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Key matches were announced today for G1 Special in San Francisco, which emanates from the world famous Cow Palace on July 7.
Kenny Omega v Cody for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship!
We’ll start with a huge first defence for new IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega against Cody. At Dominion, Omega vanquished Kazuchika Okada after a gruelling 64 minute 50 second match to finally end a decade long journey to wrestling’s greatest prize. After the match, he would embrace close friends the Young Bucks, and it was announced backstage that the Bucks, Kenny and Kota Ibushi would form a new unit named The Golden Elite.
Conspicuous by his absence backstage was Cody, who appeared on the entrance ramp as Kenny celebrated, but then elected to go to the back. Kenny would comment that ‘I’m tired of hating you. We’re done,’ a statement that would lead to a decisive title match to be made for San Francisco.
Months of strife and disharmony within the Bullet Club now seem to be coming to an end. Will this match finally help settle a score? Will a clear Bullet Club leader be decided? Will there be peace and unity in the Bullet Club, or will the group cease to function in the presence of the Golden Elite? July 7, we’ll finally have an answer and some resolution to these heart wrenching questions, not to mention either a first defence for Kenny, or yet another new era under the American Nightmare.
An all star tag match! Okada and Ospreay v Naito and BUSHI!
This huge tag match will bring one of NJPW’s hottest rivalries of the last two years to America for the first time, as Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada collide. Okada will be making his first foreign appearance since losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and it’ll be intriguing to see an Okada without a title and looking to make a different kind of impact. Tetsuya Naito, too, recently lost a title- the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho. Will he stay tranquilo? Or will anger at his bloody defeat be turned to the Rainmaker? We’ll also see recently deposed IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay clash with BUSHI in what’s sure to add a high pace to an impactful tag match.
Juice Robinson challenges Switchblade Jay White for the US title!
The Flamboyant One, Jay White, is one of the hottest stars in New Japan yet to win a singles championship. After being a nearly man for so long, he now seeks to grab US Heavyweight gold from around the waist of Switchblade Jay White.
When Juice left WWE for New Japan back in 2015, he found kindred spirits in David Finlay and Jay White. Together, they became the ‘Dojo Boys’, working and playing hard as they paid their dues in NJPW. Yet when Jay White returned to the company after excursion in 2017, he was no longer the carefree fun lover. Switchblade had taken a sinister and sadistic edge. Robinson looks to gain some personal closure against White, but moreover, will be trying to finally solidify himself as a champion after failed challenges for the NEVER and Intercontinental titles in the past.
Young Bucks face EVIL and SANADA once more for Tag gold and glory!
At Dominion, the Young Bucks made history, as only the second tag team, and the first non Japanese team, to have held both IWGP Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Their match with EVIL and SANADA was a hard fought and emotional war. It was with an air of respect the Bucks stayed that the door was open anytime for a rematch. EVIL would soon demand ‘One. More. Time.’ and the rematch was quickly made.
The Bucks have frequently claimed to be the ‘best tag team in the world’ and now finally have the gold to prove it. Yet EVIL and SANADA aren’t finished with their mission to elevate the tag division and will look to seize control of the titles once more. After these four rocked Osaka, San Francisco has a treat in store.
