Kevin’s NJPW G1 Climax 30 Night Eleven Review

NJPW G1 Climax 30 Night Eleven
October 7th, 2020 | Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-Ku, Hiroshima | Attendance: N/A

So many G1 shows, so little time. That reminds me of the old Mr. Ass theme song. Anyway, this night is headlined by a legitimate dream match of mine, so let’s jump in.

A Block: Tomohiro Ishii [4] vs. Yujiro Takahashi [0]
I saw them face off in the G1 25 (**¼) and that’s it, though Yujiro did beat him for the NEVER Title back in 2014. A loss for Yujiro officially eliminates him. I appreciated the fact that Yujiro was quick on the attack. When you’re desperate for a win, you need to act like it. Do something to change things up. With Ishii’s knee taped up, Yujiro had a target and he went after it. That made it believable that he would have a shot and be someone who could take Ishii to the limit at times. Ishii rallied and got going late but then Yujiro pulled him into a small package that I absolutely bought as the finish. People would’ve been mad as hell. I loved that Ishii just got up from them and WRECKED him with a headbutt. It was vicious. Sliding lariat and Brainbuster and Ishii finally put Yujiro away after 15:25. You know what? I’d usually complain that Yujiro worked 15 minutes but that really made that work and put on a heck of an opener. [***¼]

A Block: Jeff Cobb [4] vs. Kazuchika Okada [6]
First-time meeting here. When this began, you got the sense that it was going to go long. Okada was being slow with his offense and seemed to building to something more. Then, Cobb decided it was time to stop messing around and he started tossing Okada around instead. Belly-to-belly suplexes, gutwrenches, and more. Okada looked like he had gotten off of a particular upsetting roller coaster. I liked how the Rainmaker had little to no effect. Was it just because Cobb is a beefy boy or because Okada has lost it? I dug Cobb mocking Okada a bit as he was getting cocky, only for Okada to counter Tour of the Islands into a cradle for the win at 11:03. Once again, Okada wins without the Rainmaker. It’s a unique story to tell with him. His matches continue to be good at best. [***]

A Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki [6] vs. Will Ospreay [6]
If there’s any justice in the world, Suzuki destroys Ospreay here. Of course, that’s not the world we live in. The RevPro Champion is despicable and a heinous human. I don’t even wanna recap this much because Suzuki didn’t beat Willy up enough. When he did wail on him, it was pretty great, though. Ospreay had to sell the arm here, which he can do a little more consistently than the leg since it doesn’t take away his flippy offense. Still, he avoided flying for the most part and kept to the ground, where he should’ve had no realistic chance against Suzuki. Willy won with Storm Breaker in 14:26. I don’t care. ***¼ for the match but * for there not being enough of an ass kicking and -* for Will winning. [***¼]

A Block: Jay White [6] vs. IWGP Tag Team Champion Taichi [6]
White beat him in last year’s G1 (**) and it wasn’t good. However, this got off to a tremendous start as Jay White sat in a corner and clapped along to Taichi serenading him. MOTY. The best thing about these two is that they’ve both just two dudes trying to be shitty to their opponents. That mad for a match where each guy tried to out-heel the other. I loved this. It was so refreshing and different from the rest of the G1. Guys can trade offense for 10-15 minutes and it get repetitive in a tournament like this. However, these two use their character work and it makes for something unique. Sure, there were quality exchanges but I’m all about them just being dicks to each other. Gedo got involved, there were low blows and in the end, White won with Blade Runner after 15:16. Maybe I was just in dire need of a change of pace but I really enjoyed that. [****]

A Block: Kota Ibushi [8] vs. Shingo Takagi [4]
My biggest dream match of the tournament. Shingo is arguably the best in the world and Ibushi is a safe bet for something special. You got the sense that this would get time as they worked a nuanced start. It wasn’t bad or too slow, it just felt like they were feeling each other and not trying to make the first mistake. Not a bad strategy against a first time opponent. Shingo was the first one to really grab an upper hand but then Ibushi fired off strikes, a moonsault, and a plancha. That blend of athleticism and vicious strikes are what makes Ibushi so great. I like the ways that Ibushi has started to setup Kamigoye. It almost comes out of nowhere but Shingo had it scouted. Of course, the closing stretch was marvelous. Watching Shingo hold Kota up for a delayed Made in Japan was incredible. In the end, Shingo blocked Kamigoye and scored with Last of the Dragon for the huge win after 21:56. Outstanding. It seemed like Ibushi would turn things around in that finish stretch but Shingo just put him down. [****½]

A BLOCK	POINTS	B BLOCK	POINTS
Kota Ibushi	8 (4-2)	Tetsuya Naito	8 (4-1)
Jay White	8 (4-2)	Hiroshi Tanahashi	6 (3-2)
Kazuchika Okada	8 (4-2)	EVIL	6 (3-2)
Will Ospreay	8 (4-2)	Juice Robinson	6 (3-2)
Minoru Suzuki	6 (3-3)	Toru Yano	6 (3-2)
Tomohiro Ishii	6 (3-3)	KENTA	4 (2-3)
Taichi	6 (3-3)	SANADA	4 (2-3)
Shingo Takagi	6 (3-3)	Zack Sabre Jr.	4 (2-3)
Jeff Cobb	4 (2-4)	Hirooki Goto	4 (2-3)
Yujiro Takahashi	0 (0-6)	YOSHI-HASHI	2 (1-4)

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

One of the better nights. While Okada continued to underwhelm, his match was fine. Suzuki/Ospreay was good despite the wrong winner and even Yujiro had a good match. There’s a stellar heel vs. heel battle and the main event is awesome and the second best of the entire tournament.