NJPW G1 Climax 28 Preview

Introduction

It’s a cliché to say ‘it’s that time of year again’ but few events in professional wrestling earn it as much as New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax. Since 2013, fans have associated the G1 with the highest of high-end wrestling in the smallest of timeframes. The incredible roster of performers cultivated across the last decade are crammed into two blocks of ten (a number which needs to be expanded for the sake of freshness) and the results are typically carnage. As much as that applies to the unexpected wins and losses, winners and losers, it goes also for the physical toll of the tour. Since 2015, the tournament has alternated days for its A Block and B Block, doubling the length of the tour and increasing the size of the buildings. Marry this expansion to the continued growth of marquee stars Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega, and you have the recipe for a mind-boggling list of world-class matches.

The Ace of The Ark

Is Katsuhiko Nakajima the most underrated wrestler in the world?

If you’ve followed NOAH in any capacity this year, you probably know well of their attendance woes, the issues surrounding booking and the feeling that the promotion is stagnating. Like the inverse of AJPW, which has great buzz and popularity despite a thin roster, NOAH suffers from an inability to catch the zeitgeist, despite one of the best rosters in the world. The crown jewel in this roster (at least from an in-ring perspective) is Katsuhiko Nakajima.

Nakajima is likely best known to current fans as a result of his solid G1 26 tour. He had two excellent matches, with Yuji Nagata and Michael Elgin, amongst a series of solid performances opposite the likes of Tomoaki Honma and Kenny Omega, and ended the tour with a fantastic NOAH vs NJPW tag match. With this momentum, Nakajima was built up as the saviour of NOAH, dethroning Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, before defending against Minoru Suzuki in a great, angle-ending bout, and tag partner Masa Kitamiya in a tremendous Christmas Eve main event.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 10 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 10

Gifu Industrial Hall, Gifu, Gifu

Attendance: 2452

We cross the halfway point of this year’s G1 with a show from Hiroshi Tanahashi’s hometown of Gifu. As with Kazuchika Okada in Aichi, the hometown hero is not featured in a singles match today. Instead, Okada main events today lowest-ranking tournament competitor, Juice Robinson. This main event promises to be one of the biggest babyface performances of Robinson’s career, and possibly more strong heel work out of Okada.

Just below that, we’ve got Satoshi Kojima battling for his last chance at block victory against current number two, Kenny Omega. The combined babyface power of Juice and Koji will surely prove a major force for Okada and Omega to overcome as block leaders, and make for some incredible drama. We’ve also got a key bout between potential upset block winners SANADA and Michael Elgin, in what could be an under-the-radar classic. EVIL vs Toru Yano promises potential upsets and spoilers, while Tama Tonga and Minoru Suzuki could be another case of Young Lion vengeance coming to haunt Suzuki.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 9 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 9

Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi

Attendance: 6327

Today we’re in Nagoya, capital of the Aichi prefecture. Although he’s not having a singles match, this is the home prefecture of Kazuchika Okada, which will surely add an electricity to the night’s proceedings. Also from Aichi is YOSHI-HASHI, who finds himself in a co-main event spot tonight opposite longtime enemy-by-proxy, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Although YOSHI’s chances of dethroning the Ace are slim, the bout should hopefully strike a chord with the faithful.

Today’s card does feature much in that line – matches that probably won’t go opposite the way you expect, but should be solid affairs nonetheless. The draw here is obviously the main event – a tie-breaker encounter between Tomohiro Ishii and Tetsuya Naito, longtime rivals that always produce intense work in the ring together.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 8 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 8

Ao-re Nagaoka, Niigata, Niigata

Attendance: 2821

Today’s G1 Climax show comes to you from the city of Niigata. This city surely holds some nice memories for Kenny Omega, whose victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi for the vacant IWGP Intercontinental Championship (the springboard from which he reached his current megastar status) came in this town. He returns to the main event today with perennial Canadian rival, Michael Elgin, who needs the win to stay in with any chance of winning B Block.

But that’s not all! Kazuchika Okada takes on old rival Satoshi Kojima in a match the latter absolutely must win to avoid elimination. Those two have some of the most underrated chemistry in New Japan, so the drama of a potential elimination will no doubt be off the charts. Everything else sounds pretty solid on paper, with potential breakout stuff in EVIL vs Minoru Suzuki, while SANADA vs Toru Yano and Juice Robinson vs Tama Tonga sound relatively inoffensive for their participants.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 7 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 7

Sendai Sun Plaza Hall, Sendai, Miyagi

Attendance: 2593

We’re in Miyagi prefecture today for another A Block show. It is not a prefecture known as a particular wrestling stronghold, but it’s notable for having hosted ‘New Beginning in Sendai’ 2015, which saw Tomohiro Ishii and Tomoaki Honma compete in an outstanding 24-minute bout for the NEVER Openweight Championship.

Honma may not be with us this time, but Ishii is in singles action today in the first singles match, vs stablemate YOSHI-HASHI. Tournament standout Kota Ibushi doesn’t look to steal the show today, as he pairs off with Togi Makabe, and the intriguing Zack Sabre Jr vs Bad Luck Fale match is also taking place. However, our top two matches see A Block MVP Yuji Nagata vs tournament favourite Tetsuya Naito, and NJPW cornerstones Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto clashing in the main event. Once again, it’s a day with a ton of potential, reflecting very well on the consistency of everybody in this year’s tournament.

As with yesterday’s show, the undercard tag matches have gotten to a point where watching live isn’t yielding anything new or interesting, so I’m going to cut through them as efficiently as possible.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 6 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 6

Big Palette Fukushima, Fukushima

Attendance: 2500

We’re venturing outside the Tokyo metropolis today. G1 Climax 27 comes to Fukushima with a couple of interesting singles matches. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada takes on SANADA, a man who failed twice last year to top the champion. Kenny Omega meets perennial spoiler Toru Yano in a rematch of last year’s popular comedy bout. Meanwhile, zero-pointers Michael Elgin and Satoshi Kojima look to finally get their names in the running as they face off in the opener. Sandwiched between these bouts are unique matchups in Minoru Suzuki vs Juice Robinson and EVIL vs Tama Tonga. Nothing particularly predictable, but a world of potential nonetheless.

The unfortunate reality of the G1 nowadays is that the undercard tag matches will start to slip between the cracks in one way or another. Although I’ve been watching all G1 shows live, which includes the tag matches, a recent family holiday has made very difficult to fit in much of a comprehensive breakdown. As such, I’m going to list the results and add some comments, but not as much as I was writing for the last few days.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 5 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 5

Machida City General Gymnasium, Machida, Tokyo

Attendance: 4598

The final day of G1 action before a welcome break promised us a killer card. Tanahashi/Nagata – a historically significant rivalry that laid the foundations of the modern status of IWGP. Ibushi/Ishii – a rematch three years in the making, the sequel to a legendarily brutal classic for NEVER. Makabe/Goto – an explosive main event rematch in Makabe’s spiritual hometown. Those are the heavy-hitters, but the card also interesting matchups in YOSHI-HASHI vs Zack Sabre Jr (both coming off losses in Korakuen Hall), and Bad Luck Fale vs Tetsuya Naito – Naito’s chance for revenge after the heinous action of Fale in destroying Daryl Takahashi at Korakuen.

It’s one of the early potential standouts of the G1 tour so far, so let’s take a look.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 4 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 3

Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Attendance: 1737

We’re back in Korakuen Hall one last time on this G1 tour. Three consecutive days in one building can be a chore, and the Korakuen audience was already feeling it yesterday. Today had the makings of an even better card, however, with Los Ingobernables represented in two tournament matches, a fun Toru Yano opener, a Bullet Club clash, and an intriguing main event between 2017’s biggest winner and biggest loser (not to mention, two of the world’s best wrestlers). Elgin and Okada, on paper, looks to be one of the G1 standouts.

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Day 3 Results and Thoughts

G1 Climax 27 Day 3

Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Attendance: 1728

The second of three consecutive days in Korakuen Hall is also the only day of A Block taking place in the building for this G1. That means that tonight’s matches are the only singles matches we’ll be seeing from Ishii, Tanahashi, Naito, Ibushi and co. in the historic venue for the tour.

Luckily, we got a consistently engaging set of G1 matches. None of the matchups were disappointing on paper, with the only complaint being that the Ishii/Makabe and Tanahashi/Fale matches may seem rote at this point (an unfortunate side effect of a yearly round robin format). Today, we get an early idea of the shape of the block, which currently sees two men leading at 4 points and two on 0, with six more tied at 2. The results themselves were largely predictable, and I myself got my best pick’ems result so far (3/5). Let’s take a look.