NJPW Announces Details For 2016 G1 Climax
Somehow, the tournament looks even more stacked than usual.
Lather yourselves up wrestling fans, it is almost time for New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament. Lasting some four weeks, the tourney sees two groups of 10 wrestlers compete in a round-robin format, with the two group winners meeting in the final.
Past winners of the G1 Climax include current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura, Keijih Mutoh and many more.
NJPW has announced the competitors taking part in the 26th annual tournament, and needless to say the line-ups are mouthwatering. In Block A, Okada and Tanahashi will be joined by Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, SANADA and Naomichi Marufuji. A stacked block for sure, but expect Okada or Tanahashi to win it.
Block B is far more open however. Tetsuya Naito is the favourite, but a case could be made for Katsuyori Shibata or Kenny Omega winning it. Elsewhere in the block we find IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin, Tomoaki Honma, EVIL, YOSHI-HASHI, Yuji Nagata and Katsuhiko Nakajima. Yes, that means we get to see Shibata and Honma attempt to murder each other.
The tournament begins on July 18th, and runs all the way through until August 14th. I cannot wait.