Preview: G1 Climax 28 Day 3 (July 16th)
The third day of the G1 kicks off on Monday the 16th of July and it is the second day of the A-Block, where the competitors will still be fairly fresh.
With the A-Block now purely being about points due to their being no champions in the block, the A-Block has become slightly more interesting. However, with this being the second day for the competitors, and they still being fairly fresh, let's take a look at the block matches, and see if I can possibly predict each matches outcomes.
Match 1- Yoshi-Hashi vs Evil
This match will be between possibly, the two weakest members of their respective factions. YOSHI-HASHI has had great showings the past few months against the likes of Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi and in November of last year for the IWGP US Championship, Kenny Omega. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in any of those matches, making him look weak and left fans wondering, what is next for the 'Head-Hunter'?
EVIL, is also in a similar position, but in tag team format. He recently lost the IWGP Tag titles with teammate SANADA at Dominion 6.9, and they failed in the rematch at the G1 Special on 7th July. However in Singles this year he hasn't had much due to broken orbital, but he had a decent showing against Dalton Castle for the ROH World Title at ROH Honor United in Crystal Palace.
The match itself should be average and hopefully, the two will help each other establish why they are in the G1 again.
Prediction- EVIL. EVIL last year gave Kazuchika Okada his first loss in over a year, and if they want to continue that momentum that he had, then winning against YOSHI-HASHI is a small but key step in this. YOSHI-HASHI should have an alright showing but unfortunately, he is losing this match.
Match 2- Kazuchika Okada vs Bad Luck Fale
Okada and Fale are no strangers to one another, with their most recent singles match taking place in 2017 at Wrestling Dontaku, for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after Fale placed second in the New Japan Cup and struck after Okada had defeated Katsuyori Shibata in a grueling match at Sakura Genesis 2017.
The pair has faced off 5 times in total, so this 6th encounter could potentially be their best. The Dontaku match last year was one of Okada's weaker defenses, but Fale still looked like the monster he is meant to portray.
However with Fale training lots and shedding weight, along with supposedly joining the Bullet Club Firing Squad, he has a lot of momentum heading into the bout, possibly more than Okada as he recently lost the IWGP Heavyweight title to Kenny Omega, and has lost to Zack Sabre Jr.
Prediction- Fale. With Okada Omega IV already done, the 5th part will be held back for a long time, and they want to slowly build Okada back up even though he still has a presence. Fale will seek vengeance, and with a new found attitude, I believe he will pull out the victory.