NJPW G1 Climax 30 10.18

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Suzuki-gun (DOUKI, El Desperado, Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) - 6.5/10

Really productive match. It set up new contenders for the trios titles, likely being the team of Tekkers and DOUKI. That in a sense will eventually lead to my hopes of Tekkers vs Ishii/Goto. It also helped put DOUKI a bit over heading into the BOSJ, and it the same way, it was a good reminder that no matter what, YOSHI-HASHI is still a geek. And finally, watching Taichi's injured leg from his match with Ibushi is also a reminder that Ibushi is going into the main event and finals as an injured man.

The wrestling itself was ok, nothing special really, Ishii and Taichi hit each other, Yano and Sabre did some comedy spots, and at the end, everyone beat up YH, ending with a Zack Mephisto by Tekkers before throwing DOUKI on top for the pin.

Post-match - SZKG kept beating up CHAOS. Even backstage, Ishii was jumped.

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi) - 7.5/10

Another match used to set up an upcoming set of matches, Shingo vs Suzuki seems pretty set for the NEVER Openweight title, but I think there's also a hint of Hiromu and BUSHI chasing Kanemaru and Despy for the Jr tag titles, LIKELY because we have the BOSJ and I think Hiromu is gonna allow other people to get over.

The match was great, Suzuki vs anyone is great, and Hiromu and Shingo are right up there. The finishing sequence was just destruction of Kanemaru, who had managed to hit Deep Impact on Hiromu for a sure win if not for Shingo breaking it up, but afterwards, Shingo hit a Pop-Up DVD, running DVD by Hiromu, and Timebomb for the pin.

Post-match - Suzuki and Shingo got in a pull-apart. Hiromu made notions that he was coming for the tag titles.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jeff Cobb, Juice Robinson & Master Wato (w/Hiroyoshi Tenzan) vs. BULLET CLUB (Gedo, Jay White, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) - 7/10

This went somewhat short, but everyone got their shit in and it was fun. Best thing was White antagonizing Tenzan. Wato was babyface in peril, Cobb the hot tag. They used the match to further build a Tanahashi vs KENTA feud for the IWGP US title briefcase, they teased Wato vs Ishimori, and Gedo got beat up.

Wrestle Kingdom Announcement - It's two nights again, makes more sense this year with having short shows, but it's gonna be Monday and Tuesday and it's gonna be hard if I don't get that week off from work.

Great O-Khan & Will Ospreay (w/Bea Priestley) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & SHO) - 7.5/10

Perfect start for the match, I wouldn't have taken anything else other than Okada rushing Ospreay before the bell. Ospreay has completely changed his style to heel now, less flippy shit, more chicken shit stuff. I still think that Ospreay and Oka make for a really weird pair as a team, but then again, LIJ also started with a weird pair up of Naito that Watanabe.

The stuff between Okada and Ospreay was great. Oka mostly worked over SHO and Okada when they were down, so we didn't really see him go all out. Bea interfered here and there, but she has a great sense of the hit and run attack to stay hidden from the referee, which is not what we see from a lot of the old timers when they interfere. Finish saw Ospreay get SHO in a Figure 4, Oka hit the Claw Chokeslam on Okada as they made him watch SHO submit.

I can't remember the last time I saw Ospreay as a heel, it's was likely PROGRESS years and years ago, but I like the change.

Note: I'm likely going to be calling Great O-Khan as Oka, it's just easier.

BULLET CLUB (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) (w/Dick Togo) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito) - 7/10

The unfortunate thing about Tanahashi vs KENTA is that meanwhile, we're gonna be getting more Naito vs EVIL, likely heading to the main event of Power Struggle, a quite fitting name for EVIL to lose because of some White interference.

The match was ok, it's a lot of the same that we've seen a lot of for months. I've always enjoyed Naito vs Yujiro spots, so not only did I enjoyed them here for what they are, but also because it was a break from Naito vs EVIL. Finish saw EVIL hit Darkness Falls on BUSHI, followed by a Scorpion Deathlock for the submission win.

Also, I don't want to leave without mentioning that Yujiro and EVIL worked together with no issues, friendly bunch. Keep it in mind.

Post-match - EVIL hit EIE on Naito and posed with the titles.

G1 Climax 2020 Final Match
Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA - 9/10

There is no doubt now that Red Shoes can count in quantum levels, because I think that was the closest nearfall I've seen all year. There were great nearfalls here but the one with the Japanese Clutch was just on another level. It really helped that I wasn't sure who'd win and Ibushi having won it last year made you think that it was SANADA who was gonna get it this year.

I really liked the match, Ibushi was at his best and SANADA brought it. SANADA actually wrestled a Tanahashi type of tempo in this match. It started slow with a lot of mat wrestling, but soon enough they started striking each other and running the ropes and it just slowly escalated more and more and without even realizing it, we had reached the 20 minute mark. SANADA started chasing the Skull End around this point which led to more great counters. SANADA kept escaping or reversing Kamigoye, but at the end, Ibushi blocked a Skull End, got a knee in, one Kamigoye for a near fall, SANADA becoming the first to kick out of one I believe, and a second that sealed the deal.

For all the SANADA haters out there, consider that he is a HUGE fan favorite in Japan, where NJPW matters, of all matches all tournament, he had people screaming tonight with pure emotion.

Ibushi becomes the third man to win back to back G1s, along with Tenzan and Chono.

Post-match - Ibushi celebrated, took photos with Chono, cut his winner's promo hoping that things can get back to normal soon, and they seem close to it.

Backstage, Jay White threaten Ibushi that he's coming after the briefcase.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

This was a great show no matter what anyone tells you, it was incredibly productive and the wrestling was still good or beyond. It wasn't the legendary main event from the previous years, but it was still one of the better matches you're gonna watch this year.