawrence, Lamano Star won Battle Royal, Chuck Stein & Sean Law, Chuck Stein & Sean Lawhorn The Spider b N8 Mattson & Breyer Wellington & Zach Man, Atlas Hytower b Ace Austin (thanks to Leonard Brand)
For the first time since 2018, New Japan star Jeff Cobb will be in an MLW ring this Saturday, announced by Court Bauer in an interview released Monday.
Bauer didn’t give any details, but referenced Cobb as one of some new faces “entering the mix” along with nZo for the November 6th War Chamber event in Philadelphia, PA.
Cobb lost to Tom Lawlor in 2017 before returning for three 2018 bouts that included losses to Matt Riddle and Jake Hager.
Cobb had an impressive run in the recent G1 tournament in losing just one match, that being to Kazuchika Okada in the B block finals. He went to a no-contest with former MLW Champion Jacob Fatu this past weekend for Seattle’s Defy Wrestling.
It’s possible that Cobb will either be the wild card in the five-man ladder match that will determine the new National Openweight Champion or the mystery man in the War Chamber match as part of World Champion Alexander Hammerstone’s team.
The show will be headlined by that match between Hammerstone, EJ Nduka, Richard Holliday and a mystery man against CONTRA Unit (Fatu, Mads Krugger, Josef Samael and Ikuro Kwon). The show will also feature the Opera Cup finals, nZo vs. Matt Cross and more.
MLW also announced Monday that indie talent Gnarls Garvin (also known as Big Beef) has signed and will make his debut this Saturday in Philadelphia.
In a separate announcement, it was learned that new Middleweight Champion Tajiri will defend his title in All Japan Pro Wrestling against Atsuki Aoyagi on Sunday, November 28th. This will be the first MLW title defense of any kind in AJPW since 2003.
Hiromu and BUSHI gave the lads a little bit more offense than they have been. Oiwa remains miles ahead of Fujita, so they built the match around Fujita selling and Oiwa getting a hot tag.
Fujita and BUSHI began. Fujita was quickly cut off and worked over with very basic offense by Hiromu and BUSHI.
Fujita finally hit a dropkick to Hiromu and Oiwa got the hot tag. Oiwa hit a dropkick to BUSHI and knocked him off the apron. He used a dropkick and a gutwrench throw on Hiromu. He applied a crab. BUSHI saved, but got hit with a double tackle. Oiwa and Fujita hit a double dropkick to Hiromu.
Oiwa got another crab applied on Hiromu, but Hiromu forced a break. Hiromu got a crab applied to Oiwa and got the submission.
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G1 theme song performers JAM Project opened the show with a live rendition of the song in the ring.
B Block: YOSHI-HASHI defeated Chase Owens (8:27)
Solid undercard match here, but nothing to write home about.
YH worked the left arm. Owens responded in kind, snapping the left arm of YH in the ropes. YH rolled outside, Owens whipped him into the barricade. Back in, Owens hit a double axe handle off the top.
YH blocked another axe handle off the top with a thrust kick. YH hit a dropkick to the left leg. YH ducked a clothesline and hit a headhunter. YH blocked a slingshot spear and hit a dropkick to the face for a near fall.
Owens came back with a neckbreaker and a short clothesline. Owens avoided a rewind kick and hit a shining wizard. He went for a package driver, but YH fought out. YH hit a sloppy neckbreaker over his knee for a two count.
Owens blocked Kharma and used an inside cradle for a near fall. Owens hit a v-trigger. YH blocked a gun stun and hit Kharma to get the pin.
B Block: Hirooki Goto defeated Tama Tonga (w/Jado) (15:19)
These guys had a great match with some cool reversals and misdirection spots. Tama Tonga should get some tournament MVP votes, he brought it every night.
They traded tackles and dropdowns. Goto hit a shoulder block and a misdirection lariat for some early shine. Tonga turned it into a brawl around ringside to get the heat.
Goto went up top, but Tonga cut him off an hit a Tongan Twist. Tonga hit a complete shot, an SRC and a supreme flow frog splash for a near fall.
Goto reversed a Jay driller into an ushigoroshi for a near fall. Goto hit a neckbreaker for a near fall. Tonga blocked a GTR. Goto hit a reverse GTR and a lariat into a double down. Tonga pancaked to avoid a mid kick attempt.
Tonga blocked a kick. Goto blocked a Gun Stun. A series of misdirection spots set up a headbutt from Goto, a head kick from Tonga and a Tonga bloody Sunday DDT for a near fall.
Tonga went for Gun Stun again. Goto blocked and used a leg sweep to set up a Goto-Sanshiki cradle for the flash pin.
B Block: Taichi (w/Miho Abe) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (14:58)
This was much different than a typical Tanahashi match, but it was excellent.
Whether work or shoot, the story of Taichi’s last three matches have been that he’s hurt. They played into that here.
Taichi went for a quick win with a gamengiri, an axe bomber and a Black Mephisto attempt. Tana blocked the Black Mephisto by striking at Taichi’s taped ribs. Tana used a Muta lock. Taichi forced a break.
Tana continued to dominate. Taichi ended up tied to the tree of woe, where Tana hit a dropkick. Taichi came back with kicks and a gamengiri. Tana used his Texas Clover Hold, but Taichi forced a break.
Taichi fired up and hit a forearm strike. Tana reversed Black Mephisto into a twist and shout, then hit a slingblade.
Tana hit a standing High Fly Flow. He went for a standard High Fly Flow, but Taichi rolled out of the way, then used a Gedo clutch while holding the tights to steal the win.
B Block: EVIL (w/Dick Togo) defeated SANADA (17:47)
This was a complete mess and featured all of everyone’s pet peeves about EVIL matches, plus the added bonus of the logic flaw in every SANADA match where he has the thing won with Skull End, then gives up the hold and misses a moonsault.
EVIL tried to walk out on the match before it started. SANADA threw him back in the ring.
After what felt like an hour of ref bumps, chair shots, Togo interference, exposed turnbuckles, and low blows, EVIL hit a chair shot and Everything is EVIL to get the pin.
B Block: Kazuchika Okada defeated Jeff Cobb (23:35)
A great match. Okada worked Cobb’s neck, Cobb worked Okada’s back, then the last ten minutes they just traded finisher attempts and it was awesome.
Cobb came out firing. Okada ducked a lariat and escaped a Tour of the Islands attempt to hit a neckbreaker. Okada hit a sliding dropkick and used another neckbreaker for a one count. Okada used a chinlock as he continued to work the neck.
Cobb reversed a whip, ducked a back elbow and hit one of his own. Cobb stood on Okada’s back. Okada rolled outside, Cobb went out after him and hammered him with forearms to the lower back. Okada beat the count back in.
Cobb hit a gordbuster and a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes for a near fall. Cobb missed a standing moonsault. Okada pounced and hit a flapjack, a back elbow, then used a dropkick to send Cobb to the floor.
Okada tried a plancha. Cobb caught it. Okada blocked a vertical suplex on the floor. Cobb blocked a DDT on the floor and hit a northern lights suplex on the floor. Back in, Okada sent Cobb back outside and hit a tope con giro.
Okada hit a missile dropkick. Okada hit his Rainmaker pose, but Cobb cut him off with a spin cycle and a standing moonsault, then an Oklahoma stampede.
They began teasing finishers. Cobb ducked a Rainmaker and hit two tombstones. Okada hit a Rainmaker, but could not follow up. Cobb ducked a lariat, but Okada hit a dropkick.
Okada used the Money Clip to set up a spinning tombstone. He went back to the Money Clip. Cobb got back to his feet. They traded backslide attempts. Cobb hit a headbutt.
Okada blocked a Tour of the Islands. Cobb ducked a Rainmaker. Okada used a cradle for a near fall just past 20 minutes.
Cobb blocked an air raid crash and hit a dropkick with Okada seated on the top buckle. Okada blocked a superplex. Okada blocked a second superplex attempt with a DDT off the top rope.
Okada missed a Rainmaker. Okada slid out of a Tour of the Islands and hit a dropkick.
Okada hit a landslide and a Rainmaker to get the pin.
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G1 Climax 31 Finals, Thursday, October 21, 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
It’s amazing how far ahead of Fujita that Oiwa is. Oiwa is already good. The difference really shows.
Hiromu and Oiwa began and picked up where they left off the other night with Hiromu just chopping Oiwa half to death. Fujita jumped in for a double tackle on Hiromu and some of the only Young Lion offense of the match. BUSHI and Hiromu took turns working the young boys over.
Fujita made a brief comeback on BUSHI and got a crab applied, but Hiromu broke it up with chops. Hiromu went to the floor with Oiwa and sent him into the barricade as BUSHI used a Boston crab to quickly submit Fujita.
B Block: Chase Owens defeated Taichi (w/Miho Abe) (12:05)
Taichi must be hurting, because he hasn’t done much of anything in his last two matches. Owens took the bulk of the match and tried to work enough or both of them.
They started with some comedy, as Owens acted like he wanted a sumo match. He would posture up, then beg off and drink from a water bottle. They brawled outside. Owens reversed a whip into the barricade and followed with a dropkick into the barricade.
Owens worked over Taichi’s taped ribs. Taichi got a couple of hope spots with an axe bomber and a backdrop suplex, but Owens dominated. Owens asked Miho Abe to kiss him, she declined.
Taichi went for an axe bomber, but Owens cut him off at the pass and hit two v-triggers. He followed with a legdrop off the top and a package piledriver for the pin.
B Block: SANADA defeated Hirooki Goto (15:32)
They had a good closing stretch, but the match itself was nothing special.
After trading hammerlocks and headlocks, Goto sent SANADA outside after a shoulder tackle and a clothesline over the top. Back in, Goto worked a chinlock. SANADA pulled Goto off the second rope and rolled him outside.
SANADA sent Goto into the barricade. Back inside, SANADA used a paradise lock and a chinlock. Goto came back with a lariat, a heel kick, a bulldog and a misdirection lariat. SANADA fought off an ushigoroshi and hit a plancha.
Goto avoided a springboard dropkick and hit the ushigoroshi. They traded strikes. SANADA hit Goto with an ushigoroshi. Goto tried to use Skull End as they went for each other’s big moves, but SANADA reversed and hit a neckbreaker. SANADA missed a moonsault.
SANADA got Skull End. Goto reversed into a neckbreaker for a near fall. SANADA blocked a mid kick. SANADA used a cradle and an O’Connor roll for near falls. Goto escaped Skull End and cradled SANADA for two.
Goto hit a GTR. He missed with a lariat and SANADA used an O’Connor roll into a bridge for the pin.
B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated YOSHI-HASHI (14:13)
Very good stuff.
They traded headlocks. Tana hit a crossbody off the second rope and a dropkick to the knee. Tana worked over the left leg with a leg lock and an Indian deathlock. YH tried to fire back with chops, but Tana continued to keep him grounded by kicking at the left leg.
Tana missed a charge into the corner. YH hit a headhunter, chops and a neckbreaker. They did a great sequence where YH hit a vertical suplex, but Tana held on and hit twist and shout after landing. YH hit another vertical suplex off the grip. Tana hit two more twist and shouts from the position.
They traded strikes. YH ducked a slingblade. Each teased a dragon suplex, but YH was the first to land it. YH hit a lariat for a two count. Tana used an inside cradle for a near fall. YH hit a lariat. YH hit a backbreaker and a meteora.
YH hit kumagoroshi for a two count. Tana blocked Kharma and hit another twist and shout. They charged each other like rams. Tana hit slingblade. YH popped up and hit a lariat. Tana hit another slingblade for a near fall.
Tana hit a standing High Fly Flow. He followed with a second High Fly Flow to get the pin.
B Block: Jeff Cobb defeated EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (16:45)
This was the overbooked mess that you would expect.
EVIL rolled to the floor immediately. Togo jumped on the apron for a distraction. EVIL jumped Cobb from behind, but Cobb overcame the attack to hit a leapfrog dropkick. EVIL used another distraction from Togo to take Cobb to the floor.
EVIL sent Cobb into the barricade. EVIL hit his baseball swing chair shot. Togo exposed a buckle. EVIL hit chops in the corner, then raked Cobb’s face. EVIL bumped Cobb into the barricade and the ring announcer.
Cobb made his comeback on the floor. He sat EVIL at the timekeeper’s table and bumped Togo into him. Back inside, Cobb hit uppercut forearms and a standing moonsault for a near fall. Cobb went for Tour of the Islands, but EVIL blocked with an eye gouge and slammed Cobb into the exposed buckle.
Cobb blocked Everything is EVIL. Togo jumped on the apron. Cobb tried to bump EVIL into Togo, but knocked the ref out instead. Cobb hit a powerslam. Togo hit Cobb with a chair. EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a two count. EVIL sent Cobb into the exposed buckle, but Cobb fired out with a lariat into a double down.
Togo interfered to prevent a Tour of the Islands. Cobb hit a spin cycle, but bumped the ref again. Togo choked Cobb with his ligature. Cobb hit a thrust kick to Togo. EVIL hit a low blow to Cobb.
Cobb ducked a chair shot and hit a thrust kick, sending the chair into EVIL. Cobb then hit Tour of the Islands for the pin.
B Block: Tama Tonga (w/Jado) defeated Kazuchika Okada (24:44)
Very good match with a great series of avoiding each other’s finishers in the closing stretch.
They began with some chain wrestling. Okada had the slight edge, then hit a slingshot senton to establish the advantage. Tonga rolled outside. Okada tried a whip into the barricade. Tonga reversed, but Okada jumped over the barricade to avoid impact. Tonga then hit a Gun Stun over the barricade to take over.
Okada beat the count back in. Tonga used a snap suplex and a chinlock. Okada came back with a flapjack. Okada sent Tonga outside and into the barricade. Okada blocked another Gun Stun on the barricade and hit a draping DDT off the barricade.
Back in, Okada went for the Money Clip. Tonga fought off the first attempt. Okada got it on a second time, but Tonga forced a break. Okada hit a DDT, a top rope elbow and a dropkick. Tonga ducked a Rainmaker and hit veleno.
Okada blocked a Tongan Twist. Tonga blocked landslide and hit a complete shot, then hit the Tongan Twist for a near fall. Okada avoided a Gun Stun and hit a spinning Rainmaker, but could not follow up.
Okada ducked a superman punch, but Tonga connected on an enzuigiri. Tonga avoided a shotgun dropkick attempt. Okada blocked a splash in the corner. Tonga blocked an air raid crash and hit a death valley bomb and supreme flow for a near fall.
Okada hit a backdrop and a dropkick. Okada hit a spinning tombstone. Tonga ducked the Rainmaker. Okada blocked a Gun Stun. Tonga avoided a dropkick. Tonga ducked another Rainmaker and hit a bloody Sunday DDT.
Okada blocked another Gun Stun and tried to reverse into landslide, but Tonga reversed that into a Gun Stun, then hit a double underhook piledriver to secure the upset.
Okada vs. Cobb on Wednesday will be for a spot in the finals. Okada needs a win, Cobb can advance with a win or a draw.
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Here is the lineup for the next show:
G1 Climax 31 night 17, Monday, October 18, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
The G1 Climax 31 B Block continued today in Sendai.
Hiroshi Tanahashi faced Jeff Cobb in the main event, while Hirooki Goto took on EVIL in the semi-main.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Chase Owens, SANADA vs. YOSHI-HASHI and Taichi vs. Tama Tonga were the other tournament matches.
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryohei Oiwa was the non-tournament opener today.
Here are results and a report from the show.
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Recommended matches —
Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Chase Owens
Taichi vs. Tama Tonga
SANADA vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Report —
Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ryohei Oiwa (7:16)
This was just Hiromu toying with Oiwa.
Oiwa scored a quick knockdown with a shoulder tackle. He went for a slam, but Hiromu blocked. They traded chops. Hiromu won the chop battle, then continued to lay in the chops. He hit about 40 unanswered chops.
Oiwa’s chest was bright red from all the chops. Hiromu went for a series of covers off the chops, but Oiwa kept kicking out. Hiromu went for a crab, but Oiwa got to the ropes before it was applied.
Oiwa missed with two dropkick attempts. He hit one on the third try. Hiromu blocked another slam. Oiwa hit a slam and a gutwrench throw for a two count. He went for a crab, but Hiromu blocked and started chopping again.
Hiromu applied a full Boston crab. Oiwa couldn’t reach the ropes and tapped out.
B Block: Tama Tonga (w/Jado) defeated Taichi (w/Miho Abe) (12:58)
The story of the match was Tama going after Taichi’s taped-up ribs. Taichi wasn’t able to sustain any offense without selling the ribs. A simple story, but a good match.
Tonga used a body scissors early. Taichi answered with a kick, but dropped to the mat to sell the damage to his ribs from the hold.
Tonga blocked an enzuigiri and hit a dropkick. He missed a corner splash and Taichi hit a gamengiri in the corner, but again sold his ribs. Tonga missed his supreme flow frog splash. Taichi hit an axe bomber. He hit a second, but Tonga popped right up.
Taichi blocked a Gun Stun and hit a backdrop suplex. Tonga avoided Black Mephisto and hit a death valley bomb. Tonga hit a frog splash for a near fall.
Tonga then connected with the Gun Stun for the upset win.
B Block: SANADA defeated YOSHI-HASHI (17:35)
I don’t think of either of these guys as a ring general who can have a good match with anyone, so this had me worried. To their credit, they delivered and had a very good match.
YOSHI-HASHI got the better of a mat wrestling sequence. SANADA hit a dropkick. He went to the apron to try a springboard, but YH cut him off and pulled him to the floor. YH hit a drop toe hold onto the barricade to take control of the bout.
Back inside, YH hit some strikes. He connected with a running chop in the corner. SANADA avoided a neckbreaker, hit a dropkick to the knee, then used an atomic drop to set up a paradise lock.
After breaking the hold, SANADA sent YH to the floor with a rana. He went for a plancha, but missed. YH followed with his own plancha. YH hit a blockbuster for a near fall as he remained in the plus position.
SANADA avoided one powerbomb, but YH was able to hit a misdirection lariat. He then hit the powerbomb for a near fall. SANADA blocked a bunker buster and hit a magic screw into a double down as the match reset.
SANADA hit a missile dropkick. He used the threat of a TKO to set up Skull End. YH fought out of the hold and went for Kharma. SANADA reversed into the TKO for a two count. SANADA went for a moonsault, but YH got his knees up. YH tried a senton bomb, but SANADA got his knees up.
They exchanged strikes. Time stood still as YH waited to set up a spot. YH used a dragon suplex, but SANADA rolled through. YH hit a meteora, then hit Kumagoroshi for another two count.
SANADA used an O’Connor roll for a near fall. YH used a cradle for a two count as they traded near falls. SANADA draped YH across the top rope to hit a TKO.
SANADA hit a moonsault, then locked in Skull End. YH tapped out.
B Block: Kazuchika Okada defeated Chase Owens (15:37)
They told a great story. Okada was in cruise control. Owens got lucky on blocking a couple of big moves, then gained confidence as the match wore on. Owens didn’t score much of his own offense, but he had a counter for all of Okada’s big moves and almost pulled off the upset.
Okada broke cleanly after locking up, then hit some tackles. Okada did some of his greatest hits with a neckbreaker and a running back elbow. Owens got his knees up on a slingshot senton, allowing a brief flurry.
Okada hit a DDT on the floor to regain control. He went for the Money Clip in the ring, but Owens forced free and hit a backbreaker. Owens got another flurry with a top rope cutter and a slingshot spear for near falls.
Okada reversed a whip and hit a dropkick. He used the Money Clip, but Owens forced a rope break. Okada hit a slam and a top rope elbow drop. Okada hit his Rainmaker pose.
Owens elbowed free of a Rainmaker attempt Owens hit two v-triggers. Okada stepped out of the way of a third and hit a German suplex. Owens avoided a Rainmaker and a dropkick. Okada hit a backdrop to avoid the package piledriver.
Okada used a backslide to set up a Rainmaker attempt. Owens hit two kicks and another v-trigger to break the attempt. Okada slid out of another package driver attempt. Okada used the Money Clip to set up a tombstone.
Owens ducked a Rainmaker and used a backslide to set up a package driver attempt. They traded cradles for near falls.
Okada hit a backbreaker, then went back to the Money Clip. Owens tapped out.
B Block: EVIL (w/Dick Togo) defeated Hirooki Goto (14:16)
They used every EVIL trope at least once. Goto tried and had a better match than most guys have had with EVIL, but this was no good.
Togo immediately exposed a turnbuckle. EVIL bumped Goto into the ring announcer for a countout tease. EVIL bumped Goto into the ring announcer again. EVIL sent Goto into the exposed buckle. Goto fired out and hit an ushigoroshi.
EVIL bumped the referee. Togo jumped in and they hit a Magic Killer for a near fall. EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a near fall. Goto managed a reverse GTR and a lariat for a two count.
Goto cradled EVIL, but Togo took the ref. Togo jumped into the ring. Goto sent EVIL into Goto. Goto sent EVIL into the buckle and hit the GTW for a near fall.
Goto went for a GTR, but EVIL hooked the ref. Togo choked Goto with his ligature. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL and got the pin.
B Block: Jeff Cobb defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (19:05)
Great main event. For all their issues, NJPW has perfectly booked Cobb this year. His matches never go too long, everything he does looks great, plus he sells just enough to make his opponents credible. Tanahashi continues to have an incredible year in the ring as well.
Tana did his best to avoid Cobb’s power. He took a powder after a lockup. Tana worked a side headlock. Cobb came back and nailed a dropkick and a standing moonsault, trying to show he could win with his agility if Tana avoided his power.
Cobb went for a somersault senton to mock Tana, but missed with it. Tana then hit a senton for a near fall. Tana hit a dropkick to the legs and a dragon screw. Tana used his Texas Clover Hold, but Cobb forced a rope break. Cobb sold the damage to his legs.
Cobb went for a superplex, but Tana blocked and dragged Cobb down the apron to hit a dragon screw in the ropes, still attacking the legs.
Tana hit a High Fly Flow to the floor. Cobb just beat the count back in. Cobb blocked a slingblade. Tana reversed a suplex attempt into twist and shout. Tana hit slingblade for a near fall.
Cobb got his legs up and Tana crashed and burned on a High Fly Flow. They traded strikes. Tana reversed a spin cycle into another slingblade for a near fall.
Tana went for High Fly Flow again, but Cobb caught him and hit an F5. Tana reversed a Tour of the Islands into an inside cradle and a near fall.
Cobb absorbed a palm strike, then hit a deadlift German and a Tour of the Islands for the pin to remain undefeated.
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Here is the lineup for the next show:
G1 Climax 31 night 15, Wednesday, October 13, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
NJPW’s Summer Struggle tour continued today with the third of four straight nights in Korakuen Hall.
Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan took on Kazuchika Okada and Satoshi Kojima in the main event. Cobb and Okada will square off at Wrestle Grand Slam on September 4.
Bullet Club took on Suzuki-gun in the semi-main event, a preview of an upcoming IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship battle.
The opener featured new Young Lions Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita meeting for the third time in as many nights.
Below are results from today’s show.
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Ryohei Oiwa drew with Kosei Fujita (10:00)
The Young Lions went to their third consecutive time limit draw.
