Date: July 13, 2019
From: Ota City General Gymnasium (Tokyo, Japan)
English Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero, Chris Charlton (translations)
Match #1 – Six Man Tag-Team:
EVIL, SANADA, & BUSHI def. Kota Ibushi, Will Ospreay, & Yuya Uemura
To kick things off for Night 2 we got members of Los Ingobernables de Japon against the trio of Ospreay, Ibushi, and Uemura. Previews for the G1 matches of EVIL vs. Ibushi and SANADA vs. Ospreay. After his match against KENTA in Night 1, Ibushi unfortunately suffered an ankle injury. So throughout the match the opposition were endlessly working on it. BUSHI hits a non top rope MX on the young lion Uemura to take the victory for LIJ.
Match #2 – Tag-Team:
Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens def. Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
A preview for Fale and Archer’s match. Pretty rare heel vs. heel scenario matchup here between members of Bullet Club and Suzuki-Gun. As expected Archer and Fale started off being hotheads and went straight to one another. The liquid spraying duo would lose though as Chase Owens pins Kanemaru hitting him with the Package Piledriver. Chase actually getting a win? I’ll be damned.
Match #3 – Six Man Tag-Team:
KENTA, Clark Connors, & Karl Fredericks def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino, Ren Narita
An interesting dynamic in this match basically both the past and the future teamed up to face each other. KENTA throughout the tour will be teaming with Shibata’s students in the LA Dojo. Tanahashi on the other hand is with the native young lions. Ever since the blocks were announced, one of the matches I’ve been excited for is Tana vs. KENTA. Two wrestlers who knows what it feels like to be at the top but are now at the point of their careers, considered as veterans. I was particularly impressed by the LA Dojo young lions in this match, Fredericks and Connors really showed great in their Japan debut. Fredericks would take the win for his team, tapping out Narita with a single leg boston crab.
Match #4 – Tag-Team:
Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
Final match of the undercard before the B Block action, its Suzuki-Gun vs. CHAOS. Two G1 participants paired with G1 snubs of their respective factions. Minoru Suzuki is on an anger tour, being left off this year’s tournament. ZSJ and Okada will faceoff eventually, we’ve seen in the past what they both can do and its always been great. Sadly for YOSHI-HASHI he takes another L, tapping out to Zack.
Match #5 – B Block:
Juice Robinson def. Shingo Takagi
The B Block of this year’s G1 officially begins with the match between first time entrant Shingo Takagi and Juice Robinson, entering his third G1. Are you a fan of lariats? Because you’ll get a ton of those in this match! It started off a little slow but would pick up the pace later on. I was shocked to see many fans be surprised with Juice winning but remember Shingo is still a junior, he will obviously will look good in defeat for the most part, but after just taking on a grueling BOSJ, I think it’s fitting for Juice to win here. A Pulp Friction after a commendable 14 minutes of action.
Match #6 – B Block:
Jon Moxley def. Taichi
Next up two wrestlers making their official G1 debut matches, Jon Moxley and Taichi. As expected Miho Abe accompanies Taichi in the ring, but what got me is Shota coming out with Moxley and even carrying the US belt! But before they could even reach the ring, Taichi attacks Mox and the madness ensues. Just a wild brawl, think of it like a Terry Funk or Bruiser Brody match in Japan, just maybe with less blood. Weapons were obviously used, including a table which Moxley against Taichi, then delivering a flying kiss to Miho for good measure. By the end, pent up with anger towards his opponent, Moxley hits the double arm DDT (fka Dirty Deeds) to dispose Taichi. The official match time itself was 7 minutes, but it certainly did not feel it, especially with the attack earlier on. Real fun, not a single dull moment.
Match #7 – B Block:
Toru Yano def. Tetsuya Naito
After two serious matchups, we take a break to witness Toru Yano’s greatness! Oh and Tetsuya Naito is there too, IC Champ and all. But anyway, right from the get go Yano is pissed off with Naito, taking even more time than usual in removing his gear. Hilarious back and forth would ensue, what you would expect from a typical Yano match. Although, the Yano upsets came real early this year by him pulling a sneaky victory on the IC Champion! YTR the Bracket Killer has arrived. I know comedy matches are a subjective taste, I personally don’t mind them so I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish.
Match #8 – B Block:
Tomohiro Ishii def. Jeff Cobb
The fun and games are over, it is time for some good ol’ hoss action. Jeff Cobb making his G1 debut against a familiar opponent in Tomohiro Ishii. Right from the get-go these two just went at each other like bulls! Forearms, headbutts, suplexes, chops, you name it. Every possible stiff maneuver in the playbook, these two hit each other with. I think by this point, it is impossible to have an intentional bad match with Ishii, especially against a fellow heavyweight like him. One of my favorite spots in this match was when Cobb hits simultaneous elbows to Ishii, only for the Stone Pitbull to absorb the shots. You know a match is great too when you felt like it could’ve truly gone either way. After a solid 18 minute affair however, a vertical drop brain-buster from the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion gets the win. Definitely best match of the night and has potential to be Top 5 throughout all the tournament!
Match #9 – B Block:
Hirooki Goto def. Jay White
Last match on the card is “Switchblade” Jay White against Hirooki Goto. Very old school matchup between these two, a perfect face vs. heel dynamic. Goto played the underdog who would gain his comeuppance really well. Jay looked to have his number earlier on, but through valiant effort and fighting spirit, the old Goto we all knew and supported, reignited and just put everything he’s got against his opponent. Not the best way for Jay to kick off his second G1 run after suffering a loss from Goto, as for the latter, a great momentum booster and it looked like training in the LA Dojo rose Goto’s spirit back up. Will he be a finalist once again? We just have to wait and see.
