We’re less than three months away from the G1 Climax!
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s most infamous tournament is upon us as the promotion confirmed the entrants for the 2025 G1 Climax. Now, there wasn't many surprises in terms of entrants; Zack Sabre Jr., EVIL, SANADA, and Shingo Takagi are the usual suspects, though AEW’s Konosuke Takeshita is a big name that stands out.
Hiroshi Tanahashi will compete in his final G1 Climax tournament as well. The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion has won three in the past, so it won’t be far-fetched to see him pull out another victory and head into his final match as the challenger for the prestigious world title.
For those in the dark about the G1 Climax, the annual tournament will see ten competitors in Block A and B compete in a round-robin style tournament starting July 19. The winners of their respective blocks will meet in the finals to determine the next challenger for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
As of now, only 16 participants have been confirmed for the upcoming tournament. Two play-in matches are scheduled for June 23 at Korakuen Hall and another two will take place at the Tokyo Budokan on July 4th. The winners of these matches will fill out the four remaining spots of this year’s tournament. As of this writing, the participants for the play-in matches have yet to be announced.
A Block:
- Hirooki Goto
- Boltin Oleg
- Yuya Uemura
- Yota Tsuji
- David Finlay
- EVIL
- SANADA
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Two more TBD
B Block:
- El Phantasmo
- Shota Umino
- Shingo Takagi
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- Great-O-Khan
- Gabe Kidd
- Ren Narita
- Konosuke Takeshita
- Two more TBD
There’s alot of interesting prospects in the G1 Climax this year. Gabe Kidd has been the stand out of 2025 and it’s quite possible that New Japan may pull the trigger on him as a main event star.
But Hiroshi Tanahashi is also another interesting name. It would be surprising if the President allowed himself to win the G1 Climax as that may not go over so well with the masses, especially since New Japan is in desperate need of fresh main event talent. Either way, this should be another good G1 Climax. Hopefully, New Japan officials give the win to somebody who can benefit greatly from it.