Originally, Ryohei Oiwa was going to be one of our winners this week for winning the G1 Climax tournament over in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. However, that final against Yuya Uemura has got so many people talking, and is so critically acclaimed, that it would be rude to just focus on Oiwa when NJPW as a whole have won big this summer.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, NJPW has chased the high that the company had throughout the 2010s, but has never quite managed to reach it. Restrictions due to COVID-19, the departures and retirements of those who made the 2010s boom period what it was, and the teething problems that naturally come with a company that is in transition — all of these things have contributed to NJPW feeling like a company that has taken one step forward and two steps back in recent years.
The G1 Climax 36 tournament however was 19 steps forward, and if you want to include the final as its own entity, let’s round it up to an even 20 steps forward.
Oiwa vs. Uemura might be the most important match of the decade for New Japan and I’m not even exaggerating. The question of who is going to fill the shoes left by the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, Will Ospreay, Jay White and so on has been asked by everyone over the past few years, but looking at the G1 final, that’s two guys who you can easily be your next top stars. The idea of a match in 2026 being 35 minutes long and being entirely based around a wristlock and a headlock seems absurd, and yet, Oiwa and Uemura had Ryogoku Sumo Hall shaking with how invested people were in this match. A truly special match, one that is so good, it’s got a genuine case of rivaling Tanahashi’s retirement match from Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Match of the Year debate.
Outside of Oiwa and Uemura, look at the young guys on this roster who have come out of the other side in better shape than when they walked in. Callum Newman, Drilla Moloney, The Knockout Brothers, Aaron Wolf, Boltin Oleg — all of them are primed to be the future of the company. On top of that, we haven’t mentioned the true MVP of the G1 Climax, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion himself Yota Tsuji, who is doing what he promised by leading a young group of guys to the promised land in the best company in Japan. Regardless of what your taste in wrestling is, when NJPW hits the nail on the head, they are virtually untouchable.
Written by Sam Palmer
Read the full article here
