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Widely considered to be the most grueling tournament in professional wrestling, New Japan's G1 Climax is barely a month away. The 28th edition of the prestigious twenty man round-robin tournament will take place from July 6 to August 12. The Opening night of the G1 Climax will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, which is going to the Japanese promotion's second-biggest show of 2019 in American soil following the G1 Supercard in April.
The final night of tournament will emanate from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan with the winner getting a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14. This year's G1 will be interesting given the fact that some of the promotion's top stars like Kenny Omega, Cody, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Page have left the promotion to form All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Names like Tomohiro Ishii, EVIL, Sanada and Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger have already been announced for the opening night in Dallas. Former ROH World Television Champion Jeff Cobb will be making his G1 Climax debut this year. Here are our early favorites to win the 2018 G1 Climax:
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#5 Juice Robinson
The former CJ Parker in WWE has been a revelation in New Japan. After leaving WWE in 2015 following a failed run in NXT which saw him being used as an enhancement talent, Juice Robinson made the jump to New Japan. Robinson would first work as a Young Lion during his initial run in the Japanese promotion before making his way to being one of the most popular gaijin (foreign) Superstar in the company.
Robinson won the IWGP United States Champion for the first time by defeating Jay White at G1 Special in San Franciso thereby becoming the first American to hold the said title before losing it to Cody a few months later at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. He would then re-capture the US title from Cody at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Juice recently lost the title to a debuting Jon Moxley at Best of Super Juniors Finals on June 5.
Following the exit of Kenny Omega and the rest of The Elite, Robinson is being built up as the next big gaijin Superstar. Juice has got the crowd with him and improved by leaps and bounds since his time in NXT. A win at G1 Climax will be the perfect way for Robinson to get slotted in the main event, where he is for sure going to thrive, given the hard work he has put in since arriving in the promotion.
#4 Tetsuya Naito
The leader of Los Ingnorables de Japon started 2019 with a bang by defeating Chris Jericho for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13, avenging his loss to the Painmaker at Dominion 2018. After a successful title defense against Taichi at The New Begining in Sapporo, Naito would lose the title to Kota Ibushi at the G1 Supercard in April.
The former IWGP Intercontinental Championship is currently slated to face Kota Ibushi for the IC Title at Dominion on Sunday. Naito is a two-time winner of the G1 Climax, having won the tournament in 2013 and 2017. Naito is one of the charismatic Superstars in the world who, despite a reported huge money deal from WWE, stayed loyal to New Japan.
After a series of high-profile losses last year and a half, Naito would be looking to make a statement at the G1 Climax 2019. Winning the G1 will give him another crack at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, a title that has eluded him for the past few years.
#3 Kota Ibushi
2019 has been a mixed bag for the Golden Star. Ibushi started the year with a loss against Will Ospreay at WrestleKingdom 13 for the IWGP NeverOpenweight Champion. Ibushi suffered a concussion during the match which was officially confirmed by New Japan following the incident. After weeks of speculations linking him to All Elite Wrestling, Ibushi confirmed that he is staying in New Japan for the foreseeable on February 11, 2019.
Ibushi would capture the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Tetsuya Naito at the G1 Supercard in April and is currently scheduled to face Naito in a rematch for the title at Dominion on Sunday. Ibushi has already been announced as part of the G1 Climax and he will be in action at the tournament's opening night on July 6.
After years and years of not committing to a particular promotion, the reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion has finally found a permanent home in New Japan. He is one of the best in-ring performers in the world right now and this is the perfect time for Ibushi to rise up to the main event slot. Okada vs Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome is sure to turn Meltzer's rating system upside down once again.
#2 Jay White
The Switchblade's rapid ascent in New Japan has seen him defeat some of the top names in the company. The current leader of Bullet Club already holds victories over Superstars like Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Kenny Omega. He has won the IWGP Heavyweight and United States Championship after returning to the company following a foreign excursion in late 2017.
White shocked the world during last year's G1 Climax, where defeated both Okada and Tanahashi, the eventual winner of the tournament. White would also turn his back on Okada and join Bullet Club along with longtime Chaos members, Jado and Gedo. White defeated Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 13 and would then go on to beat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at The New Begining in Osaka. White would lose the title to Okada at the G1 Supercard, ending his reign at 54 days.
White has been one of the top heels in New Japan especially after having beaten some of the popular Japanese stars. His in-ring IQ has improved a lot since his days as a Young Lion. Before his loss to Okada at the G1 Supercard, White had two big victories over The Rainmaker. Him winning the G1 Climax will give another shot at Okada and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the rubber match of their blood feud that has been going on for the past year and a half.
#1 Jon Moxley
After breaking the internet several times for the past weeks, Jon Moxley shocked the world once again as he defeated Juice Robinson the win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in his first match since leaving WWE at the end of April. Moxley is currently the most talked about wrestler in the IWC especially following his appearance on Chris Jericho and Wade Keller's podcast, where he spoke in detail about his creative frustrations during his time in WWE.
Although he is not yet officially announced, we expect Moxley to be a part of the 2019 G1 Climax especially after the kind of impact he made on his debut match for the promotion. Moxley is without a doubt, the most recognized gaijin face on the New Japan roster and the company should look to encash on his popularity so as to grab more eyeballs for the said event.
At this point, Moxley being a part of the G1 Opener in Dallas is highly unlikely, given his contract with AEW but that doesn't mean he can't compete in the tournament, the rest of which will take place in the Land of the Rising Sun. Given the sheer amount of headlines he has made over the past few weeks, it was hard for us to put anyone but the former Dean Ambrose as our no. 1 pick to win the 2019 G1 Climax.
