NNew Japan Pro Wrestling

G1 Climax 35 B Block Standings & Analysis as of Aug 2 (3 B Block Shows Left)


Hello r/njpw

Welcome back to my continuing coverage of G1 Climax 35. We've got a lot to discuss for B Block. There's a huge pile-up of wrestlers at the top of the block, as well as one big crash at the bottom of the block. How do we separate all these 8-pointers? That's what we'll find out here today.

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For those of you who are new to these, I make posts rounding up the possible outcomes for these round-robin tournaments. I look at the % odds for each person to make it out of the block phase (taking all results as equal), sometimes even taking draws into account (for this particular post, I won't be doing that just yet).

As usual, you may also view my G1 Climax 35 results summary page here. I'm manually updating it as we go along the tournament. It contains the schedule of the matches, results, and a summary of the top 20 best matches of the tournament (based on CageMatch Ratings).

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With that, let's dive into the B Block standings.

A Block Standings

Name Faction Score Record Status
Konosuke Takeshita None 8 4-2 In
Yoshi-Hashi Main Unit 8 4-2 In
Drilla Moloney Bullet Club War Dogs 8 4-2 In
Zack Sabre Jr. TMDK 8 4-2 In
Ren Narita House of Torture 8 4-2 In
Shota Umino Main Unit 8 4-3 In
Great-O-Khan United Empire 8 4-3 In
Shingo Takagi None 6 3-3 In
El Phantasmo Main Unit 4 2-5 Out
Gabe Kidd Bullet Club War Dogs 0 0-9 Out (Forfeit)

We've got some major blockage up in B Block. Over half the block is on 8 points (everyone left in contention bar one). However, the devil's in the details, and not every 8 is equal. More on that in a bit, but even with that, it's still a tight race.

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Let's not waste any more time and try to break down these 8-pointers. Let's start with …

1) Konosuke Takeshita

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 2 losses
  • 57.9% to go to the finals
    • 23.2% as #1
      • 15.6% as sole #1
      • 7.6% in a tie for #1
    • 16.7% as #2
      • 12.5% as sole #2
      • 4.3% in a tie for #2
    • 18.0% as #3
      • 9.7% as sole #3
      • 8.2% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Moloney [8], O-Khan [8], Takagi [6]
  • Worst Losses: ZSJ [8]

Zooming to the top of B Block is Konosuke Takeshita. Despite stumbling with ZSJ earlier this week, his win over Moloney has helped push Takeshita ahead of the other 8-pointers. The O-Khan win is quite useful as well, and the Takagi win may come in handy. He also benefits greatly from Takagi beating and eliminating ELP, so that gets rid of one potential unfavorable tie-break. That leaves on ZSJ at present who can beat him in case of a score tie, which, with how many 8-pointers there are, is not an unlikely scenario. Also, that means that if Takeshita wins all his matches, the worst he can do is 2nd place.

All that Takeshita needs to do now is keep up his performance. The most likely qualifying score in B Block is 12 points (10 is possible, but that'll only happen in ~20% of scenarios), and Takeshita is practically a lock for the playoffs if he makes 12. However, he's got a tough road ahead, as he's dealing with all current 8-pointers: Yoshi-Hashi, Shota Umino, and Ren Narita. None of them are gonna be easy, so Takeshita can't afford to coast through the rest of this tournament, despite being the current favorite.

2) Yoshi-Hashi

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 2 losses
  • 56.0% to go to the finals
    • 27.6% as #1
      • 18.6% as sole #1
      • 9.0% in a tie for #1
    • 14.3% as #2
      • 9.2% as sole #2
      • 5.2% in a tie for #2
    • 14.1% as #3
      • 7.0% as sole #3
      • 7.1% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Moloney [8], Narita [8], Takagi [6]
  • Worst Losses: Umino [8], O-Khan [8]

Yoshi-Hashi started this tournament strong, and continues to be a key player in B Block. However, he's dropped his last two matches, so he's been on a bit of a downturn. Still, he's #2 in the block, and, at this moment, the most likely person to take the #1 spot in the end, thanks to some strong wins and an open match with Takeshita, the current #1. He needs to reverse his momentum from this week going into the last week of block competition if he hopes to fulfill his goals of carrying on the will of his Bishamon partner Goto, especially with his last match being against ZSJ, the man who took Goto's title. That'll be a fun match to look forward to.

3) Drilla Moloney

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 2 losses
  • 54.5% to go to the finals
    • 20.3% as #1
      • 13.1% as sole #1
      • 7.2% in a tie for #1
    • 16.9% as #2
      • 12.5% as sole #2
      • 4.4% in a tie for #2
    • 17.3% as #3
      • 10.3% as sole #3
      • 7.0% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Narita [8], Umino [8], O-Khan [8]
  • Worst Losses: Takeshita [8], Yoshi [8]

Drilla Moloney is impressing in his G1 debut, making it all the way to #3 in B Block. Of course, he could've placed higher, but the loss to Takeshita slowed his momentum. His other loss being to Yoshi-Hashi is also troublesome, but not completely devastating to his G1 campaign. He may need a confluence of results to help secure a playoffs spot though.

He's got some big matches ahead of him too: the IWGP champion ZSJ on Friday, and Shingo Takagi, who eliminated Moloney in this year's New Japan Cup, on the final day of block competition. There's still more to look forward to for Moloney.

4) Zack Sabre Jr.

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 2 losses
  • 50.3% to go to the finals
    • 22.0% as #1
      • 14.8% as sole #1
      • 7.2% in a tie for #1
    • 14.1% as #2
      • 10.5% as sole #2
      • 3.6% in a tie for #2
    • 14.2% as #3
      • 8.2% as sole #3
      • 6.0% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Takeshita [8], O-Khan [8]
  • Worst Losses: Narita [8], Umino [8]

The IWGP champion and the defending G1 champion has had a bit of a rough tournament thus far, but things are picking back up, and he's now, for the first time in this tournament, caught up with the score leaders in B Block. However, he's still got some work to do if he wants to win back to back tournaments. The next match with Takagi could be a real course shifter for B Block, and closing out against Yoshi-Hashi and Drilla Moloney may make ZSJ complacent, so he needs to stay on top of his game.

5) Ren Narita

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 2 losses
  • 48.5% to go to the finals
    • 17.8% as #1
      • 12.0% as sole #1
      • 5.8% in a tie for #1
    • 15.0% as #2
      • 11.2% as sole #2
      • 3.8% in a tie for #2
    • 15.7% as #3
      • 9.3% as sole #3
      • 6.4% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: ZSJ [8], Umino [8]
  • Worst Losses: Yoshi [8], Moloney [8]

The last of our 4-2 8-pointers is Ren Narita, who sits on just under a 50% of making the playoffs. He's managed to put together some big wins so far, beating the IWGP champion ZSJ as well as his long-time rival Shota Umino, though he's found some unfavorable results against some of the current high-placers in the block, having lost to Yoshi-Hashi and Drilla Moloney. However, he still has the big one yet to come, as his final opponent will be Konosuke Takeshita, who's scalp may be enough secure a playoffs spot for Narita.

6) Shota Umino

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
  • 28.3% to go to the finals
    • 8.4% as #1
      • 2.9% as sole #1
      • 5.5% in a tie for #1
    • 8.8% as #2
      • 6.1% as sole #2
      • 2.7% in a tie for #2
    • 11.0% as #3
      • 5.9% as sole #3
      • 5.2% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Yoshi [8], ZSJ [8]
  • Worst Losses: Moloney [8], Narita [8], Takagi [6]

Next down the line is Shota Umino.

He may be on 8 points, but we see his odds dip quite a bit from the previous 8-pointers. That's because of the situation Gabe Kidd has created. Umino is currently on 8 points only because of the forfeit win he got from Gabe Kidd's exit, and since that match was scheduled for this Wednesday, he only really has two matches left. Earlier, I mentioned that the most likely qualifying score is 12 points. The other 8-pointers have a bit of wiggle room, being able to make 12 by winning two of their remaining three matches, but for Umino, making 12 means he has to be perfect in his remaining two matches, and those matches won't be easy. Konosuke Takeshita will be a big mountain to climb, and Great-O-Khan is always a tricky opponent, particularly with the history those two have had this year.

Can Umino make this second chapter more positive than the first?

7) Great-O-Khan

  • 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
  • 26.7% to go to the finals
    • 5.3% as #1
      • 1.6% as sole #1
      • 3.7% in a tie for #1
    • 8.8% as #2
      • 5.5% as sole #2
      • 3.3% in a tie for #2
    • 12.5% as #3
      • 7.0% as sole #3
      • 5.6% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Yoshi [8], Takagi [6]
  • Worst Losses: Takeshita [8], Moloney [8], ZSJ [8]

The last of the 8-pointers is Great-O-Khan, who's in a similar position to Umino, having an scheduled match with Kidd coming up and so being technically behind the other 8-pointers. His record isn't quite as good though, having weaker wins and worse losses than Umino. Regardless, O-Khan needs to focus on making points, and to do that, he'll have to beat Ren Narita this Wednesday, as well as his fellow 4-3 record holder Shota Umino. O-Khan was the reason for Umino closing his so-called first chapter. Can he put a stop to the second chapter as well, returning to the playoffs spot he held one year ago?

8) Shingo Takagi

  • 6 pts; 3 wins, 3 losses
  • 16.7% to go to the finals
    • 4.9% as #1
      • 1.8% as sole #1
      • 3.1% in a tie for #1
    • 4.0% as #2
      • 3.3% as sole #2
      • 0.7% in a tie for #2
    • 10.9% as #3
      • 2.8% as sole #3
      • 5.0% in a tie for #3
  • Best Wins: Umino [8]
  • Worst Losses: Takeshita [8], Yoshi [8], O-Khan [8]

Our final wrestler in contention for the playoffs is Shingo Takagi.

Takagi has not had a strong tournament so far. He started off with three straight losses, barely being kept afloat by the Gabe Kidd forfeiture. However, he's come back and won his last two, narrowly avoiding elimination by beating ELP. However, the pressure continues, as he essentially needs to be perfect from here on to make the playoffs. Again, as I've mentioned with others, Takagi can make the playoffs on 10, but it's not a likely scenario. If he wants to be secure, he needs to aim for 12.

At present, his only win of consequence is over Shota Umino, so he'll need to rack up more wins strong wins, which his final road can provide. His next match will be against ZSJ, and that'd be a huge win, regardless of how Zack does in the end. Following that up with Ren Narita and Drilla Moloney will be juicy, as both are also strong contenders in this year's tournament. Takagi needs to live up to his moniker and go on a rampage in this final stretch

9) Eliminated Wrestlers

And with this past B Block show, we now have two eliminations in B Block. First was Gabe Kidd and his forfeiture from his injury, but after losing to his daddy, ELP is now out of the running for the playoffs, barring any ties or further forfeitures. Funnily enough, he too was scheduled to face Gabe Kidd in this last stretch of shows, but his match was scheduled for the final day. That means that not only is ELP out of the running for the playoffs, his tournament matches will be done before everyone else's as well. A bit of an unfortunate position for ELP.

Still, there's still impact to be had, as he takes on two men who are near the top of B block at the moment: Drilla Moloney and Yoshi-Hashi. Those two will still need to deal ELP if they want to keep their own playoffs hopes alive, so maybe ELP can cause a bit of mayhem and spoil some hopes in his last few matches.

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What's Next?

This next show will be impactful. We're gonna see the breaking of the 8-point spread at the top of the block, with half the matches pitting 8-pointers against each other. Yoshi-Hashi will take on Konosuke Takeshita, and Great-O-Khan will face Ren Narita. Then, El Phantasmo has a chance to stumble Drilla Moloney in his hopes to make the playoffs in his debut G1.

However, the biggest match of the night will surely be Shingo Takagi vs Zack Sabre Jr. These two have faced of many times in the past in many situations. They're two of the best in the company, and they're fighting for a lot in this tournament. Takagi is fighting to keep his tournament hopes alive, and while I don't believe he can be eliminated from contention entirely on this next show, his hopes would still take a nosedive if he does. Meanwhile, Zack is fighting to keep up with the pack and defend his G1 win, while also proving himself as the IWGP champion. There's a lot of pride on the line, and the pedigree of both men will likely make this match a great one as well.

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That does it for this B Block post. We did have another A Block show this weekend, so I need to go and cover that as well.

Until then, thanks for reading! See you next post.

by MarcoTalin

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