Preview for Night 3 of New Japan’s G1 Climax Tournament

:njpw:

It’s Night 3 in the G1 Climax tournament and the second round of matches in A Block. What have we got in store tonight?

• Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI

– Los Ingobernables vs CHAOS in this one. Naito will want to build on the momentum of beating Ibushi from night 1 and YOSHI-HASHI will certainly want to get his first tick in the win column after falling to legend Yuji Nagata on the first night of action. I’m expecting a Naito victory here and his record to creep up to 4 points.

• Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

– Surely this will be main event? If you remember back to the WWE Cruiserweight Classic this was the final that most wanted but due to contractual differences we never got the bout. Well…..it’s finally here, arguably one of the finest technical wrestlers in the world versus a man that is still set for superstardom on the world stage. I really can’t get a gauge on who will win this match, it is still early in the tournament and it really could go either way, I’m predicting a Sabre Jr victory following on from his shock win against Tanahashi on night 1.

• Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto

– There are two matches tonight that will appease fans of Strong Style…this is the first. Nagata will want to build upon his victory against YOSHI-HASHI on night 1 and Goto will also be looking to get his second win after his hard fought bout against Tomohiro Ishii. I’m going with last year’s finalist Goto for this match.

• Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii

– This is one of the matches that got me into New Japan in the first place. In a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 9 Togi Makabe will be taking on longtime rival Tomohiro Ishii. This will be Strong Style personified and I expect that Tomohiro will get the victory, this is not one to be missed.

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale

– This is the first match I have previewed where, on paper, the styles clash and I’m not expecting a blow away match. Fale has certainly improved during his time in New Japan and Tanahashi is a bona fide legend however I’m expecting a slow paced affair with Fale getting the victory following the Grenade.

Kota Ibushi v. Zack Sabre Jr.! YOSHI-HASHI v. Tetsuya Naito! The G1 action continues on 7/21 from Korakuen!https://t.co/KZUqtZwhkZ pic.twitter.com/zfH6L1KvbG

— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) July 18, 2017