New Japan ran Day 15 of G1 CLIMAX 32 today, reaching the 3/4 mark of the tournament as the final tripleheader is less than a week away now.
Today’s event was held at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall in Hiroshima and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English.
The announced paid attendance was 1522. Almost exactly the same as yesterday (down only 3 today).
Match 1: Aaron Henare, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay beat Ryohei Oiwa, Yuto Nakashima & YOSHI-HASHI. Henare beat Nakashima with Ultima.
Match 2: Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Bad Dude Tito & Jonah. Yano pinned Tito.
Match 3: TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Lance Archer beat Gedo, Juice Robinson & KENTA. Taichi pinned Gedo.
Match 4: Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale beat BUSHI, SANADA. Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Owens pinned BUSHI after C Trigger.
G1 CLIMAX:
Match 5: Block D-El Phantasmo beat David Finlay.
Match 6: Block B-Tama Tonga beat Great-O-Khan.
Match 7: Block Block C-Zack Sabre Jr. beat EVIL by submission. This went just 44 seconds, thanks in part to Kosei Fujita originally entering disguised as Sabre and causing a distraction.
Match 8: Block A-Kazuchika Okada beat Tom Lawlor.
Main Event: Block C-Hirooki Goto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Standings:
Block A:
1-Okada, 4-1, 8 pts
2-Archer, 3-2, 6 pts
3-Jonah, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Cobb, 2-2, 4 pts
5-Fale, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT)
6-Lawlor, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT)
7-Yano, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
Block B:
1-Jay White, 4-0, 8 pts
2-Tonga, 4-1, 8 pts
3-SANADA, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Taichi, 2-2, 4 pts
5-Owens, 2-4, 4 pts (OUT)
6-Ishii, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
7-Khan, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
Block C:
1-Sabre, 4-1, 8 pts
2-Goto, 3-2, 6 pts
3-Naito, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Tanahashi, 3-2, 6 pts
5-EVIL, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT)
6-KENTA, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
7-Henare, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
Block D:
1-Finlay, 3-2, 6 pts
2-Takahashi, 3-2, 6 pts
3-Ospreay, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Takagi, 2-2, 4 pts
5-YOSHI-HASHI, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Phantasmo, 2-3, 4 pts
7-Robinson, 2-3, 4 pts
The winner of each block advances to the Semifinals. Block A just got handed back to Okada over the last two days thanks to Archer beating Jonah yesterday, but it’s not over yet as Okada’s final opponent is Archer. Block B will come down to White-Tonga on 8/16 even though White still has Taichi before then. Sabre has re-taken control of Block C but a final win over Naito won’t guarantee avoiding tiebreakers. We could very well be heading for a 4-way to settle it. Block D suddenly is the wide open block as now everyone still has a chance after Finlay dropped 2 straight and now Takahashi is tied for the lead. Looks like it’s headed down to the wire.
Day 16 is Saturday at Machida Gym in Tokyo with Taichi-White as the main event, assuming White has recovered after missing yesterday and today due to heat stroke symptoms. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.
