New Japan ran Day 12 of the G1 CLIMAX 32 today, headlined by a grudge rematch between former IWGP World Heavyweight Champions Shingo Takagi & Will Ospreay.
Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English.
The announced paid attendance was 3370. If Osaka still has their strict venue capacity limits in place (meaning 50% tops), this would be very close to a legit sellout.
Match 1: Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & EVIL beat Ryohei Oiwa, David Finlay, Tama Tonga & Tomohiro Ishii. Sho beat Oiwa with an armbar.
Match 2: Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb beat Royce Isaacs & Tom Lawlor. Henare pinned Isaacs after Streets Of Rage.
Match 3: Bad Luck Fale, Juice Robinson & KENTA beat BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. Robinson pinned BUSHI after Pulp Friction.
Match 4: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada beat Jonah & Bad Dude Tito. Tanahashi pinned Tito after High Fly Flow.
G1 CLIMAX:
Match 5: Block D-YOSHI-HASHI beat El Phantasmo.
Match 6: Block A-Lance Archer beat Toru Yano.
Match 7: Block C-Zack Sabre Jr. beat Hirooki Goto by submission.
Match 8: Block B-Jay White beat Great-O-Khan.
Main Event: Block D-Shingo Takagi beat Will Ospreay.
Standings:
Block A:
1-Okada, 3-0, 6 pts
2-Jonah, 2-1, 4 pts
3-Cobb, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Archer, 2-2, 4 pts
5-Fale, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Lawlor, 1-2, 2 pts
7-Yano, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
Block B:
1-White, 4-0, 8 pts
2-Tonga, 2-1, 4 pts
3-Taichi, 2-1, 4 pts
4-SANADA, 2-2, 4 pts
5-Ishii, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
6-Owens, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
7-Khan, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
Block C:
1-Tanahashi, 3-1, 6 pts
2-Sabre, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Goto, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Naito, 2-2, 4 pts
5-KENTA, 1-2, 2 pts
6-EVIL, 1-2, 2 pts
7-Henare, 1-3, 2 pts
Block D:
1-Finlay, 3-1, 6 pts
2-YOSHI-HASHI, 2-1, 4 pts
3-Ospreay, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Takagi 2-2, 4 pts
5-Takahashi, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Phantasmo, 1-2, 2 pts
7-Robinson, 1-3, 2 pts
The winner of each block advances to the Semifinals. And now we see the ranks thinning. In Block A, Yano is now (thankfully) out of it, and while Okada remains firmly in control it is far from over with Jonah in the best steal position having one additional match left. In Block B, nearly half the field dropped out of contention today, and it’s all but over as White just needs a win or draw in one of his final two matches but it could be over by then as those matches are a week away. He finishes with Taichi then his final opponent is Tonga. But Taichi-Tonga is Tuesday and that puts the loser on the brink of elimination. In Block C, it seems to be down to Tanahashi & Sabre, if head-to-head result is the eventual tiebreaker it would go to Tanahashi. EVIL & KENTA are still in it because they each have one additional match left. Henare is pretty much out now. In Block D, Finlay remains the surprise leader and has a manageable final stretch of YOSHI-HASHI & Phantasmo. Everyone still has a chance although Robinson needs tons of help to have a chance as his only win, and potential tiebreaker, is against Takagi.
Day 13 is tomorrow with Okada-Jonah as the main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin TONIGHT at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.
