New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors are competing in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.
SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy have made their predictions for Night 4 of the tournament, which takes place this Thursday 19th July.
(You can check out the Predictions for Night 3 here)
Jake Jeremy – Ok so we are talking Night 4 of the tournament (it feels like it’s been weeks already…), here are the bouts:
- Juice Robinson vs Kota Ibushi
- Hirooki Goto vs Kenny Omega
- Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
- Toru Yano vs Zack Sabre Jr
- SANADA vs Tama Tonga
Ian Carey – Alright, 4 shows in a row, 3 of them at Korakuen Hall
Jake Jeremy – I think that to start Ibushi will need to defeat Robinson, it’s a tough position for the new IWGP US champ but I still see Kota taking this block.
Ian Carey – Yes I agree, Kota beats Juice. I also see Kenny Omega beating Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito defeating Tomohiro Ishii
Jake Jeremy – I actually see Goto getting the shock win over Omega to set up a nice little bout before WK and give Goto his shot in the main event. I can also see Naito beating Ishii
Ian Carey – Here is my underdog pick of the night…Yano defeats Zack Sabre Jr
Jake Jeremy – Ahhh but will Yano actually lose every match BECAUSE he’s playing it a little more ‘straight’ this time with less cheating?
Ian Carey – I was thinking that, but I think Omega is losing to Ibushi and Tonga. i also think he’ll drop a tie at the top of the block at 7-2. In terms of Yano? Well, I don’t know if they’ll keep going with that because historically having Yano in a group is a great for giving someone a cheap loss without making them look weak
Jake Jeremy – That’s a great point
Ian Carey – With ZSJ i think he’ll have a great tournament but ultimately not win the block…so he’s got to have a few cheap losses. I also see Tama Tonga beating SANADA
Jake Jeremy – Agreed on Tama beating SANADA
So here are the full predictions:
Ian Carey
- Kota Ibushi beats Juice Robinson
- Kenny Omega beats Hirooki Goto
- Tetsuya Naito beats Tomohiro Ishii
- Toru Yano beats Zack Sabre Jr
- Tama Tonga beats SANADA
Jake Jeremy
- Kota Ibushi beats Juice Robinson
- Hirooki Goto beats Kenny Omega
- Tetsuya Naito beats Tomohiro Ishii
- Zack Sabre Jr beats Toru Yano
- Tama Tonga beats SANADA
What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments.