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. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 6:

Toru Yano b. Kota Ibushi – Yano took the win by pinfall using a Schoolboy. This followed a low blow and a chop block whilst Ibushi’s wrists were taped together

SANADA b. Zack Sabre, Jr. – SANADA took the pinfall win with a bridging prawn hold

Tetsuya Naito b. Juice Robinson – Naito took the win over the US Champion using the Destino

Kenny Omega b. Tama Tonga by – Omega took the win via DQ after Tonga hit a Gun Stun on referee Red Shoes

Tomohiro Ishii b. Hirooki Goto – Ishii took the pinfall win with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster

Here are the updated standings:

You can find the results for Night 1 here, Night 2 here, Night 3 here, Night 4 here and Night 5 here. Don’t forget that SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy are posting their predictions for the tournament and you can check out how they fared with Night 6’s predictions right here.

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.

• Full Schedule for the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament (19 Shows)

SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy have made their predictions for Night 6 of the tournament, here they are:

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 5 here)

Jake Jeremy – Ok so we’ve made it to Night 6, here is the schedule for the B Block matches:

• Juice Robinson vs Tetsuya Naito
• Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii
• Toru Yano vs Kota Ibushi
• Kenny Omega vs Tama Tonga
• SANADA vs Zack Sabre Jr

Ian Carey – Ok straight off Tama Tonga beats Kenny Omega. This is an important match for this rivalry. Tonga beating Omega puts him in the mix, earns him a title shot. Creates a reason to put Tama Tonga vs Kenny Omega in the main event of NJPW’s return to Long Beach. That match happening if of course just speculation but it seems as though that is a direction they could go.

Jake Jeremy – I definitely agree, the Firing Squad need to build on their momentum and a win for Tama here (screwy or not) will help

Ian Carey – Zack Sabre Jr beats SANADA. The Paradise Lock will be involved somehow I’m sure. Kota Ibushi beats Yano…he has to

Jake Jeremy – I actually think that SANADA will get the win here, I’m also going for Kota as he still takes this Block in my mind

Ian Carey – I think having Ishii beating Goto is a possibility and then you could have Ishii challenge for the NEVER belt. Ishii is the most decorated champion in the title’s lineage.

Jake Jeremy – I don’t want to just keep agreeing here but again I agree

Ian Carey – Juice vs Naito is interesting. Juice has already dropped two matches and I don’t expect him to have a terrible tournament. A big win over Naito sure would boost him back up. I think that’s what happens, I’m giving Juice the upset victory over Naito.

Jake Jeremy – Ok so I actually see Juice losing here, it would be a good chance to build to a bout at Long Beach for the title and Naito could do wonders with the US title.

What are your predictions for Night 5? Let us know in the comments.

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. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 5:

G1 Climax 2018 – A Block

“Switchblade” Jay White b. Michael Elgin – White took the pinfall win with a Blade Runner after hitting a low blow behind the referee

Minoru Suzuki b. YOSHI-HASHI – Suzuki took the pinfall win with the Gotch piledriver

EVIL b. Togi Makabe – EVIL took the pinfall win with his namesake move

Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Bad Luck Fale – Tanahashi won via disqualification after a Guerrillas of Destiny interference

Kazuchika Okada b. Hangman Page – Okada took his first win of the tournament by pinfall with the Rainmaker

Here are the current standings:

You can find the results for Night 1 here, Night 2 here, Night 3 here and Night 4 here. Don’t forget that SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy are posting their predictions for the tournament and you can check out how they fared with Night 5’s predictions right here.

WWE Champion, AJ Styles, was asked recently which side of the Bullet Club civil war angle he sides with. While it may have been easier for Styles to give a vague answer of “Those guys are all my friends,” or something similar, Styles did not hesitate to pick a side.

When asked if he was with Team Kenny or the Firing Squad, Styles was adamant. “I don’t know if you watched my last match that I had over in Japan with New Japan,” Styles said in reference to the night Omega kicked him out of Bullet Club. “I kind of got the crap kicked out of me by those guys. So, I’m a Firing Squad kind of guy.”

Bullet Club, January 5th, 2016

Following his match the night after the Tokyo Dome show in 2016, Omega turned on Styles. He gave him a 1-Winged Angel and then continued to deliver the boots to him.

The Young Bucks separated Omega from Styles while Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows tended to Styles. As Anderson and Gallows were holding Styles, however, the Bucks gave him a double super-kick. Anderson and Gallows then later joined in the beating of the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Omega would announce he was moving up to heavyweight afterward and Styles would be in WWE’s Royal Rumble later that month.

Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows would join Styles in WWE just months later, however. They would form “the Club” with Styles and it appeared as though Styles and the tag-team managed to work things out between them off-camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xK7T1ZlXfQ&frags=pl%2Cwn

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The Cleaner” was first asked about feuds he’s excited to be a part of in NJPW.

Immediately Omega mentioned that he’s “chomping at the bit” to show everyone what he can do with Kota Ibushi inside the ring:

“Sort of the match that everyone is looking forward to, and it’s going to happen because they’ve announced it for the G1 is the match with Ibushi.” Omega explained, “and I’m sort of really chomping at the bit to show everyone what Ibushi is really capable of.

“A lot of people do know what he can do, but I don’t think he has shown it in the newest form of his. I think he’s really ready to take the ball and kind of step into the league of four or five top guys that could headline any show for New Japan.

“And I think this G1 performance is kind of the perfect way to display that he’s one of those individuals. So Ibushi is one of them for sure.”

He also named several other stars that he’d like to work with; such as Naito, ZSJ, Hiromu Takahashi, Will Ospreay, and Rey Mysterio:

“I only ever get to work with Naito once a year,” Omega considered. “I’d love to wrestle him again. Yeah, he’s good for sure. The person I’ve never worked before in a New Japan ring and I’d be happy to get the chance and show the difference of styles is Zack Sabre, Jr., so that’d be another one. Yeah, he’s one of my favorites. Yeah, for sure [ZSJ has it factor].

“And I may be speaking a little premature, but I think of Hiromu as a guy that could possibly graduate from being a junior heavyweight and move onto other things just due to the fact that his charisma is too huge to be contained in just one division. I think he could do more than what he’s doing right now and I think they really need to capture that lightning in the bottle with that rather than keep him chained down so to speak.

“And yeah, for me, original, ‘you can’t see them everyday’ moments are important to me, so I’d say, I’d even like to show what I can do with a guy like Will Ospreay or working with Rey Mysterio, Jr. That’s another guy I’d love to show sort of that style of match. I really think our styles could work well together.”

You can listen to Omega’s interview on The Ross Report by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulgQmGeHeX4

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

This Saturday, Kenny Omega will face Tama Tonga in the G1 Climax 28 tournament. The match is arguably the biggest to take place in the Elite versus Bullet Club OGs angle so far.

Earlier today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, Omega defeated Hirooki Goto in the main event. Omega moves to 2-0 (4pts) in the tournament. He defeated Tetsuya Naito to open the tournament.

Tama Tonga is 1-1 (2pts) to start the tournament. He defeated Juice Robinson in his first match but dropped his second earlier today against Sanada. The LosInGobernables member got the better of Tonga with a pinning combination.

“I got Tama Tonga next,” Omega said in reference to his opponent on Saturday. “Tama Tonga, you think your idea of the Bullet Club is better than mine. F****ng prove it. It’s your chance. See you next time at Korakuen Hall.”

Kenny Omega Backstage Comments From G1 Climax 28 Night 4

“Goto, you fight with that Japanese spirit,” Omega said backstage following his victory. “That’s the same spirit I fell in love with, heck, 18 years ago, probably.”

Omega would then refer to himself as the most sought-after athlete on the planet.

“I’m right up there with other athletes such as Tiger Woods, and Larry Bird, and Michael Jackson,” Omega said before realizing it. “You know what I mean.”

As Omega is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, any wrestler who defeats him in the G1 is then in a position to challenge for his title. Should Tama Tonga defeat Kenny Omega, he would likely earn a title shot. Such a match could be scheduled for NJPW’s return to the United States on September 30th, 2018 in Long Beach.

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.

• Full Schedule for the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament (19 Shows)

SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy have made their predictions for Night 5 of the tournament, which takes place this Thursday 19th July.

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 4 here)

Jake Jeremy – Ok so we’re talking Night 5 of the G1, here are the scheduled matches:

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale
• Togi Makabe vs EVIL
• Michael Elgin vs Jay White
• Kazuchika Okada vs Hangman Page
• YOSHI-HASHI vs Minoru Suzuki

As a reminder here’s the standings for A Block:

• Jay White – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Michael Elgin – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Togi Makabe – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Hangman Page – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Evil – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Bad Luck Fale – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Kazuchika Okada – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Minoru Suzuki – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Yoshi-Hashi – 0 Points (0-2-0)

Ian Carey –

• To me Bad Luck Fale will beat Tanahashi because he has a history of doing so in these matches.
• EVIL beats Togi Makabe and I still don’t understand how Makabe beat Minoru Suzuki the other day…
• Elgin and White is interesting as they are both undefeated but Elgin has been selling an injured arm though, and that’s death for these tournaments so I think White improves to 3-0 there.
• Okada beats Hangman Page but in the course of doing so Kevin Kelly will sing Page’s praises
• …and Minoru Suzuki rips one of YOSHI-HASHI’s limbs off and wins by referee stoppage

Jake Jeremy – I think that Okada loses the match against Hangman Page. I still believe that Okada will have to work from the ground up now, he doesn’t need the G1

Ian Carey – You know I’m starting to think we could get ZSJ vs Okada in the finals. It would be their rubber match so I still think Okada’s winning

Jake Jeremy – Here’s my predictions:

• Bad Luck Fale beats Hiroshi Tanahashi
• EVIL beats Togi Makabe
• Jay White beats Michael Elgin
• Hangman Page beats Kazuchika Okada
• Minoru Suzuki beats YOSHI-HASHI
• In my mind if White wins the block then he can outright say to Okada “you’re too weak to be the leader of CHAOS”. That’s Okada’s feud for Destruction for me and what would a win do for Hangman as well here? A standout bout against one of the world’s best PLUS a win would make him an instant star

Ian Carey – White could also win his block, they clearly want to elevate him…Page beating Okada would be huge for him but at some point Okada has to turn this thing around

What are your predictions for Night 5? Let us know in the comments.

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. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 4:

SANADA b. Tama Tonga – SANADA took the pinfall win with a bridging O’Connor roll

Zack Sabre, Jr. b. Toru Yano – ZSJ took the pinfall win with the European Clutch

Kota Ibushi b. Juice Robinson – Ibushi took the pinfall win with the Kamigoye

Tetsuya Naito b. Tomohiro Ishii – Naito took the pinfall win after hitting the Destino

Kenny Omega b. Hirooki Goto – Omega took the pinfall win with the One-Winged Angel

Block A

• Jay White – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Michael Elgin – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Togi Makabe – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Hangman Page – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Evil – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Bad Luck Fale – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Kazuchika Okada – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Minoru Suzuki – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Yoshi-Hashi – 0 Points (0-2-0)

Block B

• Kenny Omega – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Kota Ibushi – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Tama Tonga – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Tomohiro Ishii – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Hirooki Goto – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Tetsuya Naito – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Zack Sabre Jr. – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Sanada – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Juice Robinson – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Toru Yano – 0 Points (0-2-0)

You can find the results for Night 1 here, Night 2 here and Night 3 here. Don’t forget that SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy are posting their predictions for the tournament and you can check out how they fared with Night 4’s predictions right here.

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.

• Full Schedule for the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament (19 Shows)

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

The G1 Climax 28 tournament is 3 shows into their 19 show tour. To keep everyone up-to-date with the tournament thus far we’ve put together a list of the most recommended matches thus far in the tournament. Below that we have the upcoming scheduled with key matches highlighted and the updated standings.

All matches and events air with english commentary on NJPWWorld.com 

Recommended Matches G1 Climax 28 (Nights 1 – 3) (Non-Spoiler)

1. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Kota Ibushi (night 2) (B Block)

2018 has been a breakthrough year for Zack Sabre Jr in NJPW. Winning the New Japan Cup solidified him as someone who will have IWGP-endorsed titles around his waist at some point.

At a recent NJPW Strong Style Evolved UK show, ZSJ pinned Kazuchika Okada. ZSJ has defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJ Cup Finals), Tetsuya Naito (NJ Cup opening round), and Okada this year. He’ll get a chance to wrestle Omega later in the tournament, which is pretty much the only big name he has left to beat.

This match from night 2 in the B block is also a rematch from the quarter-finals of the New Japan Cup when the referee stopped the match after Ibushi passed out in a submission. Ibushi is the only of ZSJ’s 4 opponents in the tournament not to actually submit.

2. Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito (night 2) (B Block)

If you’re an NJPW fan this match doesn’t require any selling. They are the two most popular stars in the company, including Kazuchika Okada.

Here are just a few other statistics as to why this match was important:

• It’s a rematch of the finals last year when Naito defeated Omega.
• In 2016, Omega defeated Naito in the round-robin en route to winning the tournament.
• It’s just the 3rd time they’ve faced each other in a single’s match.
• Omega’s recent comments about how the Japanese wrestlers don’t go to the gym as much as the international wrestlers do seems to have hit a nerve with Naito. Omega frequently makes statements about not liking LIJ. At some point, an LIJ vs Bullet Club rivalry is coming.
• Since Omega is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a win here would put him in line for a future shot against Omega.
• They are also the last two men to win the G1.
• This match is currently the highest-rated by users of the statistics-based website, Cagematch, with a 9.53 rating as of this writing.

3. Hangman Page vs Bad Luck Fale (night 1) (A Block)

This is the first match of the Bullet Club OG vs The Elite angle. It’s not recommended viewing so much for its athleticism as it is for its spectacle and storyline development.

Also, Bad Luck Fale keeps shouting “F*** em” and that’s pretty funny.

4. Hangman Page vs Michael Elgin (night 3)  (A Block)

Kevin Kelly pointed out on commentary that these two met three times in Ring of Honor. This would have been when Page was just developing. He really shows just how much he’s developed in this match. His style meshes with Elgin’s strongman style well. Elgin is all slimmed down and looks to be in great shape too.

5. EVIL vs Michael Elgin (night 2) (B Block)

Speaking of Michael Elgin being in good shape, he demonstrated this in a different way during this match. Elgin and EVIL do some reversals and sequences in this match which are pretty impressive to see.

6. Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada (night 1) (A Block)

The story behind this match is White has said ever since he joined CHAOS that one day he’d face Okada. White is sort of the black sheep of the stable and Rocky Romero has frequently mentioned this on commentary.

Romero would grow further frustrated with White as this match wore on. White and CHAOS is a storyline which could take time to develop or it could combust quickly, we’ll just have to see.

Other recommended matches

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki (night 1)
• Jay White Hiroshi Tanahashi (night 3)
• Bad Luck Fale vs Kazuchika Okada (for storyline purposes…) (night 3)

Upcoming Schedule

Single’s champions are highlighted

“Night 4 (B Block)
July 19th, 2018

• 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

Night 5 (A Block)
July 20th, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale
• Togi Makabe vs EVIL
• Michael Elgin vs Jay White
• Kazuchika Okada vs Hangman Page
• YOSHI-HASHI vs Minoru Suzuki

Night 6 (B Block)
July 21st, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs Tetsuya Naito
• Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii
• Toru Yano vs Kota Ibushi
• Kenny Omega vs Tama Tonga
  • Every Kenny Omega match is important because it can lead to a future title match. This match, however, is also important for storyline purposes. If Tonga wins this match it could set up a Tama Tonga vs Kenny Omega IWGP Heavyweight title match at the September 30th show in Long Beach. That is just speculation, however.
  • This is a big match in the career of Tama Tonga.
• SANADA vs Zack Sabre Jr

Night 7 (A Block)
July 22nd, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hangman Page
• Togi Makabe vs Kazuchika Okada
• Michael Elgin vs YOSHI-HASHI
• Jay White vs Minoru Suzuki
• EVIL vs Bad Luck Fale

Night 8 (B Block)
July 26th, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs Kenny Omega
• Hirooki Goto vs Tou Yano
• Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Jr
• Tetsuya Naito vs Tama Tonga
• SANADA vs Kota Ibushi

Night 9 (A Block)
July 27th, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Togi Makabe
• Michael Elgin vs Minoru Suzuki
• Kazuchika Okada vs YOSHI-HASHI
• Jay White vs Bad Luck Fale
• EVIL vs Hangman Page

Night 10 (B Block)
July 28th, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs Toru Yano
• Hirooki Goto vs Tetsuya Naito
• Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi
• Kenny Omega vs SANADA
• Tama Tonga vs Zack Sabre Jr.

Night 11 (A Block)
July 30th, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs YOSHI-HASHI
• Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale
• Michael Elgin vs Kazuchika Okada
• Jay White vs Hangman Page
• EVIL vs Minoru Suzuki

Night 12 (B Block)
August 1st, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs SANADA
• Hirooki Goto vs Kota Ibushi
• Tomohiro Ishii vs Tama Tonga
• Toru Yano vs Tetsuya Naito
• Kenny Omega vs Zack Sabre Jr

Night 13 (A Block)
August 2nd, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs EVIL
• Togi Makabe vs Hangman Page
• Michael Elgin vs Bad Luck Fale
• Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki
  • The first time these two met was in 2013. Suzuki defeated Okada that night. Okada has won the last 4 NJPW matches between them, however. His victories include 2 IWGP Heavyweight title defenses and 2 matches in G1 round-robin matches.
  • The last time they faced each other was actually outside NJPW, however. They met in the main event of Minoru Suzuki’s 30th Anniversary “Great Pirates Festival”. In the pouring rain, the two went to a time limit draw.
• Jay White vs YOSHI-HASHI

Night 14 (B Block)
August 4th, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs Zack Sabre Jr
  • A Zack Sabre Junior victory here would put him in line for a shot at the IWGP United States Championship. ZSJ is one of the big names NJPW has to showcase to their European audience and Juice is becoming that for their American audience.
  • This seems like it could be an important match for NJPW’s international markets but it could also just be a good wrestling match.
• Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga
• Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega
• Toru Yano vs SANADA
• Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi

Night 15 (A Block)
August 5th, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Michael Elgin
• Togi Makabe vs Jay White
• Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL
• YOSHI-HASHI vs Bad Luck Fale
• Hangman Page vs Minoru Suzuki

Night 16 (B Block)
August 8th, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs Tomohiro Ishii
• Hirooki Goto vs Zack Sabre Jr
• Toru Yano vs Kenny Omega
  • Yano’s inclusion in the G1 seems to really upset some people. His comedy is also seen as a way of breaking up the monotony of serious single’s matches but some feel the G1 should be a straight-up serious tournament.
  • Omega and Yano matches in this tournament before have been both hilarious and controversial. This one will likely be as well. Yano is saying he is trying not to cheat this tournament but somehow I don’t see that holding up…
• Kota Ibushi vs Tama Tonga
• Tetsuya Naito vs SANADA

Night 17 (A Block)
August 10th, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada
  • This will be the main event of the night and is arguably the biggest rivalry in NJPW history.
  • We won’t know exactly what is on the line until match time, however.
• Togi Makabe vs Michael Elgin
• Jay White vs EVIL
• YOSHI-HASHI vs Hangman Page
• Bad Luck Fale vs Minoru Suzuki

Night 18 (B Block)
August 11th, 2018

• Juice Robinson vs Hirooki Goto
• Tomohiro Ishii vs SANADA
• Toru Yano vs Tama Tonga
• Kenny Omega vs Kota Ibushi
  • The Golden Lovers collide!
  • They’ve met each other twice before, each time in DDT in 2008. Ibushi won both matches.
  • By the time this match comes about, we’ll no more about how it could impact the standings.
• Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr

Night 19 (Finals)
August 12th, 2018

• A Block Winner vs B Block Winner”

G1 Climax 28 Results (Nights 1-3)

Night 1 (A Block)
July 14th, 2018

• Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki
• Togi Makabe defeated YOSHI-HASHI
• Michael Elgin defeated EVIL
• Jay White defeated Kazuchika Okada
• Hangman Page defeated Bad Luck Fale via DQ

Night 2 (B-Block)
July 15th, 2018

• Tama Tonga defeated Juice Robinson
• Hirooki Goto defeated SANADA
• Tomohiro Ishii defeated Toru Yano
• Kenny Omega defeated Tetsuya Naito
• Kota Ibushi defeated Zack Sabre Jr

Night 3 (A Block)
July 16th, 2018

• Jay White defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Togi Makabe defeated Minoru Suzuki
• Michael Elgin defeated Hangman Page
• Bad Luck Fale defeated Kazuchika Okada
• EVIL defeated YOSHI-HASHI

Standings:

Block A

• Michael Elgin – 4pts
• Togi Makabe – 4pts
• Jay White – 4pts
• EVIL – 2pts
• Bad Luck Fale – 2pts
• Hangman Page – 2pts
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 2pts
• Minoru Suzuki – 2pts
• Kazuchika Okada – 0pts
• YOSHI-HASHI – 0pts

Block B

• Hirooki Goto 2pts
• Kota Ibushi 2pts
• Tomohiro Ishii 2pts
• Kenny Omega 2pts
• Tama Tonga 2pts
• Tetsuya Naito 0pts
• Juice Robinson 0pts
• Zack Sabre Jr 0pts
• SANADA 0pts
• Toru Yano 0pts

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 3:

Michael Elgin b. Hangman Page – Elgin took the win via pinfall with the Elgin Bomb

EVIL b. YOSHI-HASHI – EVIL took the pinfall win after hitting his namesake move

Togi Makabe b. Minoru Suzuki – Makabe took somewhat of a shock pinfall win with the King Kong Knee Drop

Bad Luck Fale b. Kazuchika Okada – Fale also took a shock win by pinfall with Bad Luck Fall after Tama Tonga interfered and hit a Gun Stun on Okada

“Switchblade” Jay White b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – White took the pinfall win after hitting the Blade Runner. This came after a ref bump and a chair to Tanahashi’s face. White cut a promo after the match celebrating his wins over Okada and Tanahashi.

Here are the current tournament standings:

Block A

• Jay White – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Michael Elgin – 4 Points (2-0-0)
• Togi Makabe – 4 Points -2-0-0)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Hangman Page – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Evil – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Bad Luck Fale – 2 Points (1-1-0)
• Kazuchika Okada – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Minoru Suzuki – 0 Points (0-2-0)
• Yoshi-Hashi – 0 Points (0-2-0)

Block B

• Kenny Omega – 2 Points (1-0-0)
• Tama Tonga – 2 Points (1-0-0)
• Tomohiro Ishii – 2 Points (1-0-0)
• Kota Ibushi – 2 Points (1-0-0)
• Hirooki Goto 2 Points (1-0-0)
• Tetsuya Naito – 0 Points (0-1-0)
• Zack Sabre Jr. – 0 Points (0-1-0)
• Sanada – 0 Points (0-1-0)

You can find the results for Night 1 here and Night 2 here. Don’t forget that SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy are posting their predictions for the tournament and you can check out how they fared with Night 3’s predictions right here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 2:

B Block Results

Tomohiro Ishii b. Toru Yano – Ishii took the win via a low blow into La Casita

Tama Tonga b. Juice Robinson – Tonga took the pinfall win after reversing the Pulp Friction into a Gun Stun

Hirooki Goto b. SANADA – Goto won by pinfall after hitting the GTR

Kota Ibushi b. Zack Sabre, Jr. – Ibushi won via pinfall after hitting the Kamigoye

Kenny Omega b. Tetsuya Naito – Omega won via pinfall after hitting the One-Winged Angel

You can find the results for Night 1 here. Don’t forget that SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy are posting their predictions for the tournament and you can check out Night 3’s predictions right here.

G1 CLIMAX Night2 results! Yano is a man possessed! Ibushi survives a technical clinic! And Omega and Naito have an absolute war!!?G128?https://t.co/TLYQWKBRNA#njpw #g128 pic.twitter.com/8qUyXps5mg

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) July 15, 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.

• Full Schedule for the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament (19 Shows)

SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy have made their predictions for Night 3 of the tournament, which takes place this Monday July 16th.

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 2 here)

Jake Jeremy – Ok so we’re talking Night 3 of the G1 tournament. Here are the bouts:

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White
Togi Makabe vs Minoru Suzuki
Michael Elgin vs Hangman Page
Kazuchika Okada vs Bad Luck Fale
YOSHI-HASHI vs EVIL

Ian Carey – My predictions for the second night of A Block action are as follows:

• Jay White beats Tanahashi – this way he’ll have 2 straight wins in a main event and he avenges his loss to him at the Tokyo Dome last year
• Minoru Suzuki beats Togi Makabe
• Michael Elgin beats Hangman Page – I think Elgin will lose a lot later in the tournament because he’s selling an arm injury
• Bad Luck Fale beats Okada – This is my underdog pick, then everyone will comment on how poorly he’s (Okada) doing and he’ll come back to win the block in dramatic fashion
• EVIL beats YOSHI-HASHI

Jake Jeremy – I actually agree with your Fale assessment, but I can see Okada actually losing quite a few matches and NOT winning the block. One of the biggest grievances that I’ve seen surrounding Okada is that he doesn’t emote enough, if he is seen to have more of a personality and “human” in this post IWGP title run then when he finally gets the belt back it’ll mean that much more. Anyway here’s my predictions:

• Jay White beats Hiroshi Tanahashi – I’m still seeing Jay White win A Block
• Minoru Suzuki beats Togi Makabe – This’ll get Suzuki’s tournament started after the loss to Tanahashi
• Michael Elgin beats Hangman Page
• Bad Luck Fale beats Kazuchika Okada
• EVIL beats YOSHI-HASHI

Ian Carey – I just know NJPW has a lot invested in the guy (Okada). I think he wins G1 and beats Omega in the Tokyo Dome. I think Okada defends the title against Jay White early next year unless they’ve decided Naito and Omega are just more popular and they should be the top two guys…which might be the case, plus with all the international expansion talk things might change up fairly dramatically

?????!!?
7?16?(???)?????????????14??????
????????????????
?????????????????
?????14?????https://t.co/OPjEJIoCYq#njpw #g128 pic.twitter.com/cbaDvMhPwT

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) July 15, 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.

• Full Schedule for the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament (19 Shows)

SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy made their predictions for Night 2 of the tournament, which takes place this Sunday July 15th.

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 1 here)

Ian Carey – So we have night 2 in the B Block – Omega vs Naito in the main event
so this is interesting because hints have been dropped by both sides that an LIJ vs Bullet Club feud is coming

Jake Jeremy – Wouldn’t they want to do a Firing Squad vs Elite feud first?

Ian Carey – Omega making that comment about how the Japanese wrestlers don’t go to the gym as much as the others on the roster. That was all to build to an eventual rivalry
they are doing that first but this will come after
it could be a year from now, it could be longer, but eventually

Jake Jeremy – So who wins? Can Omega really lose this quick?

Ian Carey – Kevin Kelly was mentioning on commentary how Evil and Naito got upset at that. I think Omega wins but enough Naito is somehow kept strong/I think Naito is winning the block though and I imagine Omega is going to drop matches to Tama Tonga and Kota Ibushi

Jake Jeremy – So you have an Okada vs Naito final?

Ian Carey – Exactly, i know Okada’s on a losing streak but i think he turns it up and comes back to win the block

Jake Jeremy – Ok so the matches are:
Juice Robinson vs Tama Tonga
Hirooki Goto vs SANADA
Tomohiro Ishii vs Toru Yano
Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito
Kota Ibushi vs Zack Sabre Jr

Ian Carey – Speaking of Tama Tonga; I have him beating Juice which may set up a US title match down the line except I also figure Tonga is going to beat Omega and get a heavyweight title shot…anyway here’s my predictions for Night 2:

• Tama Tonga beats Juice Robinson
• SANADA beats Hirooki Goto
• Toru Yano beats Tomohiro Ishii
• Kenny Omega beats Tetsuya Naito
• Zack Sabre Jr beats Kota Ibushi

Jake Jeremy – I’m seeing Tama taking the win as well. I know that Juice is the new US Champion but Firing Squad are the ‘in thing’ right now

Ian Carey – How Zack Sabre Jr does this tournament should be interesting, they’ve sort of established this year that he can beat anyone…he used a Michinoku Driver in his tag match today for the win (Night 1)

Jake Jeremy – Zack Sabre Jr won the PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16, he’s won wXw 16 Carat Gold and he’s won PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles I think?

Ian Carey – He won the New Japan Cup and beat Okada a couple of weeks ago…In other words, he’s glad he didn’t sign on to be a part of 205 live

Jake Jeremy – Of course, I forgot about the cup! So here’s my predictions for Night 2

• Tama Tonga beats Juice Robinson (I think this might be via DQ)
• SANADA beats Hirooki Goto
• Tomohiro Ishii beats Toru Yano
• Kenny Omega beats Tetsuya Naito
• Zack Sabre Jr beats Kota Ibushi

Jake Jeremy – I think that the only difference we have is Yano!

Ian Carey – B Block is going to be more fun to follow I think

???????
7?15?(?)15?? ??????????12??????
???????vs??? ??vs??????vsSANADA?????????
????????????SHO?YOH?
????????!!https://t.co/AZdvXFrzUR#g128 #njpw pic.twitter.com/ijvkJC4E7B

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) July 14, 2018

So here’s the full predictions:

Ian Carey

• Tama Tonga beats Juice Robinson
• SANADA beats Hirooki Goto
• Toru Yano beats Tomohiro Ishii
• Kenny Omega beats Tetsuya Naito
• Zack Sabre Jr beats Kota Ibushi

Jake Jeremy

• Tama Tonga beats Juice Robinson (I think this might be via DQ)
• SANADA beats Hirooki Goto
• Tomohiro Ishii beats Toru Yano
• Kenny Omega beats Tetsuya Naito
• Zack Sabre Jr beats Kota Ibushi

What are your predictions for Night 2? Let us know in the comments.

The inanimate toy cat of Hiromu Takahashi’s has sent out an update on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion’s condition. Hiromu was dropped on his head during the G1 Special in San Fransico. It was reported he collapsed in the back after finishing the match and was taken to hospital.

Updates from New Japan Pro Wrestling on his condition have only stated he was conscious and sitting up in the hospital and has now flown back to Japan.

A Twitter post from Hiromu’s account appears to show Darryl Takahashi holding up a sign with an update from Hiromu.

Darryl Takahashi Updates Hiromu Takahashi’s Condition

While the sign states that Hiromu is fine, it also shows an illustration with his head severed from his body. So, it’s tough to know exactly what they are trying to communicate here.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also noted he heard that Hiromu will not require surgery, which is also a positive sign.

IWGP United States Champion, Juice Robinson, also commented on Hiromu’s injury recently. Robinson made his comments during an appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.

“When you hear broken neck people think (the person is paralyzed) but that’s not with every broken neck,” Juice said. “Hopefully his broken neck is just you know time off. Even though that still sucks but that beats the alternative. After seeing it, this is probably the best case scenario cause that looked like it could’ve been the last bump he ever took.”

Up until his injury, it had been a career year for Hiromu. He won the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors en route to winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the second time.

transcriptions via Mandatoryhttps://twitter.com/TIMEBOMB1105/status/1018007355957506053

Former Ring of Honor World Champion and one of the de-facto leaders of the Bullet Club Cody Rhodes recently spoke to ESPN as part of an article featuring ‘Hangman Page’ from the aformentioned New Japan stable.

Cody claimed that “Adam Page is making a run, unbeknownst to us all, he’s making a run for best wrestler in the world long before he should be,” Cody then went on to mention that “He’s got Kenny Omega right there by him to help him along. He’s got Matt and Nick to help him along. He has me. He has Marty. He’s a sponge to all of that, and then he’s a sponge to the wrestling he grew up on.“

Rhodes is not the only member of the New Japan roster who sees big things ahead for Hangman; “Chris Jericho saw Adam Page at Dominion and he jokingly said, ‘What is this guy, 6-5, 265 pounds, a Texan doing a shooting star press?’. Adam Page isn’t any of those things except the shooting star press. The presence of him is what made Jericho turn his head. Everything in wrestling is about turning your head. I can’t sing his praises enough. He’s just the man.“

You can check out the full article from ESPN here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 1:

Non Tournament Bouts:

Hirooki Goto & Jado b. Ren Narita & Toa Henare

SHO & Tomohiro Ishii b. Toru Yano & YOH

Guerrillas of Destiny Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa b. David Finlay & Juice Robinson

TAKA Michinoku & Zack Sabre, Jr. b. Kota Ibushi & Yujiro Takahashi

SANADA & Tetsuya Naito b. Chase Owens & Kenny Omega

?G1????????????
????“??”????????????????…?
?7.14???????????????????????????https://t.co/swkmxxv4nk#njpw #g128 pic.twitter.com/6NbNmSWnDk

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) July 14, 2018

A BLOCK Matches 

Togi Makabe b. YOSHI-HASHI – Makabe took the pinfall win after hitting the King Kong Knee Drop

Hangman Page b. Bad Luck Fale – Page won the match via disqualification after the Guerrillas of Destiny interfered. The Golden Lovers later made the save

Michael Elgin b. EVIL – Elgin won via pinfall with the Elgin Bomb

Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Minoru Suzuki – Tanahashi won via pinfall after hitting the High Fly Flow

“Switchblade” Jay White b. Kazuchika Okada – White took the shock win via pinfall after hitting the Blade Runner after a ref bump and a low blow. After the match he cut a promo claiming that CHAOS was “his” stable.

#G128 A??????? @suzuki_D_minoru VS @tanahashi1_100 ?
???????@suzuki_D_minoru ???????????????"???ACE"@tanahashi1_100 ???????????
??????https://t.co/NxJKtVK94f
#NJPW #NJPWWorld #G128 pic.twitter.com/wm3MtbzV8P

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 14, 2018

Kevin Kelly touched on an interesting topic during a recent interview about what some will say is becoming an issue within the pro wrestling world.

The NJPW announcer spoke with Sporting News to talk about various topics including if there a concern of the danger level rising in matches especially within NJPW due to their strong style mentality.

Kelly would note that it’s a fear and something to keep an eye on. He did bring up the fact that some could question from a fans’ perspective if it’s a let down because we’re prisoners of the moment and the snap reaction was that last year’s G1 was the greatest of all-time.

“People would say that after each night. How could tomorrow top it? It just does. Hopefully, that comes from not how high we can jump off of something. What story can we tell that’s unique, that hasn’t been told before, and will never be told again.”

Kelly called the classic title match between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega at Dominion and when asked about it, the NJPW announcer gave some insight by stating that they knew at that moment that everyone was witnessing history. He pointed out that in the last minute of the match, he knew right then and there that they were seeing one of the greatest matches of all time.

“This was just the beginning of the final scene. Sure enough, it was. Omega gets up, hits the ropes, V-Trigger, One-Winged Angel, and we’ve got a new champ. I wanted to jump up and scream. I wanted to applaud.”

What are your thoughts on Kelly’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

Kenny Omega has given some high praise to one New Japan Pro Wrestling Star who has reinvented himself in the promotion after his departure from the WWE and that’s Juice Robinson.

The IWGP Heavyweight Champion recently appeared on The Ross Report to talk with WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross about various topics. When talking about Robinson, Omega pointed out that people are starting to believe in Robinson and that he’s going to start to connect to people in a brand new way and people are going to start to care more about what he does in the ring.

Omega would continue to say that he remembers that he was sort of recognized as a graduate of the Young Lions kind of program even though he was fully trained when he came to New Japan.

“This is sort of a gimmick kind of thing. But he was doing the punches. You know he [has] got those great punches and he eventually wanted the crowd to chant, ‘Juice’ with it as he did every jab. And I worked with him in a singles match in one of the country towns and none of them knew to chant the ‘Juice’ and he was really disappointed about that, but now he’ll go anywhere and everybody is all about his punches and they’re all about his character. He’s really starting to get that effect and have that gathering and people are really starting to cheer for him as an underdog.”

Switching gears to former ROH World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes, Omega, who just wrestled him last weekend at NJPW G1 Special, stated that he always look forward to when working with Cody because it’s rare that he gets to work with someone who has such good facials and selling ability.

“So I love being able to work with people like that. It allows for moments, and moves to feel more real, and for people to kind of take in the in-between stuff a lot more.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes.

What are your thoughts on Omega’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

NJPW held a press conference today to promote the G1 Climax 28. The tournament gets started tomorrow.

One of the match-ups that everyone is looking forward to will take place on July 21st, 2018. On that night, Kenny Omega will face Tama Tonga.

Tonga was all confidence when he appeared at the G1 Climax 28 press conference today. He turned his attention to Omega shortly after he began speaking.

“You can just feel the tension right here!” Tonga said before turning to Omega (who was seated to the left of the podium). “Do you blame me for what I did?”

Bullet Club “Firing Squad” versus Bullet Club “the Elite”

“(Kenny Omega) shouldn’t be mad. He should be thanking me,” Tonga said. “I granted him his wish! I cut him away from Bullet Club so he can be the super-Kliq, no wait Golden Lovers, no wait, Golden.. whatever team he’s always wanted. Obviously, he’s never wanted to be Bullet Club. You can just tell that from the very beginning!”

With the Cody vs Omega rivalry over, it now looks as though this version of the Bullet Club civil war angle will play a key role in NJPW storylines.

“As for the G1,” Tonga continued. “I want (Kenny Omega) and he knows that. Everyone here knows that. This G1 I’ll show you how good I am.”

For his part, Omega chose not to comment on Tama Tonga or the Firing Squad. He simply promised the fans that he would put in a good performance at the tournament.

“I promise you, every match will be a best bout,” Omega said. “It will only be a race for a distant second place.”

Hangman Page vs Bad Luck Fale

While Omega vs Tonga might be the most anticipated match of the new rivalry, the first battle takes place tomorrow. The first match between the Elite and the Firing Squad will be between Hangman Page and Bad Luck Fale.

While Fale was not present for the Cow Palace attack, it’s been made clear since that he played a pivotal role in the planning. Fale also sent out the following Tweet which Page took offense to.

Fuck ‘em!

— Rogue General (@TOKSFALE) July 8, 2018

Fale then gave the same statement as his pre G1 speech during the press conference.

“Is there more to that?” Page asked Fale. “Is it F*** Me, is it F*** Kenny, is it F*** the Elite? Is that what you are trying to say? You’re not making it very clear, Fale. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Last Saturday, Haku and his sons, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, attacked Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. As NJPW heads into the G1 Climax tournament, the big rivalry appears to now be the Bullet Club “Firing Squad” against Bullet Club’s “the Elite.”

Earlier this week, Haku appeared on the 2-Man Power Trip podcast with Shane Douglas and spoke on a variety of topics.

Haku on His Reputation

Haku is often credited with being one of the toughest men ever in the business. When asked, however, Haku admitted some of the stories about him are a little embellished.

“I’ll tell you that some of them are true and some of them they make up,” Haku said on people who tell stories about his toughness. “The beating up the people in bars is again just protecting the business and showing them what this business is all about. So most of them are true and I’m not bragging, I’m just telling you guys that it was just me protecting the business. People just had the wrong timing and had a few beers and would turn around calling the business saying it was fake and sometimes I guess it was jealousy that we were in the bar and that girls saw you on TV and start talking to you and are not talking to those local boys so there was other things that happened.”

Haku on Teaming With His Sons in NJPW

Since early 2016 when he appeared in the New Japan Rumble, Haku has been an occasional presence in Bullet Club. He often gets to team with his sons, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and HIKULEO.

“I always try to give back to the Japanese and for what they have done for me,” Haku said. “I’ve always said that no matter who the promoter is that it is only a job but in Japan, it is showing them that I respect them and am grateful. With New Japan, we’ve gone to New Zealand together and of course, Japan and I hope that my boys understand that. With this new generation, I’m not too sure sometimes if they understand that. I’m not too sure if you know that sometimes history ends and my life is to give back and It is my life to show them the way and I hope they understand that. In Japan, they know our relationship and they give me another chance to go there.”

Haku On Legitimate Tough Guys In Wrestling

When asked about legit tough guy wrestlers such as the Road Warriors or Steiner Brothers, Haku says he was intimidated by them.

“I was afraid of them and I am still away from them. They were all the toughest guys that I knew in the field and I was just a third world country boy that has come into the business and trying to feed my family back home so whatever comes in my way (laughing) you know things happen.”

While others will disagree with him on this point, Haku does not believe he is the toughest man in the history of wrestling.

“I am not the toughest. I am a gentleman (laughing) just doing my job and it was those guys that are tough (Steiners and Road Warriors) and they don’t know how tough they are,” Haku said. “But things happen and in the old days we were taught that with the wrestling we “kayfabe” them and we protect our business inside and outside the ring. So when we weren’t filming it was when I was protecting our business and it was to show respect but things happen just because people showed disrespect and in life there is wrestling and there is no wrestling and for me it was protecting the business.”

Transcription via Wrestling Inc

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced Rey Mysterio will return to the promotion next month. The famous luchador is scheduled to have a match on the final night of the G1 Climax 28 show from the Nippon Budokan on August 12th, 2018.

Full lineup for G1 CLIMAX 28!!! Kenny faces Ibushi in a tag team match on August 10th! Rey Mysterio Jr. and Pro-Wrestler Sengoku Enbu set for action on August 12th!https://t.co/iUVb1aWjdE#njpw #g128 pic.twitter.com/PKThri6O1o

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) July 13, 2018

Mysterio’s opponent for the show has yet to be named, however. His only match for NJPW to date was at last month’s Dominion. On that night, he teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin Liger in a losing effort to Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll.

Mysterio originally challenged Jushin Liger when he first appeared in NJPW. A match between the two legends for Strong Style Evolved was eventually scrapped last year, however. Mysterio was forced to withdraw from the event due to a torn bicep.

It’s possible Liger is named later as his opponent, however that is only speculation.

Rey Mysterio NJPW

At 43-years-of age, Mysterio has been working hard to keep in shape for what is likely the final few years of his career. Mysterio posted on Instagram recently that he is having stem cell therapy done on his knee (which has been a frequent problem) and his bicep (which he tore last year).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk6QKaOABBA/?hl=en&taken-by=619iamlucha

Rey Mysterio WWE Contract Update

Yesterday, we reported that Rey Mysterio and WWE were close to a deal. The only remaining sticking points were the remaining commitments Mysterio has left. One of those dates is All-In on September 1st, 2018. Mysterio does have dates booked after then as well.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star and IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson was recently a guest on Sean Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. He first talked about WWE Hall Of Fame commentator Jim Ross getting injured during his match at the G1 Special in San Francisco on Saturday:

“I thought it was squashed after the show. Obviously, it wasn’t our intention to hurt JR. I think he knew that, because why would we want to take the attention off the match? Nobody wants to hurt anybody, especially a 70-year-old guy.

“We apologized because it’s just a bummer that it happened. We’re in the wrong at the end of the day. I thought the guardrails were gonna be locked, I went out there earlier in the day because I knew we were gonna be hitting the fences pretty hard so I wanted to make sure they were interlocked. The guys on the floor at 4pm told me they were going to be so I thought it would be okay.”

He then offered his thoughts on the injury that Hiromu Takahashi’s sustained at the G1 Special as well:

“When you hear broken neck people, you think [paralyzed], but that’s not with every broken neck. Hopefully his broken neck is just time off. Even though, that still sucks but that beats the alternative. After seeing it, this is probably the best case scenario because that looked like it could’ve been the last bump he ever took.”

Robinson then compared the differences between training in the WWE Performance Center and the NJPW dojo:

“The Dojo was more bumping – you have to remember that there were a lot of guys that are really just starting out to even take like backdrops and hip tosses. When I was at the Performance Center, I was in one of the higher classes where obviously we already knew that stuff. In the Dojo, for me, I was just going through the drills, just the basic drills, stuff you can do in your sleep but you get a workout out of it.

“The Performance Center, it turned more into a mental thing… you know a lot tape study, a lot of studying psychology, applying the finer things of the business. The Dojo just kinda got back to the basics.”

You can listen to Juice Robinson’s interview on the X-Pac 12360 podcast by clicking this link here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.

• Full Schedule for the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament (19 Shows)

SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy made their predictions for Night 1 of the tournament, which takes place this Saturday, July 14th.

Here are their thoughts:

Jake Jeremy – Ok so we’re talking Night 1 of the G1 Climax, we’ve got some sleeper matches in here but let’s talk winners and losers, here’s the full card:

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki
• Togi Makabe vs YOSHI-HASHI
• Michael Elgin vs EVIL
• Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White
• Bad Luck Fale vs Hangman Page

Ian Carey – Definitely not going to win is Yoshi-Hashi. My Prediction to win it all is Kazuchika Okada as I really feel he is going to face Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome next year. I think that he’ll face Tetsuya Naito in the finals.

Jake Jeremy: Wow really? I don’t think that Okada is winning, I’ve got Kota Ibushi down as my favourite to face Kenny at Wrestle Kingdom.

Ian Carey – I mean I don’t know but to me Okada seems like the safest pick. I’d love to see Kota win but I feel Okada is a stronger possibility. I also think that Tama Tonga beats Omega in the round-robin and gets the title shot in Long Beach on September 30th

Jake Jeremy – That makes sense for Tama to win with the Firing Squad building momentum, but hey Kenny could win the G1.

Ian Carey – It’s a really important tournament for Tama Tonga. This is where he becomes a main event guy. Ok so my predictions for Night 1 are:

• Bad Luck Fale beats Hangman Page – Which is really the first Elite vs Firing Squad match and the Firing Squad need to build more momentum
• Kazuchika Okada beats Jay White – Although I could easily see them giving White a win here since he just lost to Juice
• Togi Makabe beats Yoshi-Hashi – in a match I won’t watch
• EVIL beats Michael Elgin – again, a match I probably won’t watch

Jake Jeremy – Here’s my predictions for Night 1:

• Bad Luck Fale beats Hangman Page – I completely agree, this is the first Bullet Club ‘Civil War’ bout and I see Fale getting the win
• Jay White beats Kazuchika Okada  – Night 1 of the G1 tends to have a shock or two so I’m guessing that White gets the win here. He might even get damn close to winning the block
• Yoshi-Hashi beats Togi Makabe  – I will watch this match because I hate myself. I’m going for YOSHI-HASHI because why the hell not?
• Michael Elgin beats EVIL – I’m going Elgin because EVIL isn’t going anywhere in this tournament sadly.

Ian Carey – But if Okada is going to go all the way a win here seems important. Though, as you said, he might not be going all the way

Jake Jeremy – I really don’t see Okada doing it, I think he might even be put in the IC Title picture to rebuild it but that’s not highly likely though

Ian Carey – Did you know Okada has had 10 matches that Meltzer has ranked as 5 stars or better?

Jake Jeremy – That doesn’t shock me, 4.5 is average at best anyway according to Omega.

Ian Carey – Tanahashi vs Suzuki is a tough one to call. I think I’m going to take Suzuki though. I feel like a possible route they go is Suzuki injuring one of Tanahashi’s limbs or something which gives Tanahashi an excuse to lose a bunch of matches this summer

Jake Jeremy – Has anyone ever been ‘taken out’ of a G1? Could Minoru just straight out destroy Tanahashi so that he can’t compete in later bouts?

Ian Carey – I don’t know if they’ve ever planned it but wrestlers have had to pull out
they just lose all their remaining matches by default. Alex Shelley had to do it once in the BOSJ

Jake Jeremy – Maybe that’s Suzuki’s strategy…injure everyone and have a shorter run to the final

Ian Carey – Ah ok, so on the final night of A Block its Tanahashi vs Okada. That leads me to believe it could be the two of them in the running on the last day cause nobody else has a big match

Jake Jeremy – Maybe they could go to a Draw like last time?

Ian Carey – In the A Block it has to be Okada coming out…I take it back, I now think Tanahashi beats Suzuki on the first night

Jake Jeremy – I’m going with Minoru

Ian Carey – Somebody will go to a dramatic draw this tournament. Could be Omega and Ibushi on the last day. I find it hard to pick against Minoru Suzuki, possibly because I’m worried he’ll find out…but i think A Block will just be the Tanahashi vs Okada show.

So here’s the full predictions:

Ian Carey

• Bad Luck Fale beats Hangman Page
• Kazuchika Okada beats Jay White
• Togi Makabe beats Yoshi-Hashi
• EVIL beats Michael Elgin
• Hiroshi Tanahashi beats Minoru Suzuki

Jake Jeremy

• Bad Luck Fale beats Hangman Page
• Jay White beats Kazuchika Okada
• Yoshi-Hashi beats Togi Makabe
• Michael Elgin beats EVIL
• Minoru Suzuki beats Hiroshi Tanahashi

What are your predictions for Night 1? Let us know in the comments.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.

Here are the tournament bouts announced for Night 1 were A Block takes the spotlight:

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki
• Togi Makabe vs YOSHI-HASHI
• Michael Elgin vs EVIL
• Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White
• Bad Luck Fale vs Hangman Page

The real headline grabbing bout for Night 1 appears to be between CHAOS stablemates Kazuchika Okada and Jay White.

Jay White is one of the more intriguing elements of this year’s G1 tournament, the ‘Switchblade’ recently lost his IWGP United States Championship to Juice Robinson and this has lead many to believe that he might actually win A Block. New Japan are clearly excited about the talented New Zealander’s prospects and a win here against Okada is certainly not out of the question. Okada himself is now in arguably the strangest position of his recent NJPW career, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion isn’t currently considered a favourite to win the G1 and it will be interesting to see his path between now and January 4th…could he be in line for a bout against the likes of Chris Jericho?

Who is your favourite for the G1? Let us know in the comments.