It's that time again. We weren't sure it was even happening as recently as six weeks ago, but here we are. And there will even be crowds!

The most intense tournament in all of wrestling kicks off on September 19th and celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Winner gets a shot at the dual champion at Wrestle Kingdom.

A Block
Kota Ibushi
Jeff Cobb
Kazuchika Okada
Tomohiro Ishii
Will Ospreay
Shingo Takagi
Minoru Suzuki
Taichi
Jay White
Yujiro Takahashi

B Block
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Juice Robinson
Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano
Yoshi-Hashi
Tetsuya Naito
SANADA
Zack Sabre Jr.
KENTA
EVIL


...

So who ya got coming out of each block? Who gets the trophy and the title(s) shot? Who will be this year's surprise and who will disappoint?

Holy shit. This is huge. They've got the gaijins!

I was expecting a relatively lacklustre G1 with only the Japanese stars. This is amazing.

LMAO let Naito win it all just so he can take the night off.

Let's get the bad news out of the way. The wrong Takahashi is in this block. The whole roster is back now, this failed push of Yujiro should have been tossed in the trash. Hiromu proved himself in the New Japan Cup, beating Yano and Ishii. He should be here. Fuck Bullet Club. Him and Jeff Cobb are the duds of this group.

The inter-stable matches always excite me the most.

Okada vs Ospreay was match of the tournament last year. Let's see what they come up with this year. Okada vs Ishii and Ospreay vs Ishii are super intriguing.

Plus Suzuki vs Taichi, for maybe the first time ever?

Jay White vs pretty much everyone is going to kick ass.

Also Ibushi vs Okada, rematch from day 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 2020.




I like this group less, but there is still plenty to get excited about.

ZSJ vs everyone. Naito vs everyone. Yano vs everyone.

EVIL vs KENTA is interesting now that they're both in Bullet Club.

YOSHI-HASHI makes his G1 Climax debut, I think, not long after winning his first gold in the company. He's had plenty of chances to step up his game, this is the biggest test of his career. He also has a grudge match against EVIL, the man who put him on the shelf for a few weeks.

Naito to win and pick Hiromu Takahashi as his opponent.

Justice for LIJ!

Sept 10, 2020 22:49:26 GMT @ness said:

LMAO let Naito win it all just so he can take the night off.

If the reigning champion wins he still has to defend at WK, he just gets to choose his opponent.

Sept 10, 2020 22:54:21 GMT Emperor said:

Naito to win and pick Hiromu Takahashi as his opponent.

Justice for LIJ!

Now any other outcome is just going to disappoint me. This should totally be the story after he got shunned from the tournament.

I actually thought it was a mistake that Yujiro was in over him since they have the same last/first name. Block A is stacked minus him.

Jeff Cobb is going to do fine. He's awesome when he has the right opponent. He'll have a couple duds in there but I expect him to look mostly good.

I'm excited for a rested Jay White. I have high expectations for him.

Also I want some dynamic between him, KENTA and EVIL over Bullet Club leadership. EVIL should totally not give it up and cause trouble in the ranks.

Ospreay returning is my biggest pop of the block announcements. Dude is amazing when he's wrestling tired and injured. Can't wait to see what he looks like after several months off.

I had no idea EVIL lost the IWGP Belt. Wow, what the hell was the point?

From all reports EVIL's reign was a massive flop with NJPW fans but I didn't mind the idea. A shocking title change just to kick NJPW back into gear and shake up the roster while some of the international talent were away. It prevented Naito from being stale as champion, picking up wins that hardly anyone wouldcare about all culminating in a great visual where Naito celebrates with fireworks going off in the background.

EVIL is just entering his prime as a performer and with stars like Tanahashi and Suzuki nearing the end they need to make some stars. EVIL got the opportunity, the rest is up to him. He needs to evolve as a performer and try to find a style that will make him a marquee talent.

Sept 11, 2020 4:04:35 GMT KJ said:

I had no idea EVIL lost the IWGP Belt. Wow, what the hell was the point?

They do this all the time. AJ Styles beat Okada for the belt, dropped it back to Okada two months later. Similar thing with Naito in 2016 and Jay White in 2019. Until Naito this year, Kenny Omega was the only one to beat Okada decisively and hold the belt for a long period of time.

EVIL turning and beating Naito was shocking, but dropping it back to Naito is standard procedure. I'm glad it happened anyway, the matches were awful. EVIL needs to deliver in the G1 without leaning on Dick Togo and Bullet Club every single match.

Sept 10, 2020 23:27:16 GMT RT said:

Sept 10, 2020 22:54:21 GMT Emperor said:

Naito to win and pick Hiromu Takahashi as his opponent.

Justice for LIJ!

Now any other outcome is just going to disappoint me. This should totally be the story after he got shunned from the tournament.

I thought this would be a legitimate option if they were limited to a Japanese + ZSJ only roster.

Now with all the gaijins present, there are a lot more booking options for Wrestle Kingdom, so Naito winning becomes very remote. The champ never wins G1. They don't even win the block most of the time.

Bah. I tried to get fancy and my bracket is already busted.

SPOILER: Click to show

I picked Okada and Ibushi to draw and then win out their remaining matches, ending in a tie. Oh well, chances are one or both will still win most of their remaining matches.

I also had Cobb over Taichi. I figured he would win his first match back. I was incorrect.

I got the rest right though. Now to actually watch the matches :lol:

Can anyone outside of the A-Block win it? The last time we saw the winner and the champion in the same bracket was in 2014 with AJ Styles (champion) and Kazuchika Okada (winner). On that occassion, Styles would go onto lose the title in the lead up to WrestleKingdom.

AJ ended up having a great stint in NJPW, but his victory was a massive shock and his eventual loss to Tanahashi felt like balance had been restored to NJPW. With Naito as champion, ordinarily you'd expect him to go through, avenge his G-1 losses and face the G1 winner at WK. However with Covid and less pressure to sell out, maybe we'll see them take a punt of Zack Sabre Jr.

Still it seems poised for either Kazuchika Okada or Jay White to win. Either way, it's a rematch from last year's WK for Naito.

Sept 21, 2020 5:14:28 GMT Big Pete said:

Can anyone outside of the A-Block win it? The last time we saw the winner and the champion in the same bracket was in 2014 with AJ Styles (champion) and Kazuchika Okada (winner). On that occassion, Styles would go onto lose the title in the lead up to WrestleKingdom.

AJ ended up having a great stint in NJPW, but his victory was a massive shock and his eventual loss to Tanahashi felt like balance had been restored to NJPW. With Naito as champion, ordinarily you'd expect him to go through, avenge his G-1 losses and face the G1 winner at WK. However with Covid and less pressure to sell out, maybe we'll see them take a punt of Zack Sabre Jr.

Still it seems poised for either Kazuchika Okada or Jay White to win. Either way, it's a rematch from last year's WK for Naito.

I'm expecting one of those two to win it, more than likely because I have a feeling NJPW is going to try and have more fans at the G1 final, and even more at Wrestle Kingdom. They want the Tokyo Dome as full as possible, so they're probably going to have their two best and most popular workers in the main event, no matter who they are.

Right now, that's Naito vs Okada. White could be in there as a heel trying to reclaim his title, but I dunno if they think that highly of him, if that is indeed the plan.

You could be right though. Somebody new could totally pull it off since ticket sales aren't that big a deal. I don't think it matters who is in the main event because if Wrestle Kingdom is happening, it's selling out. Now could be the perfect time to throw someone new in there. My only hesitation is the fact that they put the title on EVIL and then immediately back on Naito in the span of a couple months. Maybe experimentation time is already over.

I think Ibushi, Okada and White are the three favourites. All in the same block. Besides Naito, not sure who would advance to the final from his group. Do they still want to push EVIL as a top guy? ZSJ? Maybe even KENTA?

I thought Block A woud blow Block B away in terms of match quality, but Block B is the clear winner after the first two nights.

Let's break it down.

Spoilers by the way.

Block A

Ospreay vs Takahashi

Watched the last two minutes of this match, because Yujiro Takahashi is garbage and I refuse to watch full matches of his. Ospreay won and then cut a promo about how he is absolutely "the one", the best wrestler in the world, blah blah blah. I see the time away has only made his arrogance stronger.

Cobb vs Taichi

In my opinion there's a ceiling to how good a Jeff Cobb match can get, and the match reached that ceiling. Very good bruiser match, with Taichi using his cunning and viciousness to counter the size and strength of his opponent.

Ishii vs Suzuki

Exactly what you'd expect, and then some. Ishii was on absolute fire, both in terms of offense and his god-tier selling. Suzuki wasn't quite as good, but he was more than good enough to hang with Ishii. Ishii took one too many stiff shots to the head and eventually got caught with the Gotch Style Piledriver. An early banger. ****

Takagi vs Jay White

Not the most convincing return from White, who was lost against a guy below him on the totem pole, if not for the fact the referee was out of the ring. Gedo compensated for White's ring rust and gave him a crucial assist. Good match, but nothing special. Takagi vows vengeance on the whole of Bullet Club.

Okada vs Ibushi

The Wrestle Kingdom rematch was nowhere near the spectacle of that event. Okada is still in this odd transition phase where he is rejecting the Rainmaker in favour of a soft-looking Cobra Clutch variant. It actually worked well for him in the New Japan Cup, but there he never faced a wrestler at Ibushi's caliber. Ibushi suffered in the Soft Cobra Clutch, but it didn't seem to cause him any real grief and he beat Okada far easier than he should have done. Okada needs to step up his game and bring back the Rainmaker if he wants to come back in this block. He has many tough opponents to face.

Block B

Robinson vs YOSHI-HASHI

Normally this is the match to skip, but haven't seen Juice in a while and I'm intrigued if they are going to push YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI looked great for 90% of this match, hitting Juice with almost everything. However Juice somehow stuck in there, and hit two Left Hands of God before finishing the job with Pulp Friction.

Can't find any pics but Robinson's new look is a bit shit. He's wearing a white sleeveless vest (what the Americans call a wifebeater, I think) and some black ring trousers. Also how does he get away with a signature move that's an illegal closed fist punch?

Toru Yano vs SANADA

Classic Yano match. Constantly hilarious for its six minute duration. Yano hasn't lost the ability to find new ways to freshen up his act, and as the 2020 King of Pro Wrestling champion he's looking more crafty than ever. The cool-headed SANADA was able to avoid taking Yano's bait on many occasion, but one mistake is all it takes, and Yano wins by countout in a similar way to how he beat Moxley last year.

Hirooki Goto vs KENTA

I can't believe I'm saying this about a Goto vs KENTA match in 2020, but this is my favourite match of the tournament so far. Watching this match I realise that KENTA has finally found his new style. In last year's G1, he was clearly slower and weaker than most of his opponents, but tended to dominate his matches which rang a bit false. Now, as a heel in Bullet Club, he's using his intelligence and some heelish tricks to establish that dominant position, and it works well for him. Plus his hard-as-ever kicks give him a strong offensive base. This is believable, and it's not often we see Goto as much on the back foot as he was in this match. KENTA used his kicks and a targeted assault on the left arm to keep Goto at bay.

Although Goto managed a comeback, he was too worn down to get his strongest offense in. KENTA eventually submitted Goto with the Game Over, a pretty surprising result. ****1/2

Zack Sabre Jr. vs EVIL

I just said Goto vs KENTA was my favourite match, but this came oh so close to surpassing it. Since former IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL (can't believe I'm saying that...) is the top heel in the company, Zack was forced to work babyface, something he hasn't done for several years. I learnt that he's unbelievably good at it. Right from the bell Zack was taken out of his element and forced into a brawl, and EVIL dominated for a long time. As a pure technical wrestler, you don't expect ZSJ to be mounting fiery comebacks and fighting off the bastard Dick Togo and EVIL by himself, but he did it, and it worked extremely well.

EVIL is still relying on Dick Togo to get super heat in his matches, and it looked like Zack would be falling like Okada, Naito and Hiromu before him. But Zack managed to rollup EVIL for a shock victory. I literally yelled "YES!" and fist pumped when that happened. I guess there is some benefit to having a cunt heel that cheats beyond all reason. When he gets his comeuppance, it's great. ****1/4

But I can guarantee that if EVIL had won I'd be in here ranting and raving.

Tanahashi vs Naito

Tanahashi has not had a good time since NJPW returned to action, acting as the whipping boy of Taichi and ZSJ in a tag team feud. However a different Tanahashi has arrived for the G1, one who is ready to win. Perhaps Naito wasn't prepared for this Tanahashi, as he was absolutely dominated early on and nearly forced to submit to a Texas Cloverleaf less than 15 minutes into the match.

However Naito is now THE MAN, so he toughed out the pain, and very slowly battled back into the match. Tanahashi, looking stronger than he has since this time last year, was able to keep Naito down, hitting two Sling Blades in a row. But High Fly Flow was dodged, and Naito was soon able to hit Victoria followed by Destino for a very narrow victory. Luckily for Naito, he's got one of his toughest matches out of the way. ****1/4

Sept 21, 2020 21:34:02 GMT Emperor said:

I think Ibushi, Okada and White are the three favourites. All in the same block. Besides Naito, not sure who would advance to the final from his group. Do they still want to push EVIL as a top guy? ZSJ? Maybe even KENTA?

KENTA is my sleeper pick but I dunno..I'll believe it when I see it.

SPOILER: Click to show

True Ace Toru Yano has defeated SANADA and Hiroshi Tanahashi, and is 2-0. Just like we all predicted.

GO ACE! THE 30TH G1 WILL BELONG TO TORU!!

Days 3 and 4.

Block A

Taichi vs Suzuki

Stable vs stable matches are always very intriguing to me. Taichi and Suzuki fought like it was the end of a blood feud. They went at each other like pitbulls from the start and never relented. Sounds exciting, but I actually thought it was a below average brawl, and I don't like brawls much to begin with.

Ospreay vs Ishii

Love the psychology of Ospreay besting Ishii at his own game. Ospreay is at the next level in terms of wrestling a heavyweight style, but later in the match he started using his speed and athleticism to increase his advantage. However, Ishii is surprisingly fast himself and was somewhat able to keep up.

A strange match where both guys did everything right, but the match just didn't click with me for some reason. I didn't really enjoy it that much apart from a few isolated moments.

White vs Ibushi

Honestly I think these two have lousy chemistry. Their previous two matches (last year's G1 final and Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2) were not very good. Fortunately, this match was a lot better. Not a classic by any means, but a very good match nonetheless and easily the best of the night. Great finish.

Block B

Tanahashi vs Yano

Another great Yano comedy match to add to his resumé. Tape is used in a way that we haven't seen before.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}Tanahashi wraps tape around Yano's eyes. He goes for the countout win, but a sightless Yano is able to feel his way to the ring. Yano then low blows and rolls up Tanahashi while still blind. Tanahashi is now losing to blind wrestlers. He needs to retire gracefully before it's too late. As RT said, Yano has pinned SANADA and Tanahashi. He also pinned Okada a couple of months ago. Give the man a shot at Naito.

Robinson vs KENTA

Started off well, with great psychology from KENTA, but when it got into the meat of the match and the guys worked a standard NJPW second half, it was slow and clunky and generally not very interesting.

YOSHI-HASHI vs EVIL

YOSHI-HASHI needs a better submission hold. He had that Butterfly Lock held for like three minutes and EVIL wasn't close to submitting.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}YOSHI-HASHI is getting pushed to the next level. Even though he lost, he hit EVIL with absolutely everything, twice, except his finisher. The same happened with Hiromu and Naito. No shame in that loss. EVIL barely survived. I reckon YOSHI-HASHI will pick up a big upset or two.

Naito vs ZSJ

One of my favourite matchups of the tournament. My two favourite wrestlers in the world, and they happen to have great chemistry. Another wonderful match. Had some dull moments in the middle, but the first five minutes was technical greatness and the closing stretch had me on the edge of my seat. Fantastic. ****1/2

Okada needs to drop that dumb submission finisher. His arrogance is killing him.

Block A

Suzuki vs Cobb
Caught part of this match, looked decent enough but nothing spectacular.

Ibushi vs Ishii
Ibushi is not normally one to go full throttle strong style, but Ishii has a tendency to bring that out of people. Went a bit too long for my liking considering the match was a sprint from start to finish, but still pretty good.

Ospreay vs Shingo
Similar to the above, went a bit excessive with the near falls and whatnot, but still a pretty exciting match. Ospreay takes his first loss of the tournament but is still a cocky fuck in his post match interview. Can't wait for Okada to put the little squirt in his place.

Jay White vs Okada
Their match at Madison Square Garden in 2019 was a masterpiece, and their other matches together have been great as well. In comparison, while good, it was the worst of their series. As RT said, Okada is relying too much on his Cobra Clutch variant, but let's face it, even if he was in full Rainmaker mode, there's no stopping Jay White at the moment. Bam, Blade Runner, game over. White is on fire. I have a feeling Ospreay will give White his first loss.

Block B

Day 6 was a pretty lousy day.

ZSJ vs KENTA
I'd put this at around ***1/2, and MOTN. KENTA does best in shorter matches, and this probably didn't go over 15 minutes. ZSJ is great in any situation. They worked well with the contrast in styles (grappler vs striker) and we got to see a rare Go 2 Sleep which is always awesome.

Tanahashi vs Juice
Three matches in and I am already sick of Juice Robinson's pseudo-Freddy Mercury shtick. Pretty lousy match.

Toru Yano vs EVIL

SPOILER: Click to show

So far Yano's three matches have been completely different, yet full of the same Yano tricks. EVIL is a tricky bastard himself, but nobody can outcheat the Sublime Master Thief.

Toru Yano, 3 for 3 in the G1 and undefeated since pinning Okada and becoming King of Pro Wrestling. He has since pinned two more former IWGP Champions in EVIL and Tanahashi. When he pins Naito, there can be no more disputing that Yano is the TRUE ACE.

Goto vs Naito
Another lousy match.

Although Naito has unparalleled charisma and star quality and is a huge merch mover, I question his ability as a top tier worker. He's clearly a step below Okada and Tanahashi in constructing great epics so I can't imagine him ever having a truly length reign at the top. He's not as strong in the psychology department so when he's wrestling a lesser caliber opponent like Goto and tries to have a 30 minute epic, it descends into meaningless move spamming. This match was no exception.

That said, Goto takes the lion's share of the blame here. Even the likes of Okada and Tanahashi can't get a great epic out of Goto. Goto's even worse than Naito at that style of match. Goto works best in short strong-style slugfests (even then he's not as good as Ishii or Shingo or Suzuki), or when he's taken out of his comfort zone like against KENTA.

Block A

Ospreay vs White
Not quite a classic like their match in March 2019, but still an excellent addition to both men's repertoire. Ospreay and White are both at the top of their game right now, and if they keep putting on matches like this they are sure to lead the company for a long time. ****1/2

Ishii vs Takagi
Essentially a 20+ minute strong style sprint. Don't ask me how you can work a sprint for over 20 minutes, but Ishii and Takagi know the secret. They just mauled each other forever. For me there's a ceiling to how much I can enjoy this kind of match, but it definitely reached that ceiling. ****1/2

Block B

Perhaps the only day in the entire G1 where all five matches are interesting.

Robinson vs Yano
Undefeated Yano against a Robinson who has looked better than ever before. Yano's previous opponents have all tried to out-trick the trickster and failed miserably. Juice Robinson, on the other hand, played it straight, walking right into Yano's tricks like a buffoon. He ended up with his feet taped together, but managed to escape that predicament and he even succeeded in out-tricking Yano with a sneaky rollup counter.

The King of Pro Wrestling Toru Yano is no longer beaten, but he will still win the G1. Mark my words.

Honestly I think he's having a career performance. He's always entertaining, but in previous G1s he tended to recycle the same trick and matches. This year all of his matches have been completely different, yet equally entertaining.

Goto vs Zack
Zack defeats Goto in under five minutes. Well worth a watch. So far methodical technical heel Zack has worked a pure underdog babyface match and now a five minute strong style sprint against a specialist of the genre. And it was fucking amazing. Much like Yano, Zack is showing his incredibly versatility as a worker.

Tanahashi vs YOSHI-HASHI
Two really interesting character arcs collide. Tanahashi, the former ace, is falling further and further down in the rankings. YOSHI-HASHI is a career midcarder but much like Yano he's having a career performance. He defeated SANADA which is a big upset, and took EVIL to the limit.

Tanahashi barely escaped against Robison in his last match, needing a flash rollup to win after being dominated. This match appeared to be going the same way, Tanahashi unable to keep up with a fired up YOSHI-HASHI. However Tanahashi was able to rally back and win convincingly with a High Fly Flow, the first such victory for as long as I can remember.

Great match with a great story, and Tanahashi really made YOSHI-HASHI look awesome in defeat. ****1/2

KENTA vs EVIL
The first interaction between newest Bullet Club members EVIL and Dick Togo with another member of the stable. EVIL and Togo showed no allegiance to KENTA, snubbing him at the start of the match and cheating just as ruthlessly as they do against anyone else. KENTA nearly turned it around, walloping both Togo and EVIL with a weapon, but the numbers game caught up to him and he ate a low blow and Everything Is Evil to take the loss. Worst match of the night but by no means bad.

Naito vs SANADA
The first 15 minutes of this match was pretty ho hum but they picked up the pace to a hot finish. Drama was high: SANADA seeking his first win in his hometown (I think?) and Naito, the clear favourite, looking for his fourth straight victory. Sure enough, SANADA pulled out the big win to even out the block. ****1/2

Block A was the best block on paper in terms of workrate, but for me Block B is far more interesting. As described, most of the wrestlers are taking a really interesting journey through the tournament. Guys like Juice and YOSHI-HASHI who I don't normally care are becoming great to watch, while Yano and Zack are absolutely on fire.

Block A has Jay White and Ospreay kicking ass but the other wrestlers aren't quite living up to expectations. Ishii is still great, but he's raised the bar so high over the years that I still feel he's not as great as he can be.

Block A

Okada vs Suzuki
Okada vs Suzuki being third from the top is a really unusual placement, but perhaps justified in this case. Okada submitting Suzuki of all people with that lousy hold of his would have been too incredulous to comprehend, but does Okada have another way to win if he's not using the Rainmaker? Not a particularly good match outside of the interesting finish.

Ishii vs Taichi
Another killer match between these two. I don't know how Ishii keeps up this pace for an entire G1, so far all his matches have been intense stiff slugfests bell to bell. ****1/2

Ibushi vs Ospreay
Strange match between these two, but not a bad one. You'd expect them to go balls out with the flying and the acrobatics and the martial arts sequences. While there was some of that, in general it was a very restrained match. Ibushi in particular seemed to be several steps behind his normal self, but he nailed a sick counter to set up Kamigoye and take an important win. The match didn't go long for a show closer - just over 15 minutes - but the finish felt justified.

Amazing gifable moment from the match, but there isn't a gif online and I don't know how to make one.

I'm very slow and only a trip to reddit has made me figure out what Ospreay is doing with his new character. He's sort of cosplaying Kenny Omega. Not sure if he's doing it to get heel heat or to try and win the crowd over even more, but it's cringey as fuck and definitely not working if he's trying to be a babyface.

Wreddit really dislikes Ospreay, by the way. I'm guessing it's the hangover from his involvement in that #SpeakOut story.

Jay White cut a promo backstage on EVIL after yesterday's match.



Essentially EVIL showed no respect to stablemate KENTA and cheated a fuckton to beat him. White said he saw the match and was not happy. He said that EVIL wouldn't have had the success if it weren't for Bullet Club, so he should know his place. I smell another Bullet Club implosion in the works.

Getting tough to keep up now, but here's a free match between Goto and Yano from yesterday.

Don't worry, it won't last long.

streamable.com/ioly9g

Block B

ZSJ vs SANADA
This was almost a pure technical match, which is brilliant given that these two are the best technical wrestlers in the company. Fantastic match considering it's second on the card. ****

YOSHI-HASHI vs Naito
Another strong showing from YOSHI. However, it's one thing to take these guys to the limit, but it's all for nothing if you can't beat 'em. No shame in losing to Tanahashi, EVIL, and Naito. YOSHI is improving but he needs to make it count when he faces the lesser opponents in the block.

KENTA vs Tanahashi
The story is the same as his previous two matches: Tanahashi gets destroyed but somehow finds a way to win. Yet in this case the destruction of KENTA was vicious and beautiful. The comeback of Tanahashi was perfectly executed. Not the most spectacular NJPW match but amazing storytelling. ****1/2

Block A

Okada vs Cobb
Short match but a great showcase for what these guys can do together. Okada worked the match like he does against Fale: outsized and outstrengthed but uses his speed and resourcefulness to stay alive. He's now used the same rollup to pin both Suzuki and Cobb. New finisher?

Ospreay vs Suzuki
Nobody knows quite what they're getting into when they wrestle Minoru Suzuki for the first time. Ospreay, like everyone else, learnt this the hard way. Suzuki dished out a terrible beating on the poor Essex lad, but much like Okada, Ospreay used his acrobatics to catch Suzuki off guard with his unusual kicks. The finish was very interesting - the Stormbreaker used as a flash finish instead of the elaborate move it normally is - and it looked really good. ****1/4

Taichi vs White
Fun match with a nice finish, but nothing special. I remember their match last year being a lot better.

Ibushi vs Shingo
Same comment as above. Pretty good but unmemorable.


Block B

YOSHI-HASHI vs Goto
Normally I would skip this match but YOSHI has been very impressive and Goto is interesting since he is working with a (presumably kayfabe) injury. Great match and a great story. YOSHI completely dominated Goto which is pretty surprising even considering the injury. YOSHI is doing everything right except hitting his finisher - the curse of NJPW and perhaps pro-wrestling as a whole. He's hit all his moves and them some against all opposition, but only SANADA he has hit with his finisher, Karma. A tragedy, but YOSHI has definitely taken it to the next level.

ZSJ vs Yano

Five stars. I'm not kidding.

A match so amazing it got its own post in the match review thread.

SANADA vs KENTA
Good match, nothing special. I don't expect KENTA to win a huge amount of matches, but him losing to SANADA is kinda lame. There are much more worthy guys for KENTA to lose to.

Naito vs Juice
Naito is generally going through the motions, like Shinsuke Nakamura used to do, but he is still capable of greatness when he's inspired. Apparently Juice is one of the wrestlers that inspires Naito. The double champion was having the time of his life, showing off his personality more than usual and wrestling a great epic-style match with wonderful transitions and many dramatic moments. Would be an easy MOTN on most nights, but this night just happened to have the GOAT Yano match. It's a shame I'm not seeing this Naito more often in the G1.

Full credit to Juice as well, he's really stepping up his game and becoming a must-watch wrestler in spite of his annoying new gimmick. ****3/4

Tanahashi vs EVIL

When EVIL first joined Bullet Club and started doing what he's doing, I hated it.

Now I've had time to get used to it (it isn't stopiing) I get what they're doing with EVIL and I am somewhat more open to it. Essentially, Gedo has found a way to generate genuine heel heat in a non-kayfabe era. Heels like Jay White and KENTA cheat the normal way, but they still get a lot of praise from the "smarks" because despite being massive dicks, they are entertaining about it. Cool heels, essentially.

EVIL cheats in a way that gets real heat from everyone. It works, in a sense. I genuinely want to see the fucker lose, and when people beat him, the elation is incredible.

However the execution still leaves me asking questions. The way EVIL wins all his matches now is by cheating a lot. Sometimes he does it blatantly in front of the referee, either by using a weapon or by his associate Dick Togo interfering. In this particular match Dick Togo attacked Tanahashi at least twice in full view of the referee. No consequence. The entire premise of EVIL's heel heat is based on the fact that referees don't disqualify wrestlers anymore, no matter the circumstances.

So while I acknowledge that it works, it still feels like a crutch. The internal logic of this gimmick doesn't make any sense. If referees never disqualify wrestlers, why does EVIL have to go to the trouble to try and distract the referee to do something dirty? In kayfabe the wrestlers are aware of this as well, they have talked about the inept officials in backstages interviews. In that case, why don't more heels blatantly cheat in the knowledge that all matches are essentially no DQ?

Anyway, I'm rambling. EVIL is an effective heel, but their MO is a bit intelligence insulting.

How was the match? Well, it was OK I guess. I probably would have praised it a lot more if Tanahashi had won. I fully admit I can't be objective about EVIL and his stupid matches.

Block A

Block B just put on the best show of the entire G1. Block A got mad and stepped up its game, but wasn't able to keep pace. Only the opener was on the same level.

Ishii vs Cobb
For me, strong style spring slugfests belong in the opener so they don't run too long. This was basically Ishii vs Shingo but in half the time, and with a lot more suplexes. It was much better.

I've been sleeping on Cobb for a while. I skipped most of his matches in last year's G1, so I'm not sure if he's improved a lot or if he's always been this good. So far he's played to his strengths, namely his physical strength, and his opponents have made him look great.

But Tomohiro Ishii is the master of making people look amazing, and here is yet another example. Cobb was at his most spectacular, effortlessly lifting and tossing Ishii around. There was a T-Bone suplex that made my jaw drop to the floor with how far and high he threw Ishii. Besides that there was the usual strong style goodness, with strike exchanges, fighting spirit, occasional no-selling, all that jazz.

It didn't go too long and the finish was great. ****3/4

Jay White vs Yujiro Takahashi
I've skipped all of Yujiro's matches because he is god awful, but this one is a Bullet Club vs Bullet Club match with a story. White expects Takahashi to lay down. So he turns up to the match in casual clothes and is generally a massive cock about it.

As you'd expect, in true sports entertainment fashion Takahashi plays along, and then he doesn't. The result is a short but extremely entertaining match.

I wager it will be the only good match of Takahashi's unremarkable career.

Taichi vs Ospreay
Five minutes into this match something clicked about Ospreay's character. He's come into this G1 a version of himself amplified 100 times. Before he was a cocky, confident babyface. Not over the top, but he's naturally a smug prick so he's always a bit unlikeable. Now he's extremely unlikeable. "I'm the best wrestler in the world." declares Will Ospreay, a lot, even after he loses. He's Kenny Omega levels of goofy.

I thought this was Ospreay trying to be a confident babyface but completely oblivious to the fact he comes across as a fucking cunt. Now I realise, perhaps far later than I should have done, that Ospreay is leaning into his natural unlikeableness to play a cocky heel. It was pretty evident in the way he was talking during the match and taunting. He's all-in. And I feel silly for not realising it before.

"I'm so bloody talented." says Ospreay to the camera after hitting one of his fancy acrobatic dives to the floor. That says it all.

Good match, nothing to write home about.

Ibushi vs Suzuki
They went a couple of rounds of MMA in the first couple of minutes, which was a nice change of pace, then they transitioned to the standard strong style Suzuki match. Good match.

Okada vs Shingo
I'd say this is Okada's best match of the tournament but still nowhere near the best matches of the tournament. First half of the match was blah routine Okada stuff. The finishing stretch was great, really dramatic and a glimpse of the great Okada that we've seen so rarely since the start of the pandemic.

It's time for Okada to kick it to maximum gear for his final two matches against stablemates Ishii and Ospreay. He's saving himself and he will put on two awesome fights, perhaps even the return of The Rainmaker.

I'll say this, reading this quick match reviews gives me a good idea about checking out certain matches. I guess they're right, chess grandmasters although slow and dangerous behind a keyboard can serve a purpose!

Thank you @ness!

Nice to know people are actually reading as I whocares this thread into oblivion :lol: