G1 tour heads to Tokyo
After two nights in Sapporo and a third in Sendai, the G1 Climax 32 tour hits Tokyo for the first time Saturday, with the fourth night of action in the Ota Ward Gymnasium. Four more block matches will take place on the first night of a double header in this historic venue.
See ALL of G1 Climax 32 LIVE in ENGLISH on NJPW World!
Main event: B Block- Tomohiro Ishii (0-1) vs Jay White (1-0)
Singles record: 3-1 Ishii
Our main event in Ota could turn out to be a critical match for B Block as Tomohiro Ishii take son Jay White. The Stone Pitbull and the Switchblade have met in two of Jay White’s three G1 Climaxes, and each year, Ishii has been the cause of one of Jay’s three defeats. That was seen most prominently in 2020, when the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion was on the doorstep of his second consecutive G1 Climax final; despite the best efforts of White to dismantle Ishii’s knee, as well as the best efforts from Gedo to interfere, a Vertical Drop Brainbuster would seal the Switchblade’s fate.
The loss triggered a spate of frustration and rare vulnerability from White. The furious Catalyst of Professional Wrestling seemed almost set to withdraw from the sport entirely on January 5 2021, but was driven to return to enact brutal revenge on Ishii. That led to White’s sole victory over the CHAOS member in February of that year, but even as White went on to spend the bulk of the year in the US, Ishii would follow him across the Pacific to take back the victory, and the NEVER Openweight Championship last November.
In short, Ishii has always had the number of Jay White, and especially during the G1. While Jay White would frequently crow about his then 3-1 record over Kazuchika Okada before he captured the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Dominion, Ishii holds just that same record over Ishii heading into this tournament. It’s rare that anyone heads into a match with jay White as the arguable favourite, but that is what Ishii is, a standpoint White will be eager to violently refute and put Ishii on the B Block bubble in the process.
8th Match: A Block- Kazuchika Okada (1-0) vs Toru Yano (1-0)
Singles record: 3-0 Okada
kazuchika Okada and Toru yano both defeated monsters to log their first two G1 points in Sapporo, albeit via very different means. Okada looked to giant killers past like Antonio Inoki for inspiration in felling the beat Jeff Cobb, and Toru Yano- Toru Yano punched JONAH in the testicles and won via count-out. Still, two points are two points, and now our CHAOS derby of A Block will see Okada take on Yano. This situation has occurred several times before in G1 Climaxes past and the New japan Cup in 2013, but Okada has always been a step ahead of the inventive Yano. What fight will the Rainmaker bring out of the producer? Could Yano have a new trick up his sleeve? We find out Saturday in Ota.
7th Match: D Block- YOSHI-HASHI (0-0) vs Shingo Takagi (0-1)
YOSHI-HASHI and Shingo Takagi’s first ever singles meeting takes center ring in Ota in the seventh match of the evening. Before the tournament, Shingo Takagi brought up YOSHI-HASHI’s signature Karma maneuver, and its similarity to his own Made In Japan. Takagi suggested it might be interesting to take his own move for the first time, but he will be doing anything he can to avoid it in practice. Already one match down thanks to a Pulp Friction delivered by Juice Robinson in Sapporo, Takagi finds himself already needing to win his most winnable matches, something that this on paper is. Yet YOSHI-HASHI has scored big G1 upsets in the past, and wants to put Takagi on the bubble with another tonight.
6th Match: C Block- Zack Sabre Jr. (1-0) vs Aaron Henare (1-0)
Both Zack Sabre Jr. and Aaron Henare got their C Block campaigns off to the best possible start against two of their former mentors and ‘senpai’; ZSJ submitting KENTA while Henare pinned his one time partner in Hontai Hiroshi Tanahashi. For Henare especially, it was a transformative win to his career at large but to his attitude in this tournament in particular. Unlike the established Sabre, Henare had a lot riding on his first G1 appearance beyond the two points and pride against the Ace. With his convincing win, the Ultimate Weapon has all but secured his spot in G1 Climax 33, but will that be enough for him, or will he be even more driven to now try and block supremacy? And with the Ultima Full Nelson at his disposal, could he submit the submission master?
5th Match: Tama Tonga, Tetsuya Naito & Jado vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI)
Before Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi face off in Sunday’s main event, they meet in six man preview action Saturday in Ota. A poor start for LIJ in G1 Climax 32 saw SANADA drop his first match to Jay White, while Naito lost his first to Hirooki Goto. Tanahashi had a poor start as well at the hands of Aaron Henare in C Block, while Tama Tonga is the only man in the match with two points, earned at the hands of Chase Owens. He’ll be looking to show the benefit of his momentum to SANADA in particular, the two set to meet down the stretch on August 2.
4th Match: United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, SHO & Dick Togo)
As United Empire seek to continue their G1 momentum with Aaron Henare against Zack Sabre Jr. later in the night, they will be favourites to pick up another morale boosting win in this six man bout. HOUSE OF TORTURE have been beaten like a drum in preliminary tags through the tour thus far, but Yujiro Takahashi (thanks to SHO) fared better in his first league bout in Sendai this week. Among the latest starters in the G1, EVIL will look to make a similar start in Korakuen Hall next week, but first is a tough task with the UE trio.
3rd Match: Suzuki-Gun (Taichi, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku) vs BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)
Lance Archer will be walking to the ring with intent Saturday in Ota, and the intent will be to tear the head off Bad Luck Fale. With high impact an high flying offense, Archer had his match with Fale in hand in Sendai this week, before the Rogue General bounced the Murderhawk Monster from the apron, winning with a flat countout. Now, a chance for swift and violent revenge, while Taichi will look to show Chase Owens that he won’t be able to get a second straight G1 victory over the Holy Emperor on August 5.
2nd Match: TMDK (JONAH & Bad Dude Tito) vs Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs)
For the second G1 card in a row, JONAH and Bad Dude Tito take on Team Filthy’s Tom Lawlor and Royce Isaacs. In Sendai, Isaacs showed his incredible power as he muscled Top Dog JONAH for a mammoth suplex, but eventually fell to the Black Forest powerbomb. Before Lawlor finally makes his G1 start in Korakuen Hall next week, he wants to get back on the winning track in tag action tonight.
1st Match: Hirooki Goto, David Finlay & Ryohei Oiwa vs BULLET CLUB (Juice Robinson, KENTA & El Phantasmo)
The opening match of the evening will see a preview of Hirooki Goto’s August 2 meeting with KENTA, while David Finlay gets his hands on future D Block opponents Juice Robinson and El Phantasmo. After SHO got himself involved in his first league match in Sendai this past week, Finlay is in a foul mood indeed and wants to make a target of the BULLET CLUB opposition, former friend and partner Juice his next target on Tuesday. Yet with Juice riding high after his opening match win against Shingo Takagi, and KENTA and ELP looking to make their own statements after first bout losses, that’s easier said than done.
