G1 Climax 31 A Block Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
This is one of those shocking results that shouldn't be shocking if you follow Gedo’s booking history. I didn't think it'd happen here but it makes sense given Ibushi is still recovering from his illness and Yujiro cheated to win via a low blow. Ibushi beat up Yujiro most of the match with quick strikes with Yujiro not really offering much so this was a bit of a banana peel win. The crowd was heavily into the match, clapping loudly for it, making this a rather enjoyable match despite its basic layout. **1/2
G1 Climax 31 A Block Match: Tanga Loa vs The Great-O-Khan
I thought this was pretty average. There were way too many pauses between pieces of offence. O-Khan did a really terrible Mongolian Chop, stopped for ages and went for another one before Loa hit him in the stomach. It came off as very awkward and this match has plenty of those moments. If you cut the pauses, you probably could get a solid match out of these two but they made this incoherent in terms of what they were trying to do. **
G1 Climax 31 A Block Match: Toru Yano vs KENTA
Typical Yano hijinks. KENTA had a bit of a sense of humour, so he not only plays along, he does them as well. One thing that stood out from the usual match Yano does is that he had to really earn the flash pin result this time with KENTA not willing to fall victim to the tricks easily. **1/4
G1 Climax 31 A Block Match: Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr
Unfortunately, this lost me in parts. Obviously the submission work from Zack’s side was really good and Naito worked some decent counters into it but it only really stood out in moments rather than being compelling from start to finish. The closing stretch was their usual counter wrestling style with Zack escaping the critical blow and getting a surprising tap out win. ***1/4
G1 Climax 31 A Block Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs Shingo Takagi
I thought this was the clear match of the night . Despite all the terrible elbow exchanges at the start of the match, they were able to have a competitive exciting match around hard hitting strikes and lariat. It's impressive how they were able to keep the momentum and intensity of the match for as long as they did. Even after the messed up superplex spot, Ishii was able to keep the match going without losing much. ***1/2
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