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10/13/21 A Block Results from New Japan's G1 Climax 31 from Sendai, Japan:
Kosei Fujita vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Hiromu forces Fujita to tap out to a Boston Crab.
Kota Ibushi vs. Satoshi Kojima
Ibushi pins Kojima with a Kamigoye.
Ibushi grasped the hand of Kojima, in a respectful manner, thanking him for a hard fought match.
Ibushi will face KENTA at the next A Block event.
G1 Climax 31 - A Block Matches:
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi, with Pieter
Takahashi attacks Ishii before the bell. They take the match to the floor. Ishii throws Takahashi into the guardrail. Pieter distracts the referee. Takahashi hits Ishii with his Pimp Stick. Back in the ring, Takahashi hits a Yakuza Kick. Two count. Takahashi throws some basement dropkicks to Ishii. Ishii begins to shrug them off. Takahashi throws elbows and kicks. Ishii starts to hulk up. Takahashi rakes Ishii's eyes to stop his momentum. Takahashi with a Hot Shot. Ishii counters with a powerslam. Takahashi hits a Fisherman Buster. Ishii clutches his neck. Takahashi hits two more Yakuza Kicks and goes for another Fisherman Buster. Ishii counters into a suplex. Ishii puts Takahashi on the top rope. Ishii plants Takahashi with a superplex from the second rope. Two count. Takahashi stuns Ishii with a DDT, but Takahashi is slow to follow up. Both get to their feet. Ishii throws multiple elbows to Takahashi's face. Takahashi hits a Collegiate Slam. Two count. They exchange and block each other's blows. Takahashi hits a lariat, then picks up Ishii in a powerbomb position and runs him into the turnbuckle. Takahashi hits Miami Shine. Ishii kicks out at two. Takahashi tries for Pimp Juice but Ishii reverses into a back suplex. Takahashi hit Ishii with elbows. Ishii connects with an enzuigiri. Ishii with a sliding lariat. Takahashi hits a brainbuster. Ishii writhes in pain. Pieter applauds. Takahashi hits Pimp Juice. Ishii kicks out. Wow! Takahashi goes for Big Juice but Ishii fights out with elbows. Ishii hits a nasty headbutt. Ishii with a release German suplex and a lariat. Ishii hits a brainbuster.
Ishii pins Takahashi.
Tomohiro Ishii earns 2 points, reaches 10 points and is in a 4-way tie for second place in A Block.
Takahashi looked really good in this match, despite his loss. He connected with his moves, but he was not able to hit Big Juice. Ishii made Takahashi look great as well as he sold for his moves. Both men came out of the match looking strong.
KENTA vs. Tanga Loa, with Jado
All three men do the Two Sweet Salute. Tanga shows his power advantage in the opening moments, by throwing KENTA to the mat. KENTA throws a kick to Tanga's left leg. Tanga with a shoulder tackle. KENTA rolls to the floor. Tanga shakes out his leg after KENTA's kick. KENTA tries to avoid Tanga by jumping in and out of the ring. Until Jado stopped. Jado screamed at him to fight. Tanga hits KENTA in the back and throws him to the floor. KENTA gets thrown into the guardrails. Tanga hits a back suplex, dropping KENTA on the ring apron. Tanga pushes him into the ring and connects with a flipping senton. Two count. They start slapping each other in the face. Tanga locks in a reverse chinlock. KENTA fights to his feet. KENTA comes off the ropes and Tanga connects with a big boot. Tanga with a standing moonsault. Two count. Tanga locks KENTA in the Operation Jado Killer. KENTA almost gets to the ropes. Tanga rolls him in the middle of the ring. KENTA is able to get to the ropes with his feet. Tanga stomps on a fallen KENTA. KENTA looks at him and tells him to 'bring it". KENTA blocks Tanga's attack and he counters by dropping Tanga on the top rope. KENTA with a top rope clothesline. KENTA with a powerslam. KENTA starts to kick Tanga in the chest. Tanga powers up. KENTA kicks him in the chest and back. Tanga counters with his own kick combination. Tanga with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Two count. Tanga picks him up for Apeshit, but KENTA rolls out of the ring. Tanga follows and drops KENTA on the guardrail. Tanga steps on KENTA's neck on the floor. Tanga throws KENTA in the ring, but is slow to follow up. KENTA kicks Tanga twice in the chest as he enters the ring. KENTA hits a knee from the second rope on the back of Tanga's head. KENTA plants Tanga with the Green Killer. KENTA hits a running Yakuza Kick. Tanga hits a running lariat. KENTA counters with another Yakuza Kick. KENTA with a running dropkick to the face. KENTA hits a double stomp. Two count. Both men get to their feet and they trade elbows and kicks. Tanga with an Exploder. Tanga charges for a spear. KENTA moves out of the way. Tanga almost hits the referee. KENTA splashes Tanga and the referee takes a bump. KENTA hits a low blow on Tanga. Jado gets pissed and enters the ring. KENTA low blows Jado and takes his Kendo stick. The referee gets Jado out of the ring. KENTA tries to hit Tanga with the Kendo stick and Tanga low blows KENTA. Tanga goes for a powerbomb. KENTA wiggles out. Tanga goes for Apesh**, but KENTA pushes Tanga into the turnbuckle and rolls up Tanga in a school boy. KENTA puts his feet on the ropes.
KENTA pins Tanga Loa.
KENTA gets 2 points and now is in a tie with Kota Ibushi for the lead with 12 points. KENTA will meet Kota Ibushi at the next A Block event which could be for the winner of A Block.
Solid match. Both men spent time during the COVID months in the L.A. Dojo. I expected they would be familiar with each other's style and could put together a good match, which they did.
Toru Yano vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
ZSJ applied a Sleeperhold on Yano during his ring introductions. Yano makes it to the ropes for a break. ZSJ applies the Sleeper again. He transitions to a crucifix pin. Two count. Yano rolls ZSJ up for a two count. ZSJ goes for Cobra Twist. Yano tries to avoid it. ZSJ falls back into a pin attempt. Yano kicks out at two. Yano escapes the ring to get his ring gear off. Back in the ring, they grapple. Yano hits a belly to belly suplex. ZSJ goes to the floor. Yano follows. Yano picks up ZSJ and carries him all the way back through the entrance way. Both disappear behind the curtain. Yano appears and runs to the ring, as the referee counts. ZSJ appears from behind the curtain with a black bag on his head. He stumbles out from behind the curtain and hits the guardrail. He pulls the bag off and dashes to the ring. He beats the count. Yano catches him and attempts a cross arm breaker. ZSJ reverses out and applies a cross arm breaker of his own. Yano gets to the ropes. He rolls out of the ring and ZSJ follows. ZSJ wraps his arm around the guardrail. Yano screams in pain. Yano escapes under the ring. ZSJ grabs Yano's leg and applies an ankle lock submission. Yano uses his weight and momentum and pulls ZSJ headfirst into the ring apron. Yano pulls out handcuffs and tries to hand cuff ZSJ to the guardrail. ZSJ fights him off and hand cuffs himself to Yano. They both continue to fight outside the ring. The referee's count is at 18. Both run back to the ring. They trade pinfall attempts, still handcuffed together. ZSJ traps Yano in a triangle choke with his legs. Yano reaches for his boot and pulls out a key for the handcuffs. As Yano tries to unlock the handcuffs, ZSJ transitions to a cross arm breaker. Yano cannot reach the handcuff to unlock it. Yano screams in pain.
Yano taps out.
Zack Sabre Jr. earns 2 points and gets to 12 points. He is in a tie for first place of A Block with Kota Ibushi and KENTA.
ZSJ takes the key and unlocks himself from the handcuffs.
Shingo Takagi vs. Great O-Khan
Takagi comes to the ring with his left abdomen taped up. Both men begin the match with power moves. Takagi takes down O-Khan with a shoulder tackle. He drops two elbows and senton on O-Khan. Two count. Takagi charges O-Khan and takes him into the corner. He hammers him with punches. O-Khan fires back with a big shoulder block which sends Takagi to the floor. Takagi is dazed, but gets on the ring apron. O-Khan hits a big boot and Takagi flies off the ring apron and into the ring barricade. O-Khan goes to the floor and pummels Takagi on the guardrail. Back in the ring, O-Khan slows the pace with a rear chin lock. Takagi gets to the ropes. Both men get to their feet and trade chops. Takagi stuns O-Khan with a DDT. Takagi with a suplex. O-Khan tosses Takagi with a judo throw. O-Khan hangs Takagi on the Tree of Woe. He dropkicks Takagi right in the face. Two count. O-Khan grabs the neck of Takagi to kiss his boot. O-Khan mockingly slaps Takagi in the head. Takagi get mad and hammers O-Khan with elbows in the corner. O-Khan fights back and they blast each other with elbows. O-Khan hits a chop right into the throat of Takagi. Both men fall to the mat. Takagi with a lariat and back suplex. O-Khan with a big boot. Takagi with a lariat. O-Khan with a back suplex. Takagi with a sliding lariat. Crowd applauds both men. Takagi goes for Made in Japan. O-Khan blocks it. Takagi tries for a Noshigami. O-Khan blocks it. O-Khan pushes Takagi into the corner. Takagi clutches his taped abdomen. O-Khan bearhugs Takagi and sends him into the corner again. O-Khan picks up Takagi for a suplex then drops him, ribs first, onto the top rope. O-Khan traps Takagi in the Sheep Killer. O-Khan hits a backbreaker and locks on the Sheep Killer again. O-Khan with a powerslam. Two count. O-Khan tries for an Eliminator but Takagi reverses into a cross arm breaker. O-Khan tries to block it but Takagi snaps the arm and hyperextends it. But Takagi lets go. Takagi attacks O-Khan's arm with headbutts and punches. O-Khan shrugs off the attack and tries to hit a lariat. Takagi blocks it and hits Made in Japan. Two count. O-Khan hits a Gourdbuster. Both men crawl on their knees and throw elbows. They get to their feet and exchange elbows. O-Khan hits a straight right punch to the jaw. Takagi returns with a headbutt under the chin. O-Khan charge and Takagi rocked him with an elbow to the temple. O-Khan goes for the Eliminator but Takagi escapes. O-Khan plants Takagi with a lariat. Two count. Takagi with a release Dragon Suplex, then a running elbow to O-Khan's head. Takagi hits a Pumping Bomber. Two count. Takagi hits Last of the Dragon.
Takagi pins O-Khan.
Shingo Takagi earns 2 points, gets to 12 points total, and in a 4-way tie for 1st place with Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr. and KENTA.
Brutal match, but a great match as well. These two men beat the crap out of each other. After the G1 Climax, there will be World Tag League and Best of Super Juniors. Everyone in the G1 will need to rest and get healthy especially after such a grueling match like this main event.
A Block Standings as of 10/13/21:
Kota Ibushi - 12
Yujiro Takahashi - 4
Great O-Khan - 8
Tanga Loa - 4
Toru Yano - 8
KENTA - 12
Zack Sabre Jr. - 12
Tomohiro Ishii - 10
Shingo Takagi - 12
Tetsuya Naito - Forfeit
On 10/18, the final night of A Block, the important matches will be 1) Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA, 2) Shingo Takagi vs. Yujiro Takahashi and 3) Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tanga Loa.
There are several ways that this could play out. The card order will be reshuffled by order of importance. All wrestlers tied for the lead will need the win their respective matches. ZSJ holds the tie breaker over Takagi and Ibushi. KENTA holds the tie breaker over ZSJ. It should be interesting to see how it all plays out.
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