NEW JAPAN G1 CLIMAX PRIMER (Part 2): Lansdell’s analysis of Block A and Block B in the annual round-robin tournament including the most intriguing match-ups

CATCH UP ON PART ONE HERE: NEW JAPAN G1 CLIMAX PRIMER: Lansdell’s full preview of this year’s round-robin tournament including overview of how it works, its history, what to expect this year

With less than a week to go before the opening matches of G1 Climax 34, it’s time to take a look at the two blocks. If you’re new to the concept of the G1 and how it works, I wrote a general primer of the tournament to get you started. Today we’re looking at the two blocks, talking about the likely winners of each block, and highlighting some of the more intriguing matches to watch.

One of the unfortunate realities of the G1 is that it is a lot of wrestling in a short period. Most people will find it hard to keep up with everything, and honestly you don’t need to. Once we get to the later rounds it will be clear who is just competing for pride and who actually has a chance to win.

As a reminder, the top three points-getters in each block will qualify for the elimination rounds. The second- and third-place competitors will face each other for the right to face the first-place finisher in the block finals. Then the two block winners will face off to determine the G1 Climax 34 winner.

A Block contenders

• Shota Umino
• Tetsuya Naito
• Shingo Takagi
• Sanada
• Great O-Khan
• Zack Sabre Jr.
• Gabe Kidd
• Jake Lee
• Evil
• Callum Newman

Contenders to qualify from the block: Umino, Naito, Shingo, ZSJ, Evil, Kidd

As I mentioned in the primer, this block is stacked. Naito is the current champion, but you also have Shingo, Sanada, and Evil in here as former champs. At least one of those guys is not going to qualify, and although most people will predict that Evil is that person I think you need him in the elimination portion to put the scare in people that he might win. I could even see him in the block final.

Shingo and ZSJ are interesting cases. Both men have been floating around in the upper card for years, but there’s some reluctance on the part of the bookers to actually pull the trigger on them. Shingo has at least had a run at the top, but with ZSJ it is somewhat baffling that he has only ever won the New Japan Cup. He’s proven his commitment to New Japan, having stayed in Japan throughout the pandemic and having turned down chances to go to WWE. I would love to believe that it is time for either of them to step up, but sadly I don’t see it.

Having Jake Lee in the mix will tell us a lot about how New Japan plans to work with other companies going forward. So far the visiting talent from other Japanese promotions has not been treated well. Last year’s G1 had Kaito Kiyomiya, one of the young stars of Pro Wrestling Noah and a three-time world champion there, and he won three whole matches. Lee is coming in with an ongoing beef with Naito and a loose alliance with Gabe Kidd. I expect him to finish middle of the pack and once again make me question why Noah would send anyone above the midcard to these tournaments.

My pick to win the block and go to the finals is Shota Umino. He’s young, he’s only had one shot at the world title, and if New Japan really is serious about making changes and establishing a new face of the company then it needs to start here. Umino has everything you need in Japan, except a run at the top. I see him beating Shingo in the qualifier and then Evil or Naito in the block finals.

A Block intriguing matches

Naito-Umino: While there’s an argument that every Naito match is worth watching because he’s the champion, this is the most interesting one in my mind. As Umino is one of the most likely G1 winners, this could serve as a preview of the WrestleKingdom main event.

Naito-Shingo: We don’t often get to see stablemates against each other in New Japan. Even in the recent six-man between the two halves of Los Ingobernables de Japón, Shingo and Naito were on the same team. This match could easily determine which of the two advances from the block, and if Shingo were to beat Naito there would be the added intrigue of an expected world title shot for Shingo.

Naito-Lee: Jake Lee cost Naito a match against Drilla Moloney of all people. Naito did go on to beat Lee at an All Together event, but I would not expect that to be the end of the inter-promotional rivalry. A win for Lee through nefarious means would give Naito a somewhat routine title defense between now and WrestleKingdom while also being a gesture of good faith to Noah.

Umino-ZSJ: These two have only wrestled twice. The first time was in 2019 when Umino was still a Young Lion, and the second was over a year ago. Umino has made himself into a star since then, but he has not faced an opponent like ZSJ. The match is right in the middle of the tournament, so it’s a nice way to keep people interested.

Newman-Sanada: Callum Newman is not going to do much winning in this tournament. He’s there to get experience, be exciting, and lose. It’s rare (though not unheard of) that anyone goes through a block without winning a match, and this seems like a likely spot for Newman to pick up his win.

Kidd-Shingo: Do you like to watch people beating the ever-loving heck out of each other? Then you need to watch this match. This will be a physical spectacle that could well go the distance and end up a draw, or even a double knockout. Kidd has done some great work since his tag partner had to retire, and his character is developing beautifully. This will be fun.

B Block contenders

• El Phantasmo
• Hirooki Goto
• Yota Tsuji
• Yuya Uemura
• Jeff Cobb
• Henare
• David Finlay
• Ren Narita
• Konosuke Takeshita
• Boltin Oleg

Contenders to qualify from the block: Tsuji, Cobb, Finlay, Narita, Takeshita

On its face, B block is the weaker of the two. Everything seems to be set up for Yota Tsuji’s coronation as the block winner and his showdown with Shota Umino in the final. While I do think that is the most likely outcome, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that there are multiple young names in the block who could be taking the step forward.

Tsuji’s case is a compelling one. He is popular, he has boatloads of talent, he has that unteachable “It” factor, and he has shown that he belongs in the main event. There is a strong feeling among many New Japan fans that Umino vs. Tsuji will be the Okada vs. Naito of this generation, so it would make sense to make this G1 a big entry in that rivalry. However he has already had TWO title matches against Naito and has lost both of them. Unless there are significant changes in his character or ability (for example, an undefeated G1 run), it will be hard to get people invested in the likelihood of the third time being the charm. That is doubly true when Tsuji and Naito are stablemates.

Jeff Cobb is another one of those names that has flirted with the main event but hasn’t yet been able to get a foothold. Some may consider this a left-field pick as Cobb is the current TV champion, and that title is not exactly prestigious. You only need to go back to last year though to see that Cobb is a threat. He was all set to win his block before a double countout against Shane Haste which allowed ZSJ to have a chance to go through to the quarter-finals. If there is a desire to heat him up again, this would be the time.

The booking of David Finlay has been perplexing at best. He beat Jay White to send him packing from Japan, he and his faction destroyed Will Ospreay and United Empire in a cage match in what was Ospreay’s last New Japan match. He beat Ospreay and Jon Moxley in a triple threat at the last WrestleKingdom to become the first IWGP Global champion. He then lost that title in his first defence against Nic Nemeth, and has only really had one meaningful match since then: a title defence against Sanada. As the (probable) secondary champion in the company he would be expected to win most of his matches, which almost makes him a shoe-in for the next round.

Much like his House of Torture stablemate Evil, Narita should be considered a threat in this block. Unlike Evil, he’s young and one of the people the company pegged as a future building block. New Japan has recently clamped down on many of the House of Torture shenanigans that so infuriated its loyalists, but Narita is good enough to win without infinite interference.

One of the most interesting parts of this block will be the booking of Konosuke Takeshita. Upper-level AEW talent has tended to do a lot of winning against New Japan wrestlers, but Takeshita is also a DDT wrestler. As we discussed earlier with Jake Lee, that tends to mean a lot of losing. I would not be at all surprised to have him lead the group only to lose in the block finals.

The name missing from my list that might raise some eyebrows is Henare. If the Global title is not the company’s second title, then the Never Openweight title would be. That is an even more defensible argument given the high profile Shingo gave the Never title during his recent reign. I have been a fan of his character work, but he has not shown that he can have more than one style of match. Until he can do that, I would not expect him to be elevated beyond where he is.

B block intriguing matches

Tsuji-Takeshita: This is on the opening night, and that’s one of the reasons I think this is a likely block finals. A common booking trope in the G1 is for someone to start with a couple of losses in a row before winning a bunch and needing a win on the last night of the block to qualify for the elimination rounds. Whoever wins here would probably lose in the elimination portion. Even without that prediction though, this is a match between two similar-sized wrestlers with similar styles in similar positions on the card. A tantalizing prospect.

Cobb-Henare: Another intra-faction battle, and one that pits two heavy-hitters and champions against each other. I can see this one going to a draw as well, if for no other reason than to avoid another match between them as a title match. It’ll be a slugfest no matter which way they go.

Oleg-Takeshita: Sometimes a match is as close to a foregone conclusion as it gets, but is still a must-see. I cannot see any world in which Oleg beats Takeshita, but I have no problem seeing him get in a ton of offence and putting a scare into Takeshita. Of the two qualifiers (Newman being the other) Oleg is comfortably the greener, but I can see there being interest in him going to AEW on excursion. A match against Takeshita could well be an audition.

Uemura-Narita: Of the four guys currently waiting for their breakout, Narita and Uemura are the two that get the least press. They were also the first two to win titles, and Uemura is the only one to have held a singles title. Uemura in particular has been almost marginalised, as all the talk is of the “Reiwa Three Musketeers” of Narita, Tsuji and Umino. Despite coming back from excursion around the same time, he does not get the same respect. A win here would be a nice way to set him on a quest for respect against his dojo classmates, in a bid to be seen as their peer.

Finlay-Tsuji: These two have only wrestled once, on May 3 this year at Wrestling Dontaku Night 1. It was not especially memorable, with Finlay having his Global title rematch against Nic Nemeth the next night, but it went 20-plus minutes. It’s on Night Two, which means Tsuji could well be coming off a loss to Takeshita. The dates line up for booking Tsuji in the come-from-behind role, which makes the outcome here very interesting.

So who’s going to win?

Last year’s G1 was damaged in my mind by the almost inevitable Naito victory. In turn it led to an even more likely Naito title win at WrestleKingdom. I don’t feel the same this year, in that there are four people I can see winning: Umino, Tsuji, ZSJ, and Finlay (in order of likelihood). Although it’s true that Shota Umino vs Yota Tsuji is a very compelling final that would deliver an equally compelling match, but I don’t think there would be much drama in the outcome. I honestly cannot see Naito-Tsuji Part 3 as the WrestleKingdom main event. I think Finlay and Umino will be the final, with Umino getting the win.

PWTorch.com’s coverage of G1 Climax 34 gets underway Saturday, July 20 with the opening night, giving us an incredible double main event of Shingo-Naito and Tsuji-Takeshita. We will have you covered throughout the tournament with same-day results and recaps posted. As always, thanks for stopping by.

CATCH UP ON PART ONE HERE: NEW JAPAN G1 CLIMAX PRIMER: Lansdell’s full preview of this year’s round-robin tournament including overview of how it works, its history, what to expect this year