New Japan Pro Wrestling
The annual G1 Climax continued as 20 wrestlers fight for the right to challenge the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 19. The past week featured four shows, as the tournament edges closer to the time when the maths start to get important and the first eliminations are about to happen.
NJPW have decided to go back to the old format of two blocks of 10 wrestlers, and after the first seven days, it’s a clear improvement over the past two years. It’s easier and more enjoyable to watch as the wrestlers have more chances to show out and more time to sell future storylines against many different opponents.
Jake Lee & Great-O-Khan both kicked off the tournament as “losers” as both stood at the bottom of their block with a 1-4 record after five matches, but both turned it around and won their last two matches to now officially be back in contention for a spot in the playoffs, but their final two matches couldn’t be more difficult. O-Khan has SANADA and Tetsuya Naito back to back and needs to defeat the two main eventers of Wrestle Kingdom this year to have a chance for a spot in the playoffs. Jake Lee has Shota Umino & Shingo Takagi in front of him, which could be possible for the former GHC Heavyweight Champion, but his results against the big names of New Japan so far are rather underwhelming.
Konosuke Takeshita has been the stand-out in tournament so far as no one can match his peaks and consistency with only a couple coming close, and the match against Hirooki Goto is the perfect example of it. It was THE match of the tournament so far as Hirooki Goto & Konosuke Takeshita brought back the late 2010s G1 Climax feeling. Hard-hitting and full of action in front of a great crowd that went insane for the two. Takeshita is raising his stock in the tournament and will come back to AEW with multiple fantastic performances under his belt, despite results not mastering too much. AEW needs to push him to the next level in the second half of 2024 as he is too good to do nothing of worth all year and he has shown in the G1 Climax why that is the case.
Another name that has started to step up is Shingo Takagi, who had back-to-back-to-back great matches with Gabe Kidd, Zack Sabre Jr., and SANADA that rank high on the best matches of the A Block so far in this tournament. After a rather solid first half of the year with underwhelming matches against HENARE, Bryan Danielson, & Yuya Umemura, Shingo has become more motivated again in the G1 and it’s paying off as he is once again claiming his spot as the workhorse of New Japan at the age of 41. Meanwhile, SANADA had his first great outing of the G1 so far, showing an increasing level of motivation to do so. The match between the two is one of the best tournament matches so far and deserves a lot of praise.
Official G1 Climax Standings after Night 11:
A Block –
10 – EVIL (5-2-0)
10 – Zack Sabre Jr. (5-2-0)
8 – SANADA (4-3-0)
8 – Tetsuya Naito (4-3-0)
6 – Gabe Kidd (3-4-0)
6 – Shota Umino (3-4-0)
6 – Shingo Takagi (3-4-0)
6 – Great-O-Khan (3-4-0)
6 – Jake Lee (3-4-0)
4 – Callum Newman (2-5-0)
B BLOCK –
8 – David Finlay (4-2-0)
8 – Jeff Cobb (4-2-0)
6 – Yuya Uemura (3-3-0)
6 – Konosuke Takeshita (3-3-0)
6 – HENARE (3-3-0)
6 – Ren Narita (3-3-0)
6 – Hirooki Goto (3-3-0)
6 – Yota Tsuji (3-3-0)
4 – Oleg Boltin (2-4-0)
4 – El Phantasmo (2-4-0)
All Japan Pro Wrestling
The phrase “star-making performance” is often used, but rarely does it fit better than to describe the night of Rei Saito. In his hometown of Sendai, Rei had his first Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship match against the young ace Yuma Anzai, and it was out of this world.
The atmosphere was incredible and one of the best crowds in Japan this year as they were into it from the first minute. The crowd was 50-50 behind both wrestlers at the beginning, but due to Rei Saito’s outstanding performance, the tide started to turn. He felt like a big monster who won over the crowd throughout the match and had the crowd begging him to win. Saito tried everything, but Anzai used his wrestling IQ to hit the Gimlet to retain his championship for the fifth time.
The match was a great struggle, especially in the last 10 minutes, when both were near the end of their powers, and it made this match so special. The match between the two couldn’t have been better and exceeded everyone’s expectations as it is All Japan’s current Match of the Year. Anzai’s run continues to be fantastic, and his next two challenges won’t be any easier as he is facing former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Yuma Aoyagi on August 17th with Kento Miyahara waiting to challenge on September 1st in his hometown of Fukuoka. The final days of his run are coming soon, and regardless of when he drops the title, it’s undeniable that All Japan have made one hell of a star.
