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NJPW G1 Climax 31 once again produced quality pro wrestling and plenty of stories throughout the course of the premier tournament. Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi bookended the tournament with heartbreaking injuries. Kazuchika Okada walked away with his third victory in the G1 Climax and will headline another Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome.
There were exceptional matches that stole the show and saw performers step up in a huge way. Several lower card competitors were given the opportunity in the tournament and overachieved over the course of the last month, while the main event talent continued to be in top form. The expected bangers were right on point, while there were also some contests that exceeded expectations.
With the G1 Climax 31 finally in the books, it is an ideal time to look at the encounters that stood out the most over the duration of this stellar tournament. Despite the ups and downs, NJPW can be proud of the effort that the performers delivered. In this article, let's take a look at the ten must-watch G1 Climax 31 matches.
10) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 8
The rivalry between Hiroshi Tanahashi and SANADA has evolved in many different G1 Climax matches. Heading into the G1 Climax 31 Night 8, both competitors were looking to keep up with the head of the pack in the B Block. Their previous meetings have always been impressive technical wrestling displays and this contest was no different.
The story of this G1 Climax 31 encounter was that the two men were evenly matched. The bout started out slow with a feeling out process and developed into a back-and-forth clash. Both men looked for their top rope finishers, but each man got their knees up to get the control back. SANADA looked for the O'Connor roll, but Tanahashi reversed into a dragon suplex for a nearfall.
The Ace immediately followed with the High Fly Flow on SANADA to get the victory. It was a great main event that escalated into drama as the bout went on. Neither man had a significant advantage, which helped the pace and how it intensified with the length needed to cap off the G1 Climax 31 Night 8 on the right note.
9) Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Great-O-Khan - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 7
Great-O-Khan was considered by many NJPW fans to be one of the most divisive participants in the G1 Climax 31. The United Empire member has been polarizing among the fanbase due to his eccentric style and character. Despite bouts against Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito, he hadn't delivered any showstealers since returning from excursion.
On the G1 Climax 31 Night 7, the fans witnessed one of the most unique bouts of the entire tournament with Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Great-O-Khan. The two men had a grappling contest that had them mat wrestling and trading off submissions. Both competitors only hit the ropes once and never went to the floor. ZSJ pulled out an out-of-nowhere arm and head submission to get the win here.
8) Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 10
Kazuchika Okada and SANADA had the longest G1 Climax match with a decision in the history of the tournament back in 2019. They have been on an ongoing rivalry that has seen The Rainmaker dominate for the most part. The G1 Climax 31 contest was another battle that nearly reached the 30-minute time limit draw.
SANADA came close to victory on several occasions with the O'Connor roll and the Skull End, but Okada escaped the submission, hit the Landslide and finally the Rainmaker to win. The G1 Climax 31 match was the second longest of the tournament at just over 29 minutes and showed Okada was back at his A-game.
7) Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 3
Shingo Takagi of Los Ingobernables de Japon came into the G1 Climax 31 tournament as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and looked to have his best record yet. This was Shingo's first meeting with Zack Sabre Jr. in NJPW. They have faced each other before in Dragon Gate, with Shingo beating the Submission Master.
Both men worked over a body part, with Shingo targeting ZSJ's leg and Sabre Jr. focused on Shingo's right arm. ZSJ was at his technical wrestling best at the end here. He locked on a triangle choke that Shingo powered up from, but Zack clinched on the hold even more and got a tap-out victory to end the G1 Climax 31 Night 3.
6) Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 9
Heading into the G1 Climax 31 Night 9, Zack Sabre Jr. came in at 4-0 with four straight submission victories. He made history by tapping out Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Kota Ibushi, and Great-O-Khan. ZSJ met his long-time rival this evening in Tomohiro Ishii of CHAOS. The two men haven't faced each other one-on-one since Wrestle Kingdom 13.
The two men told a simple yet effective story of Zack relentlessly attacking Ishii's right arm, but the Stone Pitbull withstood all the punishment to overcome his opponent. At one point, Ishii rammed his arm into the corner pad to get it back in the socket after delivering a headbutt and lariat to ZSJ. He followed up with another lariat for a nearfall and finally the vertical drop brainbuster for the win.
5) Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 17
Before the start of the G1 Climax 31 tournament, Kazuchika Okada and Jeff Cobb were in the middle of a rivalry in 2021. The two competitors traded wins at the two Wrestle Grand Slam events in July and September. Their individual runs in the tournament saw only one loss, with Okada losing to Tama Tonga on Night 16. Cobb made history by becoming the first man to go 8-0 in the tournament.
The G1 Climax 31 Night 18 main event saw Cobb work over Okada's back and Okada work over Cobb's neck. The latter paid off when the Rainmaker reversed a superplex attempt into a top-rope DDT. Both men countered their finishers, ending with Okada hitting a dropkick. He followed with the Landslide and the Rainmaker to win the B Block of the G1 Climax 31 in a fantastic encounter.
4) Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KENTA - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 13
Zack Sabre Jr. took his first loss of the G1 Climax 31 on Night 9, but he was still in the lead of the A Block. However, he faced a different kind of opponent in KENTA on Night 13. The Bullet Club member might have been the only other A Block participant who could match the ruthlessness of the Suzuki-Gun member.
It was a rare heel vs. heel battle that had both men display their characters to perfection and not shy away from who they were. Both men were extremely aggressive and showed no remorse for their usual antics. They traded palm strikes towards the end, and eventually, KENTA drove ZSJ into the exposed turnbuckle. He followed up with the GTS to pull out the win in a tremendous G1 Climax 31 bout.
3) Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 2
The G1 Climax 31 B Block kicked off on Night 2, headlined by Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. This rivalry has been the centerpiece of New Japan Pro Wrestling for nearly a decade. The two men have defined NJPW and are in a battle over who the company's ace will be moving forward.
The G1 Climax 31 Night 2 main event was a pro wrestling clinic that showed why these two men are two of the greatest of all time. It started slowly and just continued to build to a crescendo. Every spot and move in this contest mattered and was important to the finish of the bout. Both competitors looked like they were on the verge of victory as the bout went into the final five minutes of the time limit.
Okada and Tanahashi had fans on the edge of their seats with two minutes to go. The pace picked up every more, and they went into another gear yet again. With 1 minute to go, the two men traded strikes, ending with Okada hitting a dropkick. He followed up with the Rainmaker to win with just 24 seconds to spare in the longest bout of the G1 Climax 31 tournament.
2) Shingo Takagi vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 9
The pandemic has greatly affected the atmosphere for the G1 Climax 31 with restricted capacity and rules for the fans. This has also affected a lot of the booking for NJPW. Earlier this year, Kota Ibushi challenged IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi for a bout at the Wrestle Grand Slam in the Tokyo Dome. However, he suffered from pneumonia and wasn't medically cleared.
They finally met on the G1 Climax 31 Night 9 main event of A Block competition. This proved to be a hard-hitting, physically intense bout that featured strikes and terrific exchanges between the two. Shingo kicked out of the Kamigoye, but he couldn't hit the Pumping Bomber or the Last of the Dragon. Ibushi hit the V-Trigger and two back-to-back Kamigoyes to win this excellent encounter.
1) Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 1
Tomohiro Ishii has long been known as the G1 Climax MVP every single year. His style of wrestling lends itself to success under the format of this tournament. Ishii's sudden bursts of intensity and hard-hitting action produced banger after banger every single tournament.
During the last two G1 Climax tournaments, Tomohiro Ishii and Shingo Takagi have delivered brilliant, violent contests that steal the show and are among the best matches of the year. They have an amazing chemistry with one another in these physically intense battles that are usually about stiff strikes and big moves.
The G1 Climax 31 Night 1 main event started out as furious as ever with the two men coming out like two battering rams. They kicked things off with a crazy pace, running right into each other with shoulder blocks and forearms. Shingo scored the first takedown and led to a fight on the floor with Ishii hitting a powerslam on the outside.
Neither competitor had a long advantage with the action going back and forth. It became a battle of "anything you can do, I can do better". They traded suplexes, which both men did not sell. Shingo hit a huge superplex for a nearfall, which Ishii responded with one of his own on a second attempt after dropping him on the first.
Shingo and Ishii traded forearm strikes, which ended with Takagi hitting the Made In Japan for a close nearfall. Shingo then hit a short clothesline to the back of the neck, but Ishii hit a German suplex to answer. Takagi immediately popped up and hit a lariat for a two count that got the fans in attendance even louder here at the G1 Climax 31 Night 1.
Ishii reversed the Last of the Dragon into a crucifix bomb for a nearfall. They both came at each other with stiff lariats. Ishii scored with a powerbomb and a lariat for two nearfalls. Shingo eventually blocked the vertical drop brainbuster into a dragon suplex. He followed with the Pumping Bomber for an awesome nearfall.
The two men traded headbutts with less than three minutes to go in the 30-minute time limit. Shingo blocked a forearm shot by Ishii and finally hit the Last of the Dragon to win this G1 Climax 31 Night 1 main event. It was an outstanding encounter that gave this year's tournament a standard that no one else could meet. That's why Shingo vs. Ishii was the best G1 Climax 31 match.
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