New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax 32 rolls into its second night from Sapporo with one match from each of this year’s four blocks, headlined by Shingo Takagi vs. “Rock Hard” Juice Robinson. Night one delivered the excitement that we have come to expect from the beginning of a G1 Climax tournament, and it provided a significant upset, proving once again that any wrestler can win on any night. Will night two deliver similarly?
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 Two
Date: July 17, 2022
Venue: Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell
Time: 2:00 PM JST
Watch: NJPWWorld (Live English Commentary)
Global Start Times
Main Event
G1 Climax 32 D Block Match
Shingo Takagi [0] v. Juice Robinson [0]
Shingo Takagi and Juice Robinson will main event night two with another Los Ingobernables de Japon v. Bullet Club encounter, this time with the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Takagi, kicking off his tournament against the recently dethroned IWGP United States Champion, “Rock Hard” Juice Robinson. Shingo and Juice have been on divergent paths of late, with Shingo wrestling at a near-record pace, taking part in the most matches in NJPW and very possibly the most matches in Japan of any wrestler over the last 365 days. On the other hand, Juice Robinson fooled the world into thinking he was retiring, and he hasn’t wrestled in Japan in nearly a year and a half. Juice brings a new persona to this year’s G1, and time will tell whether his new Bullet Club alignment is fruitful.
Record In First G1 Match Of The Year
- Shingo: 1-2
- Juice: 3-1
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
- This will be Juice Robinson’s first singles match in Japan in 468 days. His last singles match in the country was on March 6, 2021.
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
Shingo Takagi’s 18 singles victories in the last 365 days are the third-most in NJPW, only behind Hiromu Takahashi, Kazuchika Okada, and Great-O-Khan.
Recent History – Individual Overall
- Shingo Takagi’s 54 overall wins are the most in NJPW this year.
- Shingo Takagi’s +30 Fall Differential (winning falls-losing falls) is the best in NJPW this year.
Head To Head History
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
Schedules and Results to Date
- Shingo Takagi is looking for his first singles victory over four of the six wrestlers he will face in the D block (YOSHI-HASHI, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, El Phantasmo).
- Shingo Takagi and Yujiro Takahashi were the first G1 Climax match to end in a double count-out in twelve years.
- Among D-Block wrestlers, only Will Ospreay and Juice Robinson have defeated Shingo in singles matches.
- Through his first four G1 tournaments, Shingo Takagi has averaged 9.6 points, just over a .500 average.
- Shingo Takagi’s 19-minute and 19-second average G1 Match Length is the highest among wrestlers with more than seven G1 matches. The next-highest is Kazuchika Okada, who comes in with an average of 18 minutes.
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- Juice Robinson enters G1 Climax 32 undefeated in singles matches against wrestlers in the D Block. In total, he is 8-0 against this year’s D Block slate.
- Robinson will have one first-time match in this year’s G1 Climax D-Block (Will Ospreay)
Match Eight
G1 Climax 32 C Block Match
Zack Sabre Jr [0] v. KENTA [0]
Zack Sabre Jr looks to repeat the torrid pace he launched into last year’s G1 Climax tournament as he steps into the ring with KENTA. KENTA has gone undefeated in his first G1 Climax match over his first three tournaments, and he carries a two-match winning streak over ZSJ into their bout in Sapporo.
Record In First G1 Match Of The Year
- Zack Sabre Jr: 3-2
- KENTA: 3-0
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
- This will be KENTA’s first singles match since January 5, 2022, when he was injured in his United States Championship match against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom.
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
- KENTA and Zack Sabre Jr have been in the same block during the last three G1 Climax tournaments, with KENTA holding a 2-1 record over ZSJ in tournament matches.
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
Schedules and Results to Date
- Zack Sabre Jr enters his sixth consecutive G1 Climax tournament.
- ZSJ has one first-time matchup in this year’s tournament against Aaron Henare.
- Zack Sabre Jr has averaged 10.4 points in his five previous G1 Climax appearances. His 10.4 point average is the second highest in his block, only behind EVIL at 11.2. ZSJ’s 10.2-point average is the fourth highest in NJPW over the last five years.
- Zack Sabre Jr has won 15 G1 Climax matches by submission, which is the most in this year’s tournament, and ten more than the next highest in the A Block (KENTA-5).
- ZSJ’s 15 submission victories are fourth-most all-time, and with two submission victories in this year’s tournament, he will tie Yuji Nagata for third on the list.
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- KENTA enters his fourth consecutive G1 Climax and his third as a member of Bullet Club.
- Only Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and KENTAi have a winning percentage against C Block opponents above .500.
- KENTA has one first-time matchup in this year’s G1 Climax: Aaron Henare.
- KENTA is one of six wrestlers who will wrestle in G1 block matches on back-to-back nights with zero nights of rest.
Match Seven
G1 Climax 32 A Block Match
Toru Yano [0] v. JONAH [0]
JONAH kicks off his first G1 Climax tournament against a perennial G1 Climax banana peel, Toru Yano. JONAH has been on a rampage through NJPW Strong, but now is the time to turn up the intensity as he crosses the Pacific for the first time since 2015.
Record In First G1 Match Of The Year
- Yano: 3-12-1
- Toru Yano went winless in his first match through his first eight G1 Tournaments.
- Yano’s First Match Wins: 2014 – Minoru Suzuki, 2019 – Tetsuya Naito, 2020 – SANADA
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
- JONAH last wrestled a singles match in Japan 2688 days ago on March 8, 2015, while he wrestled with NOAH.
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
- This will be JONAH’s sixth NJPW singles match in his career. He is 4-0 on NJPW Strong in 2021 and 2022 and 4-1 overall. In 2018, he lost a singles match to Minoru Suzuki at the Fallout Down Under in Melbourne, Australia.
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
- This will be the first singles match between Toru Yano and JONAH
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
Schedules and Results to Date
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- JONAH’s 12 days off between tonight’s match with Toru Yano and his July 30th match with Tom Lawlor is the longest stretch of days off in the tournament.
- Toru Yano enters his 17th G1 Climax, surpassing Masahiro Chono for the fourth-most G1 Tournaments. Only Hiroyoshi Tenzan (21), Hiroshi Tanahashi (21), and Yuji Nagata (19) have participated in more G1 tournaments than Yano.
- Over the last five G1 Climax tournaments, Toru Yano has averaged 7.6 points per year (averaging 3.5 wins in nine-match blocks). Last year’s tournament was just the second time that Yano produced a record above .500 and the first time he did so since 2011.
- Toru Yano will face Tom Lawlor and JONAH for the first time in this year’s tournament.
- Yano is still seeking his first victory over four block competitors this year (Kazuchika Okada, Tom Lawlor, JONAH, Jeff Cobb).
- Toru Yano’s 130 G1 Climax matches are fourth-most all-time.
- Toru Yano’s 72 G1 Climax losses are the most all-time.
- Toru Yano’s 55 G1 Climax victories are the eighth-most all-time. To move into seventh, he would need to produce a 6-0 record while Tetsuya Naito goes winless.
- Yano has lost nine G1 matches by submission, the third-most all-time
- Yano has lost 57 G1 matches by pinfall, which is the most all-time.
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- JONAH has only faced one other wrestler in the A Block. He holds a 2-1 record against one of the favorites, Jeff Cobb.
- JONAH has one of the most erratic schedules among this year’s G1 competitors. He will begin his tournament on the second night of tournament action, but then he will have twelve days without a singles match before his second tournament match on July 30. He will then have five days away from singles action before wrestling in three singles matches in five days between August 5 and August 9.
- JONAH is one of just two wrestlers with a twelve-day break between block matches. That is the longest gap on the tournament schedule.
Match Six
G1 Climax 32 B Block Match
Tomohiro Ishii [0] v. Taichi [0]
Tomohiro Ishii kicks off his tenth G1 Climax tournament in Sapporo against Taichi. Taichi was on commentary when tournament blocks were released, and he let out a comical sigh when Tomohiro Ishii was announced as a part of the B Block. Taichi is not entering the tournament from a place of confidence; as he recently said, “I’ll probably get like 4 points.” It has been rumored that Tomohiro Ishii is fighting for a position in future G1 Climax tournaments. It will be worth keeping an eye on The Stone Pitbull to see if he can succeed in this year’s tournament and earn a spot in future G1 Climaxes.
Record In First G1 Match Of The Year
- Ishii: 3-6
- Taichi: 2-1
G1 Climax 32 – Tournament To Date
Recent History – 2022 Singles
Recent History – Last 365 Days Singles
Recent History – Individual Overall
Head To Head History
- Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi are 1-1 in G1 Climax matches, but Ishii holds the historical advantage over Taichi 5-1.
History in Sapporo
G1 Climax – All Time
Schedules and Results to Date
- Tomohiro Ishii enters his 10th consecutive G1 Climax Tournament and his 10th overall.
- Ishii is one of four wrestlers in this year’s tournament who won’t have any first-time matches over the course of the tournament.
- Ishii is only looking for his first career victory over Tama Tonga.
- Tomohiro Ishii has a winning record over four of his six B Block opponents.
- Ishii has averaged 8.8 points in his last 5 G1 Climax tournaments.
- Last year, Ishii matched his career-high with a 5-4 record in his G1 tournament.
- Tomohiro Ishii’s 21 hours, 3 minutes, and 5 seconds of Total G1 Match Length is, by far, the longest in the B Block. SANADA is next highest at just under 15 hours.
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- This is Taichi’s 4th consecutive G1 and 4th overall.
- Taichi has never ended a G1 Climax tournament with a winning record (4-5, 4-5, 3-6)
- Taichi will have zero first-time matches during this year’s tournament.
- Among B Block competitors, Taichi is still looking for his first singles victory over Jay White and Chase Owens.
- At 4-11, Taichi’s all-time head-to-head record against B Block competitors is the second worst in the B Block.
- Taichi’s 11-day gap between wrestling SANADA and Chase Owens is the second-longest such gap on the schedule.
- Taichi’s 0-day gap between wrestling Jay White and Great-O-Khan is obviously the shortest such gap on the schedule.
Undercard
Fifth Match: Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada v. BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito
Fourth Match: Jado & Tama Tonga v. Chase Owens & Jay White
Third Match: Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay v. Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL
Second Match: TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer v. El Phantasmo & Bad Luck Fale
First Match: David Finlay & YOSHI-HASHI v. Royce Isaacs & 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
