Csonka’s Notable 2018 NJPW G1 Exclusions

– Welcome back to column time with Larry. Today’s column is all about the 2018 G1 tournament. The tournament kicks off July 14th and runs through August 12th, and all shows will be available live on New Japan World…

G1 BLOCK A
* Togi Makabe
* Michael Elgin
* Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Kazuchika Okada
* Jay White
* YOSHI-HASHI
* Bad Luck Fale
* Adam Page
* EVIL
* Minoru Suzuki

G1 BLOCK B
* Juice Robinson
* Hirooki Goto
* Tomohiro Ishii
* Toru Yano
* Tama Tonga
* SANADA
* Tetsuya Naito
* Zack Sabre Jr
* Kenny Omega
* Kota Ibushi

I am beyond hyped for the tournament but do think there are some interesting omissions to discuss today. I am focusing on those within the company that were not booked and possible reasons why. Outsiders are a luxury and are not a guarantee in any G1. It would have been cool to see WALTER, Riddle, Marufuji, Shingo, Sekimoto, and or others brought in, but the NJPW roster is stacked, and they also had ROH talents to consider. So today the focus is on the NJPW main roster guys that didn’t make the cut. Also, since you can’t write about adding without taking away, the following could easily be bumped from the tournament and not be missed all that much…

* Togi Makabe – He’s in on name value only, will have a few good matches, possibly one banger.
* YOSHI-HASHI – He has two great matches a year, one of them happens in the G1.
* Bad Luck Fale – I get that Fale has a role to play, but I tend to not look forward to his outings at all. He’ll likely get a win he shouldn’t in order to defend putting him in major matches.
* Tama Tonga – I like Tama Tonga and fine him a lot of fun, but he tends to peak at “good” during the G1, which just doesn’t cut it.
* Toru Yano – Yano plays an important role, he gives guys a night off, and gets upsets to even out the block. I’m just over the act in the G1, I want the best of the best.

* NOTE: This is not a list of who SHOULD be instead, this is a list of people I find that have been notably left out.

Tomoaki Honma: In all honesty, Tomoaki Honma getting a G1 spot this year was really nothing more than a dream from his fans. It was announced during the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors event that former IWGP Tag Team Champion Tomoaki Honma would make his in-ring return to NJPW on June 23rd, which he did and by all accounts looked fine. Honma has been out of action since March of 2017, taking a draping DDT from Jado in a tag team match. He suffered a severe cervical vertebrae injury and had to undergo a lot of physical therapy to recover. With that sort of injury, his return was in doubt at one point, but he did it. But expecting him to jump right back into a G1 was asking for too much at this time.

Davey Boy Smith Jr & Lance Archer: The return of Suzuki-gun to NJPW has been a double-edged sword, on one hand it offered a chance to freshen up the NJPW roster, but with Suzuki-gun comes a ton of overplayed heel antics that tend to hurt more than help things. But despite many not giving them a chance, the Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr & Lance Archer) play their roles very week, and in the past, have shown that they can go in the G1 environment. It was back in 2014 during the G1 that both men got a chance to deliver and did. With the tag ranks tied up with the Bucks, who I never expected for the g1, I thought that there was an outside chance that they’d get in, but they have been left out in the cold once again. It’s not a big loss, but I was curious to see how’d they do in 2018. But with Suzuki & Sabre in, them getting the shot was unlikely.

Chase Owens: I find that Chase Owens gets a lot of unjust criticism from NJPW fans. In many ways, Owens is the workhorse of Bullet Club, working all the tours the main stars have off, and being a great tag partner to Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi from time to time. He works hard, is constantly improving, and takes all the shit that the “Bullet Club stars” want no part of. Owens is a quality performer, and I personally was interested to see how he’d do in a G1, but it just wasn’t to be this year.

Henare: Since graduating from young lion status, Henare has been a really great performer. His series of tags against Ishii showed a fire in him no one knew he had and he delivered in a great singles against Ishii. Henare is a star on the rise, and the crowds are behind him. Watching his evolution, particularly since the 2017 WTL to now, he’s ready for the spot and the chance. His exclusion really bummed me out, even if he was going to be a major fall guy during the tournament, it would have been great for his growth.

David Finlay: David Finlay is another former young lion who has been really good since his elevation since graduation from young lion status. Finlay has been smartly paired with Tanahashi, Taguchi, and other stars in big tags has worked well with Juice Robinson, and also continued his long-running feud with Jay White. Finlay is constantly in good and fun tag matches has delivered in his singles outings and has proven that he can hang working with the top NJPW stars. Much like Henare, even if he was going to be a major fall guy during the tournament, it would have been great for his growth as a singles performer.

Jeff Cobb: Jeff Cobb is in a weird spot with NJPW, he worked the WTL and many had him penciled in for this year’s G1. Instead, he’s getting a NEVER Openweight title shot against Hirooki Goto in the US, basically replacing Elgin, who NJPW opted not to book in the US (likely due to his Glory Pro sexual assault scandal). I get that they wanted to avoid any possible issues, and I am glad that Cobb is getting a title shot, but I felt that a G1 run would not have only been great for him, but would have also given us some fresh matches. I was disappointed by his exclusion.

Taichi: By no means was I wanting or looking forward to a Taichi G1 fun, but to me, the writing was on the wall for one. His elevation to heavyweight, his marquee matches against Tanahashi & Naito (which he did well in) and his shot at the NEVER title all seemed to be grooming him for the spot. But with Suzuki & Sabre in, them getting the shot was unlikely. But with his delivering against Tanahashi & Naito (which if he didn’t would have made a case for him not to be in) I really thought he’d get a shot and possible win over one of them. I am far from heartbroken by his exclusion, but I am surprised by it.

Cody: Love him or hate him, in terms of star power, Cody is the biggest exclusion from this year’s G1. Cody reportedly has some big project he’ll be working on that he’s cubically spoken about and had stated for weeks he wouldn’t be in the G1. Also, he’ll likely be ROH champion again soon and ROH wouldn’t want their champion taking a lot of losses in the tournament. I get it, but while I can be very hot and cold on Cody (spectacular businessman & character) his in-ring can be hit and miss. But if I am being completely honest with you guys, I wanted to see Cody in the G1. Not because I think he’s great in the ring, and not because his work makes me think that he would kill it, but because I was curious and I want to know. I wanted to know if he would or could step up in what is widely regarded as wrestling’s greatest tournament. I wanted to see if Cody could step up his game against the best, working a wide variety of opponents in different styles of matches and I wanted to see if what others seemingly see is there. I wanted to see if Cody could be great… instead of just being Cody, which is hit and miss in the ring with great character work. Unfortunately, I won’t get that chance this year; again…

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”