Meet the competitors for the 28th Annual G1 Climax Tournament of New Japan Pro Wrestling! A BLOCKKazuchika OkadaNickname: The Rainmaker G1 Appearances: 6 Faction: CHAOS Height: 6'3'' Weight: 236 lbs. From: Aichi, Japan Last month at Dominion the seemingly never ending reign of Kazuchika Okada as IWGP Heavyweight Champion came to a halt at the hands of one of his rivals: Kenny Omega. Ever since losing the belt Okada has been on a downward spiral emotionally, he just isn't the same, you can see from his matches at Kizuna Road that something seems off. The only title that matters to him is now gone in his waist, but he can take it back. Winning the G1 Climax for his 7th appearance would definitely help him in that endeavor! Many are deeming Okada as the favorite to win the whole tournament, and rightfully so. He is on a vengeance run so to speak, even though he has some tough match ups in his block, he'll do everything to take back the belt that made him! It's still quite surreal for me seeing Okada without the IWGP Heavyweight belt. The two are just so synonymous with each other, the 720 days seemed like they could have gone on forever and I wouldn't complain. But the reality is that he is no longer the champion and needs to redeem himself once more. He's certainly been humbled, but he can't have his lousy attitude during the G1 and he knows that. Expect The Rainmaker to take as many victories possible! The opposition is stacked and the odds couldn't get any more higher, but this is Kazuchika Okada we're talking about, he ain't no any wrestler you can just find anywhere. A once in a generation talent out to regain the most prestigious belt in all of Japan today. Hiroshi TanahashiNickname: The Ace G1 Appearances: 16 Height: 5'11'' Weight: 227 lbs. From: Gifu, Japan The Ace is back for his 17th straight G1 Climax tournament participation. At Wrestle Kingdom 12 he was successful on defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Jay White, but injuries have tolled up on his body and on the same month not so long afterwards, loss to Minoru Suzuki. After the hellacious beating he suffered from Suzuki, Tana took a short break before finally making a return to compete at the New Japan Cup. He would reach the finals of the tournament but once again loss at another Suzuki-Gun member this time in the form of Zack Sabre Jr. Recently Tanahashi has been somewhat "loss in the shuffle" so to speak. He is slowly being outshined by the others but the fans are still loyal to him and his greatness inside the squared circle is still undeniable! He did however had another chance for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Okada but clearly he was already out of his level as it only took 1 Rainmaker to finish him off sadly. He is arguably the greatest wrestler in NJPW history being a historic 7x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, although it is clear that his era is slowly coming to a crumble. Okada, Omega, Naito, those are the new set of stars that are shining in NJPW today, Tanahashi ain't just gonna allow them to steal the spotlight entirely though, as he will prove in this G1 that he is far from broken. Minoru SuzukiG1 Appearances: 7 Faction: Suzuki-Gun Height: 5'10'' Weight: 225 lbs From: Kanagawa, Japan Speaking of veterans, the 50 year old sadistic man Minoru Suzuki is once again participating in the G1 Climax this year. Don't let his age fool you as Suzuki can still go with whomever you pit him in the ring against, old or young, he can destroy anyone and put them down just like in his younger years. It's been an interesting year so far for the leader of Suzuki-Gun. At Wrestle Kingdom 12, he shaved his iconic hair whilst also losing the NEVER Openweight Championship to Hirooki Goto. He would proceed to have a feud with Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship when he won the belt from Tanahashi. Suzuki and Naito are the total opposites of one another, the short yet intense rivalry culminated at Wrestling Hinokuni event when Naito to the shock of some defeated Suzuki for his second run with the IC Title. Suzuki would then set his sights at Tomohiro Ishii and ever since then the two have had brutal brawls against one another, as expected from two stiff warriors! Just like in every G1 he has participated in, Suzuki is a dark horse pick for many to win. The odds aren't so high on him but you never know, he could easily reach the finals if he damn well pleases. From Pancrase to NJPW, he only needs the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to join his friend Takayama and Kensuke Sasaki in the elite group of wrestlers who have won Japan's Three Big World Titles. (IWGP, Triple Crown, and GHC.) Jay WhiteNickname: Switchblade G1 Appearances: 0 Faction: CHAOS Height: 6'1'' Weight: 220 lbs. From: Auckland, New Zealand One of the wrestlers who will be making their G1 Climax debut this year is "Switchblade" Jay White! As of the writing of this post, he is the reigning IWGP US Heavyweight Champion but will have a defense against Juice Robinson at the Cow Palace on July 7. Jay White made his return from excursion to NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 12, donning the Switchblade persona that has been teased for months! He loss to Tanahashi though for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship but that did not stop him from continuing his lust for success! Kenny Omega tried recruiting White in joining the Bullet Club, it seemed like it was a mutual feeling with the latter even wearing a BC shirt, but backstabbed Omega in the last second and decided to have his alliance with CHAOS instead! Some might say that it's not even a good fit for him, he should've been on Suzuki-Gun instead right? Well Jay White plans to be under CHAOS for one reason: Kazuchika Okada. He wants to be up close and personal to the then IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but now that Okada is no longer the champion, we'll see what Switchblade plans ahead. Speaking of those two, they will be facing off eventually so it will be an interesting first time match up to say the least. While I'm not the biggest Jay White fan in the world, I think in this G1 he will showcase his talents more and will prove that he can hang with the established stars of the company. EVILNickname: King of Darkness G1 Appearances: 2 Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'10'' Weight: 234 lbs. From: Shizuoka, Japan The breakout star in last year's G1 Climax has to be EVIL! From his surprising victory over Okada, to his hellacious match against Kenny, EVIL really made a name for himself in the tournament and outshined most of the opposition! Now he is looking to repeat the amazing performance he had the previous tournament, but this time hoping to make it far and claim the trophy. I'm even going as far as thinking that EVIL could be one of the semi-finalists, if not finalist of the whole tournament, that's how great he has become! Okay enough with the fanboying, EVIL failed to relinquish Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but would later have better success in tag competition when he won the World Tag League with SANADA earning their shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Titles at WK 12 where they defeated KES. They had a good run but the reign ended at the hands of The Young Bucks at Dominion last month. Now both wrestlers are back focusing their sights on singles competition, let's see how far EVIL can truly go this time around. Michael ElginNickname: Big Mike G1 Appearances: 3 Height: 5'11'' Weight: 245 lbs. From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Even though lots of controversies sprouted last year, Michael Elgin is still going strong in NJPW. The same couldn't be said for his Western exploitations though as he is more often than not, getting booed wherever he wrestles in the US. Whether he deserves that treatment or not is entirely up to your own perspectives. Anyway as I've said although his momentum isn't as strong anymore since when he first came into the company, Elgin is still a solid midcard act in NJPW. In fact he just recently won the NEVER Openweight Championship from Hirooki Goto on Dominion but would proceed to lose it back to him just 8 days later, having one of the shortest title reigns in NJPW history! While Elgin is no doubt a great wrestler, I'm sort of over his shtick already. Yes he is an agile big man but you can only get so far on "look at me I can carry this heavyweight wrestler with ease" before people get bored of it, which I think the fans are since he is barely getting any crowd reactions anymore. I know he is only new to the company but I would have preffered to have Jeff Cobb in Elgin's position instead. He's a fresh and talented wrestler that deserves a spotlight in the NJPW scene, maybe next year perhaps when he builds up his catalog more for the company? Togi MakabeNickname: Unchained Gorilla G1 Appearances: 14 Faction: G-B-H Height: 5'11'' Weight: 240 lbs. From: Kanagawa, Japan One of the veterans for this year's G1 is former IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Togi Makabe making his 15th G1 Climax appearance. It's been a quiet year for Makabe, nothing really stands out about him anymore, although Tomoaki Honma just recently returned from a career-threatening injury so it's cool to see G-B-H reunited! At this point of his career, I'm just not a fan of Makabe's style anymore. He is slower than what he usually was back in his prime years, moveset is too uninteresting for me, and overall there are others that are way more deserving of the spot. But I guess he is still one of the biggest stars of NJPW and is respected by the fans, apparently he runs a blog about sweets which is pretty popular in the country, odd but cool I guess? I don't expect him to rack up many wins too, maybe a couple here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary. YOSHI-HASHINickname: Head Hunter G1 Appearances: 2 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'11'' Weight: 225 lbs. From: Aichi, Japan When God showered charisma unto this world, many were blessed. Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and Kenny Omega just to name a few. Unfortunately, YOSHI-HASHI was asleep during said shower. Is he a good wrestler? Sure, most talented than a lot of the roster in fact. Is he a reliable worker? Yes again, can pretty much go at it with anyone, anywhere. Is he charismatic or enticing though? Not at all. YOSHI-HASHI is a charisma vacuum, I'm sorry I know I've been burying him but he's just so boring, he does nothing for me. You can have an instant classic all you want but he just lacks anything an entertaining wrestler has, he looks like someone who is forced to wrestle with the way he expresses himself out there, or lack thereof I should say. Plus what even is his gimmick? A cheap Sun Wukong knockoff? Taichi should have been on YOSHI-HASHI's place. But I guess NJPW themselves aren't ready for The Lord himself to dominate the whole tournament and still need someone like YOSHI-HASHI to take all the L's. Bad Luck FaleNickname: The Underboss G1 Appearances: 4 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 6'4'' Weight: 344 lbs. From: The Isle of Tonga I've shrugged off the past three wrestlers in this post so far, and some might say that I'll continue the trend with Bad Luck Fale but that's where it stops. You see, Fale has been on a mission the past months or so, a weight loss mission to be specific. If you've been following him on social media, Bad Luck Fale has lost a significant amount of weight already and his neck actually made it's return! Lucky for him Ibushi is on a different block or else that neck might disappear again... Anyway, Fale isn't a bad wrestler per se even when he was nearing 400 pounds, he wrestled the style appropriate for a big man. But now that he is slimmer than before, he'll probably get to hang better with the rest of the wrestlers and improve his in-ring work! Although he is never really a top star, he is still booked as a monster in NJPW, think of him as the "lite" version of WWE's Braun Strowman so expect Fale to get some unexpected wins over the top stars. Hangman PageG1 Appearances: 0 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 6'0'' Weight: 213 lbs. From: Aaron's Creek, Virginia, USA The last person on the A Block we'll be talking about is another wrestler making his G1 Debut, it's Bullet Club's Hangman Page! Thanks to his involvement with the Being the Elite series, Adam "Hangman" Page has quickly become one of the fan favorites of the ROH roster! But it's not just his alliance with the hottest stable in the world that's getting him over, he is actually a talented performer in the ring and can pretty much go with anyone you pit him against! Already he has challenged for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship against Jay White, and is looking to build his name more for NJPW. It actually surprised me to learn the fact that he has been wrestling for a decade now, making his debut in 2008. It's still a relatively young career, but I'm glad he finally found his stride now. His accolades have been limited so far though, biggest belt he won is the ROH 6 Man Tag-Team Championships with The Bucks, hopefully with his continious momentum, he will be one of the breakout stars for this year's G1. B BLOCKKenny OmegaNickname: Best Bout Machine G1 Appearances: 2 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 6'0'' Weight: 203 lbs. From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Starting the B Block we got the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion: "The Best Bout Machine" himself; Kenny Omega! It's still surreal to me to call Omega the IWGP Champion but here we are, that's the reality we're living in and I'd say it's a damn cool reality! Last month, it finally happened. After three grueling singles matches and inner faction altercations, Kenny Omega has achieved the one title that eluded him for a very long time that is the IWGP Heavyweight Championship! Ending Kazuchika Okada's historic 720 day reign. An amazing 2 out of 3 falls match that literally broke the Meltzer scale once again gaining a 7 star rating from Dave himself! Ever since reuniting with Kota Ibushi as The Golden Lovers, Omega has been showered with greatness and plans to continue the trail of momentum he's received so far! Speaking of Ibushi, they will be facing each other at some point during the tournament this year. Another interesting match up for Kenny is Tama Tonga. One of the OG's so to speak who some fans deem to be the rightful leader of Bullet Club so we'll see how that match plays up, especially after the events of the Cow Palace event tomorrow. The chances of Kenny winning the tournament again though is pretty slim, after all we don't really see champions, let alone the IWGP Champ himself win the G1 but we'll see how the tides will turn. Tetsuya NaitoG1 Appearances: 7 Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'11'' Weight: 225 lbs. From: Tokyo, Japan Last year's winner is looking for a repeat that is of course Tetsuya Naito, leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon. A fantastic finals match against Kenny Omega set Naito's momentum on fire! He quickly rose up the ranks some more when he became the rightful No. 1 Contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. After years of hard work, he was finally able to achieve it at Wrestle Kingdom 12, Tetsuya Naito main evented in the Tokyo Dome against Kazuchika Okada! It was a great match but Naito failed to deliver in the end and lost his opportunity for a belt he once gained but was unable to have it that time around. He was still too focused on pleasing the crowd, the spirit of the Stardust Genius so to speak was still there, as much as he acted it Naito wasn't fully "tranquilo" just yet. After that Naito sort of lay lowed from the spotlight for a while, some fans were sour on the main event outcome while some just accepted and know that Naito's time isn't still now. On Wrestling Hi No Ku Ni however, he got his first major victory since losing to Okada at WK12 and became a 2x IWGP Intercontinental Champion beating Minoru Suzuki! It wasn't a long reign this time though as just last month on Dominion, loss the belt to Chris Jericho after a brutal beatdown layed upon by each other! Naito is desperate for a clear direction again, lots of fans are not betting on him winning for another year in a row, but who knows? Maybe we'll see him do just that and I won't mind any bit since I'm an LIJ fan through and through! Hirooki GotoNickname: Aramusha (Daredevil) G1 Appearances: 10 Faction: CHAOS Height: 6'0'' Weight: 227 lbs. From: Mie, Japan The reigning 3x NEVER Openweight Champion, Hirooki Goto is entering his 11th G1 Climax this year. Unlike previous times, since WK12 Hirooki Goto has brushed off his "choker" label wherein he loses on high profile matches. He's become a solid member of the roster once again! He defeated Suzuki at WK12 to gain the NEVER title also cost the opposition his iconic hair. Goto would proceed to have successful title defenses until at Dominion where he loss at a Triple Threat including Taichi and Elgin, wherein the latter won the match but just 8 days later Goto would gain the belt back. You can never go wrong with Hirooki Goto, while he probably will never achieve THE BIG belt if you will, he has said it himself that he is fine not becoming the top star of the promotion and happy with the position he is in now. Always delivers well with any opponent, we'll see how well he fares this year. Kota IbushiNickname: Golden Star G1 Appearances: 3 Faction: Golden Elite Height: 5'11'' Weight: 190 lbs. From: Kagoshima, Japan A surprising entrant into last year's G1 Climax, The Golden Star is back to awe the crowd once again into this year's tournament! An emotional year for Kota Ibushi, after being ignored by his great friend Kenny Omega the last few years, the two of them finally reunited as The Golden Lovers! Ibushi has been having solid matches so far especially in tag-team action with Kenny wherein they took on teams such as The Young Bucks and Cody & Hangman, all are great matches in their own rights. It's not only Omega who's Ibushi been teaming up with, but he has also been entangled with the Bullet Club shenanigans and formed a somewhat odd but cool team with Chase Owens! Speaking of Kenny, the two will face each other at some point so it will be an interesting match up to say the least. Even though they are friends or "lovers" if you will, the two of them won't hesitate on bringing the best out of the other and give it their all, especially in a tournament with high stakes such as the G1. I'm sure Ibushi would want some spotlight for himself as well, he's slowly being outshined by Kenny again but they're still good with each other. After all after Dominion, The Golden Elite was formed with Kenny, Ibushi, and The Young Bucks all celebrating the title victory of The Best Bout Machine. I'm betting that Kota Ibushi would be one of the finalists though, if not at least be in the semis. He could win as well if NJPW would dare to do that, but since he is still technically a freelancer, I don't think they'll do that yet. Tomohiro IshiiNickname: Stone Pitbull G1 Appearances: 5 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'7'' Weight: 220 lbs. From: Kanagawa, Japan Stone Pitbull 141 bout to bite off his opponents at the G1 once again! Just days as of the writing of this post, Tomohiro Ishii lost the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship to Minoru Suzuki, so he'll definitely want some momentum back on his side! Similar to his CHAOS stable mate Goto, Ishii is another wrestler on who you can never go wrong with! A solid midcard act who is one of the toughest individuals in the NJPW roster, but also a fantastic seller and an overall great worker in general. His collection of matches against Omega and Naito the past two years have been great and is looking to do better in this year's tournament. An interesting match up to note for Ishii besides Goto, is another CHAOS member in Toru Yano. The two of them have been teaming up for the last few months now and while they haven't won any significant tag matches, they are still a good team and surprisingly compliment each other's drastically different styles! I know it's too much of a stretch but it would be pretty cool to see Ishii reach the finals. Won't probably happen though, but a man can dream can he? Zack Sabre Jr.Nickname: Submission Master G1 Appearances: 1 Faction: Suzuki-Gun Height: 6'0'' Weight: 187 lbs. From: Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England From one former RevPro Champion to another, we got the Submission Master: Zack Sabre Jr. It's been a great run for ZSJ post WK 12. He would win the RevPro Tag-Team Titles with his master Suzuki and would surprise the fans with his stellar run in the New Japan Cup. ZSJ pulled off upset after upset in his NJ Cup run beating Naito, Ibushi, SANADA, and Tanahashi to win the tournament altogether and gain a shot for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship! Those four aren't just ordinary members of the roster, but four of the best and top stars of NJPW so for ZSJ to beat them all is a feat in it of itself! He did face Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis for the IWGP Title and while his efforts are commendable, they just simply weren't enough and a Rainmaker finished him off. In such a short amount of time, ZSJ has become one of the biggest threats in the roster and is gaining momentum as an all time great gaijin. Plus his recent partnership with TAKA is wonderful as well! SANADANickname: Cold Skull G1 Appearances: 2 Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'11'' Weight: 220 lbs. From: Niigata, Japan Another member of LIJ making it into the B Block is the inheritor to Milano Collection AT's paradise lock: Cold Skull himself, SANADA! Everyone expected SANADA to be the breakout star of last year's G1 and while he did have great matches, it was EVIL who stole the whole month! Now SANADA is back to prove himself once more. He already faced Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, won the World Tag League and in turn the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships with EVIL until losing it to The Young Bucks, so he's definitely had his fair share of high profile matches and scenarios. One of the matches I'm most looking forward for in this entire tournament is Naito vs. SANADA. Two brothers who will go head-to-head for the first time if I'm not mistaken. At one of the Kizuna Road shows, the "tension" between the two was already built up with SANADA refusing the traditional LIJ fist bump with Naito! Won't probably even reach the semis, but SANADA is certainly one helluva worker you don't wanna miss matches for! A bright future ahead of him and hopefully he'll showcase more his talents this year. Juice RobinsonNickname: The Flamboyant G1 Appearances: 1 Faction: Taguchi Japan Height: 6'3'' Weight: 220 lbs. From: Joliet, Illinois, USA While everyone in the B Block seems to be having great runs so far, it's been different for Juice Robinson, who has become Flamboyant more than ever! Juice is having a run so far with nothing memorable or notable really happening. Other than the NEVER Openweight Championship match, which he loss against Goto, nothing of note has come out of him so far. Tomorrow at the Cow Palace however things could change for him a lot if he defeats Jay White for the IWGP US Championship! It was Juice's first G1 last year and he's had an impressive debut. Most memorable moment was him gaining a surprise victory over Kenny Omega! It wasn't only that though as Juice had a plethora of great matches in the G1 and is looking to do better this year, but with how stacked the competition is, I doubt he'll do too well sadly. Tama TongaNickname: The Bad Boy G1 Appearances: 2 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 6'0'' Weight: 209 lbs. From: The Isle of Tonga The Bad Boy is back at it for the G1 Climax this year and has a bigger chip on his shoulder now more than ever! At the World Tag League, Guerillas of Destiny loss at the finals against EVIL & SANADA. Seemed like things weren't looking too shiny for Tama until he won the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag-Team Championships by ending LIJ's 228 day reign! They would only hold onto the belts for a short period of time when they loss it at WK 12 but the very next day re-gained them! At Wrestling Dontaku however, the BC vs. BC warfare continued with the Elite Trio of The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll defeating GoD and Fale for the 6 Man Belts. Since then Tama has had a quiet year, his most recent match is with Tanga Loa beating Juice & Finlay at the NJPW x CEO event. The tie in with the Bullet Club storyline will definitely be felt with Tama more now than ever, especially with him and Kenny at the same block. We'll see how he will affect things too at the Cow Palace, if he ever does anything of significance. Toru YanoNickname: YTR VTR Producer G1 Appearances: 11 Faction: CHAOS Height: 6'1'' Weight: 254 lbs. From: Tokyo, Japan Last but certainly not the least we got the greatest DVD Producer in the world: Toru Yano! Everyone's favorite comedy wrestler! BUT WAIT! We may not even see the comedic side of Yano this year which definitely shocked a lot of fans when they heard the news that Yano has mentioned he will be wrestling seriously for this year's G1! What does seriously entail? Well for one, he claims that he won't cheat during the matches, which itself is already kinda hard to believe, this is Toru Yano we're talking about, he ain't called the Sublime Master Thief for nothing! Now some fans may not like Yano's stuff but I personally do. You gotta give the boys a break for all the intense matches they'd be getting, Yano is a perfect buffer. But we won't even know for sure if that's the role he's gonna act upon since he mentioned he will be more serious this time. Definitely expect to see the unexpected when it comes to Toru Yano! That's all I got to say. So those are the competitors for the 28th Annual G1 Climax! Who will be joining the ranks of Chono, Mutoh, Fujinami, and Tenzan among many others as G1 Champions? I've mentioned throughout the post about some wrestlers I wish were in the tournament instead like Taichi and Jeff Cobb, while it is indeed a stacked roster, would have been nice to see more fresh new faces at the tournament. It's like we've been seeing the same rotation with a couple of different wrestlers sprinkled in between for the past four years now. Should be noted that no "NJPW Dad" is competing this year. Yuji Nagata already had his fantastic retirement run in the G1 last year, Satoshi Kojima is recovering from an injury, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi are retired from the tourney as well but expect to see them in the undercard perhaps. One of the surprise entrants some fans along with yours truly was expecting to see this year was Kento Miyahara, current AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion. With Naomichi Marufuji performing in the G1 just two years ago, it definitely wasn't out of the equation, but I guess it is now for the time being. Daisuke Sekimoto would have also been nice, he's had some good matches at the Lion's Gate Project events. Still though, overall it is G1 and I'll always look forward to it no matter who the cast of wrestlers will be involved! It is that time of the year where NJPW delivers yet again more MOTY candidates! Last year was great, let's see how they possibly top it this year! Watch the whole tournament with English Commentary on all nights at njpwworld.com and learn more about the G1 at g1climax.jp Thanks For Reading. |
AuthorSuper Mastodon. Spent countless of hours throughout my life watching professional wrestling. Now I write about it, because I like that too. Archives
March 2021
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