NJPW: G1 Climax 30 Night Eight Review - October 1st, 2020

 NJPW: G1 Climax 30 Night Eight Review - October 1st, 2020

Okay so I am literally FIVE nights behind so we are skipping young lions matches totally going forward. I am so sorry but I gotta keep it moving. They did have a draw in the opener on this night though so there’s your update <3 moving onnnnn 

1) Juice Robinson (2-1) (4 pts) vs. Toru Yano (3-0) (6 pts) - Block B Match

“No bullshit, now, okay?” -Juice Robinson 

Lots of more typical Yano fun here and Juice is hilarious in this stuff too so it was good. But we got some solid action as it went on before the inevitable fairly quick finish with Juice ending Yano’s crazy win streak via a roll up. Yano & Juice are both now tied at 6 points. So FUNNN. 

Match rating - **1/2

2) Zack Sabre Jr. (1-2) (2 pts) vs. Hirooki Goto (1-2) (2 pts) - Block B Match

Wow this ended so quickly. Goto has a hurt shoulder and is coming off a grueling Naito match. Sabre toys with him a little. They throw a bomb or two then Sabre catches him in his signature bridging pinning combo thing for the win. 

Match rating - **

3) Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-2) (2 pts) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (1-2) (2 pts) - Block B Match

Yoshi has really shown up to this G1 and he locks up with Tana here to start things off in what turns out to be a pretty evenly contested match. Yoshi gives Tana a real struggle and although it never made me doubt a Tana victory, it felt like there could be an upset on a few occasions. Tana wins with the high fly flow. 

Match rating - ***1/4 

4) KENTA (2-1) (4 pts) vs. EVIL (1-2) (2 pts) (w/ Dick Togo) - Block B Match

Ahhhh ok. So modern Bullet Club is hit or miss but I am still a mark for the group bc of the history and the glory days. Therefore, this is super intriguing to me. I love KENTA and Togo, could care less about EVIL as I’ve said before but the fact remains that EVIL emerged as a new member of BC, along with Togo, while KENTA was away in the US due to Covid so seeing these two clash is super interesting. EVIL refuses to too sweet KENTA despite teasing it. KENTA tries to play mind games early by attempting to whisper stuff in Togo’s ear at ringside and coaxing him to hit EVIL. Togo disparages this apparent doubt by grabbing KENTA’s legs and tripping him up moments later. This allowed EVIL to take control and work the shoulder and arm of KENTA. EVIL was clearly more of the rudo here which was a little weird since KENTA has been super heel for so long. KENTA hits Togo with the briefcase at one point and that sets up for Togo to get involved down the stretch. KENTA lifts him for a GTS but this leads to a low blow from EVIL off the distraction and the finish. 

Match rating - ***

5) Tetsuya Naito (3-0) (6 pts) vs. SANADA (0-3) (6 pts) - Block B Match

Honestly dreading this. Love me some Naito, but SANADA in a main event has never done much for me.  The only interesting part is they are stable mates and this is in SANADA’s home town per say. I have to say though, this turned out pretty great. Especially considering the low expectations I had. Naito is truly the ace of this block and knocks his main events out of the park every single time. The final few minutes featured some awesome drama and back & forth and the finish came as a huge surprise to me and I wasn’t even mad about despite my disinterest in SANADA. It was an awesome moment for him and his post match promo/moment with the crowd and the lights dimmed down felt special. Also noting that Naito was 3-0 and SANADA was 0-3 heading into this adds even more to the story, I may actually have to re-watch this bc I didn't realize that in my initial viewing. 

Match rating - ***3/4