[Please note: there may be spoilers for any and all previous days of this tournament.]
The third day of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) annual tournament, the G1 Climax 30, means five more matches from the A Block side of the bracket. In the main event, Jay White faces off with Kota Ibushi in a rematch of last year’s final, while WIll Ospreay must content with the Stone Pitbull, Tomohiro Ishii in the second to last match. Also in A Block action, Suzuki-gun members battle it out, as Minoru Suzuki faces the fast-rising Taichi, while Kazuchika Okada faces Yujiro Takahashi, and two powerhouses collide when Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb meet. As always, young lions kick off the action, as Yuya Uemura and Gabriel Kidd face off.
+ Kota Ibushi vs Jay White (G1 Climax 30 A Block Match): this maybe wasn’t as good as I expected, but this was a great main event. Ibushi’s Ultra Instinct mode never ceases to make me giddy, but Jay White’s trach talking is on another level, even in a country that can only partially understand him. This was really good, and I really, really liked the ending
+ Will Ospreay vs Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 30 A Block Match): I mentioned that I don’t much care for Ospreay, but dammit nobody can do what he does in that ring, even with his newly added mass. Ishii is my boy forever, though, Ishii walking forward into elbows is one of my favourite spots in all of wrestling. There were a few heavily choreographed sequences here, but they were done so well they were still positives. I loved this
+ there were a lot of ways this match could have gone, and frankly I think what they did was best. I am surprised at how hard they were going at each other with no buildup, at least as far as I was aware, but it made for a compelling fight more than a wrestling match
– Kazuchika Okada vs Yujiro Takahashi (G1 Climax 30 A Block Match): this was garbage. Yujiro outclassed Okada in every single way, and that’s telling. I hated everything about this
– Shingo Takagi vs Jeff Cobb (G1 Climax 30 A Block Match): after impressing me last time, Cobb was really sloppy in this match. Shingo is just the freaking best, but Cobb nearly killed him a few times. I wanted to like this, but even the occasional meat slapping lariat was not enough for me
– Gabriel Kidd vs Yuya Umemura: this was very basic, but seemingly really heated. Kidd has a great way of making his offence look really hard hitting and Uemura is just great. This unofficial C Block is great for what it is, but they are still prelim guys
Should you watch this event: It’s no surprise that Ishii once again had the match of the night, this time with Ospreay, but even Suzuki/Taichi is worth a watch. The main event was fine but not blowaway good. This was a show of two halves, so don’t bother with the stuff intermission.
MoshFish Reviews 