Like Andy Williams said, 'It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year'...
Fuck, man. It's the G1 Climax! It's basically the reason I haven't watched any wrestling in a month, and why I probably won't be watching much for the month after it's over. Can't let yourself get burned out. I'm covering the B Block alone here because it's the block that I'll be following in it's entirely this year. If you want to see someone's opinions on A Block, go check out my co-blogger Justin's A Block preview here. Probably 5 people will read this blog and I'm loaded on craft beer. Let's fucking break this down.
"Death Rider"Jon Moxely
Age: 33
Pro Debut:2004
G1s: 1
Title History: 1x IWGP US heavyweight Champion (Current), 1x WWE Champion, 3x WWE Intercontinental Champion, 1x WWE US Champion, 2x WWE RAW Tag Team Champion, 2x CZW World Heavyweight Champion
Adopted Shota Umino as his son at Dominion this year.
Man, Jon's doing fucking great for himself. I hope he makes it through this tournament unscathed, With Ishii and Cobb in this block, I'm hoping Mox doesn't get dumped on his pretty face too much. As much as I'm looking forward to the singles matches he'll be in, I'm just as excited to see him in the opening tag matches with his new son Shota Umino. Hopefull he can give Shota the edge he needs to one day fight Kaito Kiyomiya and beat him.
"The Flamboyant"Juice Robinson
Age: 30
Pro Debut:2008
G1s: 3
Title History: 2x IWGP US Heavyweight Champion
Somehow went from too much dread to not enough dread in like two years
Well, Juice has certainly been loose since the last G1. After a run that could be considered "meh" he lost and regained and lost his US title again. I wish I could be more excited for him, but if this year isn't a shot in his arm via major pickups over Naito, Moxley, or Ishii, I don't know what to tell you about him.
"Mr. Athletic"Jeff Cobb
Age: 36
Pro Debut: 2009
G1s: 1
Title History: 1x PWG World Champion (Current), 1x ROH World Television Champion, 1x NEVER Openweight Champion, 1x PWG World Tag Team Champion
Some kind of meat tossing man-machine
I'm really excited to be seeing Jeff Cobb in the G1. I think he's really going to shine here in this gauntlet of toss-able men. With three different champions in this block that he could beat for a shot, look for him to succeed against either Ishii, Naito, or Moxley. PEople are gonna get yeeted.
"Stone Pitbull"Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS]
Age: 43
Pro Debut: 1996
G1s: 7
Title History: 5x NEVER Openweight Champion (Current), 1x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 1x NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, 2x RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, 1x ROH World Television Champion
Landon's favorite wrestler. His shoulder's probably still separated from 2014's G1
Ishii just out there being the most good boy. Motherfucker thrives in the G1, so look for at least 5 wins, maybe more. Key matchups to look for are him against...fucking anyone really. I think he matches well with every competitor here, except for maybe Juice? And we get to watch him fucking kill Jay which makes me happy.
Fierce Warrior"Hirooki Goto [CHAOS]
Age: 39
Pro Debut: 2003
G1s: 11, Won Once (2008)
Title History: 2x IWGP Intercontinental Champion, 4x NEVER Openweight Champion, 1x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 1x IWGP IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
Has had more IWGP HW Title opportunities than I had my heart broken in Undergrad
God bless you Hirooki. I haven't met him yet unfortunately, he was on the last WoTW tour but I JUST missed him. He came on day tw of the tour and Buffalo was day one. I like Goto, people call him the Bret Hart of New Japan which is unfair I think. Really hope he gets one last shot at the IWGP Heavyweight title, which may be from this tournament?
"Sublime Master Thief"Toru Yano [CHAOS]
Age: 41
Pro Debut: 2002
G1s: 14
Title History: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion (Current), 3x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 2x GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
Some kind of King Dedede in real life
Only with a chair instead of a giant fuckoff hammer. You either love Yano or you hate him, apparently. I love him, I think he's harmless. Everyone needs to get the Con Cob out of their ass.
"El Ingobernable"Tetsuya Naito [Los Ingobernables de Japon]
Age: 36
Pro Debut: 2006
G1s: 10, Won Twice (2013, 2017)
Title History: 4x IWGP Intercontinental Champion (Current), 1x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, 1x IWGP NEVER Openweight Champion, 1x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 1x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
Does he have the power of Chaos Control?
Naito wants to be double champion and I'm all for it. But if he wants to get to the Finals he's going through a packed Block. But if anyone can do it it might be Naito. Also very biased cause he was really excited to be in Buffalo when I met him, for some reason.
"The Dragon"Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables de Japon]
Age: 36
Pro Debut: 2004
G1s: 1
Title History: 1x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 1x GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 4x Open The Dream Gate, 5x Open The Twin Gate Champion, 7x Open the Triangle Gate Champion, 1x ROH World Tag Team Champion
Somehow got away with being in the Junior Heavyweight division for the past 9 months
Having never seen a single Dragon Gate show, I'm enamored with Shingo. Running through Juniors and facing off with Kojima at Dominion definitely helped. But with the talent density in this Block, I hope he doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
"SwitchBlade"Jay White [Bullet Club]
Age: 26
Pro Debut: 2013
G1s: 2
Title History: 1x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, 1x IWGP US Heavyweight Champion
I miss David Finlay
I hope Ishii drops him right on his dome. Who's the past his prime wrestler now? He got major wins over Okada and Tanahashi last year, but he's in an almost completely fresh field this year. Will he succeed? Will he even get past 6 points? We'll find out.
"Holy Emperor"Taichi [Suzuki-Gun]
Age: 39
Pro Debut: 2002
G1s: 1
Title History: 2x NEVER Openweight Champion, 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 1x GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, 1x CMLL World Trios Champion
Kefka fucking wishes he was Taichi
"Let's Go Taichi"
"Go Home Taichi"
I fucking love Taichi. My ironic love turned into an unironic appreciation for the character in the past few years. I'm glad he finally has a chance to show what he can do in the G1. It's been so start and stop for him since 2018, but in this format I hope he can really bust loose and show Gedo that he shouldn't have won and lost the NEVER Openweight title twice. But, if he doesn't show what he can really do...
How will the B Block End up?
I sincerely believe that the B Block this year will come down to one of two people; Goto or Naito. Goto's spent a month in America at the LA Dojo, so he might be slated to come back as a house of fire. On the other hand, Naito's crowed about wanting to hold both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles at the same time and he's a man who could make that happen.
Look for whoever wins this block to go on to face either Ibushi or Tanahashi from the A block. Though it's looking more likely for it to be Ibushi. God help us all...
Matches I'm Pissing Excited for
-Literally any of Naito and Ishii's Matchups
-Jeff Cobb vs Hirooki Goto
-Juice Robinson vs JAy White
-Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb
Thanks for reading me drunkenly written, soberly edited thoughts! If you want to check out a review of A Block, make sure you check out Justin's review linked above. See you all halfway through the block! Maybe. Probably not.
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