#g1 climax 30

[breadclubrising]

#kota ibushi #g1 climax 30 #i have so many gifs i've made and never posted! this one was saved as 'why is this leagal[sic].gif' #his opponent for this match he is entering so menacingly for. was taichi #and it was a banger even though they just kicked each other. seriously only that. 8.8 on cagematch. who else is doing it like them #i love him for not doing the typical 'oho i do not take ~TAICHI~ seriously *gets wasted by the holy emperor*' thing #correctly recognized real and took it seriously from the start #(iirc. it has admittedly been a while) #this G1 he was like 'i grow weary of getting 14 points and going to the finals. this year i shall do that but like kirby or megaman' #like he just decided he would wrestle all his matches in the style of his opponents and crush them with it. like as a fun challenge. #who fcking does that #wow i have a lot more feelings about this. i will tell them to my cats #legal in oregon #cw flashing lights #flashing lights

[sybilius]

#poses #kazuchika okada #naomichi marufuji #this match FUCKED #njpw #g1 climax 26 #lil kazu got fucked up for like 30 minutes #he did get some sick dropkicks in there tho

[jockpoetry]

golden lovers (2018-2023)

to the dead - frank bidart // njpw road to tokyo dome (photo credit) - 12/15/18 // langston hughes // starrcast 2 // njpw wrestle kingdom 15 01/05/2021 // i have some friends - robert w. service // aew dynamite - 10/31/19 // wrestling with angels - robert stock // njpw g1 climax 28 & aew full gear 2020 // song of myself - walt whitman // 01/30/2021 // wild geese - mary oliver // aew full gear 2021 // wrestling - louisa s. bevington // 09/15/22 // 01/04/23 // aew dynamite - 07/12/23 // to you - frank o'hara // aew dynamite - 07/19/2023 // to the dead - frank bidart

#kenny omega #kota ibushi #golden lovers #hangman page #aewedit #my edit #u: built a pyre and burnt himself up #long post

[allelitewrestlings]

Eddie Kingston • NJPW G1 Climax 33, Jul. 30, 2023 photo by @44_tacos_84 on Twitter

#eddie kingston #njpw #njpwedit #aewedit #aew #g1 climax 33 #g133 #wrestlingedit #aew x njpw #ours: edits #maker: r #candids #* #event: g1 climax 33 #g122: night 10

[debbiechanclub]

what are some of your comfort matches?

Basically anything babyface David 🥰 His TV Title tournament match against ZSJ comes to mind. Also his entire run in the '22 G1 Climax because that was when I first started looking at him like 👀

Also Okada vs. Jay from WK '23 (I'm SO bad at remembering the show number so I just say the year lmao).

And for a random pick, the Kenny Omega vs. PAC 30-minute Iron Man Match.

#asks

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Climax night 10 preview

Will Ospreay (2-0, 4pts) vs. David Finlay (2-1, 4pts) - If I've counted correctly, this will be the 42nd block match in this year's G1, out of a total of 84. So this is the halfway mark. It's is a D Block match with 2 points on the line. The winner will improve to 6 points and be the leader of the block.

This isn't a title bout, but it's about as close as you can get in the G1 Climax. Ospreay won the IWGP US championship on June 12 after Juice Robinson was stripped of the title. But Juice never relinquished the belt, and he carried it around claiming to be the "real" champion until Finlay kicked his ass on July 26. So now Finlay has Will's belt, and he's hoping that distraction will help him beat the champion to earn a future title match. At the same time, Ospreay knows he'll have to beat Finlay to get his property back.

In singles matches, Ospreay is 2-0 against Finlay, and he hasn't lost a match against anyone since April. Finlay is clearly the underdog here, but his big block match wins over Robinson and Shingo Takagi have given him a ton of momentum.

I think New Japan could book Ospreay to win without derailing Finlay's push. David's in a position where a hard-fought loss and a show of respect from a top champion can mean a lot. However, it's hard to believe New Japan will book Ospreay to win, because then they'd have to start all over building up a challenger for the US title. So it's looking good for Finlay to post his third upset win in a row...but I'm not sure I'll believe it until I see it.

Hirooki Goto (2-0, 4pts) vs. KENTA (0-2, 0pts) - Two points in C Block are up for grabs. Kenta is the only man in the block who's still stuck at zero; if he loses here, it will be virtually impossible for him to win the block. Meanwhile Goto has a chance to take the lead with 6 points.

This is a winnable match for either guy, so it really comes down to how New Japan is booking the block. If Goto is being protected so he can be a threat in the end, then he should win. If they need to keep Kenta alive for a while longer, he has to win. My guess is that it's Kenta's time to pick up a win, and Goto's hot streak will stumble at least for a little while.

SANADA (2-1, 4pts) vs. Tama Tonga (1-1, 2pts) - This is for 2 points in B Block. You've got two guys here who've only lost one match, so this can go either way without immediately knocking them out of contention. I'm not counting on either of these two being a major factor in the endgame, so I don't think it matters who wins. Flip a coin.

Toru Yano (1-2, 2pts) vs. Tom Lawlor (0-2, 0pts) - It's an A Block with 2 points at stake. Both men are at risk of taking a dreaded third loss, which would make it impossible to finish with more than 6 points. Kazuchika Okada already leads A Block with 6 points, and he'll almost certainly get some more later on. So this is must-win for both Yano and Lawlor.

After his July 30 loss to JONAH, Lawlor made waves with a passionate promo about all the loss and heartbreak he's overcome, and how he'll never give up. It was a great speech, but a little out of place for a guy who dances to the ring and strips down to Daisy Duke shorts. I mean, the dude's telling us about his mother being hospitalized, and there's a good chance his next match will be decided by which guy can tape the other's legs together.

Regardless, I think Lawlor can add some new twists to the standard Toru Yano formula, and I look forward to seeing them. If anybody in this block can beat Yano at his own game, I think it's Filthy Tom.

Tomohiro Ishii (1-2, 2pts) vs. Great-O-Khan (0-2, 0pts) - Another B Block for 2 points, and another battle between two-loss competitors. Khan is packaged like a mean dude that's a serious threat, but he's yet to back it up in the G1 where it counts. Ishii's not exactly Mr. August either, but he at least comes fairly close and is good at ruining the block leader's day. I like Khan but this just isn't his year.

Jay White & Juice Robinson & Gedo vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi & YOSHI-HASHI - Nothing to preview here, just some fallout from the Juice vs. Yoshi match on July 31. Gedo should get beat again.

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Bad Luck Fale & El Phantasmo & Chase Owens - Shingo vs. Phantasmo is the only upcoming block match in this lineup, but that won't be until August 16. Bushi hasn't had to do too many jobs on this tour, but this time his luck has run out.

Lance Archer & Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi & TAKA Michinoku vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi & SHO & Dick Togo - Sabre vs. Evil will happen on August 10. Now, this one's a little interesting, because Taka and Dick have both been winless on this tour, but this time something's got to give. I'm thinking Dick will finally get his hand raised.

Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare vs. JONAH & Bad Dude Tito - Cobb vs. JONAH is set for August 5. Tito is set to lose this match.

#njpw #g1 climax

[cavenewstimes]

Eric Bischoff Details How Continental Classic Tournament Can Be AEW's TNA BFG Series

Read More Wrestling Inc.  By /Nov. 21, 2023 10:14 pm EST AEW is set to begin its first Continental Classic, a 12-man round-robin tournament that will conclude at AEW Worlds End on December 30. Many fans think the tournament is reminiscent of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s G1 Climax, but on “Strictly Business,” Eric Bischoff compared it to TNA Wrestling’s Bound For Glory series, which Bischoff…

View On WordPress

[buttdawg]

G1 Climax 33

I was on the fence about getting back into NJPW, but I decided to check out the first two G1 shows tonight and I’m having a blast.  It almost feels like 2019 again.  G1 29 was awesome back then, but the product really suffered during the pandemic, and I got really sick of the booking.  G1 Climax 30 and 31 really disappointed me, so I decided to skip 32 and I figured I was done with this promotion. 

But I wanted to check out Eddie Kingston in this year’s G1, and it’s nice to see a lot of the guys I enjoyed from before.  Enough stuff has changed that it feels fresh again.  SANADA’s the champion, for example, which is great, because I got real sick of the slow burn on that guy breaking through to the main event level.  G.o.D. got kicked out of Bullet Club, but it hardly matters, because they were the only cool guys in Bullet Club.   EVIL’s still around and he still sucks shit, but apparently he hasn’t been winning much lately, which must mean his dumb-as-fuck megapush has finally run its course. 

I’m pulling for Eddie Kingston to win the whole thing, although I don’t like his chances.  Haku’s sons are also cool and we have Tama, Loa, and Hikuleo in this thing, which is great.  TMDK feel familiar to me, but I only recognize ZSJ from the group, so I can’t tell if I know the other guys from WWE or not.  Shooter Umino’s another guy I like.  Henare has a cool tattoo on his face, so I’m interested to see how he does.  I feel like I’m forgetting some guys, but the field looks a lot closer to the all-killer-no-filler ideal that “Grade 1″ is supposed to represent.  They still put Chase Owens in this stupid thing, but at least Yujiro Takahashi didn’t make the cut.

Oh, hey, it’s Jeff Cobb.  This is looking pretty nice.

This year they have four blocks with eight guys apiece, and the top two guys from each block will get put into a single-elimination tournament at the end.  I like this layout.  I guess they did it last year, except it was only the four block winners, so there was no quarterfinal round. Also the block matches have 20 minute time limits, and they’re doing eight block matches per show, which is great because it means we don’t have all those pointless multi-man tag matches on the first half of the show.  They probably needed to scale back the time limits just to fit eight matches onto a three-hour card, but it does seem to improve the matches.  Save the epic-length matches for the end where it matters. 

I think the thing I learned about NJPW is that I kind of need to manage my expectations with this thing.  I really enjoy the round robin tournaments, but they hold like four of them every year, and they can’t all be good.  And I like a lot of the talent, but trying to follow Dangerous Tekkers during their tag title reigns showed me just how frustrating New Japan’s booking can be. 

What I need to do is only watch the G1′s and maybe the World Tag Leagues if they can actually field some decent blocks.  I think I looked at the WTL lineup in 2021 and got so disgusted with it that I gave up on the promotion.  But now they can bring in some talent from other promotions, and maybe get something cool going.  And these days I have AEW to watch week-to-week, so it’s not like I’m stuck with one promotion.  I don’t have to follow them both all year, or really either of them.  I’m a filthy casual, so I may as well approach it that way.

#njpw #g1 climax 33 #tagline: we promise it's not as bad as g1 climax 31

[pwrestlingxpress]

Pre-July 15th Interviews

As we countdown to "G1 Climax 33" and "One Night Dream", interviews were conducted in the last two weeks.

For the "One Night Dream" event; seven interviews were conducted in which six of them talk about the main event: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kento Miyahara.

Both Miyahara and Nakajima were interviewed after their press conference back on June 19th when the match was made official. The other interviews were all conducted within the last week and in official order:

Go Shiozaki (Current Tag Partner of Katsuhiko Nakajima)

Masa Kitamiya (former wrestling training mate for both Nakajima and Miyahara)

Kyohei Wada (AJPW Referee) (Personal opinion: Guy is too slow of an official. His 3-counts way too slow)

Yu Owada (new wrestler for NOAH)

Naomichi Marufuji

Click here to watch Kento Miyahara's interview

Click here to watch Katsuhiko Nakajima's interview

Click here to watch Go Shiozaki's interview

Click here to watch Masa Kitamiya's interview

Click here to watch Kyohei Wada's interview

Click here to watch Yu Owada's interview

Click here to watch Naomichi Marufuji's interview

And note, Yu Owada is not picture because his interview is on his debut match while everyone else talked about the main event. "One Night Dream" airs on ABEMA (for free) with Japanese commentary and Wrestle Universe (subscription required) with English commentary Saturday July 15th at 5:30 AM Eastern/4:30 AM Central/2:30 AM Pacific

Meanwhile, interviews were conducted for G1 Climax 33 participants in which 6 of 8 A Blocks members were interviewed while 2 from C Block were interviewed and (as of typing) one for D Block was interview.

The following that were interviewed within the last 2 weeks for "G1 Climax 33" were

Shota Umino (A Block representative)

SANADA (A Block representative and reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion)

David Finlay (C Block representative and reigning NEVER Openweight Champion) [Not pictured above]

Ren Narita (A Block representative)

Kaito Kiyomiya (A Block representative and Pro Wrestling NOAH representative)

Hikuleo (A Block representative)

Yota Tsuji (A Block representative)

Eddie Kingston (C Block representative and AEW representative) [Not pictured above]

Tetsuya Naito (D Block representative) [His interview has yet to be put up on the official English website] [Not pictured above]

Go to the official G1 Climax 33 website (click here) to read all the interviews conducted within the last two weeks.

G1 Climax 33 starts Saturday July 15th from Sapporo. The event can be watched live on ABEMA (for free) with Japanese commentary and on NJPW World (also for free) with either English commentary or Japanese commentary. The event starts at 4:00 AM Eastern/3:00 AM Central/1:00 AM Pacific.

If your start time is not listed above, go to timeanddate.com, type in the city you currently live in to find the start time to the event in your area.

#Pro Wrestling NOAH #New Japan Pro Wrestling #One Night Dream #G1 Climax 33 #Katsuhiko Nakajima #Kento Miyahara #Go Shiozaki #Masa Kitamiya #Naomichi Marufuji #Shota Umino #SANADA #Ren Narita #Kaito Kiyomiya #Hikuleo #Yota Tsuji

[ringsidedishes]

Dishes got into wrestling in 2022 and has some faves

or my attempt at somehow squishing everything I watched down to one post for this beloved hellsite

~

Match of the year ❤️

Jun Kasai vs El Desperado, Takataichidespe mania, 2022

This match went right at the edge of my limits in hardcore/deathmatch spots without going over. Besides that, it’s just a wild ride that goes and goes for 30 minutes, with some gorgeous visuals, a crowd that’s super into it, and a post-match I still think about so much.

~

Wrestling matches wrapped 🔁 (some favorites that I rewatched a lot) (not all from this year)

Young Bucks vs reDRagon vs Jurassic Express, Revolution 2022

Young Bucks vs Swerve in our Glory vs Team Taz, Dynamite 2022

Orange Cassidy vs Will Ospreay, Forbidden Door 2022

Bryan Danielson vs Nick Jackson, Rampage 2021

Young Bucks vs Lucha Bros, cage match, All Out 2021

~

Some other memorable faves 💜 (of this year)

CM Punk vs MJF, dog collar match, Revolution

Jon Moxley vs Wheeler Yuta (where he joined BCC)

Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta vs Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta

Death Triangle vs House of Black, Double or Nothing

Blood & Guts, BCC vs JAS

Jon Moxley vs El Desperado, Music City Mayhem

The Elite vs United Empire

Hiromu Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori vs Master Wato & El Desperado, Battle Autumn

Shingo Takagi vs El Phantasmo, Rumble on 44th Street

Brandon Cutler vs Serpentico, Dark Elevation

Jamie Hayter vs Hikaru Shida

~

Matches to cry to 😭

El Desperado vs Jun Kasai, mostly that post-match, Takataichidespe mania

Eddie Kingston vs Jun Akiyama, All Out Zero Hour

KAIRI vs Miyu Iwatani, NJPWxSTARDOM

Suzuki-gun final match, Road to Tokyo Dome

~

Fav kiss 💋

Jon Moxley vs EFFY, GCW Homecoming I, 2022

Loved the match too, for vibes and story and visuals (Mox smoking while sitting on the top turnbuckle, while Effy’s squirming on the floor… good stuff).

~

Other favorite things 💙 (or how I got into wrestling)

HOOKhausen My gateway drug, I wouldn’t be watching wrestling if not for gifs of their tag team courtship. Even now, when I go back and watch their promos, I get all soft.

CM Punk vs MJF feud Yes, like 90% of tumblr I also saw the dog collar match gifs. After Hookhausen had caught my eye, I stumbled across Outside Interference’s video, which inspired me to go through all the shows to watch the full segments. I got to know lots of wrestlers along the way, very enjoyable way of exploring AEW for the first time, and very worth doing for the feud itself too.

G1 Climax 32 Although Forbidden Door introduced quite a few NJPW wrestlers, none of it really stuck (too many new faces and acronyms and mostly me laughing at and being impressed by Excalibur trying to power his way through it all). So G1 was me following El Phantasmo and getting to know the New Japan roster. Most of the matches weren’t as memorable as the ones I listed above, mostly on account of it all being very new to me. But I did get really into it as the tournament went on and had a blast.

~

And other assorted favorite things ✨ (most will be no surprise):

El Desperado :3

Penta’s little taunting walk, and his slingblade, too

Matt Jackson’s locomotion northernlight suplexes, and his hair, and also his gender

Kenta’s thighs

Tom Lawlor's whole vibe

Being the Elite

Trios Tag Team Tournament

ZSJ, Sanada, Taichi and Naito having their polycule moments, and Suzuki-gun vs LIJ nonsense in general

El Phantasmo’s antics and entrance

Binging free matches on YT, esp those with Orange Cassidy and the intergender ones

~

Also, yeah, there’s lots I didn’t watch (yet) if u wonder why xyz isn't on there.

Especially women’s wrestling is lacking on my list. I kept hoping for something in AEW to really drag me into it but unfortunately my fav got injured (I miss Kris!!) and I do need some narrative to hook me, but that didn’t happen 😔. I am enjoying Jamie Hayter having the belt, though, and there’s plenty of women on the roster I do like, so I’m keeping an eye out. NJPW and Stardom having their show introduced me to Stardom, so I might give that a go too.

I think that’s about it :3

Best wishes for this holiday season! 🎉

#dishesrambles

[recentanimenews]

JAM Project to Release Their 14th Best Album "BEST COLLECTION ⅩⅣ Max the Max" on July 27

    The official website for JAM Project announced on May 20 that their 14th best album "JAM Project BEST COLLECTION X IV Max the Max" is set to be released in Japan on July 27, 2022. It will have been three years and nine months since the previous 13th best album "A-ROCK ~JAM Project BEST COLLECTION XIII~" released in October 2018.

  The 15-song album will include:

  "Tread on the Tiger’s Tail" (Super Robot Wars T opening theme)

"RESET" (Super Robot Wars T ending theme)

"D.D~Dimension Diver~" (Super Robot Wars DD theme)

"Seijaku no Apostle (Uncrowned Greatest Hero)" (One-Punch Man second season opening theme)

"Bloodlines ~Unmei no Kettou~" (Getter Robo Arc opening theme)

"Tomoyo" (Getter Robo Arc ending theme)

"DRAGON 2021" (Getter Robo Arc ending theme)

"STORM 2021" (Getter Robo Arc ending theme)

"Max the Max" (New Japan Pro-wrestling "G1 CLIMAX 31" theme song)

"Drei Kruez -Hagane no Survivor~" (Super Robot Wars 30 opening theme)

"with love" (Super Robot Wars 30 ending theme)

"Concert of SRW" (Super Robot Wars series 30th anniversary song)

    "Bloodlines ~Unmei no Kettou~" MV:

    "Drei Kruez -Hagane no Survivor~" MV:

    Also, their yet-titled new mini-album is now in the works as a concept album for a release on September 28, 2022. And a nationwide live tour featuring the album is planned to be held in six locations in Japan from October to November 2022. The fastest entry for the tickets will be available at the newly launched JAM Project fan club "Motto Motto +" (Motto Motto Plus) on June 1.

    JAM Project LIVE TOUR 2022 (tentative title) schedule:

  October 8, 2022: Tachikawa Stage Garden (Tokyo)

October 10, 2022: Fukuoka Covention center (Fukuoka)

October 16, 2022: Higashi Osaka Cultural Creation Hall Dream House (Osaka)

November 2, 2022: LINE CUBE SHIBUYA (Tokyo) - fan club member only

November 3, 2022: LINE CUBE SHIBUYA (Tokyo)

November 20, 2022: Sendai PIT (Miyagi)

November 27, 2022: Zepp Nagoya (Aichi)

    ????BIG NEWS!!???? ⚡️????JAM Project怒涛の情報解禁!!????⚡️ ????14枚目のベストアルバムが7/27発売！ ????9/28にコンセプトミニアルバムを発売！ ????コンセプトミニアルバムを引っ提げ、全国6箇所7公演のライブツアーを10月より開催！ 詳細は今すぐJAM HPをチェック！▼https://t.co/pzcy9mdQ8E#JAMProject pic.twitter.com/Lfz8k08W8f

— JAM Project (@JAMProject_0717) May 20, 2022

  RELATED: JAM Project Reveals Their New Visuals and TV Spot for Getter Robo Arc Theme Song  

    Source: JAM Project official website

  Copyright 2016 JAM Project, Lantis all rights reserved.

  By: Mikikazu Komatsu

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[silhouetteofadancer]

Just a mini-revenge 🤭

#kota ibushi #toru yano #njpw #g1 climax 30

[frentique]

#njpw #g1 climax 30 #kota ibushi #tomohiro ishii

[allelitewrestlings]

Eddie Kingston • NJPW G1 Climax 33, Jul. 30, 2023 photos by @44_tacos_84 on Twitter

#eddie kingston #g133 #g1 climax 33 #njpw #njpwedit #aewedit #aew #wrestlingedit #aew x njpw #ours: edits #event: g1 climax 33 #g133: night 10 #maker: r #candids #* #b&w

[superkixx]

naito says fuck your questions 

#he's busy dude #mine #naito #tetsuya naito #lij #l.i.j #los ingobernables de japon #g1 climax 30 #g1 climax #njpw #men #photo

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Climax Night 1 preview

This is the first night of New Japan Pro Wrestling's most prestigious tournament. This year's G1 Climax will be 20 shows over the next 33 days, with the finals on August 18. The winner will earn a trophy and a contract for an IWGP world championship match at the Tokyo Dome in January 2023.

The tournament format is different this time. For most of the last ten years, the G1 has featured 20 men in two blocks of ten, with each man wrestling everyone else in his block. After a total of 90 block matches, the wrestlers with the best win-loss record in each block would meet in the final. This time, it'll be four blocks of seven men. This means more participants (28 instead of 20) but fewer block matches (84 instead of 90). The four block winners will pair off in semifinal matches in August 17, to determine who advances to the final on August 18.

The rules for the block matches themselves remain the same. Each match has a 30-minute time limit. None of the champions will be defending their titles (although pinning a champion is a good way to get in line for a future title match). A win is worth two points, a loss is worth zero, and a draw is worth one point for each wrestler. In some edge cases, like a double forfeit or a no-contest, both wrestlers could get zero points, but it's extremely rare.

I've learned not to worry too much about the points until the very end. What it boils down to is that you don't have to win every match, but it doesn't take many losses to prevent you from winning the block. In the traditional 10-man block, it was tough to win with a 6-3 record, because you'd have to hope you get lucky in a three-way tie or something. Now the margin for error is tighter, because a 4-2 record will be on the bubble. The pressure to avoid a second loss will be huge.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb - This is for 2 points in A block. Okada is the leader of CHAOS and probably the most successful main eventer in New Japan over the last decade. Cobb is the absolute unit of Will Ospreay's United Empire group. When these two met last year, Okada was 7-1 and Cobb was 8-0 looking for a perfect streak. Okada gave Cobb his only loss, and then went on to win the G1 with a 9-1 record. So you have to figure the winner of this match would be heavily favored to go 6-0 in the block and cruise to the finals.

I'm normally bullish on picking Okada to win, but New Japan likes to throw curveballs on the opening night of the G1. Cobb has beaten Okada before, but beating him here would be a bigger statement. Plus, in one-on-one matches Okada is ahead 3-1, so now's the time to even up the score.

Jay White vs. SANADA - This is for 2 points in B block. White is the leader of Bullet Club and the reigning IWGP world champion. Odds are he will defend the title against the winner of this tournament, unless he wins it himself and gets to choose his challenger. Sanada is the shy quiet one in Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito's gang of cool weird dudes.

I think Sanada can beat White. It'd make sense for him to score a big upset to set up White winning a rematch in September or October. But I'm not confident this is year. I've seen NJPW tease the idea that they're going to start getting behind this guy, and maybe he'll finally beat Okada when it counts or maybe he'll finally win the G1, and it never comes all the way through. I'm tired of getting my hopes up with this guy. Now watch them swerve me and do the upset.

Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo - This is for 2 points in D block. Ospreay is the leader of the United Empire, the IWGP United States champion (although Juice Robinson has his title belt), and the RevPro British champion. Phantasmo typically wrestles as a junior heavyweight, but his obnoxious charisma and even more obnoxious athleticism has made him a rising star for Bullet Club. This is a dream match I didn't even realize I wanted, probably because both guys are such dickheads.

In a weird way I expect this to resemble Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy at Forbidden Door. That is to say, Phantasmo will get his shit in and prove he can hang with Ospreay, but he'll still lose and get over in defeat.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Aaron Henare - This is for two points in C block. This will be Tana's 161st match G1 competition and Henare's very first. A few years back, Tana took the young Toa Henare under his wing and they became something of a tag team, but that all changed in 2021 when Toa turned heel and joined the United Empire as Aaron Henare. The former friends have since met in tag matches, but this is their first one-on-one encounter.

Every year Tanahashi is just a little more vulnerable to a big upset by an undercard guy. I never expected him to lose to Chase Owens last year, for example. So they'll be playing on our expectations that Henare could win the big one. But as much as I'd like to see Henare get elevated, I don't sense that they're as behind him right now as they have been with Chase. I think Tana wins, and the real upsets happen higher on the card.

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI - Naito's team represents Los Ingobernables de Japon; Ishii's team represents Okada's stable CHAOS. This match is a preview for Naito vs. Goto (July 20) and Takagi vs. Yoshi (July 23). Ishii also has a block match on July 17. Bushi is a junior heavyweight so he didn't make the cut for the heavyweight tournament. These preview matches are mainly for the live crowd that just wanted to see these guys in person even if they didn't have a block match. So they tend not to mean much for the viewer at home. I guess Naito's team wins.

KENTA & Juice Robinson & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi & Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku - Juice's team represents Bullet Club, and Sabre's team represents Suzuki-gun. This match previews Kenta vs. Sabre (July 17) and Archer vs. Fale (July 20). Juice and Chase are also in the tournament, but Taka is not. Archer is long-time member of Suzuki-gun but he's spent the past couple of years in AEW, so this is his first G1 tour in a while. I'm excited to see how he performs, but that doesn't mean he'll get a win tonight. I could easily see Bullet Club shenanigans winning this one.

EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi & SHO vs. Tama Tonga & David Finlay & Jado - Evil's team (along with Dick Togo) are the House of Torture, a subgroup within Bullet Club. Tama and Jado were recently kicked out of Bullet Club, and Finlay's tag team was broken up when his partner Juice defected to Bullet Club. It'll be Finlay vs. Yujiro on July 20, but that's the only block match between any of these guys. (Sho and Jado aren't in the tournament.) Evil will probably win with their usual cheap heat stuff.

JONAH & Bad Dude Tito vs. Toru Yano & Ryohei Oiwa - Jonah and Tito are regulars on NJPW STRONG, where they're affiliated with TMDK. (NXT viewers may know Jonah as Bronson Reed. TMDK's founders, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Thorne, also briefly appeared in NXT as The Mighty.) Yano vs. Jonah is scheduled for July 17. Tito and Oiwa are not in the tournament.

Yano always tries to win his block matches with guile and deception rather than straight-up wrestling, so we should get a glimpse of his strategy against Jonah here. I'm looking forward to the comedy on the 17th, but this is just an appetizer. I expect Jonah to squash Oiwa like a bug.

Tom Lawlor vs. Kosei Fujita - This was originally going to be Lawlor teaming with Royce Isaacs (his Team Filthy associate on Strong) against Fujita and Yuto Nakashima, but Nakashima had to pull out due to an injury. Of the four men in the original match, only Lawlor is actually entered in the G1, but his first block match isn't until July 26. Fujita is just a Young Lion, so this is basically a squash match.

#njpw #g1 climax