New Japan Pro Wrestling continued the 31st G1 Climax on Thursday. While the tournament matches were their usual thrilling affairs, it was an early non-tournament match that stole the show.
KENTA faced off with Hiromu Takahashi in a wild brawl, in place of KENTA’s scheduled match with Tetsuya Naito. Since Naito’s injury, the undercard of the A Block shows have had sleeper hits scattered throughout the schedule. Thursday’s show was no exception.
Hiromu Takahashi brought a pent-up fire to the match with KENTA, standing up to the heavyweight as well as any junior could. KENTA snuck out the victory, but Hiromu sent a message to not only KENTA, but all of New Japan that he is a pending threat to any and all. No one can take the non-tournament matches lightly, and no one has.
El Desperado battered Young Lion Ryohei Oiwa in the opening match, eventually submitting him to the Indian Deathlock. Oiwa, like his colleague Fujita, has been a feisty foe for the junior heavyweights, but Desperado proved the Young Lion has a ways to go.
In tournament action, Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. both reached the top of A Block, at 10 points apiece. Ibushi got a hard-fought win over Tanga Loa, while Sabre stretched Yujiro Takahashi to his breaking point.
Shingo Takagi got a fairly easy win over Toru Yano. Takagi’s Last of the Dragon drove Yano into the canvas in rather gruesome fashion. The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion remains just behind the top competitors, stuck at 8 points.
Tomohiro Ishii joined the gang of eight. In the main event, he defeated young upstart Great-O-Khan in a generational hoss fight. Ishii took advantage of O-Khan’s losing streak, and extended his own winning streak, after 25-minutes of hard hitting action.
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?G1 CLIMAX 31?(10/7)を公開‼️
＼『G1 CLIMAX 31』Aブロック公式戦‼️
意地と意地のぶつかり合い?
この激闘を制し、最後まで立っているのはどちらだ⁉️? 石井智宏 × @Great_O_Khan
? #njpwworld で配信中??登録＆視聴⏩https://t.co/CcdQ1XrpWA#G131 #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/ykXiRCvxsL
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) October 7, 2021
SEE ALSO: G1 Climax Results (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2) (NIGHT 3) (NIGHT 4) (NIGHT 5) (NIGHTS 6 & 7) (NIGHTS 8& 9) (NIGHT 10)
Here are the full results:
10/7
NJPW G1 Climax- Night 11
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: El Desperado def. Ryohei Oiwa by submission via Indian Deathlock. (6:58)
- Non-Tournament Match: KENTA def. Hiromu Takahashi by pinfall via Rollup. (19:01)
- A Block: Kota Ibushi (10) def. Tanga Loa (4) by pinfall via Kamigoye. (13:46)
- A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. (10) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4) by submission via Tesco Meal Deal. (14:15)
- A Block: Shingo Takagi (8) def. Toru Yano (6) by pinfall via Last of the Dragon. (8:17)
- A Block: Tomohiro Ishii (8) def. Great-O-Khan (8) by pinfall via Vertical Drop Brainbuster. (26:26)
The G1 Climax will continue on Oct. 8th at 6am ET on NJPWWorld.com
