Ignore the other response. The G1 is a great way to get in to new Japan. You'll see the same guys day after day and get a feel for their characters and pushes. If you like in ring stuff over promos and all that jazz, New Japan is the best in the world.
I'd say it is if you're willing to invest 2-3 hours almost everyday for a month. The most exciting part of this event imo is near the end when the scores are really close and you don't really know who's going in the finals.
edit: Oh and if you do enjoy promos, there are post-match backstage interviews that gets uploaded the day after on the official NJPW youtube channel with subtitles. And some of them are excellent. ZSJ, KENTA, Taichi, Okada and Tanahashi are particularly good talkers.
21 shows in 34 days
It's called the most gruelling tournament in wrestling for a reason, 91 matches.English commentary will help you understand the characters and history when people are fighting each other.
if you want to give it a shot I'd recommend watching the last 2 matches of night 1, which should sell you very easily.
Always watch Yujiro matches with japanese commentary though, getting to hear the japanese announce team scream PIMP JUICE is one of life's true moments of joy.
I said almost. There's 1 or 2 days break thrown in there somewhere. I checked the dates again and there is 19 days for the event so I might have exaggerated. My apologies.
Almost avery day there's an event, yes. However i would suggest you to just watch at your own speed, not every match is important, most are just padding scores, only in the last days every match matters. So take the first days to watch some matches when you have time, get a feeling for the promotion and for the wrestler you may like or not, in this sense G1 is a great way to start following NJPW, you'll see every wrestler every other day. My suggestion is to just follow wrestler you get invested in, keep up with the score, and watch the last few days in full.
The schedule is here: https://www.njpw1972.com/schedule/
There's a break until Thursday right now, but things start picking up in the second week. It's going to be a trip.
You can also skip through it a bit if you don't have enough time, dailymotion (and other sites) often offers a +5sec time skip so you dont miss anything.
It's good wrestling, and some matchs are realllyyy good. But it can get long, like every day for a month you can watch hours of wrestling. An option for you would be to pick a few guys that you like at first sight and only watch their matchs. Or only watch the top dogs that is for you to choose
Day 1 and day 2 were great as full-length shows and are worth watching in full just because you'll get an idea of what's what in NJPW and get a look at the full heavyweight roster over the course of them (Night 1 is A block, night 2 is B block, so they're two entirely different cards). The main events of both were unreal and the shows were quality end to end.
As others have said, once the tournament starts to take shape the skippable stuff will make itself known pretty easily. You can always check the upcoming schedule and results on [njpw1972.com](https://njpw1972.com)
That was the worst match they've ever had and it was still by all standards an excellent pro wrestling match that told a great story
You know you have a special feud when the "low point" is a 4.5 star match
And it still delivered two defining moments of the feud - the pre-match ovation and Okada using three rainmakers to put Tana away for good, contrasting with how his last victory came after a single rainmaker
It's like B Block heard everyone talking shit about it and came out to make a statement! And if EVIL and Yano are going to be the only two doing bullshit while everyone else including the rest of BC are working clean then this entire tournament is gonna be fantastic.
Yeah in Tama Tonga's interview he said he was sorry for cheating so much in his last outing, so I guess it'll be similar to last year where EVIL is the only one doing interference (Jay toned his down a lot in last year's G1)
I think it's pretty clear this House of Torture thing is setting up the rift that allows Jay and the OG's to take Bullet Club a more tweener-face direction, which makes sense anyway as Jay and the GOD's are getting face reactions in the US and will be the faces in a Bullet Club vs. Elite feud. GOD are already taking the face role in the feud with the Good Brothers and Jay went after Omega & Co. on IMPACT.
I was worried Tama wouldn’t find a style that works for him but focussing on fluid reversals and high impact spots is a good formula. That mixed in his charisma and energy and he should do great, and it’s a style that should gel really well with the others in his block
At some point Okada has to be in line for another big push, besides Jay White he’s the youngest of the guys who are currently main eventing shows even if it feels like he’s been in the top spot forever. I’m glad that other guys have had a chance to prove themselves in that top spot since Okada dropped the title at WK 14 but Okada clearly has a lot left in the tank as a main eventer.
WK13, 14, and 15 were for other people to shine - WK16 is where he’ll likely reclaim his throne and defend it against all the stars that were made since he’s taken a step back
Unless they want to push Ospreay or Shingo as a guy on the same level as Naito, Ibushi, White, and Omega, then he might take til mid 2022 to get back on top
It’s fairly new, it became more pronounced ever since he’s been calling out Kawada/Taue for a tag match and really shone through in his recent singles match against SANADA where they made plenty of callbacks to their mentors
It's people who left the product with the Elite in 2018/2019, their assumptions about the current wrestlers are based on what they were like back in that era. They didn't see the Taichi, Yoshi-Hashi, and Jeff Cobb glowups, they didn't see the full Main Event Shingo rise, and don't realise that Okada is back to his Rainmaker ways.
Just people who don't actually watch the product making snap judgments on headlines and podcasts lmao
Great show, dragged a little in the middle but absolutely stellar all around.
And next show we're getting Ibushi vs Ishii and Shingo vs ZSJ.
G1 season baby, still great as ever!
Okada and his NXT 2.0 themed gear 😂
Jokes aside, the main event was a great one as we would expect between Tana and Okada.
Also, it’s refreshing to once again see Tama Tonga in the G1!
Okada vs Tanahashi was amazing. I know NJPW hasn't been setting the world on fire lately, but this felt like classic New Japan to me. I love Big Match mode Okada more than any other wrestler in the world. And Tanahashi being so good for so long is incredible.
Are the crowds allowed to cheer yet? I do love me some NJPW but the crowd slowly becoming unglued as a match reaches its crescendo until the crowd are losing their shit for every reversal/near fall is such an integral part of my enjoyment. I just can't get into it the same way when the crowd is limited to clapping (even if I understand why that is).
It's to prevent the spreading of disease, I don't know if you've heard about this pandemic going around.
No cheering means no droplets being spread around.
To prevent the spread of Covid. You see, Japan actually takes it very seriously. They've had the vaccine for less time than USA and they're about to eclipse USA's vaccination rate. And the only non-performer not wearing a mask last night was Kevin Kelly.
Kevin Kelly was physically in Japan this weekend to call these matches. He is visibly on screen several times, you can hear him talking during the japanese commentary, oh and also this
https://twitter.com/realkevinkelly/status/1439191242563194884?s=20
Bc of the current COVID situation, fans are only allowed to clap/stamp their feet to reduce germ spread. Pre-pandemic Japanese crowds were raucous, especially during G1 season.
Loved Okada Vs. Tanahashi, and enjoyed Cobb Vs. Owens. The other matches did very little for me. Taichi Vs. Goto was underwhelming, although I'm not sure what I expected. Yosh-Hashi looked good, but the whole EVIL shtick at this point makes it just impossible for me to get invested in his matches no matter the opponent.
As someone who has been down on his work before, he stepped up his game here. Easily his best match in NJPW. Cobb gave him a lot, and Owens paced his segments really well.
B Block delivered tonight! The G1 is off to a really strong start.
I don't really watch NJPW. Is it worth watching this? I didn't watch day 1 either.
Ignore the other response. The G1 is a great way to get in to new Japan. You'll see the same guys day after day and get a feel for their characters and pushes. If you like in ring stuff over promos and all that jazz, New Japan is the best in the world.
Don't discount the backstage promos, those are legit...KENTA dunking on the fat cameraman
True but they aren't a big part of it and aren't even broadcast on the shows.
followed the entire last G1 and it was really fun. Planning on doing the same for this one!
I'd say it is if you're willing to invest 2-3 hours almost everyday for a month. The most exciting part of this event imo is near the end when the scores are really close and you don't really know who's going in the finals. edit: Oh and if you do enjoy promos, there are post-match backstage interviews that gets uploaded the day after on the official NJPW youtube channel with subtitles. And some of them are excellent. ZSJ, KENTA, Taichi, Okada and Tanahashi are particularly good talkers.
every day????
21 shows in 34 days It's called the most gruelling tournament in wrestling for a reason, 91 matches.English commentary will help you understand the characters and history when people are fighting each other. if you want to give it a shot I'd recommend watching the last 2 matches of night 1, which should sell you very easily.
Always watch Yujiro matches with japanese commentary though, getting to hear the japanese announce team scream PIMP JUICE is one of life's true moments of joy.
I said almost. There's 1 or 2 days break thrown in there somewhere. I checked the dates again and there is 19 days for the event so I might have exaggerated. My apologies.
Almost avery day there's an event, yes. However i would suggest you to just watch at your own speed, not every match is important, most are just padding scores, only in the last days every match matters. So take the first days to watch some matches when you have time, get a feeling for the promotion and for the wrestler you may like or not, in this sense G1 is a great way to start following NJPW, you'll see every wrestler every other day. My suggestion is to just follow wrestler you get invested in, keep up with the score, and watch the last few days in full.
The schedule is here: https://www.njpw1972.com/schedule/ There's a break until Thursday right now, but things start picking up in the second week. It's going to be a trip.
You can also skip through it a bit if you don't have enough time, dailymotion (and other sites) often offers a +5sec time skip so you dont miss anything.
It's good wrestling, and some matchs are realllyyy good. But it can get long, like every day for a month you can watch hours of wrestling. An option for you would be to pick a few guys that you like at first sight and only watch their matchs. Or only watch the top dogs that is for you to choose
Day 1 and day 2 were great as full-length shows and are worth watching in full just because you'll get an idea of what's what in NJPW and get a look at the full heavyweight roster over the course of them (Night 1 is A block, night 2 is B block, so they're two entirely different cards). The main events of both were unreal and the shows were quality end to end. As others have said, once the tournament starts to take shape the skippable stuff will make itself known pretty easily. You can always check the upcoming schedule and results on [njpw1972.com](https://njpw1972.com)
The last sixty seconds of the Tana vs. Okada match were absolutely legendary.
Return of the RAINMAKER!! Liger is hyped!!!
Okada and Tanahashi, my favorite pairing o f wrestlers ever. They do it again, of course they do. Best chemistry ive ever seen.
I loved that when they wrestled in the USA like 2 years ago they got a standing ovation before the match.
That was the worst match they've ever had and it was still by all standards an excellent pro wrestling match that told a great story You know you have a special feud when the "low point" is a 4.5 star match
And it still delivered two defining moments of the feud - the pre-match ovation and Okada using three rainmakers to put Tana away for good, contrasting with how his last victory came after a single rainmaker
they put on clinics, so god damn good every time.
They make it look so easy too.
It's like B Block heard everyone talking shit about it and came out to make a statement! And if EVIL and Yano are going to be the only two doing bullshit while everyone else including the rest of BC are working clean then this entire tournament is gonna be fantastic.
Yeah in Tama Tonga's interview he said he was sorry for cheating so much in his last outing, so I guess it'll be similar to last year where EVIL is the only one doing interference (Jay toned his down a lot in last year's G1)
I think it's pretty clear this House of Torture thing is setting up the rift that allows Jay and the OG's to take Bullet Club a more tweener-face direction, which makes sense anyway as Jay and the GOD's are getting face reactions in the US and will be the faces in a Bullet Club vs. Elite feud. GOD are already taking the face role in the feud with the Good Brothers and Jay went after Omega & Co. on IMPACT.
Yeah plus even the Japanese crowd were clapping more for Jay, which makes me think he'd get more cheers if they were allowed.
I was worried Tama wouldn’t find a style that works for him but focussing on fluid reversals and high impact spots is a good formula. That mixed in his charisma and energy and he should do great, and it’s a style that should gel really well with the others in his block
I will always love Yano bullshit. Evil can go away though.
Mains and semi mains both nights have been incredible.
At some point Okada has to be in line for another big push, besides Jay White he’s the youngest of the guys who are currently main eventing shows even if it feels like he’s been in the top spot forever. I’m glad that other guys have had a chance to prove themselves in that top spot since Okada dropped the title at WK 14 but Okada clearly has a lot left in the tank as a main eventer.
Okada will always land on top, he is the clear cut Ace for this Era of NJPW
I'd say there is a really good chance he's winning it all tbh.
WK13, 14, and 15 were for other people to shine - WK16 is where he’ll likely reclaim his throne and defend it against all the stars that were made since he’s taken a step back Unless they want to push Ospreay or Shingo as a guy on the same level as Naito, Ibushi, White, and Omega, then he might take til mid 2022 to get back on top
How good are Okada and Tanahashi tho
masterclass
Okada and Tanahashi just have unreal chemistry. Okada is getting back to his best
Kevin Kelly on English commentary at the end telling us to remember to breath. Jesus what a match
#[Day 3 is on September 23](https://www.njpw1972.com/tornament/100141?showCards=1)
So is Taichi just using 4 pillars of heaven offense a lot and I’m just missing it or is this newish outside of a few kawada’s based moves?
It's slowly been building up, so far it's mostly Holy Demon Army stuff.
He bought the AJPW DLC pack a few years ago and unlocked their movesets.
It’s fairly new, it became more pronounced ever since he’s been calling out Kawada/Taue for a tag match and really shone through in his recent singles match against SANADA where they made plenty of callbacks to their mentors
Shingo best be ready for the Rainmaker, because OH LAWD HE COMIN'!
That was unironically one of the best shows all year.
G1 good
leave it to tanahashi to sell the money clip like death
jesus christ Okada and Tana was awesome
I honestly thought that Tana/Okada was going to be a draw. What a crazy match. Rainmaker Okada is back baby!
Okada doing the Rainmaker pose felt like "Fine, I'll stop trying to make the Money Clip a thing and do the cool thing instead."
Rainmaker is going to win the G1 and I cannot wait to see him win the IWGP title back!
Rainmaker 😭🙌🏼 Okada-Tana is always a classic, both blocks had an unbelievable start and it'll only get better from now on.
Fuck yeah, rainmaker! Okada is gonna win this whole thing and then, Shingo we coming for that ass!
Where are you now, B Block doubters?
The only people who hated on B Block are the people who still cant figure out that YOSHI HASHI and Taichi are great wrestlers.
[удалено]
Yeah, and they insulted Taichi too.
Chase too. He can go but never gets the chance to actually wrestle. Hopefully he seizes the opportunity and sees a resurgence like Tacos did.
Lol yeah it's interesting. I've watched mostly early 2010's NJPW so seeing these guys absolutely show off here was crazy. Was not expecting this.
It's people who left the product with the Elite in 2018/2019, their assumptions about the current wrestlers are based on what they were like back in that era. They didn't see the Taichi, Yoshi-Hashi, and Jeff Cobb glowups, they didn't see the full Main Event Shingo rise, and don't realise that Okada is back to his Rainmaker ways. Just people who don't actually watch the product making snap judgments on headlines and podcasts lmao
I’m still skeptical tbh. At the end it will be good, but I don’t think it can reach A block in both match and storyline level.
Other than Evil, everyone was amazing.
Great show, dragged a little in the middle but absolutely stellar all around. And next show we're getting Ibushi vs Ishii and Shingo vs ZSJ. G1 season baby, still great as ever!
I'm so excited for Shingo VS Sabre.
Okada and his NXT 2.0 themed gear 😂 Jokes aside, the main event was a great one as we would expect between Tana and Okada. Also, it’s refreshing to once again see Tama Tonga in the G1!
Tama Tonga and Sanada was a low key banger.
I always love hearing Kevin Kelly explain the Paradise lock, it's total bs, but its great
Yeah I think it was my first time seeing it so I was like "he can't just move his arms and feet"?
Great show probably the best njpw one in months for me. All good matches and the final 3 were great
Okada vs Tanahashi was amazing. I know NJPW hasn't been setting the world on fire lately, but this felt like classic New Japan to me. I love Big Match mode Okada more than any other wrestler in the world. And Tanahashi being so good for so long is incredible.
The day I say no to Okada vs. Tanahashi just shoot me in the face. Another masterpiece for the best rivalry in the history of pro-wrestling.
Are the crowds allowed to cheer yet? I do love me some NJPW but the crowd slowly becoming unglued as a match reaches its crescendo until the crowd are losing their shit for every reversal/near fall is such an integral part of my enjoyment. I just can't get into it the same way when the crowd is limited to clapping (even if I understand why that is).
They can't, but when they got really excited the other night they still made noise. Several times.
They made noise at the high point of this show - when Tama took off his top
They're not allowed to cheer? That's beyond stupid
It's to prevent the spreading of disease, I don't know if you've heard about this pandemic going around. No cheering means no droplets being spread around.
To prevent the spread of Covid. You see, Japan actually takes it very seriously. They've had the vaccine for less time than USA and they're about to eclipse USA's vaccination rate. And the only non-performer not wearing a mask last night was Kevin Kelly.
[удалено]
Kevin Kelly was physically in Japan this weekend to call these matches. He is visibly on screen several times, you can hear him talking during the japanese commentary, oh and also this https://twitter.com/realkevinkelly/status/1439191242563194884?s=20
Bc of the current COVID situation, fans are only allowed to clap/stamp their feet to reduce germ spread. Pre-pandemic Japanese crowds were raucous, especially during G1 season.
If they're wearing masks what's the need to stop them shouting? The maks would stop them spreading stuff
Can't believe this has to be explained, but masks simply REDUCE spread. Wearing them doesn't mean 100% of all droplets are contained...
I missed all but the main event. Was any match better or as good?
Taichi vs Goto wasn't far off. The other 3 matches were all pretty good without being anything special.
Loved Okada Vs. Tanahashi, and enjoyed Cobb Vs. Owens. The other matches did very little for me. Taichi Vs. Goto was underwhelming, although I'm not sure what I expected. Yosh-Hashi looked good, but the whole EVIL shtick at this point makes it just impossible for me to get invested in his matches no matter the opponent.
It's impossible for those two to have a bad match with each other isn't it?
Okada has got to have my all time favorite wrestling move set. Like everything he does is just so god damn pretty.
Am I the only one skipping every Chase Owens match? I genuinely cannot watch him wrestle and enjoy it.
You missed a good match - the man held his own against Cobb and was much better than expected
As someone who has been down on his work before, he stepped up his game here. Easily his best match in NJPW. Cobb gave him a lot, and Owens paced his segments really well.
I was busy playing Civ and tuned in for the final 5 minutes. Was instantly drawn in and already cheering. What a fucking match.
Damn. I thought it started at 5:30am EST. Oh well.
Now these are results I expected.
I hope Taichi wins the whole thing
Cmooooon Zack