G1 Climax

Lore & Background

NJPW had an annual tournament since 1974 under various names: the World League (1974–1977), the MSG Series (1978–1982), and the IWGP League (1983–1988). Most of these tournaments were dominated by NJPW's founding top star Antonio Inoki. In 1989, there was a World Cup Tournament, which included wrestlers from the then-Soviet Union. No tournament was held in 1990. With Inoki's dominance over NJPW gone, the promotion established the G1 Climax tournament in 1991 as a platform to showcase the company's top heavyweights and have them compete in round-robin matches where the winners of the two divisions would then square off in the tournament final. NJPW president Seiji Sakaguchi named the tournament after horse racing's top grade of group races, Grade One ("G1"). Though considered a continuation of the previous tournaments, officially NJPW does not recognize the earlier tournaments as part of the G1 Climax lineage. The first G1 was held from August 7 to August 11, 1991, at Tokyo's Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The winner of the tournament, assuming they are not already the champion, has traditionally earned a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Since 2012, the winner has earned the "Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate", a contract for a title shot at NJPW's largest event, Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome, held annually on January 4. Much like WWE's Money in the Bank contract, the certificate is kept in a briefcase that the wrestler then has to defend until the end of the year. Since its inception, the contract has only changed hands one time, on November 7, 2020, at Power Struggle when Jay White defeated Kota Ibushi. In 2021, the now retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt was given to G1 winner Kazuchika Okada instead of a briefcase. In 2015, the tournament format was changed with NJPW reducing the number of G1 Climax matches per show, giving the participating wrestlers more time to rest between matches. This increased the tournament's length to four weeks. In 2016, Kenny Omega became the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the tournament. The G1 Climax tournament has often been used as a platform for NJPW to push their rising stars. Past winners include Keiji Muto, Masahiro Chono, Shinya Hashimoto, Yuji Nagata, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and others. Unlike the New Japan Cup, the G1 Climax features the then-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion

In Their Own Story

The Osaka arena smells of sweat and cold beer. The crowd is a low, buzzing tide of red and black, and the ring lights cut through the haze like blades. A wrestler steps through the ropes, boots hitting the canvas with a sound that carries to the back row. There is no title music here, no championship belt on the line in the way the world expects. What's on the line is something harder to pin down: the right to be called the best. The referee calls the match. Hands touch. The first block of the G1 Climax begins, and the summer holds its breath.

Reader's Guide

The winner of each pool is determined by a points system; two points for a victory, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss or no contest. Under the current format, double decisions (such as double count-outs or double disqualifications) are treated as draws. The longest match in tournament history is Kota Ibushi vs. Sanada in the 2020 finals at 35 minutes and 12 seconds. The longest match with a decisive winner in the block stages of the tournament is Sanada vs. Kazuchika Okada in the 2019 tournament at 29 minutes and 47 seconds, 13 seconds shy of the 30-minute time limit. Conversely, the shortest match is Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano in the 2020 tournament at just 18 seconds.

Did You Know?

• The G1 Climax was first held in 1991, not 1995.
• The tournament currently lasts four weeks, not two.
• Masahiro Chono holds the record for most G1 Climax wins with five, but Toshiaki Kawada is not mentioned as a winner or dominant figure in the source.
• The winner's IWGP Heavyweight Championship match moved from Wrestle Kingdom to King of Pro-Wrestling starting in 2024.
• Kenny Omega became the first non-Japanese winner in 2016.