The best annual wrestling tournament is right around the corner, as G1 Climax 30 gets started on September 19th. There are a few changes from last year, mainly there being no opening tag team matches on the shows, NJPW wanting to keep shows shorter due to COVID-19 still very much being a threat. Despite this, with social distanced crowds in attendance, it’s time to get this show on the road. The twenty men who will make up the tournament have been announced and the blocks are set.
G1 Climax 30 Sees Major Names Return To NJPW
While fears of NJPW not having some of their strongest roster members due to travel issues persisted until this announcement, they somehow pulled it off. Will Ospreay, Jay White, Jeff Cobb, Juice Robinson and KENTA are back in Japan for this tournament.
While Cobb, White & KENTA got some matches in for New Japan Pro Wrestling of America, Ospreay & Robinson haven’t wrestled for the company since everything got shut down. They have likely already made it to Japan, and are doing their fourteen days of self isolation to be ready before September 19th.
The A-Block Is Stacked With Some Of The Best In The World… And Yujiro Takahashi
The A-Block for the G1 Climax 30 includes Kota Ibushi, Jeff Cobb, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay, Shingo Takagi, Minoru Suzuki, TAICHI, Jay White, and Yujiro Takahashi. Matches like Okada vs. Takagi, Ospreay vs. Takagi II, Ibushi vs. Okada and more all jump off the page, with this block having many match of the year contenders.
Some have groaned at the addition of Yujio Takahashi, with some joking fans wishing for Takahashi in the G1, hoping for Hiromu but instead getting Yujiro. He will play a role in giving the other nine men a night off, as his style of match is much easier on the body. Any of White, Ibushi, Takagi, Okada or Ospreay are expected to win this block.
The B-Block Brings Some Old & New Rivalries
While the A-Block has one of the best lineups in terms of potential match quality, the B-Block brings some great story potential. The field includes Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Zack Sabre Jr., KENTA & EVIL. Outside of rematches of Naito & EVIL and Tanahashi having to face ZSJ again, matches like SANADA vs. EVIL standout here. We’ll also see KENTA face EVIL, a man who’s all but taken control of Bullet Club, which could be very interesting.
Yano plays the same role as Takahashi in A-Block, giving men an off night during the grueling tournament. KENTA, Tanahashi, and SANADA stand out as potential block winners here, but the field is much less predictable.
Who do you think will win the G1 Climax 30? What matches are you most looking forward to?Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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