G1 Climax 30 continues on Thursday October 1st from Niigata with the B Block’s fourth card of the tournament.
October 1st’s G1 card is like two civil wars happening at the same time with two intra-faction matches at the top of the match list. Los Ingobernables De Japon leader, Tetsuya Naito will battle SANADA in SANADA’s hometown in the main event of the evening and then the semi-main event will feature Bullet Club’s two newest members, KENTA and EVIL battling as they each continue to establish their role in the ever evolving faction.
Third down the card, slow starters in this year’s tournament, Hiroshi Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI will each look to even their record at .500. The card with the most block points accumulated thus far in the tournament will kick off the tournament matches, with Juice Robinson taking on Toru Yano, followed by Hirooki Goto and Zack Sabre Jr.’s first match since 2018.
You can find my complete statistical breakdown for every competitor in this year’s G1 Climax here, I have interactive, sortable tables for NJPW’s 2020, detailed results and statistics of all 1490 G1 Climax matches to date, and This Year’s Tournament at SportOfProWrestling.com, and you can let me know what you find when you drill down by dropping me a line on Twitter @TheChrisSamsa.
NJPW G1 Climax 30 – Night 8
Date: October 1, 2020
Venue: Aore Nagaoka, Niigata
Time: 6:30pm JST
Watch Live or OnDemand On NJPWWorld
Local Time Conversions:
G1 CLIMAX 30: B BLOCK RESULTS TO DATE
SPORT OF PRO WRESTLING BOX SCORE
BLOCK TABLE
CURRENT DETAILED RESULTS AND STATISTICS CAN BE FOUND AT SPORTOFPROWRESTLING.COM
G1 CLIMAX B BLOCK MATCH
Tetsuya Naito [6] Vs. SANADA [0]
The main event from Niigata will feature the second of two intra-faction, Civil War style matches. This one, between Los Ingobernables de Japon heavyweights, IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA. Naito and SANADA enter the match on different ends of the statistical spectrum in almost all categories, and while Naito may be able to be a little “Tranquilo” at this point in the tournament, SANADA can hardly afford his fourth loss in a row to begin the tournament.
SANADA may find extra motivation as his first of two main events booked in this year’s tournament happens in his hometown in Niigata. Since arriving in NJPW, SANADA is 3-1 in his hometown. He first defeated Toru Yano in the 2017 G1 Climax, he defeated Kota Ibushi in the 2018 G1 Climax, and he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the New Japan Cup 2019 Semi-Finals. The Finals of that tournament were also in Niigata, where SANADA fell to Kazuchika Okada in 33:07, unable to complete his Cinderella story in his hometown. SANADA looks to turn around his 2020 G1 Climax with a win over LIJ leader and IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito.
Naito looks to continue his success in main event matches in this tournament. This will be his fourth straight event at the top of the card. He only has one more main event booked for the remainder of the tournament, on October 11th in Aichi against EVIL.
G1 CLIMAX 30 – TOURNAMENT TO DATE
- Naito and SANADA enter on different ends of the statistical spectrum. In the simplest metric, wins and losses, Naito is 3-0, while SANADA is 0-3.
- SANADA should enter his match with Naito relatively fresh. Aside from the.. we’ll say efficient, Toru Yano, SANADA has the shortest total match length so far in this year’s tournament his 32:34 lands at just 41% of Tetsuya Naito’s 1:17:42 tournament to date.
- If somehow it holds up, Tetsuya Naito’s Average Match Length of 25:54 would be almost 5 minutes longer than Kazuchika Okada’s tournament record average of 21:02.
- SANADA is not a candidate to help Naito reduce his early ring time. As many remember, SANADA has participated in the longest G1 Climax Block match to ever go to a finish, his defeat of Kazuchika Okada in 29:47 during last year’s tournament.
- Tetsuya Naito’s 1:17:42 is the longest Total Match Length in the entire tournament so far. Next closest in the stamina metric is Jay White (1:17:30), and he’s already participated in his fourth match.
G1 CLIMAX HISTORY
- SANADA and Naito enter this match with significantly different G1 experience, but one metric lands exactly the same. Both have produced and Average Losing Match length of 14:12.
- If SANADA is able to defeat Tetsuya Naito, he will have beaten the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in two consecutive tournaments. Historically, there have only been two other wrestlers to defeat the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in two consecutive G1s: Kota Ibushi in 2018 and 2019, and Tetsuya Naito in 2010 and 2011.
2020 RESULTS
- Tetsuya Naito’s .875 winning percentage is the best in NJPW in 2020. Toru Yano and Taiji Ishimori are hot on his heels at .857 (6-1).
- Even after his shorter victory over Hirooki Goto on Tuesday, Naito’s Average Match Length is still a grueling 30:56, almost 9 and a half minutes longer than Kazuchika Okada’s 2nd place results in the metric.
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- Tetsuya Naito has never lost to another member of Los Ingobernables de Japon in the G1. He has defeated SANADA, Shingo Takagi, and EVIL all once while they were aligned with the faction.
G1 CLIMAX B BLOCK MATCH
KENTA [4] Vs. EVIL [2]
The semi-main event will feature the first intra-faction, Civil War match of the evening as The Bullet Club’s two newest members, KENTA and EVIL will face off in an attempt establish their placement behind leader Jay White in the faction.
KENTA used the end of last year’s G1 Climax to turn on Katsuyori Shibata and make the statement that he’s aligned with the nefarious faction. At that point, KENTA had lost five straight G1 Climax matches, ending his first G1 at eight points after a hot start. KENTA has seemingly righted his ship in regards to G1 performance. He isn’t coming out of the gates quite as hot as he did last year, but at 2-1, if he can avoid a 5 match losing streak, he is positioned to finish the tournament better than his 4-5 finish last year.
EVIL’s fortunes have turned South since losing the IWGP Heavyweight championship back to Tetsuya Naito at Summer Struggle in Jingu. At that point, he had rattled off seven straight victories through the New Japan Cup and his IWGP Championship matches. Since then, he’s 1-2, suffering losses already in this tournament to Zack Sabre Jr and Toru Yano.
G1 CLIMAX 30 – TOURNAMENT TO DATE
G1 CLIMAX HISTORY
- EVIL looks to stay above .500 in his G1 career, currently sitting at 20-19.
- KENTA looks to advance past the .500 point, he is 6-6 through his first tournament and a third .
2020 RESULTS
- EVIL’s eight victories in NJPW this year are second most in NJPW, behind only Kazuchika Okada’s 10.
- EVIL’s average winning match length of 22:44 is second highest in NJPW, behind only Tetsuya Naito’s 29:55. His average is definitely drawn up by his 38:01 victory over Tetsuya Naito in their first IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match.
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- KENTA’s victory over EVIL in last year’s G1 was his last of four straight G1 victories last year. After defeating EVIL, he lost five matches in a row to end his tournament.
G1 CLIMAX B BLOCK MATCH
Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] Vs. YOSHI-HASHI [2]
YOSHI-HASHI looks to gain his first career victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi in the third match down the card. Both competitors began their tournaments 0-2 in G1 Climax 30, but they were each able to get on the board at Korakuen Hall just two nights ago.
G1 CLIMAX 30 – TOURNAMENT TO DATE
- Hiroshi Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI enter thier match statistically very even. Only 14 seconds separates them in total ring time, their records are the same, and only a minute separates their Average Winning Match Length.
- There is quite the disparity between their Longest Loss. Tanahashi’s night one loss to Tetsuya Naito was the second longest match of the tournament thus far, at 27:16. YOSHI-HASHI’s longest match of the tournament thus far landed at just 17:21, his night four loss to EVIL.
G1 CLIMAX HISTORY
- Regardless of this year’s results so far, these two remain on two ends of the G1 Climax results spectrum. Hiroshi Tanahashi’s 84 victories are the most in G1 Climax History, while YOSHI-HASHI’s .300 winning percentage is the second lowest among modern G1 competitors, only Tomoaki Honma’s .143 is lower.
2020 RESULTS
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- Hiroshi Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI have met three times in the past and Tanahashi has been successful in all three.
- Two of their previous contests have been in G1 tournaments (2017, 2018)
G1 CLIMAX B BLOCK MATCH
Hirooki Goto [2] Vs. Zack Sabre Jr [2]
Hirooki Goto and Zack Sabre Jr. have shared pretty similar paths to this point in the tournament. They have each suffered losses to IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito, and they have both fallen to KENTA. They each enter their contest with each other with one victory, Goto over SANADA and Zack Sabre Jr. over EVIL on the first night of B Block competition.
G1 CLIMAX 30 – TOURNAMENT TO DATE
- Their records may be the same at 1-2 but Goto has been much more efficient with his ring time, averaging almost 3 minutes shorter than Sabre to land at the same end result.
G1 CLIMAX HISTORY
- Goto and ZSJ have the same 1-2 reacord thus far in this year’s G1, and while Hirooki Goto has significantly more G1 experience than Zack Sabre Jr, they both land at exactly the same all-time winning percentage, just over .500 at .533.
2020 RESULTS
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- Goto and Zack Sabre Jr have faced each other four times in the past, twice in the G1. They are 2-2 all time, with Hirooki Goto winning their first two matches, including a NEVER Openweight Championship defense at Sakura Geneis 2017, and a G1 Climax 27 match. As with many competitors, Goto fell to Zack Sabre Jr. in 2018 in both a G1 Climax match, and on Zack’s home turf at RPW/NJPW Global Wars.
G1 CLIMAX B BLOCK MATCH
Juice Robinson [4] Vs. Toru Yano [6]
The match on the card with the most combined block points accumulated (10) will be the first tournament match on the evening, a meeting between two quick starters in this year’s G1, Juice Robinson and perennial eight point finisher, Toru Yano.
G1 CLIMAX 30 – TOURNAMENT TO DATE
- Juice Robinson’s total match length of 47:14 is nearly three times the 18:04 that it has taken Toru Yano to go undefeated through three matches.
G1 CLIMAX HISTORY
- Over the last 10 G1 Climax Tournaments, Toru Yano has averaged 8 points, never finishing with less than 6 or more than 10. He is, of course, on pace for 18 in this year’s tournament.
- Juice Robinson has averaged a record under .500 in his first three tournaments, landing with an average of
2020 RESULTS
- Toru Yano’s .857 winning percentage is second best in NJPW this year, behind only Tetsuya Naito’s .875 (7-1)
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- Juice Robinson and Toru Yano have faced each other in each of the last three G1 Climax tournaments, Juice is 3-0 against Yano, with only one match passing the 4 1/2 minute mark (2018 at 8:28)