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In a Wrestling tournament, an upset victory is bound to happen. It happens all the time. The most recent upset in an NJPW Tournament was Zack Sabre Jr winning the New Japan Cup as it was unexpected and he beat the likes Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
In the G1 Climax this year, there are 20 participants spread amongst 2 blocks, The A block comprising of names such as, Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, Togi Makabe and Jay White, and the B block, which includes wrestlers such as Kenny Omega, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito.
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But with big names like this, some smaller names that are involved, like Hangman Page, will most likely pick up a big win over one or two of them. Last year it happened when Juice Robinson picked up a win over then IWGP US Champion Kenny Omega and a former IWGP Intercontinental Champion in the form of Michael Elgin.
With many names big and small or even medium participating in this year's prestigious tournament, why don't we look at who is most likely going to pull off the upsets?
#5 Toru Yano
Toru Yano always gets an upset victory. It's a common trend with the comedian of the group CHAOS and the Jester of New Japan to go ahead with his low blows, going for the turnbuckle pads and use of his DVD, he will pull the wool over the referees' eyes and win. Last year the victim of the upset from Yano was Minoru Suzuki. This year it's a bit tougher to predict who Yano will use his underhanded tactics against, as he's in the B block with Zack Sabre Jr, Sanada and CHAOS stablemates Goto and Ishii.
However, with an article from Tokyo Sports revealing that in the tournament this year he's not going to be pulling any funny business, it's hard to believe that he won't revert to his old ways and that right now he's just tricking the press.
Yano provides those funny moments that fans remember in the G1 Climax, the best example is last year against Bullet Clubs Kenny Omega. Yano always gets upset, and that's why he is my number 5.
#4 Yoshi-Hashi
Yoshi-Hashi has a very odd few years, but he has had a few upset victories. In last years G1 Climax he won over Yuji Nagata a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and G1 winner and Bad Luck Fale, a former IWGP Intercontinental champion, and in 2016 he beat the eventual winner of the Tournament, Kenny Omega a former IWGP JR Heavyweight Champion and also a former IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
So far in this year, Yoshi-Hashi hasn't pulled off an upset singles victory yet, but he has had very good matches against Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi. I believe he will pull off an upset victory in the G1, and he is in the A block with Tanahashi, Hangman Page and EVIL.
If Yoshi-Hashi does pull off an upset, I believe if anyone it will most likely be against Michael Elgin, as Elgin is an established name in NJPW and a loss against Yoshi-Hashi will help Yoshi-Hashi and will not affect Big Mike all that much.
#3 SANADA
Sanada has been with NJPW since 2016 as a freelancer. Over the two years, he's been with the Company. He's won the Never Openweight 6-man titles a couple of times and has won the IWGP Tag Team Titles with his LIJ stablemate EVIL.
In last year's G1, SANADA had a good showing and came away with 8 points, and wins over Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano and EVIL. I believe in 2018's edition of the round-robin tournament that SANADA will pick up an upset as the block he is in is filled with big-name opponents.
I reckon that he will pick up an upset victory over Zack Sabre Jr or Ishii as he needs revenge on those two and a win over this year's New Japan Winner or the current RPW British Heavyweight Champion could provide him with the edge necessary to push him to the main event scene.
#2 Hangman Page
Hangman Page is entering his first G1 Climax this year and is looking to impress the New Japan offices, the Japanese crowds, and the audience watching at home. I believe with this being Page's first G1 and with him having had great matches with Ibushi, Omega and Tanahashi, he will pull an upset as in the three matches I just mentioned he hasn't won a single one.
I believe Page will pull off a big upset, possibly against Tanahashi or Jay White as Jay beat Hangman earlier in the year at March 27th's Strong Style Evolved at the Walter Pyramid in a match for the IWGP US Championship.
I feel that Page will have a great showing throughout the G1 Climax and because the offices do seem to like him quite a lot, I could potentially see him picking up potentially two upset victories during the tournament.
#1 Jay White
I think Jay White will pull off two big upset victories. He is in Block A with Tanahashi, the man who he wrestled at Wrestle Kingdom 12 and Kazuchika Okada, the leader of the group Jay's currently affiliated with CHAOS.
At July 7th G1 Special in San Francisco that he will drop the title to Juice Robinson. I think this is because it frees up Jay in the G1 for him to pull off the essential upset victories he needs in his first ever G1 Climax.
With a win over Hiroshi Tanahashi, he ties up the record at one apiece, and with a huge win over his leader Okada, he will prove himself but it will also go back to when he first joined, stating that he is going to slowly destroy the group from the inside and by beating Okada he's making a statement.
Jay White is currently being positioned to be the future of NJPW as a popular Gaijin, as New Japan were quick to put the US title on him and have him feud with Tanahashi. Jay Whites future is bright and pulling the biggest upset, will make his story as 'The Switchblade' only brighter.
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