New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax 32 kicks off from Sapporo with one match from each of this year’s four blocks, headlined by Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb. With the beginning of the G1 always comes the palatable excitement of a new season, a new set of stakes, and a new group of wrestlers vying for the chance to main event the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom.
If you haven’t yet, please read my G1 Climax 32 Primer: What To Expect From This Year’s G1 Climax and my block previews:
NJPW G1 Climax 32 – Night One
Date: July 16, 2022
Venue: Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell
Time: 5:00 PM JST
Watch: NJPWWorld (Live English Commentary)
Global Start Times:
Main Event
G1 Climax 32 A Block Match
Kazuchika Okada [0] v. Jeff Cobb [0]
Jeff Cobb and Kazuchika Okada crossed paths three times in 2021, most notably in their final match to decide the B Block. Okada reigned supreme in that match, ending Cobb’s undefeated run through last year’s B Block and taking the block before heading off to win the tournament in the final.
Cobb seeks redemption while Okada looks to set himself back on track just one month after losing the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Jay White.
Record In First G1 Match Of The Tournament
- Okada: 7-4
- Cobb: 1-2
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
- Kazuchika Okada’s nine singles victories in 2022 are third-most in NJPW.
- Okada’s 5 hours, 12 minutes, and 37 seconds of total singles match length in 2022 is the second highest in NJPW, only 25 minutes behind the leader, Hiromu Takahashi.
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
- Kazuchika Okada’s 22 singles victories over the last 365 days are the most among NJPW heavyweights.
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
- This is Kazuchika Okada’s 11th consecutive G1 and his 11th overall.
- Kazuchika Okada won the G1 Climax tournament in 2012, 2014, and 2021. Okada has never lost a G1 Climax final.
- Okada will have first-time matches with Tom Lawlor and JONAH during this year’s tournament.
- Okada’s 16-4 record against A Block competitors is the second-best head-to-head in this year’s tournament.
- Last year marked the first time Kazuchika Okada had participated in consecutive G1 Climax tournaments without the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He will now enter his third straight tournament without the top title.
- Kazuchika Okada holds the highest average points over the last five years of the G1 competition at 13.6. He only reached the finals once during this time.
- Only Masahiro Chono (1994-2002) and Hiroshi Tanahashi (2007-2015) have won multiple tournaments at longer intervals than Okada’s seven-year gap between 2014 and 2021.
- Among wrestlers with more than 10 G1 Climax matches, AJ Styles is the only wrestler with a better winning percentage (.737) than Kazuchika Okada’s .699.
- Okada’s 65 G1 Climax wins are third-most all-time; Okada will undoubtedly be second on this list during this year’s tournament as he is just one win behind Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
- In the last five years, Kazuchika Okada has the most G1 Climax wins with 34.
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- This is Jeff Cobb’s fourth consecutive G1 and his fourth overall.
- Last year, Cobb ended with a record-tying 16 points and an 8-1 record.
- Jeff Cobb is one of five wrestlers scheduled to wrestle in G1 block matches on back-to-back nights.
- Jeff Cobb only holds a winning record against two of the six wrestlers he is scheduled to face in the A Block.
- Bad Luck Fale will be Jeff Cobb’s only first-time matchup in this year’s tournament.
Schedules and Results to Date
Match Eight
G1 Climax 32 B Block Match
SANADA [0] v. Jay White [0]
Surprisingly, two wrestlers who have been making their mark on NJPW over the last 4-5 years have only wrestled each other once. In February 2020, Jay White defeated SANADA in Osaka before the COVID-19 pandemic threw everyone off their course.
White, now the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, enters his third G1 with a target on his back, a target that SANADA is very familiar with. In 2019, he defeated Kazuchika Okada in the longest G1 Climax match to ever render a decision, and he earned himself an IWGP Heavyweight Championship title shot that fall. SANADA looks to replicate that result while setting his tournament off on the right foot when he faces Jay White in the night’s semi-main event.
Record In First G1 Match Of The Tournament
- White: 2-1
- SANADA: 3-3
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
- Jay White’s .643 all-time G1 winning percentage is the only G1 winning percentage above .500 among this year’s B Block.
- Jay White will have three first-time matches during this year’s block competition (Tama Tonga, Great-O-Khan, Chase Owens).
- Tomohiro Ishii is the only wrestler in the B Block that Jay White has lost to.
- Jay White has ended each of his three previous G1 tournaments at 6-3.
- An IWGP Heavyweight Champion has never ended a G1 with worse than a .500 record (Okada-2013).
- Jay White has the most balanced schedule among this year’s G1 participants. He is one of 5 wrestlers who begin the tournament on night one and end their block matches on night 18.
- Aside from his two-day turnaround between Taichi and Tama Tonga, White has at least five days of rest between his singles matches.
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- This is SANADA’s 7th G1 Entry and his 7th Consecutive
- SANADA appeared in the finals against Kota Ibushi in 2020.
- SANADA is one of four wrestlers in this year’s tournament who will have zero first-time singles matches.
- Among B Block wrestlers, SANADA is only seeking his first singles victory over Jay White.
- SANADA has averaged 8.8 points in his first five G1 tournaments, topping out at 12 points during 2020’s tournament.
- SANADA and Kazuchika Okada participated in the longest G1 Climax match to ever render a decision when SANADA defeated Kazuchika Okada in 29 minutes and 47 seconds during G1 Climax 29.
Schedules and Results to Date
Match Seven
G1 Climax 32 D Block Match
Will Ospreay [0] v. El Phantasmo [0]
Will Ospreay and El Phantasmo are no strangers in the ring. They have wrestled each other in six singles matches, and while the decisions have been split 3-3, Ospreay has been the clear favorite since elevating himself into the heavyweight division.
Now, El Phantasmo steps into the heavyweight ranks, and he meets a familiar rival in his first ever G1 Climax match. Will El Phantasmo continue on his often comical, dastardly ways, or will he turn over a new leaf to dethrone the D Block favorite in Ospreay?
Record In First G1 Match Of The Tournament
- Ospreay: 1-1
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
- Will Ospreay enters his third G1 Climax tournament after skipping last year’s event.
- Will Ospreay is one of two wrestlers in the D Block with a head-to-head record against D-Block wrestlers over .500.
- Ospreay has two first-time singles matches in this year’s tournament (YOSHI-HASHI and Juice Robinson)
- Ospreay has averaged 10 points in his first two G1 Climax appearances. His 10-point average is the highest in his block.
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- El Phantasmo will have first-time matches against YOSHI-HASHI, David Finlay, Shingo Takagi, and Yujiro Takahashi during this year’s D Block slate.
- The only wrestler in the D Block that El Phantasmo has wrestled more than once is Will Ospreay. They have split their all-time series 3-3 and their NJPW series 2-2.
Schedules and Results to Date
Match Six
G1 Climax 32 C Block Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] v. Aaron Henare [0]
When the bell rings on his July 16th match against Aaron Henare, Hiroshi Tanahashi will have officially participated in twenty-one G1 Climax tournaments, tying him with Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the most G1 tournament entries. Tanahashi holds nearly every meaningful record in G1 Climax history, which makes him the clear favorite over Aaron Henare, who is making his tournament debut.
Does Tanahashi have one more run left in him, or will Aaron Henare be the perpetrator of a classic first-night upset?
Record In First G1 Match Of The Tournament
- Tanahashi: 9-9-2
- Hiroshi Tanahashi is 2-0-1 in the first match of his tournament in years in which he won the G1.
- Tanahashi is 3-2-1 in the first match of his tournament in years in which he won his block.
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
- This will be the first singles match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Aaron Henare.
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
- This is Hiroshi Tanahashi’s 21st Consecutive G1 and his 21st overall.
- When the bell rings on his July 16th match against Aaron Henare, Hiroshi Tanahashi will have officially participated in twenty-one G1 Climax tournaments, tying him with Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the most G1 tournament entries.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi’s 160 G1 Climax matches are the most all-time. Toru Yano, at 130 matches, has the next most among this year’s G1 participants.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi’s 42 hours, 55 minutes, and 55 seconds of total G1 Climax match time is the highest all-time and nearly twelve hours longer than Yuji Nagata (30:59:56), who has amassed the second most G1 match length. Kazuchika Okada has the second most G1 Climax ring time among this year’s competitors at 27 hours, 53 minutes, and 14 seconds.
- Tanahashi is one of three three-time G1 Climax winners (Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
- Tanahashi has reached six G1 Finals, tied for the most all-time with Masahiro Chono.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi’s seven time limit draws in G1 competition are by far the most all-time. Kazuchika Okada’s four are second-most among competitors active in this year’s G1.
- Tanahashi has lost eight G1 matches by submission, second-most of this year’s competitors and fourth-most all time.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi has one first-time match in this year’s tournament (Aaron Henare)
- Tanahashi is one of three B Block competitors with a historical winning percentage against his block opponents over .500.
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- This is Aaron Henare’s first G1 Climax tournament.
- Five of Henare’s six G1 Climax block matches will be first-time matchups.
- Aaron Henare is seeking his first singles victory against every member of the C Block.
Schedules and Results to Date
Undercard
Fifth Match: YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto v. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito
Fourth Match: TAKA Michinoku, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr & Lance Archer v. Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Juice Robinson & KENTA
Third Match: Jado, David Finlay & Tama Tonga v. SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL
Second Match: Ryohei Oiwa & Toru Yano v. Bad Dude Tito & JONAH
First Match: Kosei Fujita v. Tom Lawlor
Block Results & Updates
A Block
Block Table
Box Score
B Block
Block Table
Box Score
C Block
Block Table
Box Score
D Block
Block Table
Box Score
