Who will win the 2002 G1 Climax?

[Luds]

Here are the 2 groups. You might notice that Tadao Yasuda took Tatsumi Fujinami's spot after defeating him to get in... The tournament starts on 8/3 and ends on 8/11

GROUP A
Hiroyoshi Tenzan(T2K), Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kensuke Sasaki, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshihiro Takayama(free), Yutaka Yoshie

GROUP B
Yuji Nagata(IWGP heavyweight champion), Masahiro Chono(T2K), Manabu Nakanishi, Tadao Yasuda, Osamu Nishimura, Kenzo Suzuki

Now I will make this a poll. Please disregard this if you dislike polls. I only do this since I like to have general statistics on these types of subjects. Please add comments also...

There can be a MAX of 10 choices in polls so I took 2 names off the list which I felt they wouldn't win the G1. These are not necessarily the 2 that I think will finish last in their groups. I took away Kenzo Susuki & Yutaka Yoshie

[emlyn]

A few weeks ago I would have given it to Tenzan but I think Nagata will go over as they try to increase his reputation as a dominant champ.

[Ganso]

My gut feeling says Tenzan will go over this year. He will probably meet Manabu Nakinishi in the finals. They have building up a program between these two. Like on the G-1 Climax party and other pull apart fights.

[Mutoh-Mania]

I guess my vote for Tenzan is as safe a vote as possible.

[Muiyan]

i stuck to Nagata. He doesn't seem to have been the champion long enough.

[Luds]

I see Nagata & Chono taking group B, Tenzan taking group A, but can't say who'll take second place in group A. Probably has to be Takayama or Sasaki...

Now if Chono wins over Nagata (chono promised to win every match this year) on 8/3, I have to think that Nagata will win over Tenzan in the final, and have a IWGP title defense against Chono later on...

If Nagata wins over Chono on 8/3, I'd say that Tenzan will beat him in the final, but that Nagata would get his revenge on a title defense...

I always love the "speculation time"!

But Ganso's comment seems accurate... Tenzan-Nakanishi has been built up quite a lot...

[TRZZXQ]

All I can say is:
*** help us if it's Yutaka Yoshie.

[JustS2pendous]

It had better be Tenzan, the guy(despite the haircut) has waited long enough for the top spot. If he doesn't get it, Kojima might swing his mind to Kings Road

[Lariat]

Its going to be Nakanishi this year. While many agree that Tenzan is New Japan's top future draw (or top prospect when he gets the title), I feel its much safer to go with Nakanishi. He had some stellar matches this year and has proven himself to be able to fight for the IGWP title. He has credibility, charisma and heat. Plus, the age factor also comes into my decision. If the company is smart, they would let Tenzan (31) win next year's G1 tournament as Nakanishi (35) will go over in the G1 finals between the two.

[JustS2pendous]

Well as long as it's Nakanishi over Tenzan, I'll live with that

[clarkone68]

Goldberg as a last minute substitute. Numerous puro fans commit suicide afterwards.

[Luds]

I hope that some of the younger guys do better this year... I also hope that Nagata, Chono, Nakanishi AND Nishimura all do better than Yasuda in group B. I don't really care about Suzuki... But please, give Nishimura some kind of a push!

[SpirituXBomba]

The big Gen is on Nagata. lets see how he works in this tournament.

[ElGringo]

I was actually really annoyed about Yasuda coming in. Fujinami should have won, since he's owed a win over Yasuda from last year's G1. If the 'All Japan 3' had'nt left, I'd say Kojima would win it, because he has youth (he's 31), a hell of a lot of talent (more than Tenzan in my opinion, at least he's more consistant) and is very popular; he has a heck of a look and could be a very big draw if used right.

As it is, I'd say Tenzan to win it over one of the old guard (Chono or Sasaki) to show that the 1990s class is truly dominant in New Japan.