Empyrean Heaven
Member
With all eyes of the wrestling world gazing upon them after the critically-acclaimed successes of Wrestle Kingdom 11, Dominion, and most recently the G1 Special in USA, New Japan Pro-Wrestling now heads towards its signature event of the year, guaranteed to provide some of the best matches of the year and showcase the very best competitors the world has to offer: The G1 Climax. A round-robin tournament where 20 of the company's best stars go head to head, with the winner receiving ultimate glory, and the opportunity of a lifetime.
The rules are simple. 20 wrestlers are split into two blocks of 10 apiece. Then, each wrestler faces every other wrestler in his block for a total of nine matches. Two points are awarded for a win, one point each for a draw, and zero for a loss. After all matches are complete, the wrestlers with the best record in each block face off in the finals, with the winner receiving the rights to challenge the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12.
All days from the tournament will be available live and on-demand from New Japan's streaming site NJPWWorld.com for ¥999, currently about $9 USD. In addition, the US commentary team of Kevin Kelly and Don Callis will call the action for the first four nights of the tournament, as well as the final two nights and the finals.
COMPETITORS
BLOCK A
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Affiliation: New Japan/Taguchi Japan
G1 Appearance: 16th, Winner in 2007 and 2015
Career Accolades: IWGP Heavyweight Champion (7 times), IWGP Intercontinental Champion (2 times, current), IWGP Tag Team Champion (2 times), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion (3 times), New Japan Cup Winner (2005, 2008)
The Ace of the Universe, the High-Flying Star, the Once in a Century Talent. Hiroshi Tanahashi has many nicknames, but there is no denying he is the man that saved New Japan, having held the IWGP Heavyweight Champion more than anyone, and having main evented the Tokyo Dome a record eight times. That said, he is also coming off the worst year of his career in 2016, where he found himself, in most eyes, losing his Ace status while other, younger talents such as Naito, Omega, and his arch-rival Okada passed him by.
However, Tanahashi would not be denied, finally succeeding when he saved the IWGP Intercontinental title from the hands of Naito at Dominion, doing so while battling through a bicep injury, which will certainly be a target for his opponents in this tournament. Now, with years of carrying NJPW on his back catching up with him, Tanahashi is determined to win one more G1 and main event one more Wrestle Kingdom, and show the world that he is, and will forever be, Ace.
Togi Makabe
Affiliation: New Japan/GBH
G1 Appearance: 14th, Winner in 2009
Career Accolades: IWGP Heavyweight Champion (1 time), NEVER Openweight Champion (2 times), IWGP Tag Team Champion (2 times)
While always a fan favorite due to his brawling style and his TV series exploring his love of sweets (not joking) Togi Makabe hasn't been a major player in 2017, his 20th year as a pro wrestler. Part of this is due to unfortunate circumstances, as his GBH tag team partner Tomoaki Honma suffered a broken neck during a match earlier this year, and is out of action for an indefinite length of time, which has left Makabe directionless. However, the ”Unchained Gorilla" has never been one to back down from a fight - and his dedication of this G1 to his friend Honma could make for the feel-good story of the tournament.
Tomohiro Ishii
Affiliation: CHAOS
G1 Appearance: 5th
Career Accolades: NEVER Openweight Champion (4 times), ROH World Television Champion (1 time), IWGP Tag Team Champion (1 time),
With Tomohiro Ishii, what you see is what you get, no flash or flare, just a hard-hitting bruiser who matches his immense strength and power with an unyielding durability, earning him the nickname of ”Stone Pitbull". However, Ishii has often found himself an underachiever, and despite four NEVER Openweight title reigns, Ishii has rarely found himself in a big match situation, with only one challenge to the IWGP Heavyweight title to his name, and making it all the way to the finals of the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship tournament, being defeated in a spectacular bout with Kenny Omega. Now finding himself in the twilight of his career, this may be Ishii's final opportunity at immortality with a Tokyo Dome main event going to the victor of the G1 tournament.
Hirooki Goto
Affiliation: CHAOS
G1 Appearance: 10th, Winner in 2008
Career Accolades: IWGP Intercontinental Championship (2 times), NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time), IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time), IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time), New Japan Cup Winner (3 times)
Hirooki Goto is in pretty much the same place as his CHAOS stablemate Ishii, often considered an underachiever. However, with Goto, it hasn't been for lack of trying, as despite capturing practically every accolade in NJPW, the IWGP Heavyweight title remains out of his grasp. In fact, he has had nine matches with that belt on the line without winning it. Since his last failed attempt, Goto shockingly joined up with Okada and CHAOS, hoping to turn around his career. Things seem to have not gone Goto's way though - after backing his way into the finals of last year's G1 thanks to Okada and Tanahashi's mutual elimination, he was defeated by Kenny Omega, lost to him again at King of Pro-Wrestling, and, despite capturing the NEVER belt at Wrestle Kingdom, and holding it for several months, would be dethroned by Minoru Suzuki. Now, Goto, nearing the end of his career, realizes that this may be his last chance to get the one championship he is missing.
YOSHI-HASHI
Affiliation: CHAOS
G1 Appearance: 2nd
Career Accolades: None
At one time – to steal a line from a famous film – if Kazuchika Okada was the bright center of CHAOS, YOSHI-HASHI was the point furthest from it. Once the resident loser of the group and the guy most likely to eat the pin in tag matches, YOSHI-HASHI's stock has risen in the last year, earning a berth in last year's G1 Climax and scoring several big upsets, including an opening day shocker against eventual winner Kenny Omega. Since then, YOSHI-HASHI's stock has steadily risen, earning several championship opportunities. Coming up short in those matches, YOSHI-HASHI remains without a championship in his career, and while victory in the G1 would be nothing short of a miracle, he will certainly be trying to prove he belongs with New Japan's top names.
Bad Luck Fale
Affiliation: Bullet Club
G1 Appearance: 4th
Career Accolades: IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time)
6'4'' tall and well over 300 lbs, Bad Luck Fale serves as the muscle for Bullet Club as the faction's ”Underboss". A founding member of the group, Fale's sheer size and immense strength has led him to become one of its most successful members, making it all the way to the finals of this year's New Japan Cup and getting his first opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight belt against Okada. Fale has seen great success at the G1 in the past, winning major matches against main eventers such as Tanahashi and Okada, and is usually among the leaders going into the final day of his block, but has never made it past the block stage. Is this the year that one of New Japan's biggest powerhouses becomes G1 champion?
Yuji Nagata
Affiliation: New Japan
G1 Appearance: 19th, Winner in 2001
Career Accolades: IWGP Heavyweight Championship (2 times), NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time), IWGP Tag Team Championship (2 times), GHC Heavyweight Championship (Pro Wrestling NOAH) (1 time), NOAH Global League Winner (2013), AJPW Champion Carnival Winner (2011).
An unquestionable living legend, Yuji Nagata's career has spanned nearly 3 decades, combining tremendous amateur wrestling talents with MMA-styles strikes and submissions, making him one of the most beloved – and feared – competitors in New Japan history. However, the passage of time seems to have finally caught up to ”Mr Anti-Aging", as he has announced that this, his 19th straight appearance in the G1, will be his last. Can Nagata shock the world with one last victory to show why he's one of the greatest of all time?
Zack Sabre Jr.
Affiliation: Suzuki-gun
G1 Appearance: 1st
Career Accolades: EVOLVE Championship (1 time, current), RevPro British Heavyweight Championship (2 times, current), PWG World Championship (1 time)
One of the most unique competitors in the world today, Zack Sabre Jr. has taken submissions and technical wrestling to its apex. With an innate ability to stretch ligaments and tendons in a way God never intended, Sabre has captured championship gold in practically every promotion he has stepped foot into, before joining New Japan this past March. After they assisted him in defeating Katsuyori Shibata to regain the RevPro British title, Sabre accepted the invitation of Minoru Suzuki to join his deadly Suzuki-gun faction. However, in his brief New Japan career, he has yet to win a championship. Is this the time for Zack to go for the grandest gold of them all?
Kota Ibushi
Affiliation: Freelancer
G1 Appearance: 3rd
Career Accolades: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship (3 times), IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time), New Japan Cup Winner (2015), Best of the Super Juniors Winner (2011)
For a time, Kota Ibushi was looking like the man whose stock was going to reach the stratosphere. Working for both NJPW and DDT Pro Wrestling, Ibushi would have legendary bouts with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles. However, after suffering a back injury, Ibushi would shockingly leave both NJPW and DDT in February of 2016, signing up as part of WWE's Cruiserweight Classic, and would become a wandering samurai, wrestling all over the world – just not in New Japan (but there was this Tiger Mask W guy who wrestled a HECK of a lot like him.)
Then, during the announcements for this year's G1 tournament, came the shocking surprise – the ”Golden Star" was coming back to New Japan to be a part of the G1, drawing an eruption from the fans. However, his intent is still a mystery. It is no secret that the man Ibushi has been inexorably linked to, Kenny Omega, has become one of New Japan's top names in his absence. Could a collision between the two be on the horizon?
Tetsuya Naito
Affiliation: Los Ingobernables de Japon
G1 Appearance: 8th, Winner in 2013
Career Accolades: IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time), IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time), NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time), IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time), IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time), New Japan Cup Winner (2016)
Previous a beloved fan favorite, Tetsuya Naito's turn to the dark side and formation of Los Ingobernables de Japon, a faction dedicated to total anarchy in New Japan, has delighted fans and horrified NJPW officials. Despite that, Naito has gone through one of the most successful periods of his career, finally capturing the IWGP Heavyweight championship and following that up with an IWGP Intercontinental championship reign, becoming the only man in New Japan history to hold every available heavyweight championship. However, things haven't gone Naito's way as of late, dropping the IC belt to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Dominion last month, and despite being one of the favorites to capture the IWGP United States championship at the G1 Special in Long Beach, was ousted in the first round by Ishii. Now with most of his fellow main-eventers holding gold in New Japan, Naito seems like the obvious odd man out – but perhaps winning his second G1 will teach the rest of the company about being Tranquilo.
BLOCK B
Kazuchika Okada
Affiliation: CHAOS
G1 Appearance: 6th, Winner in 2012 and 2014
Career Accolades: IWGP Heavyweight Championship (4 times, current), New Japan Cup winner (2013)
Without question, nobody in professional wrestling has done more in such a short career than Kazuchika Okada. Already a four-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion with two of those reigns (including his current one) lasting more than a year in length, Okada is also a two-time winner of the G1 Climax, and he hasn't even hit 30 years old. And Okada hasn't been hard to find – he's had epic battles over the last year with Naomichi Marufuji, Minoru Suzuki, Tiger Mask W, Katsuyori Shibata, Bad Luck Fale, and Cody, and had two matches with Kenny Omega that literally broke Dave Meltzer's rating scale. But if you ask him, he'd say he hasn't even started yet.
Okada's career goal is simple, not just be the greatest New Japan competitor or IWGP Heavyweight champion ever, but to be the greatest wrestler of all time, period. And one way to reach those lofty ambitions is to win the G1 Climax while reigning as IWGP champion, a feat only done twice before and last done 17 years ago. But with the grueling match schedule he has endured and the matches that are to come – including a rematch with Omega – it will certainly be an incredible feat if the ”Rainmaker" can make money rain down all over the world yet again.
Toru Yano
Affiliation: CHAOS
G1 Appearance: 12th
Career Accolades: IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times), GHC Tag Team Championship (Pro Wrestling NOAH) (2 times)
Jesse ”The Body" Ventura once famously said ”Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat". Apparently, those words struck a chord with Toru Yano, as the ”Sublime Master Thief" has done nothing short of turn rule-breaking into an artform. Less likely to grab an armlock than to attack his opponent with a steel chair, remove the turnbuckle pad, cower in the ropes, or attack his opponents' nether regions, Yano's strategy has never been to wear an opponent down, but capture them in a pinning predicament, which amazingly has led him to many surprising G1 victories. Yano has effectively played spoiler for many a G1 in the past, but this time out, can the clown prince of New Japan pull off his greatest upset yet and win the entire tournament?
Satoshi Kojima
Affiliation: New Japan
G1 Appearance: 15th, Winner in 2010
Career Accolades: IWGP Heavyweight Championship (2 times), IWGP Tag Team Championship (7 times), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times), Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (AJPW) (2 times), AJPW Champion Carnival Winner (2003), NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Nicknamed the ”Gowan" (Strong Arm), Satoshi Kojima is known for having one of the best lariats in the history of wrestling, and the only one officially endorsed by Stan ”The Lariat" Hansen – the move's inventor. However, Kojima is also known for being one of the most dominant athletes in wrestling history, with a long career spanning multiple championship and tournament victories. However, he is perhaps best known as a tag team competitor, joining forces with Hiroyoshi Tenzan as TenKoji – arguably the greatest tag team in New Japan history, having held the IWGP Tag Team titles more than anyone else. Last year proved that their partnership runs deep, as after Tenzan was passed over for what would have been his final G1 appearance, Kojima gave his spot to his best friend, making Tenzan promise he would win the whole thing – a promise he unfortunately couldn't keep. Now, Kojima returns to the G1 set to win for his friend, and to show why he is one of the greatest to ever compete.
Michael Elgin
Affiliation: New Japan
G1 Appearance: 3rd
Career Accolades: IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time), ROH World Championship (1 time)
With the body of a powerlifter and the strength to match, ”Unbreakable" Michael Elgin has been wowing crowds in New Japan since joining the promotion last year. Despite not being very popular in North America, ”Big Mike" has turned things around since crossing the Pacific, including capturing the IWGP Intercontinental title from Kenny Omega in New Japan's first-ever ladder match. However, Elgin has laid low in 2017, losing to Cody at June's Dominion in Osaka and being defeated in the first round of the IWGP US championship tournament by eventual winner Omega, which has just made Elgin madder and hungrier. Returning to New Japan in a tournament where he has to be considered a possible favorite, Elgin will look to take down all comers to win his biggest accolade to date in the G1.
Juice Robinson
Affiliation: New Japan/Taguchi Japan
G1 Appearance: 1st
Career Accolades: None
Let's get the obvious out of the way first, yes, Juice Robinson is the man formerly known as CJ Parker in NXT – but that's where the similarities end. Whereas CJ Parker was a dreadlocked goof with a dumb hippie gimmick, Juice Robinson has become one of the fiercest, most passionate competitors in wrestling today, with an exuberance that cannot be measured. While starting his career among the lowest of the low in New Japan, Robinson's stock has steadily risen over the last two years, taking part in a Wrestle Kingdom singles match and challenging for both the NEVER and Intercontinental titles to go along with a place in the New Japan Cup and the US championship tournament. Unfortunately, Juice came up short in all instances, but his fighting spirit led New Japan to give him an opportunity in what will be his first G1. With many looking past him, can Juice surprise everyone yet again and make a run in this tournament?
Tama Tonga
Affiliation: Bullet Club
G1 Appearance: 2nd
Career Accolades: IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time)
A US Air Force veteran and the son of the legendary King Haku, one of the legitimate toughest men to ever lace up the boots, Tama Tonga has a lot going for him. He is, however, primarily a tag team competitor, joining forces with his brother Tanga Loa as the Guerrillas of Destiny, former three-time IWGP tag champions. Still, as a founding Bullet Club member, Tonga is a skilled singles competitor, competing in his first G1 last year and scoring upset wins over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, and compatriot Bad Luck Fale. Tonga will be looking to prove that he's far more than just another tag wrestler in this year's G1.
SANADA
Affiliation: Los Ingobernables de Japon
G1 Appearance: 2nd
Career Accolades: NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (3 times, current), Impact Wrestling X Division Championship (1 time), GAORA TV Championship (AJPW) (1 time)
Making his shocking arrival to New Japan assisting Tetsuya Naito to capture the IWGP Heavyweight title in April 2016, SANADA has been quite the journeyman in his young career. A protege of the legendary Keiji Mutoh in both All Japan Pro-Wrestling and his own promotion Wrestle-1, SANADA would have a falling out with his mentor, changing his look and becoming one of L-I-J's fiercest members, picking up upset wins in last year's G1 against the likes of Tanahashi, Ishii, and Goto. Many have predicted that SANADA could be the next breakout star in New Japan, and perhaps this year's G1 could be the time for the ”Cold Skull".
EVIL
Affiliation: Los Ingobernables de Japon
G1 Appearance: 2nd
Career Accolades: NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (3 times, current)
Coming to the ring cloaked in black armed with a deadly scythe, EVIL certainly earns his name, as well as the sobriquet ”King of Darkness". In addition, he is just as intimidating inside the ring as he is outside of it, as a brutal brawler with deceptive power, often employing a couple of well-placed steel chairs to score victories. Competing in his first G1 last year, EVIL put together a strong record, leading to him briefly dethroning Katsuyori Shibata as NEVER champion and a first-round upset in the 2017 New Japan Cup against Tanahashi, but now, like SANADA, looks to break out on his own as one of New Japan's top young talents. Will this be the year that darkness falls over the G1?
Minoru Suzuki
Affiliation: Suzuki-gun
G1 Appearance: 7th
Career Accolades: NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time, current), IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time), Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (AJPW) (2 times), GHC Heavyweight Championship (Pro Wrestling NOAH) (1 time)
Making their return to New Japan after a two year excursion to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Minoru Suzuki and his Suzuki-gun faction proceeded to do what they do best – destroy everything in sight. A man with a seeming hatred of all other life on this planet, whose nickname literally translates to ”The Man with the World's Worst Personality", Suzuki has the fighting skills to back it up, as one of the progenitors of mixed martial arts and a master technician well-versed in submissions and catch wrestling. Suzuki upended Hirooki Goto to win his first New Japan singles title in the form of the NEVER Openweight Championship, and now returns to the G1 with the lone goal of victory and sheer dominance of all opponents. For in this tournament, Suzuki looks to prove that Suzuki-gun is ICHIBAN!
Kenny Omega
Affiliation: Bullet Club
G1 Appearance: 2nd, Winner in 2016
Career Accolades: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current), IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time), IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship (2 times), IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time), NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times)
New Japan's presence around the world has exploded in the last year, and the man at the forefront of that, perhaps more than any other, has been Kenny Omega. Forcefully asserting control of Bullet Club from former leader AJ Styles and capturing the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, Omega reached the pinnacle of his career last year when he captured the G1 Climax crown, becoming the first non-Japanese wrestler to earn the honor. This put IWGP champion Kazuchika Okada square in Omega's crosshairs, leading to two matches many have called among the greatest of all time.
At NJPW's G1 Special in Long Beach, Omega further asserted himself as one of the world's best, becoming the inaugural IWGP United States champion in a grueling 8-man tournament. Now going in as one of the hottest wrestlers on the planet, Omega looks to make lightning strike twice by becoming only the third wrestler to win two straight G1 tournaments. However, the path to do so will once again go through Okada, who he meets on the final day of B Block in what should be yet another unforgettable showdown. For Omega, a perfect victory is the only option.
