PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

PREDICTING THE WINNERS IN ALL FOUR NJPW G1 CLIMAX BLOCKS

Preview of New Japan’s G1 Climax 32

The biggest tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling begins tomorrow 7/16/22, G1 Climax 32.  

The tournament will culminate over three nights at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo from 8/16 to 8/18/22. Twenty-eight heavyweight wrestlers will face each other in their respective Block over the next month.  Points are awarded for pins or submissions.  No points for losses.   The wrestlers with the most points in  each Block will face off in single matches on 8/17/22.  

The winners of these matches will face each other in the Finals on 8/18/22.   

The G1 Climax winner will earn the G1 Climax Trophy and a match against the IWGP World Champion at Wrestle Kingdom in January.

This should be an exciting tournament with many new faces, not just in the tournament (Jonah, Tom Lawlor), but on the undercards, with Bad Dude Tito and Royce Isaacs.

I will be looking at overall winners in this tournament.

A Block – Prediction:  This is Kazuchika Okada’s Block to lose.  Despite the large opponents that he will be facing, I expect Okada to win.  I would keep an eye on Jeff Cobb.  Cobb won the IWGP Tag Team Championship twice, but United Empire was never pinned or submitted.  Yet Cobb still a lost the titles.  I am hoping Cobb will become the monster that he is moving towards Wrestle Kingdom.  Also, I am expecting good things from Tom Lawlor.  Since he lost the New Japan Strong Openweight Title in May, he has a change to fight for the IWGP World Title, if he can defeat Okada on August 10.  This should be a great match.

B Block – Prediction:  My choice here is Jay White.  I expect a lot of great wrestling from this Block with Switchblade, SANADA, Ishii, Tachi and O-Khan.   However, the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is the only pick that makes sense to me here.

C Block – Prediction:  Tough choice with both Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi and EVIL in the same Block.  My pick is Tetsuya Naito to win the C Block.   Tanahashi does not need to win the G1 and he will still be a main attraction for Wrestle Kingdom.  We saw EVIL in a dog cage last week after losing the NEVER Openweight 6-man Titles and he needs to rehabilitate his image.  I would not be surprised to see Zack Sabre Jr. continue what he did in last year's G1 Climax 31 and win multiple matches by submission.  However, Naito has been lingering in the tag division since his injury in last year’s G1.  I would expect Naito to return to his main event form and winning this Block.

D Block – Prediction:  It is a toss up between Will Ospreay and Shingo Takagi.  Four of these wrestlers frequently travel abroad.  YOSHI-HASHI, Yujiro Takahashi and Shingo Takagi are usually in Japan.  My pick is Shingo Takagi.  He has been generally healthier and in-country more than Ospreay.  I would expect Ospreay to be busy defending the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title for the rest of 2022, especially if the relationship with New Japan and AEW (or Impact) continues. 

G1 Finals Winner Prediction:  My prediction is Kazuchika Okada.  New Japan will have 4 months to build to a revenge match between Okada and White for the IWGP World Title at Wrestle Kingdom.  This should be a great close to their 50th Anniversary year.

Stay tuned to PWInsiderElite.com for coverage of the G1 Climax 32.

Thanks for reading. 

James Kurokawa

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet