Tournaments and wrestling go together like peanut butter and chocolate, and New Japan's G1 Climax is the best tournament wrestling has to offer. Stars from across the globe travel to Japan to enter the month-long affair. Some hope to launch themselves into superstardom, while others seek to reignite the flame of their career.
As with just about everything else this year, the G1 had to clear a number of hurdles before competition could begin due to the effects of Covid-19 and the resulting global pandemic. Wrestling fans across the world will thankfully have something to look forward to as NJPW gears up for the initial rounds of the G1.
10 What It Means To Win The G1
Winning the G1 is a huge accomplishment by any standard, and for many it is the highlight of their professional career. What it means to win the whole tournament can be boiled down into two points. Firstly, the winner receives a huge boost in credibility. This is the New Japan office's way of gauging who they believe to be the future of the company.
Secondly, in a more storyline focused-sense, winning the G1 comes with an opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Since 2012, the winner of the tournament has challenged for the title at NJPW's show of shows, Wrestle Kingdom. Title opportunities are hard to come by in New Japan, so winning this tournament is a truly meaningful accomplishment in the world of Japanese wrestling.
9 How To Win The G1
Unlike WWE's King of the Ring, the G1 is a much longer affair, making for a feeling akin to the NCAA's March Madness. Brackets come into play as the tournament is divided into two groups, A Block and B Block. 10 competitors will compete in a round-robin style tournament, with match decisions counting for points. A victory is worth two points, while a draw is worth one (a loss is zero points gained.)
By the end of a four-week period, the winner of both blocks face off in the tournament finals. Competitors not participating in tournament matches compete in tag team matches instead, which are usually helped to advance stories happening within the tournament - though this won't be happening this year. The scoring system makes for some intense drama down the stretch and allows for many wrestlers to build up credibility with victories rather than suddenly losing and being forced to exit the tournament.
8 Past Winners & Their Accomplishments
The list of winners of the G1 is largely a who's who of Japanese wrestling, and adding one's name to the list puts that wrestler alongside greatness. The legendary Antonio Inoki holds the record for most tournament victories with 10, though those victories took place in the 70s and 80s while the tournament was run under various names.
Little needs to be said about WWE legends Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, who were both victorious in their own right. Hiroyoshi Tenzan has won the tournament three times, as well as a record of 12 tag team championships. More recent winners include Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi, a murder's row of wrestling talent. Kota Ibushi is the defending winner of the G1 and will seek to make it two in a row this Fall.
7 The G1 Was Delayed Due To The Olympics
This year's G1 will make history for a multitude of reasons, starting with the fact that it has never occurred this late into the year. Under it's current format, the G1 has always been held in the summer months, usually in the middle of August. This year's tournament was delayed due to the Tokyo Olympics, which was set to be held in the summer of 2020. That was until the world was rocked by the global pandemic, and now the Olympics have been pushed back to 2021.
The delay ended up playing into New Japan's hands, as trying to schedule a tournament of this magnitude on such short notice would have been a logistical nightmare. This will be the first G1 Climax to ever take place in the autumn months.
6 More Challenges In The G1's Future
Though the G1 will go on as scheduled, it will likely look a lot different than what was originally planned. Though fans have been allowed in a limited capacity to some NJPW shows, it is still unknown how restricted the G1 Climax will be.
NJPW has been testing a virtual cheering system of sorts, something we may see more of here. Wrestlers will also have to undergo regular tests for Covid-19, so shows could be subject to sudden cancellation. It was also previously unknown if international wrestlers would be able to make the trip over, but that has since been cleared up thanks to NJPW's announcement regarding the tournaments participants.
5 Who Will Be Competing In The G1 Climax
This year's field of G1 participants is another exemplary field of wrestling talent. A Block consists of Kota Ibushi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi, Yujiro Takahashi, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, and Jay White.
Meanwhile, B Block consists of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Zack Sabre Jr., Juice Robinson and KENTA. White, Robinson, KENTA, and Ospreay have all sat out since the restart of New Japan shows this summer. Ospreay's involvement comes on the heels of some serious sexual assault allegations from fellow United Kingdom wrestlers during the recent #SpeakingOut movement.
4 First-Time & Must See Match-Ups
With the G1 being as stacked as it is this year, there are a ton of great match-ups that you are going to want to tune into. Shingo Takagi, who has been on a tear since his NJPW debut in 2018, will get to take on both Okada and Ibushi for the first time. Ishii and Ospreay will also meet in what is sure to be a gut-wrenching contest.
A legitimate case can be made for A Block having the four best wrestlers in the world in Okada, Ibushi, Ishii, and Ospreay, so nearly every match-up from them will be must-see. Jay White and Kota Ibushi will be especially interesting, as they are two of the favorites to win the whole thing. B Block has plenty of great match-ups to check out. Especially keep an eye on match-ups with SANADA and KENTA.
3 When Will The G1 Take Place?
As was said before, the G1 will take place over the fall months for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament will begin on Saturday, September 18 with initial matches emanating from Osaka.
The tournament will continue across various two night sets, finishing with a set of shows on October 13 and 14. The tournament will then conclude with three massive nights of competition from the famous Ryogoku Sumo Hall on October 16-18. The full schedule for the 30th G1 Climax tour can be found here on New Japan's website.
2 How To Watch The G1 Climax
There is really only one way to watch the New Japan product live, and that is with a New Japan World subscription. The subscription operates on a yearly basis, so if you are just signing up for one now, you would need to pay for another subscription in January should you wish to watch Wrestle Kingdom, what is in many ways the true culmination of the G1 Climax.
You can find the English portion of New Japan World here, though it is admittedly not as user-friendly for Western users as something like the WWE Network. Matches may end up being available for free online or with AXS TV, but New Japan World is the best way to stay up-to-date on all the action from the G1.
1 The Favorite To Win It All
While the G1 can be as unpredictable as any tournament, there is always a favorite or two among the field to capture a tournament victory. Kota Ibushi is certainly in contention after winning the tournament last year, while Okada and Tanahashi can never be counted out. That being said, the favorite to win this years tournament would be a first time winner in Jay White.
Many believe the leader of the Bullet Club is being groomed to take the place of Kenny Omega as the top foreign talent in New Japan, and consider a G1 victory to be his next step into superstardom. While anything can happen, it appears that the G1 Climax will run through Jay White and the Bullet Club this year. KENTA and Shingo are also strong dark horse candidates.