NJPW G1 Climax 31: Results for night four of the tournament

Night two in Osaka saw Block B kick off in style as Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi rekindled their legendary rivalry with another absolute banger added to their collection of classics. “The Rainmaker” left with two to regain his lost momentum. Okada is again in the main event tonight but the leader of Bullet Club’s House of Torture, EVIL, is waiting for him on night four of NJPW’s G1 Climax 31.

For the second night in a row, we are in Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. Block B will return to action on Wednesday, September 29 live from the legendary Korakuen Hall, just outside the Tokyo Dome, with an all-CHAOS battle in the main event between Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI.

Results for Night 3 of the 31st G1 Climax

*Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Hirooki Goto by pinfall (Block B)

*Tama Tonga defeats Chase Owens by pinfall (Block B)

*Jeff Cobb defeats YOSHI-HASHI by pinfall (Block B)

*Taichi defeats SANADA by pinfall (Block B)

*Kazuchika Okada defeats EVIL by pinfall (Block B)

Hirooki Goto v Hiroshi Tanahashi (Block B)

The two veterans began the match with some classic chain wrestling and mat work for the opening segment of their encounter. Tana, however, reverted to his favourite strategy of targeting his opponent’s legs that Goto did his best to power through.

Goto went for Shoten-Kai, a move he dusted off during his opening G1 Climax 31 defeat to Taichi. The “Ace of the Universe” countered it into a Twist & Shout before nailing the Sling Blade and Ace’s High. Goto would move out of the way of the High Fly Flow, however.

A small package late and Tanahashi would pick up his first points of this year’s G1 Climax. Can the IWGP United States Champion win his fourth G1 Climax tournament? We’ve still got a long way to go but never count out “The Ace”.

Chase Owens v Tama Tonga (Block B)

The previous night saw the first all-Bullet Club battle of G1 Climax 31. Block A saw KENTA defeat Yujiro Takahashi and both men “2 Sweet” at the end of the match.

This match had a different feel with no House of Torture involved. Jado got Owens and Tama to “2 Sweet” before the match and what ensued was two heels putting on one of the cleanest and most pure wrestling contests you’ll probably see all year.

The two Bullet Club members put on a classic match of wrestling and athleticism. Chase Owens used a hip toss straight into a DDT for the near fall. A rolling Death Valley Driver couldn’t get the job done for “The Good Bad Guy” either.

A Tiger Driver followed by an STF almost got the job done for “The Crown Jewel”. Several V-Triggers and a Jewel Heist seemed to pave the way for a Package Piledriver. But when Chase pulled Tama off the ground for his devastating finisher, Tama Tonga somehow countered into an incredible Gun Stun for the win.

After the match, Tama and Owens embraced afterwards, with one-half of the Guerrillas of Destiny helping Owens to the back. Another fantastic match involving Tama Tonga. Any doubts over his singles abilities are quickly been eradicated with his start to the tournament.

Jeff Cobb v YOSHI-HASHI (Block B)

Despite YOSHI-HASHI’s career resurgence this past year, it was always going to be highly unlikely that he was going to derail “The Imperial Unit” tonight. Jeff Cobb dominated with power early with CHAOS’ “Head Hunter” getting dumped on his left shoulder early.

YOSHI-HASHI attempted to go for the knees of Cobb and come closest to the win with a magnificent Canadian Destroyer for the nearfall. Repeated attempts at Karma were unsuccessful due to Cobb’s sheer mass.

When Cobb first went for Tour of the Islands, YOSHI-HASHI turned it into a roll-up for the nearfall. He would not be as quick against the second Tour of the Islands attempt which Cobb nailed for the three and a perfect start to the G1 Climax.

SANADA v Taichi (Block B)

The match initially began as a battle of the pecs as the two preened to the crowd in Ota City. Once the match began proper, it turned into a back and forth contest, with Taichi using his stiff kicks to gain his openings. SANADA attempted to take Taichi’s legs out with a dropkick while “The Holy Emperor” also suffered from back issues during the opening half of the match.

The match itself would have shades of ’90s All Japan Pro Wrestling, as they repeatedly suplexed each other on the top of their heads and attempted to no-sell the moves before eventually collapsing.

As the two exchanged counters, Taichi would hook the Gedo Clutch for the near fall. “Cold Skull” nailed the TKO and went for the moonsault only for Taichi to get his knees up. Taichi followed up with Black Mephisto for the win to go to 2-0.

EVIL v Kazuchika Okada (Block B)

Back at the New Japan Cup 2020, it was Okada who first fell victim to EVIL as he joined Bullet Club. The two would tangle in various multi-man tag matches after Wrestle Kingdom 15 before a fruitless couple of matches at New Beginning in Hiroshima.  Eventually, the two fought it out properly in the main event of night one of Castle Attack, with Okada picking up the win.

As is common during any match EVIL is involved in, Dick Togo got involved early with the distraction. EVIL took the opportunity to beat up on “The Rainmaker” on the outside, including the obligatory spot where the ring announcer (Makoto Abe this night) getting EVIL’s opponent rammed into his table.

The “King of Darkness” attempted to use a chair on Okada in the ring, but we would see shades of Raven from “The Rainmaker” as he uses the drop toe hold on EVIL straight into the chair.

Managing to avoid the Rain Maker, EVIL threw Red Shoes into Okada and nailed him with a low blow. Okada avoided Everything is Evil and hooked in the Money Clip. EVIL pushed Red Shoes out of the ring, which allowed Dick Togo to come in and break up the move.

An attempt at Magic Killer was avoided by Okada, who dropkicked “The Spoiler” out of the ring. Okada hit his own version of Everything is Evil, then a sit-out Tombstone before adding the exclamation mark with a Rain Maker for the win to head to 4 points.

Block B standings after night four:

4 points: Jeff Cobb, Taichi and Kazuchika Okada

2 points: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga, SANADA and EVIL

0 points: Hirooki Goto, Chase Owens and YOSHI-HASHI