Ranking all favorites to win the 2018 G1 Climax

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax is arguably the greatest Pro Wrestling Tournament of all time with 20 of the very best wrestlers from NJPW and occasionally from ROH battling it out among themselves, in order to crown one eventual winner who gets the opportunity of headlining NJPW’s biggest annual event, that is, The Wrestle Kingdom.

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The G1 Climax has consistently been one of the most successful tournaments of all time and following the recent success of the G1 26 (won by Kenny Omega) and G1 27 (won by Tetsuya Naito), this year’s tournament is bound to be another major hit for NJPW.

Meanwhile, the G1 28 is arguably going to be one of the most unpredictable G1 Climax’s of all time and with the likes of Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Kota Ibushi all being confirmed for the tournament, the fans of Professional Wrestling are definitely in for a treat.

With that being said, let us now rank all the 20 superstars who are currently favorites to win the 2018 G1 Climax

#20 Toru Yano

Toru Yano’s participation in the G1 Climax almost guarantees a series of hilarious comedy matches and regardless of his win/loss record in the G1, there is certainly no doubt in the fact that YTR’s matches are always fun to watch.

Despite being the silliest character in the current NJPW roster, Yano never fails to provide an extra bit of fun during his matches and believe it or not, the CHAOS originator is now all set to enter his 12th G1 Climax.

Yano’s matches are relatively expected to be less than 5 minutes and you could definitely witness plenty of low-blows and exposed turnbuckles during his matches.

#19 Togi Makabe

Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe will enter the G1 Climax as a certified veteran and will provide some of the hardest-hitting matches during the G1 28.

In recent months, Makabe has rarely competed in any high profiled singles match, however, his IWGP IC Title match against Minoru Suzuki earlier in the year, proves that the 2009 G1 Climax winner still has a lot to offer inside the squared circle. But, that definitely doesn’t mean that Makabe is going all the way to another G1 final anytime soon.

#18 YOSHI-HASHI

YOSHI-HASHI, in my opinion, is a decent in-ring competitor who is rarely given the opportunity to shine on the big stage. However, the G1 Climax is one of those occasions when the company’s most underrated competitors are provided with the platform to make a name for themselves and eventually outshine their past performances.

YOSHI-HASHI is one of those superstars who has found himself in a similar situation in NJPW, the up and coming CHAOS star defeated eventual G1 26 winner Kenny Omega in the opening round two years ago and you could certainly expect a few upsets from Hashi this year as well.

#17 Juice Robinson

Juice Robinson has always been considered the dark horse of the New Japan Pro Wrestling roster and despite a very resilient performance in last year’s G1 Climax, Juice will once again enter this year’s tourney as another least favorite to win.

However, regardless of his G1 failure, Juice is currently one of the most popular superstars in NJPW and this definitely goes on to reflect on how far Juice has prevailed since his CJ Parker days. Despite not being a favorite to win the whole thing this year as well, expect Juice to pull-off a few shocking wins here and there.

#16 Hangman Page

Bullet Club’s Hangman Page is all set to enter his first G1 Climax and make his G1 debut and personally, I couldn’t be more excited to see what the ROH superstar brings to the table. The New Japan management has shown a lot of faith in Page and definitely recognize him as one of the most talented stars in the Pro Wrestling industry.

Page, who recently challenged for the IWGP US Title and also main-evented Wrestling Dontaku with Kenny Omega, is likely to have a dominant outing in his first G1, he might not be the favorite to win the whole thing at this stage, but his matches against Tanahashi, Okada, and fellow BC stablemate Bad Luck Fale will be a few showdowns to watch out for.

#15 Tama Tonga

Much like every year, the G1 Climax is once again stacked with Bullet Club representatives and as far as ‘The Bad Boy’ Tama Tonga is concerned, he will look forward to having another decent outing in year’s G1 as well.

In the past two years, Tama Tonga finished his respective block 8 points to his name and during this year’s G1 28, the one-half of The Guerillas of Destiny will look to get to double figures, despite not being a favorite to win the whole tournament.

Regardless of that, we could definitely expect a few fun encounters involving Tama and his upcoming G1 27 rematch against new IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega also promises to be another fun contest.

#14 Bad Luck Fale

You know The Bullet Club is expected to have a dominant run in the G1 as an overall group when three different BC members simultaneously make into this list.

Much like his fellow BC stablemates Hangman Page and Tama Tonga, ‘The Underboss’ Bad Luck Fale is likely to have a strong, yet underappreciated run in this year’s G1 Climax. Fale has been one of the most loyal gaijin competitors in NJPW and he has been equally rewarded by the management for his loyalty, having challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in the past and also getting to win the IWGP IC Title on one solitary occasion as well.

But, don’t expect Fale to get his hands on the G1 Trophy anytime soon.

#13 Michael Elgin

Michael Elgin is another up and coming foreign superstar in the NJPW roster and the former IWGP IC Champion is known to have a dominant run in every single G1 Tournament, however, Elgin’s momentum has somewhat been overshadowed in recent weeks and dropping the NEVER Openweight Championship after a reign of just 8 days, definitely won’t help Big Mike’s momentum heading into the G1 28.

#12 Tomohiro Ishii

Current British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii is arguably the most under-appreciated star in NJPW today and being a 20-year-old veteran, Ishii is now set to enter his sixth G1 Climax.

Ishii has always performed at the very highest level and has never failed to deliver on the big stage as well and his matches against ZSJ and Kota Ibushi from last year, remain as two of the very best matches from the G1 27.

Expect a few five-star matches when Ishii steps into the ring with the likes of Hirooki Goto, Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, and Kota Ibushi during this year’s G1 Climax.

#11 Hirooki Goto

Much like Tomohiro Ishii, his fellow CHAOS stablemate Hirooki Goto also has a similar type of story in NJPW. Goto, who despite being in possession of the NEVER Openweight Championship, is yet to be awarded the IWGP Heavyweight Title due to his brilliant in-ring performances and his outstanding loyalty with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Goto is certainly one of the most prolific competitors in the world today and his recent G1 26 final against Kenny Omega also speaks measures and goes on to show how much faith the company had in this man two years ago during the G1 Climax.

Goto definitely did shock the entire world by making it to the G1 26 final ahead of the likes of Okada and Tanahashi, but don’t expect him to repeat a similar kind of performance this year as well.

#10 Evil

Having defeated Kazuchika Okada in last year’s G1 Climax, Los Ingobernables de Japon’s Evil is expected to have another strong run in this year’s G1 Climax as well.

Evil’s G1 27 run will definitely go down as one of the most memorable G1 runs in recent history and the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion will look forward to repeating that feat. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Evil makes it to the G1 finals and pulls-off something similar run to Hirooki Goto’s G1 26 performance.

#9 SANADA

Evil’s fellow LIJ stablemate SANADA is known to have solid performances and matches during the G1 Climax and his debut run at the G1 26 will go down as another memorable G1 Climax moment from recent history, given the fact that SANADA pulled-off the biggest upset of 2016 when he defeated ‘The Ace’ Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Almost a year ago, SANADA was considered to always remain in the shadows of his LIJ leader Tetsuya Naito, but that could soon change, considering the fact that we’re now all set to witness a dream collision between SANDA and Tetsuya Naito at this year’s G1 and a win for SANADA will definitely turn be another big highlight of his career.

#8 Zack Sabre Jr.

It can be said that New Japan Pro Wrestling has built a huge star in outsider ZSJ, who has successfully managed to get himself over with the Japanese audience, thanks to his Suzuki Gun stable and his fellow faction-mate Taka Michinoku, who has acted as the mouthpiece and manager for ZSJ is Japan so far.

ZSJ’s recent big achievement was when he won the 2018 New Japan Cup, defeating the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and Kota Ibushi, in order to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and that accomplishment itself, somewhat gives us an hope that the British superstar will once again aim to make everyone tap out in the G1 28.

#7 Minoru Suzuki

After being associated with Pro Wrestling and NJPW in general for all these years, it is somewhat hard to believe that Minoru Suzuki has never reached the finals of the G1 Climax, let alone the fact that he is yet to win the whole tournament.

Since returning to NJPW in 2017, Suzuki and his Suzuki Gun stable haven’t achieved any sort of major success, other than a few mid-card championships wins and a few tag title wins, however, ‘The Lonely Warrior’ himself will look forward to changing that by winning his first G1 and capturing his first IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the process as well.

#6 Kota Ibushi

Kota Ibushi shockingly announced his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling last year as part of the G1 27 and Ibushi’s participation in his second consecutive G1 Climax definitely comes in as a major booster for NJPW.

During last year’s G1, Ibushi competed in some absolutely stellar matches against the likes of Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi, but this year, is going to be a whole different and the major focal point is going to be Ibushi’s much-awaited showdown against fellow Golden Lover Kenny Omega in B block.

#5 Jay White

New Japan Pro Wrestling and Gedo in particular, has shown a lot of faith in the returning ‘Switchblade’ Jay White, who has already been awarded the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship since his return to the promotion last year.

White will be entering his first ever G1 this year and Gedo somehow needs to make sure that he doesn’t mess this up and provides ‘Switchblade’ with a formidable debut G1 run. Nonetheless, the Kiwi superstar is indeed expected to have a strong outing and surprisingly enough, we might just witness ‘Switchblade’ make it to the finals.

#4 Hiroshi Tanahashi

With the rise of Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito and with Kazuchika Okada enjoying the form of a lifetime, ‘The Ace of New Japan’ Hiroshi Tanahashi has definitely fallen down the pecking order in NJPW.

However, all of that could change within the blink of an eye, if Tanahashi manages to outlast 10 other men throughout this year’s G1 Climax and eventually win his third G1 Tournament, in order to guarantee a place in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13.

#3 Kenny Omega

Having recently won the IWGP Heavyweight Title for the very first time in his career, Kenny Omega is currently at the peak form of his Pro Wrestling career. At this point, Omega might not be the biggest favorite to win the G1 Climax, but having recently won the IWGP Heavyweight Title, NJPW is likely to book Omega in the most dominant manner possible and not have him lose too many matches in this year’s G1.

Omega’s upcoming matches against the likes of Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, and Zack Sabre Jr. promise to be absolutely stellar matches.

#2 Kazuchika Okada

During this year’s Dominion 6.9 event, Kazuchika Okada’s legendary 720-day run as IWGP Heavyweight Champion finally came to an end when Bullet Club’s Kenny Omega defeated him in a dramatic 2 out of 3 falls match.

Okada, however, is now determined to get back to the top of the mountain once again and what better ways to start other than win the prestigious G1 Climax for the third time in his career and subsequently book his ticket to the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13.

But, in order to do so, Okada will the uphill task of going through the likes of Tanahashi, Evil, and fellow CHAOS stablemate Jay White.

#1 Tetsuya Naito

This year’s G1 Climax is going to be a two-way dance between A Block’s Kazuchika Okada and B Block’s Tetsuya Naito, whose NJPW career is currently in a very weird state. The year 2018 hasn’t been kind to Tetsuya Naito so far after he first lost the main event of WK 12 to Okada, which was followed up by a recent IWGP IC Title defeat to Chris Jericho at Dominion.

However, Naito is now on the verge of creating history yet and will look forward to becoming the first ever superstar to retain the G1 Climax crown and finally get his hands on the IWGP Heavyweight Title once again.

Edited by Kishan Prasad