Home ▸ Drowgoddess ▸ 2016 NJPW G-1 Climax Tournament – The Big Picture of Week #1

The Big Picture of Week #1:

Well, we said that we wanted changes. NJPW gave them to us in abundance. The shock victories on Night #1 were fantastic, but when almost all of the wins are like that, the impact is diluted. After five of the nineteem shows, Makabe leads Block A, with Tenzan and Goto close behind. Nagata leads Block B, with almost everyone else tied for second place. We’re still in the early stages.

The next matches scheduled are:

Block A: Block B: Makabe vs. Tenzan Nakajima vs. EVIL Okada vs. Tonga Omega vs. Honma Goto vs. SANADA Nagata vs. YOSHI-HASHI Ishii vs. Marufuji Naito vs. Yano Tanahashi vs. Fale Shibata vs. Elgin

In Block A, Tenzan could hand Makabe his first loss and knock him out of the block lead, while avenging his loss to Marufuji. Tanahashi has lost all three of his matches so far, and defeating Fale would set him on the right track. The Ace can reasonably beat everyone else whom he’s scheduled to fight, and his last match is against Okada. Imagine the drama if Tanahashi wins all of his remaining matches, and faces Okada for a spot in the finals. Even if Okada beats Tanahashi and denies him that, Okada’s own chances are in peril. If Okada and Marufuji both win all the rest of their matches and tie in points, then Marufuji moves on to the finals because he beat Okada in the first round. SANADA now seems less of a hot prospect and more of a prop in the “Tanahashi overcomes injury and adversity” story, which is disappointing.

In Block B, a win by YOSHI-HASHI over Nagata pulls the block leader down. Nakajima needs a decisive win over EVIL to really make a name for himself, as he hasn’t been as impressive as had been hoped. Elgin will probably beat Shibata, as the Intercontinental champion is now 0-2, and having him go the same route as Tanahashi seems unlikely. This doesn’t help Shibata’s chances at leading the block, but he won’t be automatically out of contention.

Thanks for sticking around for the whole read. Check back next week for a recap of days #6-10 of the 2016 G-1 Climax tournament, and it may even make it to the podcast.

Cheers,

Drowgoddess

Night 1
Night 2
Night 3
Night 4
Night 5
The Big Picture of Week #1

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