There is only one match left in the G1 Climax 30, that being the finals. SANADA & Kota Ibushi will meet tomorrow with a shot at IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom the prize. However, they aren’t the only ones to earn title shots heading into the event, as in NJPW, when you pin a champion, you get in line for a shot. Who earned shots at which championships?
EVIL & KENTA Earned Shots At Tetsuya Naito
Let’s start with the top dog in the company, Tetsuya Naito. Despite a very strong tournament, he did drop a few matches. The first was to SANADA, who will only get his shot if he wins the finals. This leaves two opponents to defend against between now and Wrestle Kingdom, and one has a better shot.
KENTA is the one who stopped Naito from reaching the finals, the latest moment he ruined this year, all with a flash pin. Naito is likely to want revenge between now and Wrestle Kingdom, and the only stop is Power Struggle. EVIL is also an option for that show, but after three matches this year already, KENTA has the fresher match.
Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Will Ospreay Shingo Takagi, Jay White & Taichi All Potentially Earned NEVER Openweight Championship Shots
The only other active singles title in the tournament due to the Double Gold Dash is the NEVER Openweight Championship. This was held by Minoru Suzuki, and he dropped a few big losses in the A-Block. One that will absolutely lead to a title match was his loss to Shingo Takagi, who Suzuki took the championship from back at the end of August. It’s a fresh loss for Suzuki, but Takagi brings out the best in him, making this a perfect match for Wrestle Kingdom, instead of Power Struggle.
With a name like Power Struggle, unless Taichi is busy with a defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championships, he could cause a power struggle in Suzuki-Gun by going for their leaders gold. Okada is another interesting option, having never held a championship that wasn’t the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. That’s mainly from lack of interest though, and he might have his interest elsewhere.
Finally, Will Ospreay is starting up a new faction after aligning with Great Okarn and beating Okada, and what better way to legitimize that than taking Suzuki’s belt. He already beat him once without help, and now he has a monster on his side. Suzuki has a list to take out, and that is probably exactly what he wants as champion.
The card for Power Struggle will form in the coming weeks. What title matches do you hope to see at this event? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get TheOvertimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
