PPW G1 Climax - Block B First Round Matches
Claudio Castagnoli V Alexander Hammerstone
The show opened with a one on one match between Claudio Castagnoli and Alexander Hammerstone. The latter controlled the match early on and had his opponent set up for his Nightmare Pendulum but his opponent managed to fight out of it and land on his feet. From here Castagnoli hit a European Uppercut and then followed it up with the Ricola Bomb for the pin.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Blake Christian V Spike Trivet
Next Blake Christian faced Spike Trivet in the second match of the night and the match was pretty evenly matched. The ending of the match saw Trivet kick Christian in the gut and then grab him and sent him flying out of the ring through the ropes. While Christian returned to his feet at ringside back in the ring Trivet ran the ropes and then attempted a Suicide Dive only to get caught by Christian. Christian then laid him out with a Tombstone Piledriver onto the floor, then dragged him up and threw him back into the ring and then climbed up to the top rope and hit a 450 Splash for the pin.
Winner: Blake Christian
Chris Jericho V John Cena
After that two men who knew each other very well in Chris Jericho and John Cena go one on one. As can be expected these two men tore the house down and the match could have considerably gone either way and no one would be surprised. Cena fought off an attempted Codebreaker and then scooped Jericho up onto his shoulders, only for the latter to fight out of it and land on his feet behind Cena. From here Jericho attempted and hit the Judas Effect to the back of his opponent’s head for the pin.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Hiroshi Tanahashi V Keith Lee
The final B-Block opening round match saw the “Ace” Hiroshi Tanahashi take on the “Limitless” Keith Lee. While Tanahashi took the fight to his opponent early on it would only last so long before Lee managed to fight his way into control of the match. Lee dominated and even hit the Spirit Bomb for a very close near fall but in the end Tanahashi was able to take the bigger man down to the mat. He then followed this up by going over to the closest corner and climbed to the top rope and attempted and successfully hit the High Fly Flow for the pin.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi
PPW G1 Climax Block C First Round Matches
Cody Rhodes V Finn Balor
The first match after the intermission saw the “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes square off with the “Real RockNRolla” Finn Balor in the first match of Block C. It was pretty much an instant classic between two of the best current wrestlers in the game today. The ending saw Balor fight his way out of an attempted Cross Rhodes from his opponent and then took him down with a Sling Blade. Then Balor dragged him back up and hit the Bloody Sunday for the pin.
Winner: Finn Balor
ZSJ V Will Ospreay
Next the self proclaimed “Best British Wrestler Ever” Zack Sabre Jr took on the “Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay. ZSJ wore his opponent down with submission based offense while Ospreay attempted to speed the match up with high flying high paced moves. The ending of the match saw ZSJ lock his opponent in an Octopus Stretch only for Ospreay to fight out of it and then followed it up by hitting the ropes and springboarding back with the Oscutter for the pin.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Nick Aldis V Tetsuya Naito
The penultimate match saw the first time match up of “Norfolk Nobleman” Nick Aldis versus the leader of Los Ingobernables De Japon Tetsuya Naito.
The conclusion of the match saw Aldis come out on top of a a brawl and scoop his opponent up onto his shoulders only for Naito to somehow be able to turn it into Destino for the pin.
Winner: Nick Aldis
Randy Orton V Kazuchika Okada
Finally the night closed out with another first time match up this time between the “Apex Predator” Randy Orton and the “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada. The two men tore the house down for twenty two minutes and it could have gone either way. In the end though Okada had his opponent set up for his trademark Rainmaker clothesline only for Orton to duck out of the way and hit the RKO for the pin.
Winner: Randy Orton