So, after 4 weeks, 18 shows, and 90 matches (with 72 multi-man tag matches as well), 20 competitors in two separate blocks were whittled down to two final participants. The prize, A contract to face the IWGP Heavyweight champion on the biggest show on the calendar, WrestleKingdom XI at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th 2017. This year’s G1 Climax offered so much, had 3 match of the year candidates, created new rivalries, and furthered existing ones, but today it finally came to a close with a sensational final. After Hirooki Goto became the shock winner of the A Block, squeezing through after Okada and Tanahashi went to a time limit draw, could he finally reach the top and win the G1 once again before going on to finally defeating the IWGP champion? Gotos record in title matches is pretty terrible, but could the man who Steve Corino called on commentary “Johnny Choke Artist” finally come good on all the promise he has shown? On the other side was Kenny Omega, the leader of the Bullet club, competing in his first G1 Climax and becoming only the 3rd Gaijin to reach the G1 finals. His road to the final had its own peaks and valleys, loosing to long time rival Michael Elgin, and Shibata, before finally coming back on the final night and defeating former IWGP Champ Tetsuya Naito in a strong contender for match of the year to secure his spot. Could the Cleaner, a man who had only entered the heavyweight ranks in January, become the first Gaijin to win the G1 Climax? The Sumo hall was Super No Vacancy for todays G1 Final, and they got a show to remember, not only was the G1 winner decided, but seeds were planted for the direction of many top stars over the next few months. The first highlight was during a match between Pro Wrestling NOAH stars Katsuhiko Nakajima, Go Shiozaki, Maybach Taniguchi, & Masa Kitamiya, as they took on the team of Katsuyori Shibata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, & Manabu Nakanishi. The match was heated, a big highlight that saw him trend on twitter higher than the actual show came from Shibata, when he countered a suplex and hit a thudding headbutt on Nakajima that bust open his own head, Shibata didn’t even flinch. The match ended when Nakajima pinned Nakanishi, but the battle still raged as Shibata, followed by his team mates, went to all out war with the NOAH visitors, leading us to believe that the NOAH/New Japan rivalry will play a big part in the plans for this year. After intermission, we were shown a video with a countdown, saying a Time Bomb was coming, tons of speculation as to who this person, or persons, was. Ryback was mentioned, but he is booked elsewhere, Suzuki is another possibility, is Suzukigun coming to wage war on NJPW like it did NOAH? We will have to wait until November 5th to find out. Then before the main event, Kazuchika Okada, Naomichi Marufuji, & Toru Yano took on Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Tanga Roa of the Bullet Club. The match wasn’t much to write home about, but afterwards Okada took the mic to challenge Bad Luck Fale, a man he lost to in the G1, for his IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He then turned to another man who defeated him, Marufuji, and made the same challenge to him. Marufuji accepted and offered a handshake, Okada walked away and posed. This match was amazing in the G1, and a rematch will be highly anticipated. So, after everything that has transpired, it was time for the G1 Final. This match had a lot to live up to with some of the epic battles we have witnessed in this tournament, and it more than lived up to its billing. Omega and Goto traded blows went counter for counter, the crowd would boo each man one minute and get behind him the next, and all this created a tense and electric atmosphere. Goto locked in a rear naked choke, something the commentary team noted as a nod to his childhood friend Shibata, but Omega countered it by climbing the ropes with Goto still on his back, leaping backwards to crush Goto and release the hold. Goto hit all his big moves but couldn’t keep Omega down. Last night Omega tweeted that he needed help from all the good brothers in his past, and we saw what that meant, first he hit Kota Ibushi’s, his former best friend and rival, Last Ride Powerbomb before going for the Phoenix Splash which missed, he regained control and hit the Bloody Sunday, the move used by former Bullet club member Fergal Devitt (now Finn Balor), then he used the Styles Clash for a near fall, a nod to AJ Styles. After all that, there was only one thing left as he hoisted Goto up on his shoulders and brought him down with the One Winged Angel. Kenny Omega is the 2016 G1 Climax winner. His acceptance speech afterwards was everything you would expect from Omega, He criticised those who said the Bullet club was over, saying the Bullet club was for life, he said without the Elite “that wrestling is boring and it sucks”, He told the crowd they shouldn’t be afraid to dream and reach for the stars, but a man like him will always be there to swoop and take it away from them. Finally, when offered the G1 flag, he threw it down and took a Bullet club flag, holding it high above the crowd of BC members and photographers gathered in the ring. And with that, the G1 Climax is over; this has been an amazing month and I thank you for joining the ride with us at the Royal Grumble. For the New Japan wrestlers, they will get a well-earned break, but for us the train never stops with Summerslam just around the corner! Join us every Sunday for new episodes of the Royal Grumble, keep an eye on the website, our facebook, and our twitter (links to your right) to stay updated on everything going on.
Thank you, and GOOD NIGHT.
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