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New Japan's G1 Climax 31 Finals... and the Fallout! Results from 10/21/21 from the Nippon Budokan, in Tokyo, Japan:
Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado
Kanemaru forces Fujita to tap out to a Boston Crab.
Great O-Khan and Jeff Cobb vs. Toru Yano and Yuji Nagata
Cobb had the upper part of his back, under his neck bandaged up, due to the DDT off the top rope from Okada last night.
Cobb and O-Khan dominated Yano in the early moments of the match. Cobb picked up Yano and ran him into multiple turnbuckles. Yano pulled Cobb's hair and yanked him to the mat. Nagata tagged in. Nagata went for an arm bar, but Cobb pushed him off and hit a dropkick. O-Khan tagged in and went for the Iron Claw. Nagata blocked it and dropkicked O-Khan's left leg. Nagata with an Exploder suplex. Yano tagged in and hit O-Khan with a belly-to-belly suplex. Yano with a quick fireman's carry takedown. O-Khan with fireman's carry takedown of his own. O-Khan knocks Nagata off the ring apron. United Empire whip Yano into the corner. O-Khan with a lariat. Cobb with a running uppercut. Cobb throws Yano with a deadlift gutwrench suplex. O-Khan hits a deadlift gutwrench suplex of his own. O-Khan goes for the pin. Nagata break up the count. Cobb punches Nagata and throws him to the floor. They battle on the floor. O-Khan grabs Yano's head and tries to make him kiss his boot. Yano grabs the referee and Yano hits a low blow on O-Khan. Yano rolls up a stunned O-Khan.
Yano pins O-Khan.
O-Khan was pissed. He grabbed a chair and went to the locker room to look for Yano.
Despite the loss, United Empire still looked like a strong team. O-Khan took the pin, which did not diminish what Cobb accomplished in the G1. With World Tag League 2021 coming soon, Cobb and O-Khan could be a force in that tournament.
SHO, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL, with Dick Togo vs. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto
SHO brought a CHAOS towel to the ring. SHO waved the towel in front of his former CHAOS partners, then he stomped on the towel.
Ishii, Goto and YOSHI-HASHI attacked immediately. Goto and YOSHI-HASHI go after SHO. EVIL and Yujiro save him. Everyone goes to the floor. The camera cannot pick up all the action. The House of Torture focus on Goto's right shoulder which was taped up. They attack Goto's shoulder with stomps and submissions. SHO talks trash to Ishii who is on the ring apron waiting for the tag. Ishii is getting more and more angry. Goto hits a lariat with his right arm on SHO. SHO is stunned and Goto goes down in pain. Goto makes the tag to Ishii. Ishii looked like he was ready to kill SHO. SHO hit three quick elbows. Ishii connects with a stiff elbow which sends SHO stumbling into the ropes. Yujiro makes the save and hits Ishii from behind. Yujiro whips Ishii into EVIL. They try to double team him but Ishii shows his quickness and outsmarts both men. Yujiro kicks EVIL by mistake, who goes crashing into the guardrail. Ishii hits shoulder tackle on Yujiro which sends him to the floor. Ishii goes back to SHO and hits him with vicious forearms into his throat. Ishii goes for a brainbuster, but SHO escapes and knees Ishii in the stomach. He stomps and kicks Ishii in the face. Ishii crawls to a corner and SHO steps on his neck. Ishii gets back to his feet and he and SHO exchange elbows. Ishii bounces off the ropes, but EVIL trips him and SHO hits a dropkick to the face. House of Torture hit the ring and they punch Goto and YOSHI-HASHI off the ring apron. They hit running attacks on Ishii in the corner. EVIL with a snap Fisherman Buster. Two count. Ishii counters with a Back Suplex on EVIL. Ishii tags YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI superkicks EVIL. SHO runs in and gets a kick in the gut. Yujiro runs in and YOSHI-HASHI hits him with a back cracker. YOSHI-HASHI drops EVIL with a lariat. YOSHI-HASHI goes for Karma. EVIL grabs the referee and they end up in the ropes. Togo comes from behind YOSHI-HASHI and chokes him out. EVIL pulls the referee away from this cheating going on. Goto takes out Togo and save YOSHI-HASHI. Goto and YOSHI-HASHI double team EVIL. They hit a GYR on EVIL. YOSHI-HASHI covers EVIL for the pin. Togo jumps in the ring to distract the referee. Yujiro hits Goto, then YOSHI-HASHI, with his Pimp Stick. Ishii comes in throws Yujiro with a release German suplex. SHO hits Ishii with a chair. SHO drops YOSHI-HASHI with a chair shot. EVIL hits Everything is Evil on YOSHI-HASHI.
EVIL pins YOSHI-HASHI.
House of Torture continue to lay out CHAOS after the match. Yujiro chokes YOSHI-HASHI with his Pimp Stick. SHO hits Ishii with a Shock Arrow. EVIL picks up the NEVER Openweight 6-man belts and throw it at the bodies of their opponents. With this victory, EVIL will try again to go after the NEVER 6-man championship.
This is the follow up that I expected from SHO joining Bullet Club back in August. They needed a crazy tag match where SHO could join his new teammates and beat down the good guys.
EVIL has tried several times to go after the NEVER Openweight 6-man Title with multiple Bullet Club combinations, but he could never beat CHAOS. Now with a former CHAOS member in their mix, they may have the right team to unseat the longest reigning 6-man Champions in history.
KENTA, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga and Chase Owens, with Jado vs. Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Owens hits Honma with a V-Trigger then hits a Package Piledriver.
Owens pins Honma.
This was an exhibition match and fine for what it was.
After the match, Owens speaks to Tanahashi about the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight belt. Owens wants a shot at the title. As they were speaking, KENTA blasts Tanahashi in the head with the belt. Owens and KENTA argue over the title but they agree that KENTA will a title match. Owens and KENTA give the Two Sweet Salute. Kevin Kelly asks Chase Owens what is going on. Chase Owens says "I have to go back to America for a bit. He can have the first shot." KENTA takes the IWGP U.S. Title belt and runs away.
This will make sense if Tanahashi defends the belt successfully against KENTA then meets Owens for the belt later, perhaps at Wrestle Kingdom. Even if Owens needs to return to the U.S., I hope they do not drop this story. Owens worked hard in the tournament and deserves a shot at a singles title.
Speaking of returning to the U.S., Tama Tonga tweeted that he was returning to the U.S. as well. He said it was a long tour and he missed his family. But he still loves New Japan. This means that the Guerillas of Destiny may not be in World Tag League 2021 next month.
They made an announcement of a new video game called New Japan Strong Spirits which will coincide with the 50th anniversary of New Japan in 2022.
Zack Sabre Jr. comes to the ring. He is wearing a white jacket with U.K. flag on it. No Suzuki-Gun colors.
Katsuyori Shibata's music plays and he comes to the ring next.
The announcer states that this is a 5-minute special exhibition match. Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton are losing their minds that Shibata is here.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Both men battle to a 5 minute draw. They shook hands after the match. Lots of respect between the two men.
This was a great scientific match. It was like watching Zack Sabre Jr. fighting the Japanese version of himself. Good stuff here.
Shibata takes the mic and thanks Zack. He says that the next time he is in this ring, he will be in a match.
Shibata is hinting at a return to the ring, which would be very cool. He is in great shape. I do not want to speculate, but Zack Sabre Jr. referenced this man once on a New Japan broadcast already. A match between Katsuyori Shibata and Bryan Danielson would be awesome.
Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi
Takagi pins Tenzan after a Pumping Bomber.
Another exhibition match. Fine for what it was.
G1 Climax 31 FINALS Match: Kota Ibushi (A Block Winner) vs. Kazuchika Okada (B Block Winner)
Both men were at a stalemate until Okada hit a Flap Jack, which stunned Ibushi. Okada followed with a reverse neck breaker. Okada kept his offense on Ibushi's head with a dropkick. Okada threw a few elbows and a flipping senton. Ibushi counters with a dropkick catching Okada in the jaw. Ibushi hits a flying kick. Ibushi hits a chop and kick combination. Ibushi drops Okada with a stiff kick to the chest. Ibushi with a standing moonsault. Two count. Okada rolls to the floor. Ibushi follows and get thrown into the guardrail. Ibushi tries to throw Okada, but he blocks it. Ibushi hits a half nelson suplex. Okada lands on his necks. Ibushi rolls Okada in the ring. Ibushi hits a top rope dropkick. Okada recovers and puts Ibushi on the top rope. Okada hits dropkick of his own. Ibushi falls to the floor, hitting his back on the ring apron first. Okada takes Ibushi down the entryway and hits a DDT on the floor. Okada picks up Ibushi and throws him in the ring. He does not want a count out win. Okada hits a shotgun dropkick. Ibushi went flying across the ring and bounced into the corner. He bumped looking like a ragdoll. Ouch! Okada locked Ibushi in the Money Clip. Ibushi punches Okada in the ribs and pushes him into the corner to break the Money Clip. Ibushi bounces off the ropes for an attack but Okada hits a dropkick in his face. Okada applies the Money Clip again. Ibushi gets to his feet and goes for the ropes. Okada hits a tombstone, the reapplies the Money Clip. Ibushi's eyes are dazed, but he tries for the ropes. Okada pulls him to the middle of the ring. Ibushi fights again for the ropes, but Okada drops him with a backbreaker. Okada puts on the Money Clip again, but Ibushi grabs the ropes with his legs. Okada slams Ibushi. Okada hits a top rope elbow. Rainmaker pose! Okada goes for the Rainmaker. Ibushi ducks. Ibushi hits a lariat. Both men get to their feet and exchange elbows. Very stiff elbows. Ibushi hits a Frankensteiner. Okada goes to the floor. Ibushi hits a spring board top rope moonsault on Okada. Ibushi throws Okada into the ring. They reverse out of each others move. Ibushi hits a high knee. Okada is dazed. Ibushi connects with Kamigoye. Okada kicks out at two. Wow! Ibushi goes for another Kamigoye. Okada counters and rolls up Ibushi for a pin. Two count. Ibushi hits a lariat. Ibushi goes for a Phoenix Splash but misses. Ibushi lands on his right arm very awkwardly. Red Shoes the referee checks on Ibushi. Ibushi looks to be in tremendous pain.
Red Shoes stops the match. Okada is declared the winner.
Multiple New Japan doctors, young lions and officials run to the ring. Shingo Takagi was on Japanese commentary is also at ringside. You can see the worried looks on the wrestler's faces as one of their own is seriously hurt. As many officials surrounded Ibushi, they carefully held him in place. Chris Charlton speculated Ibushi dislocated his shoulder and they are popping it back into place. Ibushi was apologetic to Okada, but Okada, being the leader that he is, told him "no", and that there will be a next time. They removed the bottom rope so they could get Ibushi out of the ring. Ibushi, in tears, bowed to Okada and the fans in apology. Okada patted him on the back with support. The crowd applauded with support. Ibushi got out of the ring and they wrapped his left arm to get him safely to the back.
They present the G1 Climax Trophy and Flag to Kazuchika Okada. He won his third G1 Climax. He earns the right to face the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at Wrestle Kingdom.
Okada takes the mic and thanks the fans. He tells Kota Ibushi they will fight again, perhaps for the IWGP Heavyweight Title.
Okada did not refer to the IWGP Heavyweight Title as a "World" Title. This could be taken as a slight to current champion Shingo Takagi. Or it could be a slight to Kota Ibushi who combined the IWGP Heavyweight Title and IWGP Intercontinental Titles into the "World" Title. Regardless, his statements are interesting.
In the interview area, Tama Tonga confronts Okada, with the rest of CHAOS in street clothes. Tama Tonga challenges Okada for the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Another storyline is set up with this confrontation.
This was not the most ideal way to end the G1 Climax, however, with all things considered, this is where I think New Japan wanted to end things. Okada on top, with Tama Tonga's storyline in the mix. With World Tag League and Best of Super Junior to come, storylines will continue to be set up as New Japan prepare for Wrestle Kingdom in a few months. The G1 began with bad injury to Tetsuya Naito, and another injury to Kota Ibushi in the Finals. Despite these injuries, New Japan keeps wrestlers strong who can easily move to the top positions. Jeff Cobb, Zack Sabre Jr., Tama Tonga, Hiroshi Tanahashi, EVIL or even Jay White, could fit into the top position for any title picture.
My thanks to Kevin Kelly for doing English commentary consistently throughout this tournament.
Thank you to everyone who have read and enjoyed these New Japan reports.
My sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dave Scherer and Mike Johnson for allowing me to share these reports.
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