NJPW G1 Climax Final: Kota Ibushi & Jay White Results, Review
After 18 nights of combat over the course of 5 weeks, the G1 Climax Tournament finishes on its 19th night with A-Block's winner, The Golden Star Kota Ibushi, and B-Block's winner, Switchblade Jay White, taking the fight to the Budokan Arena for a match without any time limit. For Ibushi, the journey has felt personal, and he's ripped victory from Kazuchika Okada, one of the best wrestlers in the world today. White's journey has been a vicious 'I-told-you-so' from start to finish, and after his final victory last night over Tetsuya Naito, he made certain Ibushi knew he'd prove him wrong just as violently as the rest of the B-Block.
A world given the chance to see the entire event live for the first time held it's breath as they watched. Would the heroic Ibushi stand tall with the golden trophy, or was it time for Bullet Club's Switchblade Era to bloom with White? The winner will challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom
Their bout was the main event, and a brilliant array of exhibition tag matches excited the crowd in anticipation. These matches were the perfect punctuation to many of these men's journeys, highlighting the stronger bonds and more brittle fractures within factions and among new friends. Read on, and we'll conclude the G1 as we've started and continued--bravely forward!
Yota Tsuji and Ren Narita vs. Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors
The four young lions opened the show with an exhibition match; the G1 has solidified them as the top talents of their respective dojos (Tsuji and Narita in Japan, Fredericks and Connors in LA). Tsuji and Fredericks went first in this clash but they saved their energy and left the ring to Narita and Connors. Narita continued to stand ahead above most of the other young lions, but Connors was very good at throwing him around by his shoulders. Connors tagged Fredericks in and Narita struggled to reach Tsuji and relief. A spinebuster on Narita followed by a super combo from Fredericks and Connors wore at Narita, but he fought his way back from the 3 count to throw Fredericks in a belly-to-belly overhead.
Tsuji began to take his licks from Connor, but he met them with a backdrop to change the tide of battle. Tsuji couldn't lock Connors into a Boston Crab hold, and he couldn't keep the future heavyweight from landing a spear and pulling Tsuji into his own Boston Crab. He fought back, unable to find the bottom rope, and tapped out to Connors.
Results: Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors def. Yota Tsuji and Ren Narita via submission
Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Jeff Cobb vs. Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, and Lance Archer)
Taichi was accompanied to the ring by his valet Miho Abe, and that brightened everything for me. Taichi's a villain, and Abe is a willing accomplice, and their presence is great! Legends Tiger Mask and Jushin Thunder Liger joined Ring of Honor's loan talent Jeff Cobb to take on Suzuki-gun, and the classic wrestlers were taken down quickly by Suzuki-gun. Taichi kept Tiger Mask on his guard, and Kanemaru didn't let him have any time to recover when he was outside the ring.
Relentless, Taichi came for the man whose face we haven't seen during the G1, and Tiger Mask made distance with a Tiger Bomb. Taichi tagged the hardcore Archer and Tiger Mask tagged the brick wall Cobb. Cobb's G1 performance was surprisingly intense to watch, and as he fought out of Archer's attempted Everybody Dies Claw he continued to compel. Kanemaru traded places with Archer and became the target of the suplex specialist. Cobb hit his Tour of the Islands finisher in short order and Kanemaru stayed down for the count.
Results: Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Jeff Cobb def. Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, and Lance Archer) via pinfall