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Night 11's matches were a thrill to imagine, with Kazuchika Okada facing the vicious Lance Archer, making my own heart race even before the singles matches began. The main event was Hiroshi Tanahashi vs EVIL from the Los Ingobernables de Japon faction, but every match was on fire tonight. Come with me on the G1 Climax journey!
G1 Climax is a yearly 19-night tournament held by NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) to determine the most tenacious member of the roster. For the first time, all of the events will be available legally outside of Japan without a time delay via the NJPWWorld streaming service and with a delay on AXS TV.
There are two blocks with 10 fighters per block. Each fighter will have a match with every other fighter in their block, and they are awarded 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and none for a loss.
The highest scoring fighter from each block will face off at the Finale. Night 11 was an A-block night, opening as usual with 4 short feature tag matches featuring the B-Block competitors.
Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Yota Tsuji
After chest chops, a superkick, and a neckbreaker, YOSHI-HASHI believed he had the victory, but it took a tight hold that focused on Uemura's neck to submit Uemura.
Results: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Yota Tsuji def Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura via submission.
Jon Moxley & Shota Umino vs. Toru Yano & Ren Narita
This was a delight to watch, as Yano and Moxley played well off of each other. Once more, Umino took the pin once Moxley was separated from him and kept away. Yano pinned Umino after a scuffle and Umino's own pinfall attempt
Results: Toru Yano & Ren Narita def. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino via pinfall
Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)
Cheating was the name of the game for Bullet Club's tag match. Once Bullet Club was able to keep Suzuki and Taichi from their teammate, Owens delivered a package powerbomb that put away Kanemaru for the pin.
Results: Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) def. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) via pinfall.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs. Juice Robinson, Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare
White, Naito and Robinson brawled extensively outside the ring; Takagi was able to complete his finishing move. Takagi pinned Henare for the 3-count, and it took officials stepping in to separate Robinson and Naito. Both men have critically important matches tomorrow night.
Results: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) def. Juice Robinson, Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare via pinfall
Kota Ibushi (6) vs. Bad Luck Fale (2)
Fale attacked Ibushi before the bell, hauling him into the ring as his Bullet Club brothers, Jado and Owens, rounded the ring and hung out around the barricades. Ibushi was tossed outside of the ring, and Fale followed him.
Fale delivered heavy strikes and threatened to take Ibushi down with a separated barricade, but the men had to beat a 20-count instead as the referee kept them on task. Fale's refrigerator slam kept Ibushi near the mat.
A General Salute finisher looked great but didn't pin Ibushi. Bullet Club was happy to help Fale though, with Owens delivering a straight right hand to Ibushi while the referee handled Fale in another corner.
Fale put Ibushi into a bear hug and nearly made Ibushi submit. Ibushi's rallying cry was a flying mid-kick, which surprised Fale and set him up for a dropkick and moonsault from Ibushi.
Owens came to Fale's aid by distracting Ibushi, and Fale attempted a pinfall after a splash. Ibushi kicked free and fought his way back to attempt taking Fale down. Jado smacked Ibushi with a kendo stick from outside of the ring.
Ibushi wiggled out of Fale's Bad Luck Fall finisher attempt and foiled his pinfall attempt. Kota's kawagoe knee-based finishing combination to take Fale down for the 3-count. Fale can't catch up and is out of the running for the top spot in A-Block.
Results: Kota Ibushi (8) def. Bad Luck Fale (2) via pinfall
a Will Ospreay (4) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (2)
Submission specialist ZSJ looked to take the Aerial Assassin Osprey out of the air tonight to remain a threat in the G1. The crowd went wild for Ospreay's little wink before the match.
The match started slowly as Ospreay and ZSJ rounded each other, and it sped up as their skill sets matched up well. They're both strong grapplers, and their floor work was textbook excellence.
ZSJ targeted Ospreay's tender shoulder for a moment, but it was the left leg that ZSJ truly wanted: space to attempt more brutal holds. Ospreay denied ZSJ with creative short dropkicks until ZSJ found his way out of the ring and started to throw a fit.
The 20-count began but didn't get very far as ZSJ got back to the ring. He ate a sliding kick for his effort, and when ZSJ and Ospreay locked hands again, they were stuck in a series of reversals.
ZSJ turned up his momentum by fighting Ospreay into the corner and folding him like a pretzel around the ropes to their right. He refused to let up on Ospreay's neck, but every hold was broken by Ospreay's ring awareness and nimble reversals.
Ospreay's hands-free enziguri gave him the space he needed to somersault over the top rope and onto ZSJ, who had rolled to the outside. Ospreay dragged ZSJ's body back to the ring for a pinfall attempt after a Pip Pip Cheerio from the top rope, but it didn't put ZSJ away.
ZSJ got his bearings and surprised Ospreay with a lightning-fast spinning DDT from the corner. He tore the protective tape from Ospreay's injured shoulder and gave him the boots.
Ospreay took the hardest kicks ZSJ delivered and asked for more, leading into another fast series of reversals that ended with a back hook kick from Ospreay. ZSJ caught Ospreay by the neck as he attempted the OsCutter.
Ospreay's second OsCutter connected, taking ZSJ down for the 2-count. Once both men were back to their feet, ZSJ got into the perfect position and tied Ospreay up in a complex hold that Ospreay broke by finding the ropes.
ZSJ's next hold attempt was powered through by Ospreay who put ZSJ into the mat with a brainbuster. ZSJ regained his dominance to foil Ospreay's Stormbreaker finisher attempt and put Ospreay in a European Clutch that could have felled the Aerial Assassin.
Ospreay nearly put ZSJ down with his Cheeky Nandos move and a reverse Blood Sunday, but ZSJ kicked out at the 2-count. Ospreay followed up with a shooting star attempt but ZSJ caught him in mid-air for a neck- focused hold.
Ospreay went back into his bag of flying tricks for another shooting star press but once more it wasn't enough. ZSJ wound Ospreay up in a vicious black widow hold and submitted him for the victory.
Results: Zack Sabre Jr. (4) def. Will Ospreay (4) via submission
Kazuchika Okada (10) vs. Lance Archer (4)
Okada went into this match at the top of A-Block, and Archer was poised to take the IWGP Heavyweight Champion down tonight nevertheless. Archer went for Okada first, and the bell was called. Red Shoes Unno refereed.
Archer flipped into Okada outside the ring and assaulted a young lion ring attendant to the surprise of no one. Archer dragged Okada into the audience and Unno had to intervene as Archer terrorized a fan there.
A massive elbow from Archer put Okada on the floor and intimidated the ring announcer. Archer hauled Okada back into the ring for a short-arm clothesline before grabbing Okada by the hand and twisting it painfully.
With the pressure on Okada's wrist, Archer climbed to the top rope and walked Okada around the ring to give Okada a moonsault once Archer had traversed it. Okada's hard strikes barely had an effect on Archer, who continued to chip at Okada's stamina.
An uppercut from Archer put both of the men into the mat, and Archer was up before Okada. Okada went for strikes to the chest and head, following with a hard elbow and a sliding dropkick.
That put Archer outside the ring briefly, but Okada didn't keep him there for long. A DDT nearly gained him the pinfall over Archer. Okada went high and slammed into Archer from across the ring. Archer tried to lock in the Everybody Dies face claw but Unno split up the hold at the ropes.
Okada wiggled out of Archer's Blackout attempt and rolled Archer into a backslide. He made Archer eat a short Rainmaker before Archer kicked Okada in the face. A chokeslam didn't keep Okada down for a 3-count.
Another of Archer's Blackouts connected and Okada barely got his foot around the rope to stop his pinfall. Archer's EBD claw finisher was foiled by a pair of dropkicks from Okada.
Up on the corner ropes, Okada fought Archer away and in place for a beautiful missile dropkick. Okada tried to take Archer out with a tombstone but Archer wiggled free to attempt his own attack. Archer's EBD claw didn't connect but Okada's Rainmaker finisher did.
Okada remains at the top of his block, winning all 6 of his G1 matches thus far.
Results: Kazuchika Okada (12) def. Lance Archer (4) via pinfall
KENTA (8) vs. SANADA (2)
KENTA and SANADA decided to play to the audience, and both men were cheered on by them. Red Shoes Unno refereed.
The fight went outside of the ring straight away, and SANADA's momentum was slowed significantly as KENTA threw him into ring posts, barricade, and the floor of the arena itself. A beautiful DDT had SANADA holding his neck, and when they were in the ring, KENTA attempted a pinfall and put SANADA in a rest hold around that tender neck.
A hard kick to SANADA's back left KENTA in the perfect position to crowd him into the corner for more kicks. SANADA's rallying was short-lived as he received KENTA's neckbreaker. A pair of kicks revived SANADA, who traded elbow shots with KENTA.
Once SANADA began going high, he began to dominate the match. KENTA's ability to absorb damage helped him stay strong, reversing SANADA's Skull End finisher into a rest hold before a flurry of arm strikes from KENTA gave him the upper hand.
KENTA attempted to throw SANADA, but that opened him to SANADA's Skull End. KENTA ate the pin, giving SANADA a better chance of staying a contender in the G1.
Results: SANADA (4) def KENTA (8) via pinfall
Hiroshi Tanahashi (6) vs. EVIL (6)
EVIL always enters with menacing style, mask and scythe at hand. Tanahashi's flamboyance was flashy if only because the crowd loved him so much. Tanahashi stopped to give high fives to lots of fans on his way down to the ring. Red Shoes Unno refereed.
EVIL and Tanahashi felt each other out before EVIL brought a kick and a long, brutal hold to Tanahashi. A crossbody took EVIL to the ground, and Tanahashi began using the ropes.
That didn't work to his advantage, and EVIL spun Tanahashi over the top rope and into the barricade. EVIL put a chair around Tanahashi's neck and smacked another against it, completing his Home Run move to leave Tanahashi laid out on the arena floor.
EVIL hauled Tanahashi back into the ring and refused to allow him any quarter. Focusing on Tanahashi's knee, he threw Tanahashi onto it and locked him into a Figure Four hold. Tanahashi reversed the position and rolled into another reversal, but EVIL also reversed and Tanahashi scrambled to grab the bottom rope and break the hold.
No matter how tired Tanahashi got, he rallied and body-slammed EVIL. Tanahashi hit a somersault senton from the second rope that connected with EVIL. EVIL had a chance to throw Tanahashi outside of the ring, but Tanahashi flipped back over.
Tanahashi hit the mat hard when EVIL caught him after the flip for a German suplex that could have turned the tide. Tanahashi took EVIL outside of the ring and he jumped out to slam into EVIL. His knee took the brunt of the jump.
Tanahashi still got to his feet first, but EVIL used Tsuji at ringside to inadvertently help him complete a Magic Killer. Both men barely beat the 20-count to get back into the ring.
EVIL refused to relent on Tanahashi's newly tender knee, but Tanahashi's Dragon Screw gave him the room to put EVIL into a pair of cloverleaf holds. It was close, but EVIL was able to force a split when he grabbed the bottom rope.
Tanahashi ran into a clothesline from EVIL and both men struggled to their feet. EVIL completed a fisherman buster from the top rope, and both stayed down for quite a while. The audience began cheering loudly for both men, enjoying the 20-minute mark as EVIL and Tanahashi traded elbow strikes and chops in the center of the ring.
When Tanahashi went down, EVIL attempted a pinfall and Tanahashi kicked free. A lariat from EVIL took the wind out of Tanahashi again. Tanahashi reversed two Everything Is Evil finisher attempts and flew from the top rope to take EVIL down. One more flying slam and Tanahashi picked up the 2 points with an electric flair that the crowd enjoyed immensely.
Results: Hiroshi Tanahashi (8) def EVIL (6) via pinfall
