When it comes to tournaments in professional wrestling, nothing draws as much attention in 2022 than the G1 Climax in New Japan Pro Wrestling. A massive round robin style tournament, it often brings some of the most intense matches of the year – and the winner gets a chance to main event their historic January 4th event in the Tokyo Dome. Needless to say, this brings in interest from not only those involved in NJPW – but also all throughout the world. One outsider who has now expressed interest in getting involved in this tournament is Jake Lee.
Jake Lee Was Tested By Hiroshi Tanahshi
Jake Lee has had a chance to mix it up with one of NJPW best, as earlier this year he was part of a tag team match celebrating 60 years of wrestling in Korakuen Hall. This all-star tag team match saw Lee team up with Taichi, to battle Hiroshi Tanahashi & AJPW Triple Crown Champion, Kento Miyahara. It ended up going to a thirty minute time limit draw, but Lee was able to get some great exposure to fans of NJPW.
Now, following a great run in the Champions Carnival, a very similarly structured tournament in AJPW – Jake Lee hopes to make his way into the G1 Climax this year. Lee made it to the finals of Champions Carnival, falling to Yuma Aoyagi in a match which will be making several ‘best matches of 2022 list’. He previously won the tournament in 2021.
Fans Want Fresh Names In The Tournament
On Twitter, he expressed interest in getting to face Hiroshi Tanahashi – who said he’d welcome Lee into a NJPW ring after the tag team clash. This led to fans starting to flood his mentions with wishes of him entering the G1 Climax later this year. He’d obviously be a great fit, and offer more to the tournament than the likes of Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, or Yujiro Takahashi – to name a few weak links in recent tournaments.
NJPW has been able to stack the field of Best of the Super Juniors, which starts this weekend – bringing in names from the United States, including representatives from Impact Wrestling & AEW. It’s going to be hard to find a spot in the G1 Climax this year, but fans would be excited to see anyone from AJPW or Pro Wrestling NOAH in the mix.
Do you see Jake Lee making it into the G1 Climax? Will he face Tanahashi at an unrelated event instead? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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