NJPW G1 Climax 2017: Early Favourites To Win

4. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi
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The previous six names in this list are true outsiders: it's New Japan's Big Four that will dominate the smart money ahead of the G1 Climax.

It seems strange to think of Hiroshi Tanahashi as anything other than a top player, but it is difficult to argue with Tanahashi being any higher than number four on the New Japan roster today.

The 'Once in a Century Talent's importance to New Japan Pro Wrestling will never be forgotten, but the man himself is in danger of becoming irrelevant in a modern context. Years of carrying New Japan (figuratively speaking) has done immense damage to his back, and business is so good that Tanahashi can now take a well-deserved back seat.

But come on - this is Hiroshi Tanahashi we're talking about here. Can he ever be ruled out? 'No' is the answer to that question. Tanahashi will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Dominion, but a third G1 Climax may represent a bigger prize. Tana missed out on the Wrestle Kingdom main event this year, the first time since WK IV that he hasn't closed that show.

This may be his last chance.

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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.