G1 season is officially here! A fun selection of events this weekend includes the first Smackdown since CM Punk’s title win, tag title action in Mexico, three AEW championship bouts on Collision, and the first event in NJPW’s annual marathon summer tour, the G1 Climax. Here’s a rundown of our picks for what to catch this weekend!
Friday
WWE Friday Night Smackdown / 8 p.m. ET / USA Network
Friday nights have a new champ, and his name is CM Punk. For the first time since Punk captured the Undisputed WWE Championship earlier this week in a shock return, Friday Night Smackdown will go live this evening. While Punk isn’t officially announced for a segment at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma tonight, he is listed as an expected talent for the show and, let’s be real, is likely to show up for a championship celebration.
Along with the big title change, we know two more matchups for tonight: Finn Balor will meet Tama Tonga, and United States champ Trick Williams will face off against Carmelo Hayes in a non-title bout. More is likely to be announced throughout the day.
- Finn Balor vs. Tama Tonga
- Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes
- CM Punk promoted to appear
CMLL Viernes Espectacular / 10:30 p.m. ET / Youtube
Will I ever pass on an opportunity to watch Sky Team? I’d be a fool to do so. The team of Mistico and Mascara Dorada will headline tonight’s Arena Mexico CMLL card, defending their ROH World Tag Team Championships for the first time since dethroning Sammy Guevara and The Beast Mortos two weeks ago.
Mistico and Dorada will wager the titles against Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja, who will be looking to add more gold alongside their CMLL World Tag Team Championships and NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships.
The co-main event is one to look out for here as well. Blue Panther, still going strong at 65 years old, will have a first-time-ever one-on-one matchup against AEW’s Claudio Castagnoli.
- Full Metal, Polvora & Rostro de Acero vs. Volador Jr., Mercurio & Minos II
- Felino Jr., El Cobarde & El Hijo de Stuka Jr. vs. Polvora, El Coyote & Vaquero Jr. (Mexican National Trios Championships)
- Star Jr. & Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Zandokan Jr. & Barbaro Cavernario
- Templario, Titan & Flip Gordon vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Volador Jr. & Ikuro Kwon
- Blue Panther vs. Claudio Castagnoli
- Mistico & Mascara Dorada vs. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja (ROH World Tag Team Championships)
Saturday
NJPW G1 Climax 36 Night 1 / 8 p.m. ET / NJPW World
Professional wrestling’s biggest tournament of the year will begin tomorrow night when the 36th G1 Climax from NJPW gets started. Before most of the tourney takes place in Japan later this month and in August, the round robin action will kick off stateside, with a show from the NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
The rare U.S. event from NJPW this weekend includes numerous big matches as part of the opening night, including a Wrestle Kingdom rematch between Konosuke Takeshita and current IWGP champ Yota Tsuji. Other appearances include former tournament winners Zack Sabre Jr. and Hirooki Goto, plus newcomers like the incredibly hyped Knockout Brothers. I’ve seen many people down on this year’s G1 lineup, but honestly, I believe there are loads of big matchups that could come from this, and numerous players who have a serious chance to win it all. I’m still quite intrigued to see how this will play out.
Here’s how the first of 19 G1 lineups this year looks:
- HENARE vs. Aaron Wolf (B Block)
- Shingo Takagi vs. Jake Lee (A Block)
- Ren Narita vs. OSKAR (B Block)
- Great-O-Khan vs. Yuto-Ice (A Block)
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino (B Block)
- Hirooki Goto vs. SANADA (A Block)
- Yuya Uemura vs. Callum Newman (B Block)
- Ryohei Oiwa vs. Boltin Oleg (A Block)
- Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji (A Block)
AEW Collision / 8 p.m. ET / TNT
AEW will head to the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia for a title triple-header edition of Collision tomorrow night. Saturday’s live edition of the show will see Hikaru Shida defend her TBS Championship for the first time in a showdown against Harley Cameron, it’ll include Mark Davis’ return in an AEW National Championship bout against Speedball Mike Bailey, and feature what could be an amazing showdown between ROH World Champion Bandido and Katsuyori Shibata. So far, it looks like a fun lineup over on Collision, and it’s likely that a few more matches will get announced before they go live on Saturday.
- Bandido vs. Katsuyori Shibata (ROH World Championship)
- Hikaru Shida vs. Harley Cameron (TBS Championship)
- Mark Davis vs. Speedball Bailey (AEW National Championship)
GCW You Only Die Once / 8 p.m. ET / TrillerTV+
GCW has back-to-back nights of action this weekend on TrillerTV+, beginning with a show from Hartford, Connecticut tomorrow night. You Only Die Once will include a title showdown between Atticus Cogar and Alec Price, one-half of Bustah And The Brain. That’s a title match worthy of the main event! I also want to point out that this weekend’s shows include 24-year-old French up-and-comer Leedz Lewis, who is currently making his U.S. debut with a tour of GCW events this month.
- Joey Janela vs. Gabby Forza
- Slade vs. Vipress
- Marcus Mathers vs. Dustin Waller
- Christian Napier vs. Anakin Murphy
- Jordan Oliver vs. Leedz Lewis
- Bear Bronson vs. Parrow
- Atticus Cogar vs. Alec Price (GCW World Championship)
Sunday
GCW Melee in Manchester / 5 p.m. ET / TrillerTV+
GCW has some early evening action to close out this weekend’s programming on Sunday. The Bishop Leo E. O’Neil Center in Manchester, New Hampshire will be treated to a “Melee” in two days, a card which features numerous fun showdowns. The match I’ll circle for this one is a showdown between the tall AEW powerhouse that is Megan Bayne and the fast, high-flying Marcus Mathers. That six-person tag featuring Charles Mason, Gabby Forza, and Vipress should be fun, too.
- Bear Bronson vs. Richard Holliday
- Megan Bayne vs. Marcus Mathers
- Christian Napier & Otis Cogar vs. Kidd V & Mani Ariez
- Vipress, Gabby Forza & Anakin Murphy vs. Charles Mason, Parrow & Slade
- Mullet Man vs. CPA
- Alec Price & Jordan Oliver vs. Anthony Greene & Channing Thomas (GCW Tag Team Championships)
- Atticus Cogar vs. Dijak (GCW World Championship)
Three more options for you…
- The final two spots in this year’s STARDOM 5Star Grand Prix will be determined as part of Saturday’s card in Fuji. Akira Kurogane will meet Kiyoka Kotatsu, and Ema Maishima will battle with Kikyo Furusawa. For all four women, a win would put them into their first-ever 5Star GP campaign. (STARDOM World)
- Speaking of Joshi, Sendai Girls has a big event going down this weekend in Miyagi. A stacked card on Sunday afternoon (late Saturday night for fans in America) will be headlined by a title showdown between Chihiro Hashimoto and VENY. Will VENY be able regain the title for the first time since 2023, ending Hashimoto’s near 500-day run with the belt? We’ll find out this weekend. (Wrestle Universe)
- A live edition of AAA TV will take place on Saturday evening from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. While no matches have been confirmed for the broadcast thus far, AAA General Manager Rey Mysterio has revealed that Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio, as well as the brand’s newest arrival, Damian Priest, will be in the building. (Youtube)
