11 Things We Learned From The 2018 NJPW G1 Climax

10. Hangman Page Is Going To Be A Star

Hangman Page YOSHI HASHI
NJPW

The 2018 G1 Climax featured two debutants. Everyone expected former IWGP United States Champion Jay White to be involved, but plenty of eyebrows were raised when the name ‘Hangman Page’ was announced for A Block. Page is a rising star without doubt, but G1 ready? The majority of fans had their doubts.

All of those doubts can now be consigned to the bin of history. 27-year-old Page was a revelation in the tournament, putting on good to great matches with everyone he stepped into the ring with. The Bullet Club member also picked up big wins off Minoru Suzuki and Bad Luck Fale, although the latter was via disqualification.

More so than his performances, it was clear that Hangman Page is a star in the eyes of the Japanese audiences. The crowds across Japan responded brilliantly to his matches, imploring the unlikely hero closer and closer to two points night after night. New Japan’s commitment to Hangman Page has been questioned by some, but he more than repaid that faith during this year’s G1 Climax.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.