All Participants Finalized For NJPW's Annual G1 Climax Tournament

It's a busy time for New Japan Pro Wrestling this week, as the promotion is not only holding Tiger Mask's retirement show on Tuesday in Korakuen Hall, but is set to kick-off the G1 Climax this Saturday in Chicago, Illinois. And they will now do so knowing every participant in the prestigious tournament. On Monday's "Road to G1" event, TMDK' Ryohei Oiwa and OSKAR punched their tickets into the G1, defeating El Phantasmo and Yujiro Takahashi respectively to earn the final two shots in the tournament. While Oiwa's win over Phantasmo was largely straightforward, OSKAR was forced to contend with Takahashi's House of Torture stablemates, prevailing in large part thanks to Knockout Brothers tag partner, and fellow G1 participant, Yuto Ice.

With all the participants now accounted for, NJPW has confirmed both Blocks of the G1. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji and dual AEW/NJPW star Konosuke Takeshita headline Block A, joined by Ice, Oiwa, Shingo Takagi, Hirooki Goto, SANADA, Jake Lee, one half of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Great O'Khan, and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Boltin Oleg. Meanwhile, Block B will consist of AEW star and IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Gabe Kidd, OSKAR, Shota Umino, Callum Newman, Zack Sabre Jr., Shota Umino, Yuya Uemera, Ren Narita, Drilla Maloney, O'Khan's tag team partner HENARE, and NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf.

Saturday's kick-off to the G1 will feature Takeshita vs. Tsuji, Goto vs. SANADA, Takagi vs. Jake Lee, Ice vs. O'Khan, Oiwa vs. Oleg, Umino vs. Sabre, Uemera vs. Newman, Wolf vs. Henare, and OSKAR vs. Narita. Of the participants, only Kidd and Maloney are not scheduled to wrestle, a situation potentially related to ongoing visa issues involving Kidd. It will be the second time in history that the G1 Climax has begun in the United States, following the 2019 G1 tournament, which kicked off in Dallas, Texas.