With the 29th edition of the G1 Climax fully underway it's our chance to pull back the curtain and focus our attention on those talents that are putting themselves right into the spotlight for the rest of the year. Currently IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada is tied for the #1 spot in Block A with eight points which is very similar to Kenny Omega's performance last year in the tournament. A number of new faces to the main event level are trying to establish themselves as big names in the promotion two names that have caught my attention are KENTA who returned to New Japan very recently. The other name is former IWGP Tag Team Champion Lance Archer who has never really been given an opportunity as a singles competitor in New Japan. 

At this point, the biggest surprise of the tournament so far in my book was seeing KENTA defeat the former World Champion and "Ace" of New Japan Hiroshi Tanahashi and with his victory it very likely that Taichi will be receiving a title shot against Naito in the future.

B BLOCK -- Wednesday, July 24 -- Hiroshima -- Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall
Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi
Jeff Cobb vs. Jay White
Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi
A BLOCK -- Saturday, July 27 -- Aichi -- Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
Kazuchika Okada vs. KENTA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
Kota Ibushi vs. Lance Archer
Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale
EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
B BLOCK -- Sunday, July 28 -- Aichi -- Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 
Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano
Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley
Shingo Takagi vs. Jay White
​A BLOCK --  Tuesday, July 30 -- Kagawa -- Takamatsu City General Gymnasium Arena 1 
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
KENTA vs. SANADA
B BLOCK --  Thursday, Aug. 1 -- Fukuoka --Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium
Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano vs. Jon Moxley
Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi
Taichi vs. Jay White
A BLOCK --  Saturday, Aug. 3 -- Osaka -- Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
Will Ospreay vs. EVIL
KENTA vs. Bad Luck Fale
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Lance Archer
B BLOCK --  Sunday, Aug. 4 -- Osaka -- Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 
Juice Robinson vs. Taichi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb
Jon Moxley vs. Jay White
Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi
​
A BLOCK --  Wednesday, Aug. 7 -- Shizuoka -- Hamamatsu Arena
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
Will Ospreay vs. KENTA
SANADA vs. Lance Archer
B BLOCK --  Thursday, Aug. 8 -- Kanagawa -- Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium 
Juice Robinson vs. Jay White
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi
Toru Yano vs. Taichi
Hirooki Goto vs. Jon Moxley
Jeff Cobb vs. Tetsuya Naito
A BLOCK --  Saturday, Aug. 10 -- Tokyo -- Nippon Budokan 
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay
KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
EVIL vs. Lance Archer
SANADA vs. Bad Luck Fale
B BLOCK --  Sunday, Aug. 11 -- Tokyo -- Nippon Budokan 
Juice Robinson vs. Jon Moxley
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi
Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb
Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay White

We are two days away from the beginning of the most prestigious tournament in wrestling that being the G1 Climax. From experience it is excessively difficult to keep track of all the shows and the matches. This is why I will be doing something a little different this year as I will be posting weekly updates on the tournament and the status of each competitor as the G1 progresses. To start we need an overview of the first part of the tournament which for me is the month of July and early August. Below are a list of the matches that have been announced for the tournament take a look, because in my opinion this year's tournament is stacked!!

B BLOCK -- Saturday, July 13 -- Tokyo -- Ota General Gymnasium 
Juice Robinson vs. Shingo Takagi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb
Toru Yano vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hirooki Goto vs. Jay White
Jon Moxley vs. Taichi
A BLOCK -- Sunday, July 14 -- Tokyo -- Ota General Gynasium 
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL
Will Ospreay vs. SANADA
Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale
B BLOCK -- Monday, July 15 -- Hokkaido -- Hokkaido Sports Center
Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
Toru Yano vs. Shingo Takagi
Jeff Cobb vs. Jon Moxley
Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi

A BLOCK -- Thursday, July 18 -- Tokyo -- Korakuen Hall
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay
KENTA vs. Lance Archer
EVIL vs. SANADA
B BLOCK -- Friday, July 19 -- Tokyo -- Korakuen Hall
Juice Robinson vs. Jeff Cobb
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jon Moxley
Toru Yano vs. Jay White
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
A BLOCK -- Saturday, July 20 -- Tokyo -- Korakuen Hall
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer
Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA
KENTA vs. EVIL
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bad Luck Fale
B BLOCK -- Wednesday, July 24 -- Hiroshima -- Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall
Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi
Jeff Cobb vs. Jay White
Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi
A BLOCK -- Saturday, July 27 -- Aichi -- Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
Kazuchika Okada vs. KENTA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
Kota Ibushi vs. Lance Archer
Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale
EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
B BLOCK -- Sunday, July 28 -- Aichi -- Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 
Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano
Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley
Shingo Takagi vs. Jay White
A BLOCK --  Tuesday, July 30 -- Kagawa -- Takamatsu City General Gymnasium Arena 1 
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
KENTA vs. SANADA
B BLOCK --  Thursday, Aug. 1 -- Fukuoka --Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium
Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano vs. Jon Moxley
Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi
Taichi vs. Jay White
A BLOCK --  Saturday, Aug. 3 -- Osaka -- Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
Will Ospreay vs. EVIL
KENTA vs. Bad Luck Fale
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Lance Archer
B BLOCK --  Sunday, Aug. 4 -- Osaka -- Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 
Juice Robinson vs. Taichi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb
Jon Moxley vs. Jay White
Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi

In my opinion, some of the most underrated & most talked about matches in wrestling have taken place during the G1 Climax. A career making performance may not happen every year, but when it does it always sticks. However, the tournament isn't just to make new stars it is also in place to solidfy those who have already made it to the top or give a legend there one last accomplishment which is what a tournament should do. In the WWE they have seemingly forgotten how important and how valuable a tournament can be as they normally just using them as fodder and allowing tournament winners to become jokes instead something to build new stars. 

The first thing I think that people need to learn about to understand the environment New Japan is to understand the G1 Climax. In my opinion, the best way to understand something is by learning it's origin and building forward. The G1 Climax has helped stabilize New Japan in it's darkest periods and has helped make Icons out of Masahiro Chono, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinya Hashimoto, and various others in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Will another legend be made an icon this year in G1 we will have to wait and find out.