The crown jewel of all annual tournaments in the professional wrestling world, the G-1 Climax has for years been the lynchpin of New Japan’s success. A look at the last four tournaments and an in-depth preview of this year’s, inside!
Section 1- G-1 Climax 2004
There had been 16-man tournaments before, but those were single-elimination. The most used configuration over the years had been two blocks of 6. For 2004, New Japan upped the ante by having two blocks of 8, meaning the longest (and costliest) tournament in G-1 history. From a business perspective this didn’t seem to work out so well, and the use of the high-priced freelancer quartet (Sasaki/Tenryu/Takayama/Suzuki) was put to an end a few months later in order to rectify the company’s finances. From a fan perspective it was a lot of fun, with all sorts of style contrasts to highlight the strengths of New Japan’s booking style. There were also some notable matches from a year-end perspective, such as Sasaki vs Takayama and the final. This tournament was one of the driving forces behind my decision to go to Japan the next year.
To go along with having a lot of participants, this tournament has a lot worth noting. Sasaki returned after spending a year in World Japan, and showed off his new work ethic. Tenryu participated for the first time since ’98, and this marked the last big tournament of his career. Minoru Suzuki made his G-1 debut. Takayama was forced to bow out early after an accumulation of injuries caused a stroke, putting him on the shelf for two years and likely ending his ability to be a big-time headliner. Blue Wolf made his G-1 debut, and a year later was gone from the company in order to return to his home of Mongolia. Shibata made a big splash, reaching the semifinals, and was also gone a year later. Kanemoto and Makabe made their G-1 debuts. Tenzan won the tournament and was reinvigorated following a climactic push/depush cycle over the previous year. Most importantly, Tanahashi had a breakout year and did well enough in the final to cement himself as someone worth building around in the long term (something Nakamura had yet to do).
The final night was a unique show. New Japan had a 2-hour live broadcast, and had a three round 6-man playoff (plus other matches) to squeeze in. As a result most matches were kept short in order to give enough time to the final, something that helped the final but noticeably hurt the semis. Overall the tournament was strong enough to make it clear that despite NOAH’s first Tokyo Dome show a week earlier, New Japan had firm control of the #1 spot in Japan.
Section 2- G-1 Climax 2005
Although this tournament also featured 16 wrestlers and big name outsiders like Kawada and Fujita, this was clearly a ‘smaller’ offering than 2004. Josh Barnett was scrubbed from plans and replaced by lowly Tatsutoshi Goto, and there were other questionable ‘budget’ inclusions like Kendo Kashin and Yano. The tournament was far less appealing than 2004, and managed to underperform from there.
Kawada vs Chono, a dream match, was dull and didn’t draw. Kawada vs Nagata, highly anticipated a few years earlier, badly lacked drama. Tanahashi, so promising the year before, seemed lost. Fujinami was badly out of place wrestling 7 matches in a short span, especially when he hadn’t had a good outing in some time. Nagata, Tenzan and Nakanishi all were adrift in booking plans and showed it in the tournament. Makabe injured himself in hilarious fashion. Kendo Kashin pinned Kawada and was gone soon after. Inoki favorite Fujita made a joke out of block B, and he was gone a year later with the Inoki/NJ split. Nakamura, also an Inoki favorite, had drawn the ire of fans who felt he was forced on them. Fujinami, Nishimura, Yoshie and Goto were gone a year later in the Muga split. The sole bright spot besides a couple good league matches was the ultra-hot Chono vs Fujita final, as Sumo Hall backed Chono to the hilt in the wake of Shinya Hashimoto’s death.
This tournament might have been cheaper than the previous year’s, but that doesn’t mean it was more profitable. Attendance was down, most notably on the final round-robin night at Sumo Hall. Their response to NOAH’s big 2005 Tokyo Dome show was a dud, and New Japan was saved from slipping to a long-term runner-up role only by several big fumbles in the land of emerald.
Section 3- G-1 Climax 2006
From 16 wrestlers to 1-, this was even more of a low-budget outing. Kojima joined nine regulars, including two juniors and a young lion, to make up the participants. Expectations were much lower, and business-wise this was much easier on the balance sheet since attendance didn’t decline as much as the cost of talent.
Kojima benefited from the tournament, since it enabled him to bounce back from losing the Triple Crown. Tenzan benefited from winning, the first big thing to happen to him since his struggles with the IWGP title in 2005. Kanemoto made an even better showing than in 2006, especially his match against Nagata and the semifinal against Kojima. The only person with a negative outcome was Yamamoto, who wasn’t really expected to do anything anyway. A low-key tournament that didn’t have a chance of explosive success, this at least avoided the catastrophic failures New Japan had suffered so many times over the years. Two years later, they’re on good terms with all of the participants; that’s a big shift from previous G-1s.
Section 4- G-1 Climax 2007
Though the field expanded to 12 wrestlers, this was also a conservative tournament. For the first time in many years there wasn’t a significant ‘outsider’ presence, something that hurt the tournament in terms of cohesion and heat. From a booking standpoint nobody was hurt, especially since the worst record was a respectable 2-3, but nobody was particularly helped either. Makabe made it to the semis, but that wasn’t a surprise after his push earlier in the year. The oddest thing about this was that by all accounts Nakamura was supposed to beat Nagata in the semis, and perhaps was supposed to win the tournament, but he suffered an injury. Nakamura had been a big favorite in ’05 and one of the favorites in ’04, so he seemed due in ’07. Tanahashi won in the end, becoming the first of the current generation to do so, and he went on to win the IWGP title two months later. Um… that’s about it. Not much of note. That’s one reason why this year’s tournament stands out so much, and why I’m writing this column.
Section 5- Wait, you say someone else did this?
Section 6- G-1 Climax 2008
Years of play-it-straight, by-the-numbers Choshu booking have come to a halt. Once again there are 14 wrestlers in two blocks, highlighted by several big outside names: Kawada, Kojima and Ohtani. Oh and to a lesser extent Yoshie, who will do his first New Japan tour since joining Muga. Meanwhile Chono will fail to participate despite being healthy, a first. Also there are no planned semifinals for the first time since ’99. The tournament kicks off on Saturday, with the following alignments:
Block A- Kojima, Ohtani, Tanahashi, Makabe, Bernard, Nakanishi and Wataru Inoue
Block B- Kawada, Nagata, Nakamura, Tenzan, Hirooki Goto, Yoshie and Yano
The winner gets a shot at Mutoh on the 31st at All Japan’s big Sumo Hall event.
Mixing and matching those names makes for a lot of good possibilities. This is easily the best-looking tournament since 2004, and one can hope for comparable results. From a business standpoint I’d imagine that this won’t be on the same cost level as ’04 or ’05, since the New Japan regulars have taken pay cuts and Kojima and Ohtani aren’t raking in the yen. If attendance improves in line with the talent it could be the most profitable G-1 Climax in a while. As with 2004 the mere assembly of talent is enough to show up NOAH, even with the Sasaki move. To break it down wrestler-by-wrestler:
Wataru Inoue- It doesn’t get much more baffling than light-hitting 85KG junior Wataru Inoue jumping into the 100KG+ heavyweight ranks. I’m sure he’ll beat at least one of the powerhouses of his block with a cradle, but unless he’s got dirt on Chono I just can’t see him making a big splash. He’s a heavyweight newbie and expectations are low.
Yano- Ugh. Why. Why is he still employed. At least Makabe has charisma and bleeds like a mofo to make up for his shortcomings.
Nakanishi- Has had his best year since at least 2002 if not 1999, with several big wins and plenty of fan support. That said he’s coming off a loss in his first IWGP match in half a decade, and his push is probably at an end. Certainly we won’t get back-to-back Mutoh vs Nakanishi matches. Having Wataru Inoue on the next-to-last night and no singles match on the last night kinda cements his status as an also-ran this year.
Bernard- He seems to have hit a ceiling. Like Bison Smith, he’s the top gaijin and has earned respect. Like Bison Smith he isn’t much of a draw, and he’s unlikely to become one. The G-1 formula doesn’t involve likeable gaijin winning it all, especially when they’re the third man down in a stable.
Yoshie- Being the #1 man in Dradition isn’t much of a cachet. Will he break even for the first time? Maybe, but I’m betting on another losing year. Don’t be shocked if he’s the best wrestler of the tournament though, he busts his sizable ass.
Hirooki Goto- Big expectations for this converted junior in his first G-1. Will he win? Probably not. His last high-profile win was a gimme last October against Tenzan. He might go 3-3, and even 1-5 with hard-fought losses would be fine.
Makabe- Coming off losing in the finals of the Fire Festival, I can’t see New Japan giving him much of a push. Oddly enough I can see him going 0-7 and not having it hurt him, though that won’t happen.
Tanahashi- Returning from injury after having lost in the Champions Carnival final, and having already won last year’s tournament, I would be stunned if Tanahashi takes this. All the more because things seem set for an outsider to win block A and a loyalist to win block B. There is one big caveat: in 2004 there was a lot of outside talent and the final was loyalist vs loyalist. If that happens this year it would mean Tanahashi not only in the final, but also having a chance to win.
Nakamura- He’s due! It’s just that there’s no way we’re getting Mutoh vs Nakamura so soon after Nakamura vs Mutoh. A threat to beat any opponent, and he should go at least 3-3, but winning seems unlikely.
Kojima- At first glance he’s the biggest outside threat, what with Ohtani coming from lowly Zero-One and Kawada operating out of HUSTLE. However I can’t see a straight-up repeat of the 2006 Climax, and Kojima enters in a babyface role, supporting Tenzan against GBH. To top it off he isn’t in a singles match on the final night, and it would make no sense to have someone go to the finals after an undercard tag.
Tenzan- At first glance he was one of my favorites to win. Tenzan has inherited the Mr. G-1 title from Chono, he just won a bloodfeud against Iizuka, and he hasn’t held the IWGP title in over three years. However, there are strong signals that plans are in place for TenKoji to reunite on the 31st against a combined GBH/VM team. Tenzan can afford to lose, but as with Nakamura I expect at least a 3-3 record.
Kawada- A threat to be the ‘outside menace’ in the final? Perhaps if he was still wrestling full time for All Japan, but not this year. Kawada just hasn’t been the same since his falling out with NOAH after the 7/18/05 Tokyo Dome event, and unless he leaves HUSTLE I can’t see him headlining a venue as big as Sumo Hall ever again.
Ohtani- On one hand, Ohtani isn’t in a very good position to go far in the tournament. He’s been the #2 or #3 star in Zero-One for the last several years, and Zero-One is the #4 heavyweight promotion. He’s lost most of the flare that made him so entertaining in the ‘90s. On the other hand, having a Zero-One wrestler in the G-1 final would balance having Makabe in the Fire Festival final, and there’s less to get in the way of Ohtani as the outsider/heel in the final than there is for Kojima, Kawada or Makabe. The best thing in his favor just might be the story that we’d get if he went against the man I expect to win.
Nagata- Hasn’t won a G-1 since ’01. Failed in attempts to beat the last two outside IWGP champions and looking for redemption. Respected by wrestlers and fans alike. And one other thing: the last four tournaments to take place on even-numbered years were won by a past winner. There are five of them in the tournament and Nagata has the least going against him. He’s got a final day match against Hirooki Goto, which should be competitive and very winnable. Nagata vs Ohtani as the final would play off their real life friendship/rivalry, and Mutoh vs Nagata would be the sort of big match All Japan will need to offset the weakness of the recently announced Suwama vs Kea Triple Crown contest. Nagata wouldn’t necessarily win that, but he’d be a very real threat unlike a number of other stars.
My dark horse scenario would be as follows: Nagata versus Kawada on the penultimate night goes to a draw, Tanahashi eliminates the threat of Ohtani, and Goto upsets Nagata to set up past winner Tanahashi versus Goto in a rematch of their acclaimed IWGP battle in November. Goto has the motive of wanting revenge on Mutoh/Muta after their match on January 4th, while Tanahashi wants revenge on All Japan after losing to Suwama. I just don’t think Tanahashi will be pushed back into the spotlight like that, but it’s a possibility.
Overall this is a tournament with the potential to produce, say, 10 to 15 of the top 20 puro heavyweight singles matches of the year, along with several of the best shows. It could revitalize older wrestlers like Kawada and Ohtani, boost the status of young stars like Inoue and Goto, and with Kobashi’s future still uncertain the G-1 looks to be the biggest thing of 2008. Exactly what New Japan needs it to be.
Next time: G-1 results! Kobashi #5 at long last!
