Kota Ibushi Advances To NJPW G1 Climax 31 Final

Kota Ibushi will compete in the G1 Climax final for the fourth year in a row.

Shingo Takagi, Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr. and KENTA all could have topped the G1 Climax 31 A Block heading into the final round of matches at the Yokohama Budokan on Monday, October 18.

The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion failed to defeat Yujiro Takahashi, however, as their match ended in a Double Count-Out. Zack Sabre Jr. then ended his G1 tournament with a loss to Tanga Loa, eliminating him from the block.

This ultimately meant the winner of Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA would win the block. Both men fought back and forth throughout the contest and KENTA looked to have the match won in the final moments as he went for the Go To Sleep. Ibushi blocked the move, though, and followed up with a Reverse Kamigoye and Kamigoye for the 1-2-3.

Ibushi topped the block with a 7-2 record, having picked up wins over KENTA, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Shingo Takagi, Tanga Loa, Great-O-Khan and a forfeit win over Tetsuya Naito.

Ibushi will face either Kazuchika Okada or Jeff Cobb in the G1 Climax 31 final on Thursday, October 21. Okada and Cobb will square off in the final round of B Block matches on Wednesday.