I decided to cut down the 32 man field into a standard league. Would you prefer this over what we have now?

25 comments

1. I was initially a fan of the expanded league size but in reality the stars are spread thin and it shows, you end up with a lot of matches that feel like NJC first rounds. B Block is the worst offender by far

   At the same time the roster is so big there’s so many names that can’t fit in. Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, KENTA, Henare all gone from this

2. Frankly, with how much the company is shaking up at the minute, the larger league is almost required.

   the better organization and 20m limits definitely help this year feel fresh though

3. I think this year with the sheer amount of guys that have debuted it’s quite useful to have this big field and let the new guys establish themselves, but just for the quality of the shows next year onwards it should definitely go back to 2 blocks.

   I mean just think about taking 5 wrestlers from each block right now and how stacked each card would be with just 2 blocks.

   Also in previous years when people suggested not having the G1 wrestlers in the multi man tags, the response was that New Japan would still want an Okada or Tanahashi on the card to draw fans even if they weren’t wrestling a block match that night but since with this format they’re wrestling every other show anyway, then let’s keep it that way.

   With that you let the guys that didn’t make the cut get bigger roles in multi man tag matches and give them chances to set up feuds etc. and keep the benefit of letting the G1 guys wrestle every other show.

4. I understand wanting a smaller pool but this G1 is setting up the next 5 years of njpw.

5. You took Ishii out of the G1 while he can still walk

6. I haven’t disliked the expanded format as much as I did last year, but I really hate the 20 minute time limit.

7. No Eddie it’s a sin already

8. Other than Eddie Kingston being left out entirely, no.

9. Okada vs Sabre Jr in the final

   Okada wins via rainmaker (23:30)

10. I hated the larger format last year, but this year it feels like it’s really working.

11. I would probably cut the two war dogs in favor of the two guests, as I think guest participants make the G1 more interesting and prestigious.

    The selfish part of me would also cut EVIL to get Ishii back in there but I get not wanting to cut a faction leader.

    Realistically you could do 12-man blocks again to keep it as what is basically a traditional G1. That lets you keep the two guests, Ishii, and one other(Henare or KENTA maybe?)

12. No Eddie, no thank you

13. Next week: Eddie Kingston to address OP

14. I admit even until recently I wasn’t a fan of blocks as I thought having a tournament with limited entries was much more suited to the G1 importance… but i’m actually having a lot of fun this year and we are only on Day 4.

    I prefer the various inclusions of Kaito, Eddie and names like Shane Haste and Mickey getting a spot to shine when they probably wouldn’t normally, plus the blocks feeling very different and having a theme is definitely a plus.

15. No, it’s actually fine. I’m surprised since I usually prefer quality over quantity but those 4 blocks are a good thing.

16. Who is eating the losses, bruther?

17. It ain’t about that. They lost so much key talent in the last year they need to put these people on to see who is the next to break out and be featured.

18. No.

    I’m admittedly a casual to NJPW, but this big tournament has gotten me intrigued enough to watch 3 shows and keep up with the scores. I think if it was a smaller tournament I probably wouldn’t be as interested. Its scale is part of the selling point for me, since I’m fairly unaware about a lot of the stuff that’s going on.

    I’m enjoying the action though, and I’m getting the gist of things thanks to the very informative commentators. I say it’s good the way it is.

19. Imagine thinking O’Khan is one of the top 20 wrestlers from this field of 32

20. Nope…this G1 has a lot of young guys and new comers plus old reliables mixed in…which means you took some guys i like and kept Finlay.q

21. Yes I would. The overall match quality suffers with this many people in it. So far its been fine, mostly good to very good matches, and that’s alright, but this is the G1.

    I’m thinking back to 2018 and 2019 were you were guaranteed 3, even 4 incredible block matches every night cause of how stacked the tournament is. Grade-1. The best of the best. Not ‘get as many in as we can’

22. No Eddie, no peace.

23. No. These posts are dumb.

24. No Ishii, no Moxley…

25. Pass. Replace ELP and someone else with Kaito and Eddie. Then even still, likely not.