A Block
A Block is loaded with competitors that are desperate to prove themselves worthy of carrying NJPW into 2022, and its 50th anniversary. None more so than the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi
3rd G1 Climax, 0 Wins
Shingo Takagi has accomplished things in 2021 that some wrestlers have never done in their entire careers. He defeated Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome. He overcame EVIL and a number of Bullet Club hooligans.
He’s been an upstanding, dominant champion, and should be riding into this G1 Climax with his held high and the wrestling world singing his praises. But Will Ospreay is currently running around North America calling Takagi an “interim champion,” challenging Young Lions, saying he never lost the belt, and generally making the title look bad.
Ospreay’s unhinged antics in the states and the UK place added pressure on Takagi to deliver in this year’s tournament. Nothing would add another layer of legitimacy to his title reign like a G1 Climax victory.
Kota Ibushi
7th G1 Climax, 2x Winner (2019, 2020)
The man that won the last two G1 Climax tournaments in a row, and made it to the finals of the past three, former-IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi should not be spiraling downward, and yet here we are. Heading into the G1 Climax, everything Ibushi has touched post-title-unification has turned to coal in his hands like King Midas in reverse.
He lost the World Title on his first defense, and then lost to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the MetLife Dome, despite having usually had Tanahashi’s number in big match situations. Not everything can be blamed on aspirational pneumonia. Something is off with Ibushi, and if he ever wants to be the Ace that Okada, Tanahashi, and others have been for NJPW, he’ll need to pull out all the stops in this year’s tournament.
Tetsuya Naito
12th G1 Climax, 2x Winner (2013, 2017)
Tetsuya Naito has had a perfectly fine year, since losing the IWGP Double Gold in January of 2021. Carving out a niche in the tag division for himself & SANADA, Naito has been seemingly reinvigorated ahead of this year’s tournament.
The pressure on Naito doesn’t come from his win/loss record, but more from the fact that its been four years since he last won the tournament, which was four years after he first won the tournament, and so people love a good mystical edge to their competition.
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Zack Sabre Jr.
5th G1 Climax, 0 Wins
Zack Sabre Jr. is once again in a position to spoil a lot of people’s tournaments. Bad blood with the likes of Ishii, Ibushi, Naito & Yano, as well as the general hunger to face the IWGP World Champ Takagi, Sabre is a crafty player during G1 season. His arsenal of clutch pins and painful submissions are not to be discounted.
NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Champion Tomohiro Ishii
9th G1 Climax, 0 Wins
Tomohiro Ishii has been carrying his NEVER 6-Man Championship Team. One of the most consistent G1 Climax presences, Ishii always feels one hot streak away from making the finals.
KOPW 2021 Provisional Trophy Holder Toru Yano
16th G1 Climax, 0 Wins
Toru Yano usually brings a light, chaotic presence to the G1, but recent battles with Chase Owens have reawakened the Most Violent Player from the late-00s. A shoot fighter that’s literally willing to commit assault, and possibly even worse to win a match. Yano will definitely bring a violent edge to this year’s tournament.
KENTA
3rd G1 Climax, 0 Wins
KENTA might have the most to prove of A Block, and the least to prove. While his time in NJPW has not quite led to as decorated a run as his time in NOAH, KENTA is still very much the asskicker that many tried to duplicate, and while he might not have the G1 resume of other wrestlers in the tournament, he’s still f***in’ KENTA.
Yujiro Takahashi
8th G1 Climax, 0 Wins
The only member of the newly-formed House of Torture, Yujiro returns to the G1 Climax with new backup and a lot to prove. A dedicated and loyal member of the NJPW undercard, this year is his chance to change the conversation around the Tokyo Pimp.
Tanga Loa
G1 Climax Debut
One of the most decorated tag team wrestlers in NJPW is ready to make a name for himself in singles competition. A second generation star, Loa is out to showcase how much of his father Haku’s brute strength he’s inherited.
Great-O-Khan
G1 Climax Debut
With Will Ospreay running his mouth in North America, Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb have been forced to keep the newly-formed United Empire’s momentum alive. O-Khan has become a dominant threat in tag competition, and a mouthy presence in and out of the ring. He’ll get to test his meddle in his G1 Climax Debut.
G1 CLIMAX 31 is HERE!
Watch the comments from every A Block participant:https://t.co/e2CTDuNxOJ
And get set for night one in Osaka LIVE in English!https://t.co/621A45Sus7#njpw #G131 pic.twitter.com/TGDHOnQGTW
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) September 17, 2021
The G1 Climax begins at 4am ET on NJPWWorld.com
