British Monsoon
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The G1 Climax is the most anticipated annual wrestling event in Japan. Hosted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the oldest and biggest wrestling promotion in the country, the tournament this year features two blocks of eleven wrestlers competing in twelve shows over the course of twenty one days, all for a chance to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (currently held by AJ Styles) at the January 4th Tokyo Dome show, which could be described as the WrestleMania of Japanese professional wrestling. Last year's tournament (the first time international fans were able to watch the event live) was widely regarded as one of the best ever and it was a real treat to be able to follow along without having to wait weeks or months for the shows to surface online. This year, New Japan have pulled out all the stops for the 24th anniversary of the G1, with more shows on schedule and the largest assembled group of competitors yet and international fans will once more be able to watch the whole thing live via Ustream iPPV.
This purpose of this thread is to host WrassleGAF's G1 discussions, so they aren't lost amongst such a fast-moving thread, and to hopefully introduce some new fans to one of the best wrestling promotions in the world today. Scroll down to the media section at the bottom of the post for some of the best matches so far in 2014.
Pricing Info;
- Package Deal; pre-purchase all 12 shows for $110 (that's $50 off) until July 21st Japan time* at www.ustream.tv/njpw
- Individual Shows; $25 for the larger events or $15 for the smaller ones, details at www.ustream.tv/njpwsub
Video on Demand replay's are available within an hour after each broadcast is completed and will be watchable until August 17th.
Schedule;
Participants;
Name: Tomohiro Ishii
Age: 38
Affiliation: CHAOS
Titles: former 1x NEVER Openweight Champion
G1 Record: 2nd G1 Tournament
Singles Form: W-W-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Powerbomb, Verical Drop Brainbuster, Ishii Driller
Name: Katsuyori Shibata
Age: 34
Affiliation: Laughter7
Titles: None
G1 Record: 4th G1 Tournament
Singles Form: W-L-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Corner Dropkick, Go 2 Sleep, Penalty Kick
Name: Tomoaki Honma
Age: 37
Affiliation: G.B.H.
Titles: former 2x BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion
G1 Record: 1st G1 Tournament
Singles Form: L-L-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Backdrop Driver, Deadlift Vertical Suplex, Kokeshi
Name: Bad Luck Fale
Age: 32
Affiliation: BULLET CLUB
Titles: current 1x IWGP Intercontinental Champion
G1 Record: 1st G1 Tournament
Singles Form: W-W-L-W-W
Signature Techniques: Grenade, Bad Luck Splash, Bad Luck Fall
Name: Shinsuke Nakamura
Age: 34
Affiliation: CHAOS
Titles: former 3x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, former 3x IWGP Intercontinental Champion, former 1x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 11th G1 Tournament, 2009 Runner-Up, 2011 Winner
Singles Form: W-W-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Back Cracker, Reverse Powerslam, Boma-Ye
Name: Hiroshi Tanahashi
Age: 37
Affiliation: Ace & King
Titles: former 6x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, former 1x IWGP Intercontinental Champion, former 2x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 14th G1 Tournament, 2004 Runner-Up, 2007 Winner, 2010 Runner-Up, 2013 Runner-Up
Singles Form: W-W-W-L-W
Signature Techniques: Dragon Screw, Slingblade, High Fly Flow
Name: Doc Gallows
Age: 30
Affiliation: BULLET CLUB
Titles: current 1x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 1st G1 Tournament
Singles Form: --------L
Signature Techniques: Side Slam, Choke Bomb, Body Blow Combo
Name: Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Age: 28
Affiliation: Suzuki-gun
Titles: former 2x IWGP Tag Champion, former 2x WWE Tag Champion, former 1x NWA Tag Champion
G1 Record: 2nd G1 Tournament
Singles Form: L-W-W-L-L
Signature Techniques: Vertical Suplex, Spinning Backdrop Driver, Bulldog Bomb
Name: Shelton Benjamin
Age: 39
Affiliation: Suzuki-gun
Titles: former 3x WWE Intercontinental Champion, former 1x WWE US Champion, former 2x WWE & ROH Tag Champion
G1 Record: 3rd G1 Tournament
Singles Form: W-L-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Double-Underhook Vertical Backdrop, Paydirt, Leaping Overhead Suplex
Name: Satoshi Kojima
Age: 43
Affiliation: TenKoji
Titles: current NWA Tag Champion, former 2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, former 2x Triple Crown Champion, former 6x IWGP Tag Champion, former 1x NWA Heavyweight Champion
G1 Record: 13th G1 Tournament, 2006 Runner-Up, 2010 Winner
Singles Form: W-W-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Lariat, Koji Cutter, Bakayaro Elbow
Name: Yuji Nagata
Age: 46
Affiliation: Blue Justice Army
Titles: former 2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, fomer 1x GHC Heavyweight Champion, former 2x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 16th G1 Tournament, 2001 Winner, 2007 Runner-Up
Singles Form: W-W-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Nagata Lock, Exploder of Justice, Blue Justice Driver
Name: Togi Makabe
Age: 41
Affiliation: Ace & King
Titles: former 1x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, former 1x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 11th G1 Tournament, 2008 Runner-Up, 2009 Winner
Singles Form: W-W-L-W-L
Signature Techniques: Powerslam, Spider-style German Suplex, King Kong Knee Drop
Name: Tetsuya Naito
Age: 32
Affiliation: None
Titles: former 1x NEVER Openweight Champion, former 1x IWGP Tag Champion, former 1x IWGP Jr. Tag Champion
G1 Record: 5th G1 Tournament, 2013 Winner
Singles Form: L-L-L-L-W
Signature Techniques: Gloria, Stardust Press, La Pluma Blanca
Name: Hirooki Goto
Age: 35
Affiliation: None
Titles: former 1x IWGP Intercontinental Champion, former 1x IWGP Jr. Tag Champion
G1 Record: 7th G1 Tournament, 2008 Winner
Singles Form: L-W-L-W-L
Signature Techniques: Kaiten, Ushikoroshi, Shouten Kai
Name: AJ Styles
Age: 36
Affiliation: BULLET CLUB
Titles: current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, former 3x NWA Champion, former 2x TNA Champion, former 1x PWG Champion
G1 Record: 1st G1 Tournament
Singles Form: ------W-W
Signature Techniques: Asai Moonsault Reverse DDT, Bloody Sunday, Styles Clash
Name: Kazuchika Okada
Age: 26
Affiliation: CHAOS
Titles: former 2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion
G1 Record: 3rd G1 Tournament, 2012 Winner
Singles Form: W-W-W-L-L
Signature Techniques: Dropkick, Tombstone Piledriver, The Rainmaker
Name: Minoru Suzuki
Age: 46
Affiliation: Suzuki-gun
Titles: former 2x Triple Crown Champion, former 1x IWGP Tag Champion, former 1x GHC Tag Champion
G1 Record: 6th G1 Tournament
Singles Form: W-W-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Rope-Trap Triangle, Sliding Thrust Kick, Gotch-style Piledriver
Name: Karl Anderson
Age: 34
Affiliation: BULLET CLUB
Titles: current 2x IWGP Tag Champion, former 1x GHC Tag Champion
G1 Record: 5th G1 Tournament, 2012 Runner-Up
Singles Form: W-W-L-L-L
Signature Techniques: Leaping Thrust Kick, Spinning Spinebuster, Gun Stun
Name: Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Age: 43
Affiliation: TenKoji
Titles: current 1x NWA Tag Champion, former 4x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, former 11x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 19th G1 Tournament, 1997 Runner-Up, 2003 Winner, 2004 Winner, 2006 Winner
Singles Form: L-W-W-L-L
Signature Techniques: Calf Branding, Mountain Bomb, Anaconda Vice
Name: Toru Yano
Age: 36
Affiliation: CHAOS
Titles: former 2x IWGP Tag Champion, former 1x GHC Tag Champion
G1 Record: 8th G1 Tournament
Singles Form: W-W-L-W-L
Signature Techniques: Goriki, Oni Koroshi, Akakiri Cradle
Name: Yujiro Takahashi
Age: 33
Affiliation: BULLET CLUB
Titles: current NEVER Openweight Champion, former 1x IWGP Tag Champion, former 1x IWGP Jr. Tag Champion
G1 Record: 5th G1 Tournament
Singles Form: L-L-L-L-W
Signature Techniques: Olympic Slam, Miami Shine, Tokyo Pimps
Name: Lance Archer
Age: 37
Affiliation: Suzuki-gun
Titles: former 3x NWA Tag Champion, former 2x IWGP Tag Champion
G1 Record: 4th G1 Tournament
Singles Form: L-L-W-W-L
Signature Techniques: Chokeslam, Moonsault, Blackout
Media;
. 24th G1 Climax Press Conference
. G1 Climax Finals History
A selection of some of the best singles matches in 2014;
. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi
. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
. Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles
. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bad Luck Fale
. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi
. Katsuyori Shibata vs Hirooki Goto
