NJPW: The Best & Worst of G1 Climax 29 So Far

The 29th edition of the G1 Climax is just about one-third complete with 12 shows to go. Let’s take a look back at the highs and lows from the first 7 shows of the massive tournament.

There are 91 NJPW G1 matches over in just over a month, and that isn’t even including the undercard matches for each show! With so many encounters in a relatively short amount of time, there are sure to be a handful of Match of the Year candidates, surprise standouts, and disappointing performances.

In keeping with New Japan tradition, though, you also have to reach a bit further to grab the negative in light of all of the positive. For a promotion who prides itself on the quality of wrestling produced each show, pitting 20 of their top names against one another is an easy way to let everybody shine.

Last year’s G1 was plagued by Bullet Club shenanigans. Guerrillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale made sure to spoil everybody’s fun almost constantly causing multiple disqualification finishes and some of the most boringly predictable matches in recent memory.

This year, Fale is back in the tournament alongside Jay White and Lance Archer who is making his first G1 appearance since 2014 and everybody is fighting to win rather than attempting to act as spoilers and party poopers which makes for a far more enjoyable experience.

Still, though, there are ups and downs. Just as my heart breaks whenever I have to watch a Fale match, it swells when we’re treated to a Handsome Battle between SANADA and Kota Ibushi. There are more positives on this list than negatives, but let’s break down the best and worst from everything we’ve seen in the G1 thus far!