Ranking the G1 Climax Competitors: Block A

#3 Hiroshi Tanahashi

Time for the Ace to live up to his moniker

Here's where Block A gets interesting, Hiroshi Tanahashi will face Kazhuchika Okada on the last day of the Block A tournament. While there's no doubt their bout will feature the high stakes of seeing who will go through to the finals, Tanahashi will most likely lose sending him down to the third position.

Why?

Because this block is a three-way face off through the run, with a surprise third member joining the Rainmaker and the Ace. Luckily for the Ace, this time around he will provide tough competition for Okada after the record-breaking end to their rivalry a few months back.

Despite this, Tanahashi isn't on a downward spiral as much as he is on a cool down and look to him probably pulling a repeat lower card role at Wrestle Kingdom 13 this year as well. Tanahashi has done enough for the company as a top star, now he'll do the same as a main event testing ground.

Best Possible Match: vs. Kazuchika Okada, Night 17

Is there any other contest that can top Block A or for that matter be the best match for both Tanahashi and Okada? The two eternal rivals bring out the best in one another and the gruelling G1 is no different. It isn't difficult to see NJPW backtrack on Okada's rivalry clinching win from just this year, but the more likely result will be a hard-fought loss for Tanahashi that finally sees these two men move on.

About the author

A filmmaker and wrestling buff, who merges his passion for storytelling into his writing of pro-wrestling. The art (and it is an art) of pro-wrestling is one of the greatest devices of cinematic storytelling from soap opera in WWE to even the hard-hitting competitiveness of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Watches all forms and brands of wrestling and for the past few years has been a huge fan of NJPW to the point he finally made his way to Japan and the Tokyo Dome to enjoy Wrestle Kingdom 13 live!

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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav