9 Early Predictions For NJPW G1 Climax 2018

2. An Okada/SANADA Final

Kazuchika Okada SANADA G1 Climax
twitter.com/NJPW1972

In 2016, nobody predicted that Kenny Omega and Hirooki Goto would do battle in the final of the G1 Climax. More fans expected Omega and Tetsuya Naito to make it to the final this year, but attempting to predict Gedo's booking (especially one year out) is a fool's game.

But predict I shall! It is easy to imagine a whole host of men making it to the final of the 2018 G1 Climax. Kenny Omega will surely factor in somewhere, provided he remains with the company. Tetsuya Naito has been the hottest star in the company for a year now, and he will certainly still be vital in 12 months time.

Elsewhere, logical routes to the final can be written for performers such as Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, EVIL, Minoru Suzuki, Michael Elgin, and more. New Japan's roster is just that strong.

My prediction is that SANADA's breakout tournament will see him progress all the way to the final, as speculation grows over a possible Wrestle Kingdom battle with faction leader, Tetsuya Naito. The final obstacle in SANADA's way will be the man who defeated him in Block action this year - current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

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.