Tag: NJPW

Will it be a repeat or the crowning of the Billy GOAT?

That’s the big question that will be answered at the Nippon Budokan as G1 Climax 32 comes to a close. On the 20th night of the tournament, just one singles match remains — indeed, it’s literally the only one-on-one match on the card for Aug. 18.

Kazuchika Okada is trying to make history, not only joining only a handful of other NJPW stars who have won the G1 Climax back to back, but trying to win his fourth title overall. That would be a tremendous achievement even in a career already full of them.

Will Ospreay, on the other hand, is trying for his first tournament win, but he’s just as hungry for it. The Commonwealth Kingpin cut a passionate promo at the end of Night 19, claiming to be the best wrestler in the world. The underlying message, however, is that he’d need to finish the job to fully prove it.

If momentum means anything, then Ospreay arguably has it, considering his amazing match with Tetsuya Naito in the semifinal. But Okada is certainly battle tested as well, making it out of an A Block full of oversized opponents.

With seven tag team matches of various sizes that may help set the stage for some NJPW storylines headed into the fall, the rest of the card shouldn’t be slept on either. If you can’t watch the G1 Climax Final live, bookmark this page and check back, as we’ll be updating it with the latest results right as they happen in Tokyo.

The G1 Climax 32 road has reached its destination at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, but there’s still a bit of business left before the tournament crowns a champion.

A full slate of block matches on Aug. 16 decided the four semifinalists, and as usual, it’s a star-studded group. On one side of the bracket, A Block winner Kazuchika Okada, a multiple-time winner and the defending G1 Climax king, takes on Tama Tonga. The two men know each other well, and Okada has a big edge in their meetings in this particular event, but this is a different, seemingly reborn Tonga. Will that be enough against the Rainmaker?

The other semifinal matchup is a first-time singles clash between a man who is desperate to win the G1 Climax in what he’s said could be one of his last real shots, and an opponent who is experiencing a deep run for the first time. Tetsuya Naito will have to bring his ‘A’ game to have any hope of defeating Will Ospreay, who’s said that winning it all would be the final NJPW singles accomplishment he’s yet to achieve.

Before the semifinals, there’s a full card of tag team, six-man and eight-man bouts. One nice thing about Night 19 is that wrestlers who haven’t been seen for the entirety of G1 Climax are back in the mix, including veterans and junior heavyweights. Perhaps most importantly, Hiromu Takahashi returns to action, joining his LIJ stablemates in an eight-man tag against a Bullet Club/House of Torture foursome.

Too early or late for you to watch Night 19 live? No worries, simply bookmark this page for the latest G1 Climax 32 results updated throughout the card.

As NJPW’s G1 Climax 32 approaches its final week, with the semifinals looming on Aug. 17, all four blocks are still up for grabs.

The biggest news from Night 13 was a breakthrough for Jonah, who pinned Kazuchika Okada to temporarily take the A Block lead. Not only has Jonah tied the Rainmaker in points, but his head-to-head victory could come into play with two round robin matches left for each wrestler.

Let’s take a look at where all four blocks stand ahead of Night 14.

All point totals as of Aug. 8, 2022.

G1 Climax 32 A Block standings:

• On top – Jonah, Kazuchika Okada: 6 points

Okada appeared to be on his way to mastering the Monster Block with few problems en route to yet another G1 Climax semifinal appearance. But Jonah’s victory changed that, meaning his final two matches are suddenly much more important. The Rainmaker should get past Tom Lawlor but his tournament fate could easily come down to his showdown with Lance Archer on the last day of block matches.

• Still alive – Jeff Cobb, Lance Archer, Tom Lawlor: 4 points

Of this group, Archer figures to be the one who controls his own destiny, in the parlance of traditional sports, since he still has matches with Okada and Jonah. Lawlor doesn’t have much of a shot but could certainly play spoiler if he upsets Okada on Aug. 10

• Eliminated – Bad Luck Fale: 4 points; Toru Yano: 2 points

Fale has just one group match left, so he can’t get to a total he’d need to win it. Yano was worried about this block from the start and was right to be scared, as it turns out.

G1 Climax 32 B Block standings:

• On top – Jay White: 8 points

No one is in a more comfortable position in the tournament than the Catalyst. White is the only wrestler with a 4-0 record, and is four or more points clear of everyone else in B Block. A victory over Taichi on Aug. 13 could wrap things up for him, depending on results over the next five days.

• Still alive – Tama Tonga, Taichi, Sanada: 4 points

The next match among this trio, Tonga vs. Taichi on Aug. 9, is a de facto elimination bout since the loser would then have to defeat White and hope the winner also beats the IWGP Heavyweight Championship himself just to stay in the mix. Sanada is hanging on by the slimmest of threads and already has losses to both White and Tonga.

• Eliminated – Chase Owens: 4 points; Great-O-Khan, Tomohiro Ishii: 2 points

Better luck next year for all three men, though it should be noted that they’ve all had excellent matches either on the way to or after being eliminated, proving that G1 Climax can be good even for those who don’t advance to the semifinals.

G1 Climax 32 C Block Standings:

• On top – Hiroshi Tanahashi, Zack Sabre Jr.: 6 points

Tanahashi lost his opening block match to Aaron Henare but has won three straight since then, and has the leg up over ZSJ since he won their head-to-head encounter. Sabre has to be wondering if his final block match on Aug. 16 against Tetsuya Naito will be meaningless or for a place in the seminfinals; he’ll need some help to make it the latter.

• Still alive – Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, Evil: 4 points; Kenta: 2 points

Among the group with 4 points, Naito feels like NJPW may be authoring a storyline for him where he starts slow but comes on heroically to take the group on the last day. Keep an eye on his next match, the main event of Night 14 against Kenta. If he loses, that’s not happening. If he wins, Kenta is effectively out.

• Eliminated – Aaron Henare: 2 points

Henare got his moment in his G1 Climax debut by beating Tanahashi. He’s lost all of his matches since, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him beat Kenta to end the tourney on a high note.

G1 Climax 32 D Block standings:

• On top – David Finlay: 6 points

It’s been quite the run for Finlay, who has made waves for his performance so far and even returned the United States Championship to its rightful owner along the way (and looks to have secured a title shot as a result of his good deed). The question now is whether this is the story for him and he’ll fade away late, or if NJPW really plans on him being a surprise semifinalist.

• Still alive – Shingo Takagi, Will Ospreay, Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshi-Hashi, Juice Robinson: 4 points; El Phantasmo: 2 points

Unless our math is incorrect (and it very well could be), everyone below Finlay is mathematically still alive, though Robinson and Phantasmo are on life support after their bizarre but entertaining Night 13 matchup. Naturally, Ospreay is still most likely to make a run, but don’t rule out Takagi after Shingo beat Will in their block match. Interestingly, it’s Juice and El-P who could be in position to play spoiler — the former faces Shingo while the latter takes on Ospreay on the final day of group matches on Aug. 16.

Can anyone stop Kazuchika Okada from making G1 Climax 32 his the same way he’s done before?

The Rainmaker is undefeated so far, despite being drawn into the so-called Monster Block in A Block, full of very large humans. Okada has cruised to a 3-0 mark, but may get his stiffest test yet in Night 13 in the form of the very confident Jonah. At 2-1 with his only loss coming because of the machinations of Toru Yano, Jonah could be the top threat to Okada to come out of A Block, especially if he can grab a win in Osaka.

Four other tournament matches are also on the card. Aaron Henare will face Evil, but also the rest of House of Torture if recent history is any indication. Tom Lawlor, who’s been doing some English commentary during the G1 in addition to competing, goes up against Bad Luck Fale.

Juice Robinson vs. El Phantasmo would normally promise to be a fun-filled affair, but Juice hasn’t exactly been himself lately. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chase Owens rounds out the tournament bouts for this particular Sunday.

Bookmark this page and refresh as needed as we update it with the latest G1 Climax 32 results from Night 13.