NJPW: Where Do We Go From Here?

With New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) finally concluding its annual G1 Climax tournament this week, we now celebrate what was honestly one of the best tournaments of all time. There were so many great matches and sizzling storylines to come out of this that will have fans hooked for more months ahead and before we know it, it’ll be time for Wrestle Kingdom in January. Right now, though, let’s look at each participant in the G1 and see what the crystal ball may hold.

Kota Ibushi

He dropped his first two matches of the tournament before heading to the finals on a seven-match winning streak and then defeated Jay White to win it all. It’s clear that Ibushi is going to be the top babyface in the company going into January’s big show and likely showdown with Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, who he defeated in the tournament to qualify for the finals. Ibushi has that early edge heading in, but a rematch with his night 1 opponent KENTA is likely in the works for him to defend the briefcase. I hope Ibushi doesn’t lose it, but KENTA is easily the biggest heel in the company.

KENTA

He started on a four-match winning streak before being upended by Okada and losing out his remaining matches. It was a fall from grace for the man who promised to “TAKEOVER” NJPW. Then, it was his shocking actions during the G1 Finals that had the world talking when he jumped Tomohiro Ishii and joined Bullet Club before attacking his friend Shibata. We haven’t seen the last of that situation, but KENTA is now focused on the Royal Quest show on August 31st and his NEVER Openweight Title match against Ishii. KENTA could likely be a champion in just three short weeks.

Zack Sabre Jr.

ZSJ had a horrible tournament this year and he blamed the majority of it on new British Prime Minster Boris Johnson. Go watch his promos and you’ll find out why. Sabre already has a match scheduled at Royal Quest defending the British Heavyweight Title against Tanahashi who defeated him in the tournament. Let’s keep in mind that Zack not only made Tanahashi submit back at MSG in April, but in the process, ripped his arm to shreds that caused “The Ace” to miss six weeks of action.

Evil

Evil defeated Ibushi during the tournament, so one would think that a potential briefcase defense could head his way sooner than later. He only got 8 points this year, but Evil was a part of some of the best matches of the tournament with both Tanahashi and Okada. Evil is a main event player in New Japan and should be in that spotlight soon.

Sanada

He is the man who ended Okada’s undefeated streak in the G1 and finally after seven tries defeated The Rainmaker. Sanada should get a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship before Wrestle Kingdom. Okada has a defense before that can happen so it’ll be more the question, for now, of whom will Sanada face? Then it’ll be can he finally win the big one?

Bad Luck Fale

I liked the storyline towards the end that Fale can win with “wrestling” maneuvers; it was clever and made for a few interesting endings to matches, but if you wanted another member of Bullet Club in the tournament, I’d rather see Tama Tonga get a spot. Fale had some good matches, but the big man gimmick is overplayed so much in wrestling. He needs to be more of an enforcer interfering in matches.

Lance Archer

This is the MVP of the tournament for a couple reasons. Yes, he did have the least amount of points overall between all 20 men, but he had some of the most impressive matches throughout and consistently showed up and performed. I can’t think of one totally sucky match that he had. He proved that he isn’t a tag team guy and can be a force in the singles realm. He needs to be pushed on his own with Suzuki-Gun and maybe into the NEVER Openweight division.

Will Ospreay

NJPW dropped the ball on Ospreay in this tournament by not having him be a bigger factor overall. He is only one of the top wrestlers this year and his big mark in the tournament was the final night win over Tanahashi. Ospreay needs to be pushed out of the junior heavyweight division after he is done with the Super J Cup and into the Intercontinental/United States Title divisions by Wrestle Kingdom. I’m all for an Ospreay vs. Naito or Ospreay vs. Moxley feud.

Hiroshi Tanahashi

“The Ace” of NJPW was eliminated the quickest he had been in 11 years. He was also last year’s winner, but the question raised in storyline is “is it time for Tanahashi to step aside?” My answer is No. Tana proved that he can still go for major matches, but I would strongly consider maybe leaving him out next year because his body is going to start to fight him if he keeps at his pace. He’s Sabre at Royal Quest, but there is still a G.O.A.T out there who wants some revenge for Tana’s interference back at Dominion. Tanahashi might have made “The List.”

Kazuchika Okada

The reigning, defending IWGP Heavyweight Champion finished just short of the finals, losing his final match to Ibushi. With Kota’s overall win, one would think the rematch at Wrestle Kingdom is imminent, but Okada already has his next title defense scheduled for August 31st in England against Minoru Suzuki, and then he will likely have to defend against Sanada if he survives that. Okada’s road to the Tokyo Dome is going to be tougher and worse than Ibushi’s path. The Rainmaker needs to survive just a little longer to main event Wrestle Kingdom once again.

John Moxley

Nobody in the time I’ve been watching has walked into NJPW and made an immediate splash like The Deathrider has. The United States Champion started 5-0 before losing his last four and falling to Juice on the final B-Block night. One would suspect that once his AEW match with Kenny Omega on August 31 is done, he’ll likely be back to defend the title against Juice before AEW’s TNT premiere on October 2.

Taichi

I don’t know what to expect for Taichi right now. He did defeat Ishii on the final night of B-Block action so a NEVER Openweight Title match will likely be in the works, but a KENTA win on August 31 could spoil those plans for Black Memphisto.

Shingo Takagi

Shingo is now officially a member of the heavyweight division and leaving the junior heavyweight division, which after his performances needed to happen. I still want a rematch between him and Ospreay, but I’ll definitely take rematches for him against Goto and especially Ishii. Great matches throughout for The Dragon.

Jeff Cobb

I’m not sure what is next for Cobb in New Japan as he is already advertised at the end of the month to be back in Ring of Honor. There are rumors that his contract with ROH runs out by the end of the year. If that comes to fruition, AEW and WWE will make plays for him, but New Japan won’t look to do anything major with Cobb anytime soon unless he signs a contract, which I wouldn’t bank on.

Hirooki Goto

Goto had been out of action for some time before the tournament, but certainly didn’t show it. He came back looking better than ever and having great matches throughout. He stumbled on the last night of action, but sadly I don’t see much happening with him for a bit longer. He’ll be going back to prelim tag matches for a bit.

Jay White

The B-Block winner is now officially the second most hated man in New Japan thanks to KENTA. White came close to capturing the whole thing after making the promise that he’ll win six in row and take the block. The positive coming out of this is that he beat both the United States and Intercontinental Champions, so now Jay White can pick his own path to success. He’ll lay and wait for his next shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title, but Jay White vs. Naito at Wrestle Kingdom would be excellent to see.

Toru Yano

Yano beat the top guys of the tournament including Jay White, Jon Moxley and Tetsuya Naito, but will it mean anything storyline wise, probably not. Yano is one of those guys who is there for the funny moments and some minor storylines, but this was the most involvement I’ve seen him in anything since I started following NJPW. I don’t think there will be much follow up with him, but with how Yano is on camera, I don’t think he cares.

Juice Robinson

He got his win back over Moxley, but the post-match angle on the G1 Finals pretty much confirms that Juice will get another shot at Moxley and the United States Championship sooner than later. Pending Moxley’s availability with New Japan once AEW hits TNT in October, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Juice wearing the U.S. strap again and being the first three-time champion.

Tomohiro Ishii

There is nobody in wrestling today more physical than the Stone Pitbull. Some of the most hard-hitting bouts were Ishii’s matches with Shingo, Goto and Moxley. Ishii is now focused on extracting revenge from KENTA for what happened on August 12th and has that chance to do it at Royal Quest, but with the NEVER Openweight Title on the line, I could see Ishii dropping this one and hopefully move into the Heavyweight Title picture maybe after Wrestle Kingdom.

Tetsuya Naito

The leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon fell short in winning the G1 for the third time, losing out to Jay White in his final match. Naito is still the Intercontinental Champion and will likely have a defense soon against Jay White and maybe Taichi. I can’t tell what direction Naito might be going in for January 4, but NJPW is usually good about lining up decent opponents and matches for the big shows.