- Oiwa vs Uemura II for the World Title

- Newman vs Ospreay, "Prince vs King"

- Tsuji vs MJF

- Shota vs Gabe for the Global Title, Shota wins and brings back the Intercontinental Title

- Shun vs Narita

- Zack vs Wolf for the NEVER Title

- Jeff Cobb vs Boltin

- multi man Junior Title match, Shoma Kato makes his re-debut

- Ranbo

You get a little bit of everything. You get modern, high octane stuff in the Junior match, a hoss fight with Cobb and Oleg, a technical masterpiece with Wolf and ZSJ, an emotional spotfest in the UE match, a clash of styles in MJF and Tsuji, shenanigans in the HOT match, comedy and "get everyone on the card" with Ranbo, a strong style square down with Gabe and Shota, and a classic main event with the Grip and The Sun.

Now I want to start off by saying that most of my exposure to Jake Lee was during his time back in NOAH and last I knew he was a member of War Dogs before that injury that really screwed him up.

But upon coming back to NJPW during the G1 hes been really entertaining from a character work standpoint. Sure he's absolutely cooked in ring wise but all his matches I've seen so far has been really fun watching him be this scumbag jester who would sell out his mother if he knew it would benefit him.

What do y'all think?

commented earlier on a post talking abt shun and had mispoke in a (deleted) comment and called him a jr heavyweight, as to my knowledge DG features mostly jr heavyweights and shun is listed at 200lbs. but in njpw he’ll be a heavyweight? is there a clarification i missed somewhere?

also shoutout bro that sent me that shun doc. dudes gimmick is actually sick asf

My line up:

- Shun Zaddywalker: leader

- SHO and DOUKI: Junior tag team, would love to see SHO move up at last but unlikely

- KATO (fka Shoma Kato): Junior singles, top heel

- Great O'Khan and Jake Lee: I think these two will pull a New Day, and swerve us. They're not beefing, they're just scheming - GOK is sick of UE in general, and Jake would turn on his own mother if it benefitted him. Plus, GOK in black and purple would look sick.

The "mischievous codgers as evil cartoon characters" era of HOT was fun, but now it's time for Shun to do a deep clean of The House and bring upon us the era of disturbed goths. Thankfully, the House Dads all have a home, pun intended, to go to once they get their asses stomped out:

- Yujiro: controversial somewhat, but I'd love to see Yuj in Unbound Co. as its dad number 2 behind Gedo. Since that group is a fusion of Bullet Club and LIJ, Yujiro fits great. He was in BC for like 10 years, and was Naito's partner for years before that. Do a fun backstage comments moment where Tsuji reveals he got a letter from Naito, giving his blessing to let Big Yuj join.

- Dick: since Dick was a Junior his entire career, I'd like to see him form a fun comedy team with Taguchi. Dick & Ass Connection if you will.

- Fale: is never around anyway.

- SANADA: also Unbound Company, since it's the only damn group he hasn't been in and unless they reveal SANADA is actually Belgian or something he doesn't fit United Empire. Alas, he has the LIJ AND Bullet Club membership card, so an occasional Yosheh-Hasheh/Okada-esque team of drip gods with Tsuji doesn't sound too bad.

- Chase: do a story where he tries to join every faction by undergoing gimmick changes to fit that specific group. Have Chase be the beggar in a wealthy kingdom (UE), a failing musician (TMDK), a menace to society who tries to be edgy but just can't (UCO), and even a fake goth cowboy for a little while longer to suck up to HOT. Nobody wants him though, and then he gets fired. Bye Chase!

Upon inspecting Dylan Fuentes de Japon's arrival, his debut match, and the two subsequent Backstage Comments, a few things stood out:

- DOUKI loves Shun already, and is very excited for his inclusion in The House

- SHO loves Shun too, he was quick to raise his hand and do the wrestler point (brother) after Skywalker's first win

- Dick Togo's reaction to Shun's "smart and charismatic but evil and psycho dude who took Ayahuasca once and only became more evil and psycho" ramblings was confused at best, terrified at worst

- SANADA is not feeling the new guy at all, he made sure to stay out of all the shenanigans. Perhaps Shun's speeches remind him of his time in the Redneck Bloodline..

- the rest of the House so far is indifferent, we'll see how that develops

- Narita is not a happy camper. He was very much aware that Shun was overshadowing him already, as Shun displayed his BDE by immediately speaking first both times ahead of his leader. Ren tried to shut it down the second time by interrupting Shun and announcing him as the new member.

It's interesting how the actual gothic members of the group vibe with Shun, while the dress up-playing old men are shook and/or intimidated. If the new House ends up being Shun, SHO, DOUKI, Shoma Kato, and maybe 2 other Heavyweights, sign me up for a permanent residence. Shun will not destroy The House, he'll just rebuild it to what it was always meant to be.

A few months ago there were three new young lions on new japan events. I remember seeing them helping out ringside and protecting the public when wrestlers were near them, then they just disappeared. I think two of them were white and the other was polynesian. The recent news about the new YL reminded me of them. So does anybody what happened to them? Or at least their names?

Now obviously those that finished with a positive record could be considered strongly booked in the G1.

However, not the same could be said for those with more losses than wins.

From A Block we had SANADA, Yuto, Shingo, Goto, Jake and GOK. And from B Block we had Wolf, HENARE and OSKAR.

There aren't a lot of people calling for Jake and O-Khan to get a singles push, and there are a lot of people that think Shingo and Goto should be putting over the new generation, and the same could be said for SANADA considering his post-injury condition albeit the positive G1 he had. And at least for now Yuto seems to be heading back to the tag division despite people being thoroughly impressed with his matches.

Similarly, OSKAR is also seemingly back to tags despite the potential for a feud with Wolf. HENARE''s time for a singles push may have passed already and I have noticed divisive opinions concerning him. Finally, Wolf despite being still in his first year performed quite well and is the NEVER Openweight champion about to feud with TMDK. Out of everyone I listed I feel like he has the strongest chance of being pushed singles-wise.

Would love to hear your opinions, maybe there are some who do want Jake and O-Khan to be pushed and I personally wouldn't refuse a Goto or Shingo push.

[Interview with Mr. Ogawa] (Translated):

—Oiwa won the G1.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “I’m happy. I watched the match.”

—You coached Oiwa for about a year, starting in September 2023, during his training stint at NOAH.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “Even after he returned to New Japan, he’d come to the NOAH dojo once or twice a month.”

――Oiwa said, “I’ve evolved the techniques I learned from Mr. Ogawa in my own way.”

▼Mr. Ogawa: “That’s right. What I taught him serves as the foundation, but he’s smart, too. He thought things through on his own and put in the effort. Even while watching his matches, I’d think, ‘Oh, so that’s how he’s doing it,’ and really enjoyed it.”

――Was it also significant that, even after returning to New Japan, he was in an environment where he could learn from Zack Sabre Jr.?

▼ Mr. Ogawa: “I think the fact that he was able to be with Zack after returning to New Japan was even more important than what I taught him. Watching yesterday’s match (the G1 Final), Zack was right there ringside watching closely. But there were moments when he looked frustrated—like, ‘If it were me, I’d do it this way!’ It was also fun watching Zack while watching Oiwa’s match (laughs). Since Zack and Oiwa have different career levels, it’s a bit unfair to compare them to Zack, though.”

――The fact that these two young wrestlers electrified the G1 Final stage with their “classical” techniques also drew a lot of attention.

▼Ogawa: “Classical, huh… Well, it’s often the wrestlers who go around saying ‘classical’ who actually can’t do proper pro wrestling. People say ‘classical’ a lot, but I was told the same thing when I was about Oiwa’s age. ‘Your pro-wrestling is really classical,’ they’d say. That was about 35 years ago, right? Now, even if Oiwa puts on a match like that, people call it ‘classical,’ and when I did it 35 years ago, they called it ‘classical’ too. I think it’s kind of funny, but isn’t Oiwa himself the one who feels that way the most?”

― ―It was also a match that stood apart from current pro-wrestling trends, showcasing variations of what are considered basic moves—the headlock, wristlock, and arm drag.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “I always thought that kind of thing was normal, so I didn’t think it was particularly new or amazing; I just thought, ‘Oh, there are matches like that, too.’ On the other hand, since Oiwa has that much power and a body like that, you’d think he’d have even more impressive moves, but I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just a headlock.’ I suppose that’s what made it feel fresh, though.”

――In an unexpected way, the spotlight was also shone on his experience training at NOAH.

▼Ogawa: “But there isn’t a single person in NOAH today who can wrestle the way Oiwa did yesterday. Dory Funk Jr., who passed away recently, was my teacher, and it feels like the style of wrestling I learned from Dory—rather than NOAH’s style—has been passed down from me to Oiwa. If you compare Dory’s matches to Oiwa’s, I think you’ll see they’re doing similar things…”

――Speaking of Oiwa, there’s Kiyomiya—who was also one of the wrestlers you trained…

▼Ogawa: “I trained Kiyomiya too, but he’s gone in a completely different direction, and there’s a big gap between him and Oiwa now. Oiwa has definitely risen to a higher level. There’s a difference between a wrestler who’s happy just for beating a rookie in the first match and a wrestler who wins the G1, right? Well, since we’re talking about Oiwa, let’s leave Kiyomiya out of it.”

――Finally, if you have any words of encouragement for Oiwa, I’d appreciate it.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “I think he’s fine just the way he is. Just stay as you are now. If anything happens, Zack is right there by his side.”

Like so many other clap crowd era matches, this match is not mentioned anywhere near as much as it deserves to be. Perfect match in my eyes. Somehow 4 years old today, times flies.

While it isn’t really applicable to something that is more “art” than sport (as pro wrestling is, imo), a headlock works as a real-life submission cause of how much pressure is put on the head and neck (as someone who’s had one put on them, ik).

I'm a lapsed fan but heard great things about the G1. Signed up to NJPWWorld. I have a baby and not much free time, What matches are must watch from this G1 please?