Bad Luck Fale is officially out of the running for the G1 Climax.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has just confirmed that the 43-year-old has been pulled from the upcoming Play-in match against Ryohei Oiwa for a chance to be the final entrant of the A-Block. But Fale will also miss the remainder of the NJPW Soul tour due to a loss in his family. New Japan confirmed Fale’s departure with a brief message.
Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Don Fale, who was scheduled to compete on events through the New Japan Soul series, will miss the remainder of the tour due to a loss in the family.
The following change has been made to the July 4 New Japan Soul card in Tokyo Budokan:
G1 Climax 35 A Block Play-In:
Don Fale vs Ryohei Oiwa-->
Satoshi Kojima vs Ryohei Oiwa
Additional changes have been made to cards on non televised live events, as shown on our schedule page.
We apologise to fans looking forward to seeing Fale wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.
The company has confirmed that Satoshi Kojima will step in and take on Ryohei Oiwa on July 4th. Kojima is no stranger to the G1 Climax. In fact, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion won the tournament back in 2010. In total, Kojima has been in the annual tournament ten times: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.
Will 2025 mark entry number 11?
Below is the updated scheduled for the Play-in matches:
- A Block play-in match: Ryohei Oiwa vs. Satoshi Kojima
- B Block play-in match: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens
It should be interesting to see what direction New Japan decides to go in here. With Fale out, it seems obvious who win the upcoming match, but I have no clue about their original plans so the match result could be a total surprise.
The current NJPW Soul tour is the final tour before the upcoming G1 Climax. Below are the current entrants for the 2025 G1 Climax, which is scheduled to start on July 19.
A Block:
- Hirooki Goto
- Oleg Boltin
- Yuya Uemura
- Yota Tsuji
- David Finlay
- EVIL
- SANADA
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Callum Newman
- Ryohei Oiwa or Bad Luck Fale
B Block:
- El Phantasmo
- Shota Umino
- Shingo Takagi
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- Great-O-Khan
- Gabe Kidd
- Ren Narita
- Konosuke Takeshita
- Drilla Moloney
- YOSHI-HASHI or Chase Owens
Our condolences to Bad Luck Fale and his family for his loss.