Following a rare few days off, the G1 Climax returned on Monday.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s most vaunted tournament typically takes place in the heat of the summer but was moved to the fall this year after the pandemic upended NJPW’s schedule. The two-block, 20-man round-robin tourney opened on Sept. 19 and runs through Oct. 18, with the winner all but assured an IWGP heavyweight title shot at January’s Wrestle Kingdom.
Seeking to win his first-ever G1 Climax is “Switchblade” Jay White, a former IWGP heavyweight champ and current Bullet Club member. Only 27, White has already built an impressive résumé in wrestling, and he opened this year’s G1 in memorable fashion, defeating Shingo Takagi, Kota Ibushi and Kazuchika Okada, before dropping his next two matches, including Monday’s bout against Jeff Cobb in Kagawa.