PREVIEW: G1 Special in San Francisco

Match 7- Hiromu Takahashi (C) vs Dragon Lee for the IWGP JR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

There story is well documented, and there matches are legendary.

Dragon Lee and Hiromu Takahashi matches have been well documented by Dave Meltzer and fans are always excited to see what is going to transpire here.

Dragon Lee has earned this opportunity due to him defeating Takahashi in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, in another classic in their stories. Their best match that I've witnessed was 2017 New Beginning show as it was quick, bold and intense. This story started when Takahashi was Kamitachi in CMLL whilst he was on excursion, and in CMLL they had a great many battles.

This will be Hiromu's second defence after overcoming El Desperado at Kizuna Road. The two have nothing to prove here, apart from showing the fans a match worthy of their past matches.

Prediction- Hiromu Takahashi. Dragon Lee is looking to enter a feud with El Desperado after this in a Mask Vs Mask match, so Hiromu should be retaining so his next challenger can be decided. The main question here though, who is going to be Takahashi's next challenger.

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Match 8- Juice Robinson VS Jay White (C) for the IWGP US CHAMPIONSHIP

Juice and Jay also have a well storied history ( a trend you'll notice with the last 3 matches of the night) as they both started as NJPW Young Lions. After Jay White conquered his best friend and oldest rival David Finlay, he has been targeting Juice Robinson.

Juice was able to earn this opportunity after pinning White at Dominion 6.9 in a tag match. Juice is looking to win his first big singles title in NJPW, after failing against Hirooki Goto, Naito and Kenny Omega, however Jay White will not be an easy task as to win the title, Jay defeated Kenny Omega.

The match is looking to mean a lot, not just in terms of the title itself, but whose going to have momentum heading into the G1 Climax. They may be in different blocks but whoever wins will be carrying a big win into the prestigious tournament.

Prediction- Jay White. As much as it makes sense for Juice to win here, I believe Jay is winning this match. The reason I think this is because if Juice wins, the A Block in the G1 has no champion, whereas the B Block already has 2 champions in Kenny Omega and Goto. Jay White is going to win this, the fans may initially be displeasured, but they will understand in time why it was the right decision.