The Fighting Spirit I used to know radiated from professional wrestlers participation in a yearly round-robin tournament, not the tournament itself. Odds stacked up high, depleted roster and restricted crowds and day one Naito injury to name just a few… G1 Climax 31 went on. It had heaps of 3.5-star matches and no 4.5 ones, plus the final match ended in a freak injury… but the crew can still work.
You can read HWL’s individual block night thoughts here.
G1 Climax 31’s Wrestlers
Great O-Khan‘s first G1 meant his matches had the built-in bonus of not feeling like the rematches many of this year’s efforts felt like, but once he got past some early filler he really did bring the grade-one pro wrestling. Okada and Ibushi may have secured a place in the Finals, but Great O-Khan secured a place in our hearts.
Shingo Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii, Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi were the wrestling MVP’s, all having multiple appearances in my arbitrary Top 15 below. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI were up there too too but a little less.
Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi were reliable if not too much of the same, though Jeff Cobb and SANADA only really seemed to click when wrestling them.
KENTA, EVIL and Toru Yano disappointed and usually detracted from the shows, while Yujiro and the Guerillas of Destiny punched a little above expectations.
Kota Ibushi mostly stayed under the radar except for (hold for suspense) the best two overall matches and maybe Tanga Loa’s best match ever. It was a ride, this one.
Top 15 G1 CLIMAX 31 Matches
Honorable Mentions I Wish Had More Pizzazz: Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI (9/29/21), Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL (9/24/21), Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (9/26/21), Block A: Shingo Takagi vs. KENTA (9/30/21), Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (9/18/21), Block A: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Yujiro Takahashi (10/7/21)
Actual Honorable Mentions: Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA (10/1/21), Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA (10/4/21), Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi (9/19/21), Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jeff Cobb (10/12/21), Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. YOSHI-HASHI (10/4/21)
15. G1 Climax – Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb (10/20/21)
I wish there was more Rainmaker than Money Clip, but Okada (mostly) returned to form for Block B’s last match while beyond cool suplexes Cobb did a double by god tombstone.
14. G1 Climax – Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Tanga Loa (10/7/21)
I have a snarky list below about good matches from questionable places but this is unironically awesome, with Loa looking more dominant on offense than ever as Ibushi bounces and bends himself all over to put over the business. Even does a poison rana too.
13. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi (10/13/21)
Ishii was the G1’s MVP at getting the most out of the least, and here’s 17 minutes of gold with Yujiro. The selling is ace early on, but once he gets crumbled by a possibly botched buckle bomb from Yujiro this turns into a dramatic war for victory that even musters a passion out of the Tokyo Pimp.
12. G1 Climax – Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi (10/8/21)
Taichi played Great O-Khan a few years ago, bringing something different to the G1 while still delivering New Japan-style main events. He blends in a lot more these days, but cuts such a pace here that Okada can’t help but have a great match. They pulled off some of the most dramatic near falls of the tournament and occasionally it felt like a title defense out of 2018.
11. G1 Climax – Block A: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KENTA (10/9/21)
The unnecessary 20+ minute G1 match becomes necessary when the chemistry is two guys endlessly kicking or countering or wrapping each other into holds of complex nature. This match had all the attitude, two guys with reels of historical evidence that they will kick a man when he’s down. ZSJ eventually catches most opponents into a stretch they can’t escape for victory, but KENTA says no sir and creates one of the best near falls of the G1.
10. G1 Climax – Block A: Shingo Takagi vs. Great-O-Khan (10/13/21)
O-Khan throws all his weirdness into the Shingo Show: face claw, throat chop, and the nastiest chops New Japan has seen in a while. He brought a heavyweight physicality to a block filled with former juniors and a clearly ailing Shingo had to step up to keep up.
9. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Great-O-Khan (10/7/21)
O-Khan’s strength and size and general weirdness contrasted well here as an obstacle for Ishii, who can run through the motions and manage a great match but is always game when someone’s being extra. They provided the build, near falls, and borderline psychotic striking of a proper G1 Climax main event.
8. G1 Climax – Block B: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Taichi (10/1/21)
Babyface Taichi is cool, but heel Taichi is a legend. YOSHI-HASHI is all confident and fired up and has a 20+ minute firecracker with Taichi based around the seeming impossibility of actually putting him away. They milk near falls out of some of the simplest stuff, though it’s Taichi’s kickout of a Canadian Destroyer that really sets YOSHI off. The G1 still rules for quiet gems like this.
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi (10/20/21)
Watch Tana sell a gamengiri to change the mood, watch Taichi grimace through the pain of a Texas Cloverleaf hyperextending his taped-up ribs. Over a tight and eventually epic 15 minutes they managed to babyface Taichi Ishikari against Hiroshi Tanahashi and that really is a special thing.
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (9/23/21)
Shingo — especially Top Guy Shingo — usually does a certain exciting type of match, and that match seems great until this crafty and creative British jackass comes in and forces him to do something completely different. Zack goes right at the arm, as he is to do, and Shingo counters with sudden bursts of intensity — as he is to do. Over nearly half an hour Zack has a response for everything Shingo tries, and while Shingo kind of follows the template Zack just keeps at it. Premium wrestling.
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Great-O-Khan (9/30/21)
In a G1 Climax that felt especially stale, the styles of Zack Jr. and O-Khan were a welcome change of pace. This was the first match where it seemed O-Khan really let loose, nearly dominating ZSJ at the mat game and having fun with ZSJ trying to out-strike him. If it isn’t a hard fought battle for points, the New Dynamic is what the G1 is all about — tons of fun.
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi (9/18/21)
This was the third year in a row with an Ishii/Shingo G1 match, and my thoughts are this: the first (with a raucous crowd) was the best, the second (with barely any crowd) was most impressive, and this still ruled. Ishii and Shingo never break the vibe, neither willing to admit he’s hurting even if he and his opponent are throwing an inhuman amount of energy behind every offensive burst. Neither was formally trained in the New Japan system but here they were, continuing some interpretation of it and opening the G1 with a near-classic while doing so.
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (9/19/21)
They’ve gone especially dormant these last couple years but it isn’t like Tanahashi and Okada don’t remain among the best in the world, if not just the best outright. It’s more strategy and timing (and a lot of neck/leg work) over physicality and speed, but the classics are the classics. They hit the mat and find a pace and build to a crescendo that still managed some surprises even now.
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii (9/23/21)
Ibushi opened the G1 with a loss to Yujiro, but powered through here for a match where he and Ishii kicked each other’s ass for 20 minutes — half of which felt like a spectacular finishing stretch. Each guy has this match down to a science and they make sure it all resonates too, with Ishii brilliantly alternating between selling like a stonewall badass and selling like both his neck and nose were broken beyond repair.
1. G1 Climax – Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Great-O-Khan (10/9/21)
In a G1 year that felt like many before, reality says a trio of Ishii/Shingo + Tana/Okada + Ibushi/Ishii matches will round out your top 3. Great O-Khan said let me try something though.
O-Khan has been a wildcard of a wrestler since he was first introduced and here he was in the main event against maybe wrestling’s ultimate wildcard. Both were cautious as they felt each other out early, probably having no genuine idea what to expect of each other. Their usual takedowns and strikes didn’t find an opening either, though when Ibushi randomly takes control with a figure-four leglock it feels like that makes sense too.
O-Khan brings out all his big guns including a perfectly-timed straight punch to the face and an iron claw counter of the Kamigoye that got a gasp from the crowd. He also runs full speed into one of the wildest Ibushi knees I’ve ever seen. High quality, fun, and sometimes just plain wacky wrestling.
5 Good Matches from Questionable Places
1. G1 Climax – Block B: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens (10/20/21)
Chase Owens going toe-to-toe with Okada and Tanahashi was acceptable though mid-range; Chase Owens going toe-to-toe with YOSHI-HASHI was low key magic. Big YOSH will sell his heart out to make you root for him against this menace, and the Budokan responded.
2. G1 Climax – Block B: YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL (9/19/21)
At this point saying EVIL is boring might be more boring than EVIL, but YOSHI-HASHI is always able to suck some juice out of old King of Darkness. Any punk can take a whip into an exposed turnbuckle and respond with a lariat, they can superkick away a possible counter from their opponent… the real pros know how to make it count and really pop a crowd. Good guy, bad guy, good match.
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga (10/20/21)
You may have seen talk of Tama Tonga being good now, and I’m not sure I agree but here’s probably the best example of that case being made. He went hard to keep up with Goto while Goto seemed to just play it as straight as he did on Night 1. Is it a Tama Tonga chinlock this time? A Superfly Splash? A Gun Stun to avoid in ten different ways? Goto will sell. Goto will make them care. Tama was alright too.
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tanga Loa (9/30/21)
As with Tama Tonga I eagerly await the match where it all comes together for Tanga Loa, but after a few weak matches early in the tournament he got a chance to have a whole Tomohiro Ishii match and the man delivered. Ishii delivers a beating and sells like a champion, Loa takes a beating and keeps the offense interesting. The finish keeps moving too: instead of Loa stalking around, he and Ishii are using the momentum of the ropes to get big pops off both a Loa dropkick and clothesline.
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Great-O-Khan vs. KENTA (10/3/21)
Going 20 minutes stretched out some good content too far, but this has such a fun dynamic: O-Khan the weirdo, KENTA the prick. Highlights from O-Khan: sits on KENTA in the corner, double five-stars his back, sits on his ass for a cradle. Highlights from KENTA: wins a slapfest, throws chairshots, hits a double foot stomp with the O-Khan hat on his head. More fun than any G1 31 Yano match.
