New Japan Pro Wrestling kicked-off their 30th annual G1 Climax tournament on Saturday in Osaka. The show featured the competitors in A Block and was headlined by a rematch from the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14, as Kota Ibushi toppled Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Saturday’s show, getting revenge for his January 4th loss.
The show also featured the return of Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay to Japanese shores. Both men had been locked out of the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The show started, as all shows will, with a singles match between the Young Lions. Yuya Uemura stretched Yota Tsuji into a submission to kick the show off.
Standout matches include Minoru Suzuki’s war with Tomohiro Ishii, as well as Jay White’s methodical dissection of Shingo Takagi. The main event saw Ibushi beat Okada in swift, dominant fashion, seemingly capping their rivalry, which began in the A Block finals of last year’s tournament. The win makes Ibushi the man to beat in this year’s tournament.
After the match, Ibushi promised the New Japan fans that he would “become God.” Clarifying in post-match statements Ibushi said that he meant “I ACTUALLY plan to be God. Capital G.” So he’s got that going for him…which is nice.
Ibushi: when I said I will become god, maybe you can speculate that I want to be on the level of my gods Nakamura and Tanahashi. That’s fine, but what I mean is I ACTUALLY plan to be God. Capital G. #g1climax30
— chris charlton (@reasonjp) September 19, 2020
NJPW G1 Climax 30
Night 1
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Yuya Uemura (1-0) def. Yota Tsuji (0-1) by submission via Elevated Boston Crab. (6:59)
- A Block Match: Will Ospreay (2) def. Yujiro Takahashi (0) by pinfall via Stormbreaker. (7:44)
- A Block Match: Taichi (2) def. Jeff Cobb (0) by pinfall via Black Mephisto. (12:48)
- A Block Match: Minoru Suzuki (2) def. Tomohiro Ishii (0) by pinfall via Gotch Piledriver. (12:58)
- A Block Match: Jay White (2) def. Shingo Takagi (0) by pinfall via Bladerunner. (19:29)
- A Block Match: Kota Ibushi (2) def. Kazuchika Okada (0) by pinfall via Kamigoye. (21:35)
The G1 Climax will continue on Sunday at 1am ET on NJPWWorld.com.
