5 early favorites to win the G1 Climax 2018

New Japan's premier tournament, the G1 Climax has commenced with the first show being held in Ota City General Gymnasium on July 14. Considered one of the most grueling tournaments in New Japan, the G1 Climax is considered a major event in Japan and is covered by all the major news publications in the country.

The 17-day tournament will conclude at Nippon Bodukan on August 12. The winner of the tournament will get a title shot of his choosing at Wrestle Kingdom next year.

This year's tournament is more stacked than ever before with veterans like Hiroshi Tanahashi, Minoru Suzuki and Kazuchika Okada vying for the coveted prize whilst newbies like Hangman Page and Jay white will be looking to a make a name for themselves during the course of the tournament.

With last year's tournament being declared the best in the company's history by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, this year's edition has a lot to live up to.

So, without further ado, here are our picks to win the G1 Climax this year :

Note: We have kept Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito out of this list as history dictates that no one superstar has won the G1 twice in a row and the reigning champion hasn't been able to win the tournament.

#5 Zack Sabre Jr.

Zack Sabre Jr has had one of the best rookie years in New Japan history. After signing with the promotion in February 2017, the Brit shocked the entire wrestling world by making the ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi submit in his very first G1 match last year.

He then participated in the New Japan Cup in which he defeated Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi and Evil en route to the finals. In the finals, the Brit once again made Tanahashi tap out thereby becoming the second gaijin to win the New Japan Cup.

Placed in Block B with the likes of the Current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Tama Tonga and Tetsuya Naito, the Suzuki Gun member is expected to make a lot of his opponents tap out to his array of submission moves.