Full card set for last day of G1 action
The G1 Final is now set, and a full card of action is on for Ryogoku on August 13. Who leaves the strongest of the summer, and what will happen as we get set for the road to Destruction?
Watch the G1 Climax Final live in English on NJPW World!
Main event- G1 Climax Final: Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito
Singles record: 7-6 Okada
The G1 Climax goes down to this. Tetsuya Naito bested Will Ospreay last night, as he keeps his hopes of January 4 main event glory alive. As he seeks his third G1 Climax victory on the sixth anniversary of the day he was last named the strongest of the summer, Kazuchika Okada seeks his third trophy in a row, and to put himself right alongside the all time record holder in Masahiro Chono.
The 13 overall singles meetings for Naito and Okada started with Okada’s pre-NJPW debut first singles outing way back in 2007. From there, through a critical first IWGP Heavyweight Championship defence in the spring of 2012 for Okada, to G1 Climaxes and New Japan Cups, more often than not, it seemed as if Naito had Okada’s number anytime except when it mattered the most. When the chips were down, Okada tends to find a way to victory over Naito in a championship scenario.
The exceptions that proved the rule? Invasion Attack 2016 in Ryogoku Sumo Hall, and January 5 2020 in Tokyo Dome. Tonight, it’s all or nothing for Naito as he uses one grand stage to try and make it to the other. Will it be ‘de Ja Pon’ in Sumo Hall in our main event, or will the Rainmaker franchise prove just too much?
7th Match: Just Five Guys (SANADA, Taichi, DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo)
‘If this is what I’m capable of in moments like these, then I’m not as strong of a champion as I should be,’ were telling words for SANADA after his quarterfinal defeat to EVIL. Yet SANADA would rally with the words ‘ in that case, let me pay you back for this.’ SANADA is likely to collide with EVIL once again in short order, in a match that could be a key referendum for SANADA in his first IWGP World Heavyweight Championship reign. If this is indeed a preview of what may come on the Road to Destruction, will SANADA be able to make an impact with even sides against HOUSE OF TORTURE tonight?
6th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi) vs United Empire (HENARE, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay)
United Empire picking up a big win over LIJ in trios action was, sadly for Will Ospreay, not a portent for a semifinal win for Ospreay yesterday in Ryogoku. The two factions are not done with one another though, as they’ll do eight man battle tonight.
5th Match: Jado, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs BULLET CLUB (KENTA, David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd & Chase Owens)
Last night saw El Phantasmo and the Guerrillas of Destiny victorious over Just Five Guys. Jado pinned TAKA Michinoku to give the side a victory over a team that contained both the KOPW and IWGP World Champions, but just as they celebrated that feat, they were confronted by David Finlay, Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin. Certainly Finlay still feels the sting of defeat to Tama Tonga during the G1, but what does the NEVER Openweight Champion want with this new alliance of ex BULLET CLUB members? We perhaps get some answers today.
4th Match: Boltin Oleg, Ryusuke Taguchi, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr)
Before the action got started last night in Ryogoku for the cameras, the live crowd bore witness to Kazakh Young Lion Boltin Oleg steaming through the Hat Trick Challenge competition, winning the grand prize of 200,000 Yen worth of yakkiniku barbecue- and more crucially for Boltin, a shot at the NJPW World TV Championship. Wherever that may come, tonight we see Boltin do battle wit ZSJ in a key preview today.
3rd Match: YOH, Eddie Kingston, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tiger Mask, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe
Eight man action will see Satoshi Kojima back in the fold, and back alongside his partner Tenzan, who’s gotten huge reactions in his final matches of this tour. Kingston wraps up a dream summer tonight, but will likely have HENARE in the back of his mind. Will Eddie’s thoughts be on the ring in this match, or on a violent assault from the Face of Fury?
2nd Match: Master Wato, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata vs Yuto Nakashima, Ren Narita, El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki
Ren Narita and Shota Umino continue to battle tonight. As Minoru Suzuki and El Desperado continue to coach Narita to find his full potential, Narita’s intense issues with Umino seem to make him blind and deaf to advice, the two seeking one another out regardless of their match environment. Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki have oft had that relationship as well over the years, and they’ll connect once again tonight as Blue Justice returns to the cerulean blue ring.
1st Match: Oskar Leube & Toru Yano vs Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa
Kicking off the evening, Kaito Kiyomiya has his last match of the G1 tour. As he represents Pro-Wrestling NOAH for the final time on foreign turf, he also teams with Ryohei Oiwa, with whom he’s formed an interesting connection of late. Will he be looking to make a lasting impact on NJPW fans tonight?
