And just like that, five matches down in B Block, four to go, and it's still practically anybody's block. This is a much more "anyone could make it" lineup at the half way point, for sure. Well, except for one guy, but we'll get into that. Let's break it down!
— MY PICKS —
Konosuke Takeshita – 3-2 [Patriarch Of The Don Callis Family, An All Elite Subsidiary] Takeshita is looking strong on 6 points right now, even though he suffered a loss to ZSJ tonight. Losing to the world champion is nothing to fret over, and his remaining four matches are definitely all winnable ones. I have Takeshita at the top of the block and right now I'm not selling the shares!
Zack Sabre Jr. – 3-2 [IT'S COMING HOME, FOR THE SECOND TIME] – Zack is also on six points having lost to Narita and Umino so far. The Gabe Kidd Forfeit Charity means he is technically split on wins and losses so far, but with the only "top guy" left for him to fight being Shingo Takagi who you'd certainly expect to get a few more wins after a horrible start for himself, Zack is still in good shape to make the playoffs.
El Phantasmo – 2-4 [I'm Picking Him Every Year Until He Gets A Fucking Break, Alright] – Unfortunately for ELP, he has a maximum ceiling of 10 points which means it's time to Great O'Khan 2024 this bitch. But with the upcoming match on the 2nd of August being against Takagi [who is canonically El Phantasmo's father] in what is practically a must win for both men to stay alive, it's a dangerous line to be straddling for the Headbanga.
— STRONG —
Ren Narita – 4-2 [Proof That House Of Torture Matches Don't Always Have To Suck] – Narita is sitting strong with eight points, currently occupying the top of the block. To be honest, all four people on eight points right now are people I don't expect many chose to make it deep into the tournament… but Narita feels like the most likely choice out of the four.
Shota Umino – 3-3 [The Redemption Arc One] – Shota is even stevens on 6 points right now, but with great head-to-heads over Zack and Phantasmo, two singles champions.
— NOT AS STRONG, BUT STRONGER CHANCES THAN THE A BLOCK MID-TIER FOR SURE —
Shingo Takagi – 2-3 [Dangerously Close To New Japan Dad Levels Of Booking] – For a man who's notoriously had fantastic results in tournaments, this might be his worst start to one ever. If not for the free two points from Gabe, Shingo could be on the "four losses" bubble right now. However, you always have to keep Shingo in with a chance no matter how dire things look – he's never out until he's out.
Drilla Moloney – 4-1 [Man That Looks Like He Ate 12 Other Men] – Drilla has stormed the opening of the tournament except for a loss to a certain someone we'll get to, but debut entrants love to be booked to start strong and fizzle out by block's end, so we'll see how this goes. Still, with Gabe eliminated early as a decent contender for the top 3, we could see another War Dog in his place.
— LOOK, IT'S NOT HAPPENING TWO YEARS IN A ROW —
Great O'Khan – 4-2 [The Only NJPW Wrestler MJF Likes] – Look, O'Khan is looking very strong right now, but… c'mon, I just seriously doubt the forever lower midcarder is making the playoffs twice in a row. He has to face favourites ZSJ and Shota as well as HoT spoiler-twat Narita to close out the bracket, and I don't see him winning any of those three.
— WHAT THE FUCK? —
YOSHI-HASHI – 4-1 [Polar Bear in Arlington, Texas] – What the hell are YOU doing on eight points, YOSHI-HASHI? Did you get lost? Yes, I still have him in 9th out of 10th place in terms of likelihood, but that's just how crazy this block has played out. The guys not expected to get shit at the start have all had great point totals at the midpoint. But none were less expected than YOSHI-HASHI, who with a 4-1 total so far has made it so that unlike A Block, everyone in B Block you could imagine making it through at this point.
Still… WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE TOP OF A PISSING G1 BLOCK?!
— OOPS —
Gabe Kidd – 0-9 [BOLLOCKS] – Gabe was injured in his first match loss against Takeshita and became a charity two-point giver for everyone. Sad face.
by DJ_Aftershock