New Japan Pro-Wrestling invaded Takamatsu on Monday July 30, 2018 as the G1 Climax 28 tournament continued to look for its sole survivor that will get a shot at the IWGP (The International Wrestling Grand Prix) Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling and its tournaments
The G1 Climax is an annual tournament where 20 wrestlers are separated into 2 blocks of 10 wrestlers and compete at a chance to get a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight title at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The G1 Climax is round-robin tournament style where all the wrestlers wrestle each other once. The winner from Block A and B will wrestle each other at a chance to wrestle on the main event at Wrestle Kingdom. Wrestle Kingdom is the biggest annual event for NJPW. It is held every year in January.
NJPW is a professional wrestling organization that was established in 1972 by the legendary wrestler Antonio Inoki. NJPW has had its ups and downs through the years, but their latest surge of popularity is an indication that they are an organization that is ready to take on the world.
NJPW started to branch out in the US market and compete against World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), who has had a hold of the wrestling market worldwide for a long time. But now the young and talented roster that NJPW has are ready to go to the next level. They have partnerships with the US’ Ring of Honor (ROH) and Mexico’s Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). These organizations have helped NJPW propel to a worldwide stage and offer what WWE is missing.
NJPW’s Strong Style Wrestling has no nonsense, no gimmicks
I became a fan of NJPW when I saw Wrestle Kingdom 12 which took place on January 4, 2018 in Tokyo. I was impressed with how differently they wrestled. I grew up watching the WWE, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and many other organizations but I became an instant fan when I first watched NJPW. I realized that NJPW emphasized a style called strong style wrestling. Strong style is a no-nonsense wrestling where there are many submission moves and the maneuvers are high impact, and this is what separates NJPW from other organizations. NJPW has no gimmicks. What you see is what you get. NJPW is strictly viewed as a sport in Japan while in USA pro wrestling is viewed as entertainment.
The current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega is the right person to use to expand NJPW on a global stage. He can speak English and Japanese and he is becoming a household name to all wrestling fans. He was born and raised in Canada and he is one of the biggest reasons that NJPW has reached new heights.
G1 Climax 28 in Takamatsu
The G1 Climax 28 in Takamatsu was spectacular. I am a club member for NJPW and the perks with the membership is you get to buy your tickets in advance before anyone else does. I found out on Monday that you also get access to meet and greet wrestlers before their matches.
On the day of the tournament I got to meet the legendary NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto. The NEVER Openweight Championship belt stands for “new blood, evolution, valiantly, eternal and radical.” It is open to all weight divisions and anyone can challenge the champion for a shot at the title. Goto has been wrestling since 2003 and has won many prestigious titles in his 15-year run as a wrestler. We spoke for a few minutes and what impressed him the most was that I spoke Spanish, as he wrestled in Mexico for one year before returning to Japan. I was fortunate enough to have my picture taken with him.
Japan’s Pro-Wrestling is unlike any other
NJPW reminds me of what wrestling used to be like when I was a kid but with more high impact moves to their arsenal. I have had the pleasure of seeing NJPW three times this year already. I first saw them in January when they teamed up with CMLL and got to see a mix of Mexican and Japanese wrestling. This combo was probably my favorite simply because they added a lot of high risk flying maneuvers.
I highly encourage everyone to check out NJPW. They tour Japan year-round and you can check out their page https://www.njpw1972.com for their schedule. A wrestling fan or not, you do not want to miss NJPW. Their style of wrestling is unlike others I have seen.
