G1 Climax 29: 10 Biggest Storylines of the tournament

#8 Attack of the Next Generation

NEVER Openweight Champion. Junior Champion. BoSJ winner. G1 Climax. Super J Cup. Beat Tanahashi; Will Ospreay is wrestler of the year!

Before his history-making dream match against Tanahashi, Will Ospreay cited 'The Aces' motto when he first rose the ranks of New Japan as a young gun.

In the mid-2000s amidst the failures and dark days of New Japan, Tanahashi rose from this wilderness to take over the company and push into the new direction it is in today.

Fitting then that in a tournament that has seen the Ace experience his existential crisis, Will Ospreay was the one to bring about this point towards a career-making victory against Tanahashi. For the incredible year, he has enjoyed, this was the cherry on top of that.

Yet it isn't just about Ospreay, the G1 Climax this year saw him and fellow "junior heavyweight" Shingo Takagi take the tournament by storm with their bold moves and hard-hitting strikes.

Alongside them, Jeff Cobb made a decent if muted début, Juice put in the effort to make a claim as the top face Gaijin for the company.

Meanwhile, two Ingobernable men who have repeatedly taken to the G1 Climax might have finally signaled to Gedo and company that they are ready to become New Japan's next big stars.

SANADA showcased how popular he is as a Superstar, while EVIL once again spurred by this took to claiming his own spot at the top as well. They are primed and New Japan must strike while the iron is hot, the next generation will tear down the doors if they have to.