9/19 NJPW G1 Climax Tournament Day 1 results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi, Shingo Takagi vs. Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki, Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi, Will Ospreay vs. Yujiro Takahashi in A-Block matches

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax Tournament Day 1”
September 19, 2020 in Osaka, Japan at Edion Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World

The English commentary was not available due to the pandemic.

1. Yuya Uemura defeated Yota Tsuji in a non-tournament match.

2. Will Ospreay pinned Yujiro Takahashi in an A-Block tournament match.

3. Taichi pinned Jeff Cobb in an A-Block tournament match.

4. Minoru Suzuki pinned Tomohiro Ishii in an A-Block tournament match.

5. Jay White (w/Gedo) pinned Shingo Takagi in an A-Block tournament match.

6. Kota Ibushi pinned Kazuchika Okada in an A-Block tournament match.

Powell’s POV: The English commentary is sorely missed. I know some English speaking fans who prefer listening to the Japanese commentary, but it’s just not for me. I miss everything from the storytelling to hearing the names of moves to tournament points analysis that Kevin Kelly and his crew provide. Of course, I am understanding of the circumstances, but it will cause me to limit my viewing of the G1 in 2020 after watching every tournament match in 2019. That said, I will continue to run the results and watch the bigger matches. The main event and Suzuki vs. Ishii are worth going out of your way to watch. Ibushi vs. Okada was not Tokyo Dome great, but it was very good.

The scoring for the round robin tournament is two points for a victory, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. The current point leaders are Will Ospreay, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Jay White, and Kota Ibushi with two points, while the other entrants have no points.

The tournament continues Sunday morning in Osaka with the following B-Block matches: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Evil, Hirooki Goto vs. Kenta, Toru Yano vs. Sanada, and Juice Robinson vs. Yoshi-Hashi.

The A-Block continues Wednesday in Hokkaido with Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Will Ospreay, Minoru Suzuki vs. Taichi, Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi, and Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi.