NJPW G1 Climax 30 10.5

Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura - 5.5/10

Good match as usual, Yuya won with a Liontamer, more than a Boston Crab.

G1 Climax 30 Block A Match
Yujiro Takahashi (0) vs. Shingo Takagi (2) - 6/10

I'm pretty sure that by the end of the G1, I'm gonna be hating Yujiro's kick, it just looks so weak and it always slows down the action. He threw some decent lariats in this match, why can't it just be lariats? This was overall boring, there were some glimpses of potential when Shingo picked up speed and forced Yujiro to at least react quickly, but that was about it.

Yujiro lost again. Last time I said he was 'virtually' eliminated since there was still a miracle chance that he COULD contest, but with this loss, he is officially out as soon as anyone with 6 points wins later tonight.

G1 Climax 30 Block A Match
Jeff Cobb (2) vs. Jay White (6) - 8/10

It wasn't given the spot to really shine, but I really enjoyed this match a lot. White is the perfect heel for Cobb to toss around and take his moves, yet also credible and strong enough to do stuff to Cobb and really hurt him. The match was mostly that, White using his smarts and speed to hurt Cobb, but every time that Cobb would get his hands on White, he'd toss him around, and he did that over and over until he won. This is a big win for Cobb, we know he ain't winning or anything, but he now has a win over White and that's a good start.

Yujiro actually survives a couple minutes more.

G1 Climax 30 Block A Match
Minoru Suzuki (6) vs. Kazuchika Okada (4) - 7/10

Okada hasn't been selling it with his backstage promos, but there is definitely something here. Okada barely defeated Suzuki, someone he has beaten before with somewhat ease, he had to roll up and grasp for every millisecond. This match was 80% Suzuki beating ass, he outwrestled and out-stroke Okada, even when Okada locked in the Moneyclip, Suzuki escaped. Suzuki's dominance made me enjoy this match more than I would have otherwise, I thought the Royal Quest match was far better.

G1 Climax 30 Block A Match
Tomohiro Ishii (2) vs. Taichi (6) - 9/10

They tried to start with the match with one of those epic Hiromu/Dragon Lee chop exchanges, but Taichi went for kicks and that REALLY slows down that exchange and thus it didn't get as over.

When we see the whole Taichi vs Ishii rivalry, this match felt like things have already turned around and Taichi is now the one taking Ishii for a ride. In the past, it was usually Ishii beating a fight out of Taichi, who would usually just be tired, but now, Taichi looked way more focused and more of a killer. He won several of the strike exchanges, had some that just straight up floored Ishii, and actually managed to dodge a lot of Ishii's attacks too. We never really see Ishii as an underdog at all, but he sold so much in this match that he wasn't coming off the unstoppable machine that he usually is.

Towards the end, Ishii had to rely on cheating to regain control of the match, but even at that point, it felt more like cheating to make things easier, than a desperation move. Especially since they kept going and Taichi showed that he still had a lot in the tank. Ishii won with a brainbuster. He avenges last year's Taichi win, and more than anything, he could fulfill my hopes of a Tekkers vs Ishii/Goto tag feud.

I really liked the spot with Ishii no selling Taichi taking off his pants, like he find it quite disrespectful that Taichi would remove his pants. It unfortunately only led to Ishii getting taken down again, bringing me back to reality in a second, but it was great while it lasted.

G1 Climax 30 Block A Match
Kota Ibushi (6) vs. Will Ospreay (6) - 8.5/10

Great match, but it was somewhat short and the finish, while perfectly built to, felt kinda sudden too. The match only went 15 minutes, which I think we call agree is short for a NJPW main event, especially since since no other match went 30 minutes or the like. For all I know, maybe Kagawa has a max time limit for shows with crowds.

As for the match, Ospreay has become such a little cocky foreigner. Being a heavyweight has gotten to his head, and so half of the match was him being cocky and disrespectful towards Ibushi, who tried to keep his composure for as much as possible, but there is just so much he could take and eventually, he just started kneeing Ospreay, blocking his attacks, until he got a good lock for Kamigoye and won.

Post-match - Ibushi cut his winner's promo.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Ok show for Block A, nothing felt special to be honest, which is saying a lot considering the three top matches had been great in the past. The surprise of the night I'd say was White vs Cobb.