Things get complicated for B Block at G1 Climax Night 16

With only one show left for them between this one and the finals, the top of B Block was still packed with contenders, though the IWGP Heavyweight champion still sat on top. As the night progressed, things would start to take shape for a math-heavy final.

Image credit: NJPW.

Tournament action started out with another Bullet Club battle as Karl Anderson battled Yujiro Takahashi. Both men entered together with MAO draped between them as the entire Bullet Club looked on. The two men started to fight though as Anderson seemed to want to steal Yujiro's girl from him.

The B Block heats up at the G1 Climax Night 12

It was another single camera action night as the B Block continued in the top half of the G1 Climax Night 12.

Image credit: NJPW.

Michael Elgin and Yuji Nagata started things off. Nagata looked very solid against Elgin. This was probably one of his high points in the touranment, but another buckle bomb/sitout powerbomb combo brought Elgin up to 8 points, already a great number for a debuting gaijin. He and Nagata shook hands post-match in a great sign of respect.

In the second tournament match of the night, Tomoaki Honma sought to finally get on the board, but he had a tall task against an angry Karl Anderson. Honma looked great again in action here, but he still couldn't quite get the win against the Bullet Club's leader.

Even short a match, Night 6 of the G1 Climax continued a streak of great shows

Night six opened with the depressing news that Shinsuke Nakamura was not yet recovered from his elbow injury and would be unable to wrestle. This causes Michael Elgin to win by default and score his first two points in the tournament. He was moved to the first half of the card to team with Tanahashi and Naito.

Image credit: NJPW.

Yujiro Takahashi was out first for the tournament, but he would be up against the legend Yuji Nagata. Nagata put on a great performance, but help from Cody Hall (and a few Terminator beats on the ring apron) helped bring Yujiro the win and his first two points, even without MAO at his side.

A busy weekend with Night 4 and 5 of the G1 Climax!

I have two shows to cover here, so let's get right into the tournament action.

Image credit: NJPW.

Night 4 kicked off with a brutal battle where Tomohiro Ishii became the first B Block fighter with 4 points when he overcame Yujiro Takahashi. (I blame the poor substitute MAO for his loss.)

Michael Elgin and Satoshi Kojima beat the hell out of each other in a match that shows how good Kojima still is. Elgin took the loss in a true back and forth battle with a great show of respect in the aftermath by both men.

Karl Anderson continued to upset Japanese favorites, this time overcoming Intercontinental champion Hirooki Goto in a brutal match.

New Japan continues a weekend of excellence with Night Three of the G1 Climax!

Things kicked off with the regular prelims, all designed to preview some fights for tomorrow night. I of course forgot to set my alarm, so I missed all but the end of the final battle between the CHAOS unit of Okada, Nakamura and Gedo and the team of Nagata, Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi. It was a pretty solid match and Honma even got a rare win over Gedo.

Image credit: NJPW.

The G1 tournament matches for night three kicked off with Doc Gallows and Kota Ibushi. Gallows worked the match at his pace, landing one big move after another on Ibushi. But much like night one, Ibushi showed a lack of selling for much of the offense against him, but at least it took a flash pin to get the win.

B Block brings some hard-hitting offense in their first night of the G1 Climax

Thursday was the second night for G1 action, but of course here in the States that means waking up at 4:30. Luckily for me and my readers, being up at 4:30 is pretty natural, so here is what happened tonight in part two of the G1 Climax.

The night kicked off with the regular multi-man matches but only the alliance of Katsuyori Shibata and Tetsuya Naito (with Ryusuke Taguchi) offered any real intrigue. Shibata and Naito meet tomorrow night and it was interesting to see each try to get into the other's head while ostensibly working together.

Ouch. Image caption: NJPW.

The tournament matches started off with a brutal blast of punches and kicks as Satoshi Kojima took on Tomohiro Ishii. I went in expecting this to be a solid match with Kojima coming out on top. Instead I got a solid brawl with Ishii hitting a mean brainbuster for the two points. Ishii actually looked better than I usually expect here, so maybe we will get more solid matches in the G1 from him.

Yujiro Takahashi had Mao back at his side for his first tournament match, but the beauty was no help against Hirooki Goto. In a match that featured multiple biting spots and some painful looking bumps, Takahashi just couldn't bring it together for Bullet Club. Goto walked away with a relatively easy win.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - B Block part 2

Today we take our final look at the G1 Climax. The show kicks off in just a few short days as it goes live at 1 a.m. Central time on Monday morning. While that isn't exactly ideal viewing time for most American fans, NJPW World will have replays up within a couple hours so anyone can watch when they see fit.

Let's finish the round up of B Block and then take a look at my guess for the winner.

Tomoaki Honma: Honma started out in Big Japan Wrestling (BJW) where he worked numerous death matches early in his career. He innovated the use of light tubes in matches (for good or ill). He found his most success during those early years in the much smaller BJW, but moved on to runs in both All Japan and Kensuke Office. He joined New Japan as a regular in 2013, but can best be described as a lovable loser. In 2014, he replaced the injured Kota Ibushi in the G1 tournament. He didn't win a single match, but his spirit and refusal to give up made him hugely popular with NJPW fans. "Honmania" was born and it carried him forward to a Tokyo Dome win over the Bullet Club. Don't expect Honma to win much this year. I would guess he will score a single victory in the tournament, but a key one against the likes of Goto or the next man on our list.

Kazuchika Okada: Despite still being known best to American fans for his short lived TNA run as Samoa Joe's assistant Okato, Kazuchika Okada is the current ace of New Japan. A massive star in Japan, "The Rainmaker" is a stupendous in-ring worker. His finisher, also called The Rainmaker, is just a short-arm clothesline but he delivers it with a devastating amount of force. The current IWGP Heavyweight champion in his third reign, he has put on spectacular contests in recent months against Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ Styles. While neither of those men are in B Block with him, he will face stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura in a dream match. His opening round match pits him against the only gaijin visitor in a first time one-on-one dream match for many ROH fans.