5 Biggest Surprises Of The NJPW G1 29 Tournament So Far

by Thom Fain

1. Jon Moxley Completely Crushing It

Surprise, surprise – the WWE alum is dominating the G1 tournament now that Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) is out of the corporate machine’s shackles; an Internet sensation and delight to Japanese audiences country over, his rough and tumble way has ignited the audiences both live and at home. When he captured the IWGP U.S. Title over Juice on June 5th, many fans suspected Moxley's reign would be short-lived as he prepared for his hotly anticipated feud with Kenny Omega — whose questionable departure from NJPW (and absence from the G1) has created a vacuum being filled by hungry next-gen superstars.

But the Purveyor of Violence – in spite of his stateside obligations to AEW – has surprised everyone, while tearing through the roster up and down en route to his match at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium against Naito. His record remains perfect in his first G1 after Naito's defeat following a brutal match including in-crowd fighting, a Butterfly Suplex off the top rope and then a Death Rider to give Moxley a 4-point lead in the B-Block.

"What is it going to take?!" said Rocky Romero.

We should find out soon enough, with only surprise left for Moxley's run in New Japan being how his U.S. Title reign will end – and that answer should come shortly after the G1 as NJPW hits the road to Destruction in Beppu just as AEW prepares for its huge All Out pay-per-view in Chicago.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Thom Fain is a journalist with more than a thousand bylines across the web. He's written for 155+ publications from local to international, covering topics like politics and sports. Thom enjoys the athletic spectacle of NJPW, and the excellence of its Japanese tradition.