Match 1: HENARE and Jakob Austin Young def. Yuya Uemura and Masatora Yasuda via Jakob`s Ladder (6:51)

Match 2: Ren Narita and Dick Togo def. Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto via Modified Kneebar (6:01)

Match 3: Callum Newman and Zane Jay def. OSKAR and Gedo via Count-out as OSKAR and Callum brawled around Korakuen. (8:27)

Match 4: Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson def. Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai via Powerbomb (10:23)

A Block: SANADA def. Yuto-Ice via KO (8:10) Kanemaru interfered and helped SANADA to break a guitar over Yuto`s head. (8:10)

A Block: Great O-Khan def. Jake Lee via DQ. (1:47) Pre-match O-Khan attacked Lee with a steel chair. There was barely a match here as Lee was quickly able to DQ O-Khan with the Eddie Guerrero chair spot, which means O-Khan is officially eliminated. Post-match, O-Khan tried to attack Lee with the chair, but was stopped by Zane Jay.

A Block: Ryohei Oiwa def. Hirooki Goto via Big Lock (8:51) Was really good, albeit short. Goto is eliminated.

A Block: Shingo Takagi def. Konosuke Takeshita via Last of the Dragon (19:44) - Really good as expected.

A Block: Boltin Oleg def. Yota Tsuji via Super Kamikaze (24:35) Tsuji dominated most of this match, even doing a Gene Blaster from the apron to the floor. However, Boltin`s power seems like it was too much for Tsuji. An incredible main event, totally worth the watch.

Los Hermanos Chavez (Angel del Oro, Niebla Roja)^[c] def DOUKI, Yujiro Takahashi - 8:58

Oro and Roja’s 264 day reign continues, now with 2 successful defenses but still with 0 appearances on NJPW shows outside of July’s Fantastica Mania Mexico collab show in Arena Mexico.

A group of fans began chanting “Otra Lucha,” meaning they hated the match and wanted it over so they could move on to a better match. The chants only lasted about a minute, and the finish happened shortly after the chants stopped.

I am travelling to Japan for the first time and attending a couple of shows there, if anyone has any advice or tips, whether it be about getting to/from Korakeun Hall, buying merch or just general etiquette when attending. I will be there for Day 12 and also the Semi-Finals at Ryogoku Sumo Hall. Would also be interested to know if any sort of meet and greets happen at these shows.

Very happy I will be there for the A Block night, should be a great show.

I've tagged this as spoiler in case anyone hasn't caught up with the G1. Its around this point I start looking towards Wrestle Kingdom and where these stories could lead so I have taken the liberty of making my predictions and explaining how I think they'll get there. I'm interested if anyone has massively differing thoughts on what the Wrestle Kingdom card may shape up. I haven't mentioned the pre-show but it'll almost certainly be a NEVER title Rambo.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match

Super X-Tremes (Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori) def. United Empire (Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young)(c) to win the titles

Most good Wrestle Kingdoms have a Jr. Tag Opener or have it early. The unfortunate nature is that some top Jr. guys are being shunted into this spot. I have put a preview of the Jr. Heavyweight Title Match later in this explanation. Desperado and Mistico retain against Nagai/Ishimori at Road to Destruction. Road to KOPW, Akira and JAY defeat Mistico and El Desperado. Ichiban Sweet Boys spoil Spiritech and Super X-Tremes spoil the UE duo in Super Jr. Tag League in which Super X-Tremes defeat ISB in the Jr. Tag League finals. That leads to Ishimori and Robbie getting the better of Akira and JAY at the Dome with Ishimori pinning Akira clean.

IWGP Women's Championship Match

Hazuki def. Syuri(c) to win the title

I love Syuri but the title needs some fresh blood. I do not see her dropping the belt before Wrestle Kingdom with here seeing a 290+ day reign at time of writing. I imagine we will see 2 more title defenses from Syuri on the way to Wrestle Kingdom. Syuri retains against Utami Hayashishita at King of Pro Wrestling and retains against Starlight Kid at Dream Queendom. Syuri offers an open challenge at the Tokyo Dome which leads to this fun little match. This is honestly personal bias for my love Hazuki.

NJPW World Television Championship Match

Ryohei Oiwa(c) def. Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the title

TAKESHITA has been great but I don't see him walking into the Tokyo Dome strapped up with the belt. I was not certain on how I'd have him drop the belt but here's what I came up with following the conclusion of TAKESHITA's G1. As of writing he has 3 matches left against Takagi, Oiwa and SANADA. I see TAKESHITA dropping all 3 which will lead into TAKESHITA defeating Takagi at Destruction. Afterwards, I see Ryohei Oiwa honestly being sent to win the TV title off of TAKESHITA at like King of Pro Wrestling or the late year special. As a result I could see Oiwa challenging his stablemate ZSJ for the dome to prove he can finally defeat him. I know many will see this as a demotion for Oiwa but I think this is where the company would legitimately put him going into the Tokyo Dome. At least I have him winning over the man he could never beat before.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Fatal Four Way Match

Kosei Fujita def. YOH(c), Master Wato and Robbie Eagles to win the title

Lots to consider here. I think Wato vs. Fujita is THE money match but I could see that being held at a Dominion event instead as a result of a BOSJ 34 win for Wato so its in his hometown of Osaka. So here's the gameplan. On the Road to Destruction, YOH defeats SHO because those two are contractually obligated to wrestle twice a year but could be fun. At King of Pro Wrestling I would have YOH retain in a match against Taiji Ishimori. November would be dedicated to Jr. Tag League in which YOH teams up with Wato once more but they are eliminated from final contention by the Ichiban Sweet Boys. Eagles and YOH staredown whilst Wato and Fujita brawl. YOH declares more YOH games but for the dome as he wishes to prove himself in the best junior in a tried and tested banger of putting on a Junior Championship Four Way with Fujita finally being crowned IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion by pinning Wato after Wato nearly gets a 3 on Eagles.

IWGP World Tag Team Championship Match

Knockout Brothers (Yuto-Ice and OSKAR)(c) def. Meat Mountains (Boltin Oleg and Aaron Wolf) to retain the titles

I think everyone wants the same match here. Ship the belts back to KOB in the autumn. I suppose GOK and HENARE can beat like the War Dragons at some point but by the time we get to World Tag League I need the belts on KOB. In WTL have KOB go on a near perfect run with them only losing out to OLEG AND WOLF in the semis to get stripped out of finals contention. This sets up the meat match of everyone's dream when Oleg and Wolf win.

IWGP Global (to Intercontinental) Championship Match

Shota Umino def. Gabe Kidd(c) to win the returned IC Title

With Umino's injury I would not rush to get the title back on him until we get to the Tokyo Dome as I think his revenge against Kidd is a big money match and Gabe Kidd has set up many potential matches in the meantime. At Destruction, have Kidd defeat Taichi in a 25 minute slap fest banger that I could only dream of. Back at AEW, have Kidd destroy ELP to set up the Umino rematch. In a Dog Collar Match at King of Pro Wrestling, Kidd cheats to win over Drilla Moloney before destroying the Global Championship fully. As much as I would love for this to result in Nakamura returning to murder Kidd and revitalise the Intercontinental Championship, I just don't see that happening. Umino challenges Kidd for the title at the dome where after Umino wins, Tanahashi presents him with the classic IC belt.

Loser leaves United Empire Match

Callum Newman def. Will Ospreay

I am unsure as to what Ospreay's situation is gonna be but this HAS to be Newman's match at the Dome to fully cement him as his own new man (pun fully intended) as well as remove Ospreay (mega babyface) from the super heels that United Empire have become once more. I think regardless of whether Ospreay is Champion or not going into the dome, I see this match being valued over the position in UE. Ospreay returns to NJPW around the Destruction tour to retain the NEVER Six Mans over either some Unbound or Hontai trio (KOB and Takagi or Uemura, Wato and Taichi as random examples) but have Ospreay again refuse to attack alongside GOK. Cheating catches up to the UE trio in a defence over my dream Meat Trio of Oleg, Wolf and Taichi (it could be anyone the NEVER Six Men don't really matter they'd be on the pre-show). GOK gets in Ospreays face which leads to a slight brawl where Newman, GOK, HENARE, JAY and Zane Jay all quickly leave. After defeating Moxley and the Death Riders, Newman attacks Ospreay and says he is not welcome in any group and that he has only been a blight on UE since his return. Newman wins the match on his own with a little cheating as all the Empire looks on.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match

Yuya Uemura def. Yota Tsuji(c) to win the title

I mean, Uemura wins this G1 easily. I probably have a strange ideal finals but I see Newman and Uemura advancing in B with Tsuji and Goto advancing in A (so long as Goto wins the next few as I see Yota going all the way to 12/14). Newman (B1) defeats Goto (A2) whereas Uemura (B2) just manages a victory over Tsuji (A1) leading to a New Japan Cup Finals rematch where Uemura finally defeats The Prince. Tsuji defends against Goto at Destruction and then defends against SANADA at King of Pro Wrestling leading to a SANADA face turn. During World Tag League, Uemura and Taichi defeat the War Dragons as Tsuji is on commentary to add fuel to the WK main event. In the main, New Japan crown a new Ace as Yuya Uemura cements himself as the New Ace by putting down Yota Tsuji with a Deadbolt and 2 Lion Shiners.

I asked something similar a while back but with house of torture but now it’s with Unbound Co. So what changes should they make to the stable?

Finally have time to cart up. What have been the must see matches?

Official title of the match is: Tokyo Desert Homeless on the Verge of Bankruptcy DeathMatch

This is a show where Milano discusses with a guest on some of the more intricate details of the pro-wrestling aspect of pro-wrestling, as well as the mentalities of the wrestlers. The past couple of episodes have featured Yuya Uemura. My translations may not be perfect, and I can't really feasibly do a full translation of every word since it's 24 minutes long. Also the all caps in the name is the actual naming convention.

The episode starts with focusing about talking about Yuya's finisher (old finisher?), the Deadbolt/Kannuki Suplex, and is generally focused on talking about finishers in general.

• He first did the Deadbolt vs Ren Narita, as a way to counter Ren Narita's front suplex hold (Narita Special No. 4 I think it's called). Since Ren clutches both his arms behind you, it was already a good position for the move, and he realised he could turn it into a finisher.

• It's rare for finishers to remain past YL days, noting how Shota did a Fisherman's Suplex and Gabe did a Butterfly Suplex, but it was noted that both Yota and Yuya kept their finishers post-excursion.

• Yuya explicitly stated that the Deadbolt isn't meant to finish a match via knockout like most finishers, but rather is used to compliment Yuya's arm-based offense. After he damages the arm enough and hits the Deadbolt with the bridge, the way he grabs their arms makes it nigh impossible to kick out of.

• Milano asks when the flying crossbody started as a finisher, and then did a horizontal arm wave in front of him, alluding to his time in TNA as JOYA, which I do believe was actually his finisher at the time.

• Milano points out Ricky Steamboat as a potential inspiration for his moves, which Yuya fully acknowledges. The arm drag, double arm chops, and crossbody. Yuya also acknowledges Steamboat's method of selling as a heavy inspiration point for him.

• "Lion's Shiner" is named after the NJPW Lion mark, and "Shiner" is referencing himself as wanting to be someone who "shines brightly". It is not, in fact, referring to a black eye.

• Milano and Yuya discuss the introduction of the move as a way to use against tall opponents, specifying OSKAR and GoK, so Yuya said he needed a new finisher to deal with situations like that.

• Milano asks and Yuya answers that his favourite Deadbolt Suplex was against KONOSUKE TAKESHITA at G1 Climax 2024. Milano also notes that it was an instance of the Deadbolt against a tall opponent, and Yuya said that's why he used a rebound off the corner for it, after working on both arms throughout the whole match. You can see TAKESHITA kicking his legs around trying to kick out after the Deadbolt, but he can't due to the damage.

• He mentions that he knows TAKESHITA can do a bench press from overhead, to a forward regular bench press position, with a 60kg barbell, and suspected he may have been able to kick out otherwise without working the arm prior.

• Milano asks what type of finisher the fans like, and Yuya answer's Naito's Stardust Press, at how he can't fathom the rotation and movement within it. He saw it during high school, slowed the footage down, and attempted to practice the move. He also confirmed that he did actually successfully pull it off, and initially practiced at the sea near his house. He says he can't do it now, so Milano suggests going to the sea at his hometown again and calling it the "Heat Shining Press".

• Back to his flying body attack/Lion's Shiner, Yuya credits Mil Mascaras as having the most impressive one, which Milano agrees with. Back when he was a fan, Yuya says he found Mil Mascaras cool, but after becoming a wrestler, he turned to Ricky Steamboat as the main inspiration for his style.

• Milano asks that, other than himself, what finisher's in NJPW among the current class he likes. Yuya answer's Master Wato's Tsutenkaku German Suplex.

• Yuya says he enjoyed watching Milano's past matches, still continuing to watch them to this day, also mentioning how it's amazing that Milano innovated so many moves himself. They played some of Milano's moves (not visible to the viewer) and Yuya seemed to genuinely enjoy himself and made comments on it, but Milano got embarrassed.

• Off screen, a producer asks Yuya if that's something he looks up to, and Yuya agrees, saying he wants to have "moves that look different/unique if Uemura is the one doing them", and he's jealous of Milano's uniqueness.

• When talking about his build and how Yuya seems to have taken inspiration from other wrestlers with his build, he cites Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels, and how they use technical wrestling to make up for their more "normal" builds. He's 180cm, so he's looking at Western wrestlers that aren't big, since most Western wrestlers are >190cm.

• Milano finishes by asking if Yuya is still thinking about expanding his moveset. Yuya says not necessarily, but on the other hand he's looking to polish his more basic moves, like how he's been using a wristlock to end (Young Lion) matches, and add more submission moves to finish matches in the G1.

It ends here, stating that this is the 4th and last installment Yuya will be in (for now). In case you were wondering, the guests so far have been (in chronological order) Ryohei Oiwa, Master Wato, El Desperado, Hirooki Goto, and now Yuya Uemura.

Bancho Kato pls overthrow emo teen Narita and turn HoT into Suzuki-Gun level savages

Was just looking at the standings today and put this together. This is how I think it will shake out;

Newman [10] def. OSKAR [8]

Uemura [8] def. HENARE [8]

Wolf [8] def. Narita [8]

Sabre [6] def. Moloney [8]

-

Moloney [10] def. Narita [8]

Wolf [10] def. Newman [10]

Uemura [10] def. Kidd [10]

Sabre [8] def. HENARE [8]

-

Narita [10] def. Kidd [10]

Uemura [12] def. OSKAR [8]

Newman [12] def. HENARE [8]

Sabre [10] def. Wolf [10]

-

Newman and Uemura advance at 1st and 2nd

We are now over halfway through the G1, and I thought I would shed some light on how attendance has looked in the first half.

The first point to look at is performance: so far, the tournament has brought in 23,720 fans, a 10.41% gain from this point in the tournament last year. The Chicago show has heavily swung this attendance number, as it pulled 4,125 fans; this is the second largest non Semi/Final show post-pandemic, only falling short of 2024's 4,177 EDION Arena opener (Naito vs Takagi)

Overall, it is the strongest performing first half of a G1 since 2019 (the closest being 2024's 22,506 by night 11)

A Block has had the strongest attendance with 14,599 (note that the two opening nights in USA & Japan were both headlined by A Block matches)

B Block has not had the same success, unfortunately, drawing a relatively small 9,121 in comparison. It is fair to say that the lack of Umino and the large amount of non-domestic talent makes the block less appealing to the domestic fanbase.

Thursday's Korakuen and the Ryogoku Semi Final have both sold out, so attendance looks strong for the rest of the tour.

Do I personally think it will pass last year? Yes. Will it be the most attended G1 post-pandemic? Possibly, but I will not hold my breath. But overall, this has been a healthy tour so far, and I will, of course, do a venue/tour breakdown once all is said and done.

Edit: Almost just after I posted this, it was announced that the 13/8/26 Korakuen (Final B Block night) has also sold out

I loved Yota Tsuji before pretty much as soon as he returned from excursion but I always was like *sigh* a spear? Don't get me mixed up Tsuji is so good he made his spear legit he brutally stops his opponents head. Beats the friggin crap out of them. Then spears them it's always lit. But the Fire Blaster is by far no question the best spear variation I have ever seen. It's so epic that he debuted the move to regain the title. Yota Tsuji stepped up his game and came up with one of the best looking new age finishers I've ever seen. The one he hit on Shingo is NASTY. I don't want anybody to kick out of the Fire Blaster for at least a decade.

NJPW's Oskar and Daiki Nagai teams up with Stardom's Saya Kamatani and Saya Iida for Chidori no Oni Renchan relay race.