NJPW 2016 G1 Climax tournament blocks, key matches, Tanahashi's return

[cero2k]

Source: f4wonline.com

by Joseph Currier for F4WOnline.com

The return of an ace and the debut of several key talents were the most notable takeaways from Monday morning’s announcement of the participants in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 26th annual G1 Climax tournament, made during the promotion's Kizuna Road show.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will make his return to the NJPW ring after a shoulder injury had kept him sidelined since May 21st. Tanahashi was written off in an angle with Kenny Omega and hoped that rest would allow his shoulder to heal in time for Dominion’s IWGP intercontinental championship ladder match. But after being replaced by Michael Elgin in that match, it became unclear whether he would be able to participate in this year’s tournament.

After the losses of Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Kota Ibushi, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows from NJPW, the rest of the field is full of fresh faces. It also features the loss of the man who may be most synonymous with the G1 in Hiroyoshi Tenzan. The three-time tournament winner holds the record for most G1 appearances, but will not be participate in the 26th edition.

Kenny Omega headlines the six participants making their first G1 appearance in this year’s tournament. He is joined by Tama Tonga, Yoshi-Hashi, Seiya Sanada, Evil, and Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Katsuhiko Nakajima. Nakajima and NOAH stalwart Naomichi Marufuji are the only outsiders among the field.

- A Block: Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Seiya Sanada, Naomichi Marufuji, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi

- B Block: Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Kenny Omega, Yoshi-Hashi, Katsuhiko Nakajima

Here's some of the key matches to watch per our NJPW reporter Bryan Rose:

7/18: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Marufuji
7/22: Nagata vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Honma
7/23: Tanahashi vs. Makabe, Okada vs. Sanada
7/24: Nakajima vs. Shibata, Honma vs. Yoshi-Hashi
7/25: Makabe vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Goto
7/27: Yano vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Elgin
7/28: Ishii vs. Marufuji, Goto vs. Sanada
7/30: Omega vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Naito
7/31: Makabe vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Goto
8/1: Yoshi Hashi vs. Nakajima, Honma vs. Naito
8/3: Tanahashi vs. Ishii, Makabe vs. Okada
8/4: Nakajima vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Omega
8/6: Tanahashi vs. Marufuji, Okada vs. Ishii
8/7: Omega vs. Nagata, Naito vs. Evil
8/8: Ishii vs. Sanada, Tanahashi vs. Kojima
8/10: Honma vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Nagata
8/12: Goto vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Okada
8/13: Shibata vs. Evil, Naito vs. Omega

[cero2k]

kinda disappointed by the lack of Adam Cole, but I'm really hyped about Yoshi-hashi being in, i've wanted him in the G1 since last year. Also hyped about Marafuji and Nakajima, but I haven't seen the latter in a while

also, Omega vs Naito should be a thing of beauty, that match will be fun

[Big Red Machine]

kinda disappointed by the lack of Adam Cole, but I'm really hyped about Yoshi-hashi being in, i've wanted him in the G1 since last year. Also hyped about Marafuji and Nakajima, but I haven't seen the latter in a while

also, Omega vs Naito should be a thing of beauty, that match will be fun

The G-1 is WAY too long for them to take Cole away from ROH for.

[cero2k]

kinda disappointed by the lack of Adam Cole, but I'm really hyped about Yoshi-hashi being in, i've wanted him in the G1 since last year. Also hyped about Marafuji and Nakajima, but I haven't seen the latter in a while

also, Omega vs Naito should be a thing of beauty, that match will be fun

The G-1 is WAY too long for them to take Cole away from ROH for.

now yeah, especially after this last weekend, I just hoped that this whole BC thing would take him to Japan

[Big Red Machine]

Hmm... Tama Tonga is in but his brother isn't. Maybe New Japan is just done with him and they're going to find Tama Tonga a new partner?

I had been thinking that they would bring Marufuji or Nakajima or Suzuki or Shiozaki in for the G-1 but I figured that taking any of those guys away from NOAH for too long would really hurt NOAH's already bad attendance. I'm surprised that they did it.


The damn thing is still going to be WAY too long, though.

[cero2k]

Hmm... Tama Tonga is in but his brother isn't. Maybe New Japan is just done with him and they're going to find Tama Tonga a new partner?

considering that they're now hinting at Yujiro and Page to challenge the briscoes, it could be the case

[Big Red Machine]

Hmm... Tama Tonga is in but his brother isn't. Maybe New Japan is just done with him and they're going to find Tama Tonga a new partner?

considering that they're now hinting at Yujiro and Page to challenge the briscoes, it could be the case

That's what they have planned for the next big show, but I don't know about the long term. I thought I read somewhere that they had decided that they didn't like Yujiro anymore because they thought he couldn't carry his weight in the G1 or some such like that (totally wrong, IMO). Also I heard that they really like Tonga and I can't imagine where else he fits if not the heavyweight tag division.

Then again, this is all speculation. It seems to me that if people expect the guy to be in the G1 and you are planning on dropping him, why not have him in the G1 to do a bunch of jobs so you can get to the place you want while saving each of your big names one loss? He could just be injured.

[cero2k]

Hmm... Tama Tonga is in but his brother isn't. Maybe New Japan is just done with him and they're going to find Tama Tonga a new partner?

considering that they're now hinting at Yujiro and Page to challenge the briscoes, it could be the case

That's what they have planned for the next big show, but I don't know about the long term. I thought I read somewhere that they had decided that they didn't like Yujiro anymore because they thought he couldn't carry his weight in the G1 or some such like that (totally wrong, IMO). Also I heard that they really like Tonga and I can't imagine where else he fits if not the heavyweight tag division.

Then again, this is all speculation. It seems to me that if people expect the guy to be in the G1 and you are planning on dropping him, why not have him in the G1 to do a bunch of jobs so you can get to the place you want while saving each of your big names one loss? He could just be injured.

I'd love for Tonga to be the BC's NEVER Open-weight guy, the face paint and look make him look menacing for a title that seems to focus on violence and hard hitting.

If that is true with Yujiro, then I can't imagine they trust Roa at this point for that schedule either. I personally like the Guerrillas as they are, Roa may not be amazing, but he's not bad either

[Big Red Machine]

So... I did some checking on this, and there are a grand total of ZERO ROH shows during the G1.