Details On NJPW G1 Climax 27 Tournament Airing On AXS TV

As noted, the G1 Climax will be taking over AXS TV's Friday nights for the next three months as the network presents 12 all-new, hour-long episodes showcasing top matches from the tournament on NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING beginning this Friday, August 18 at 8pm ET. The 12 hours of tournament action will be presented by Jim Ross and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett. They sent us this press release:

AXS TV PRESENTS MORE G1 CLIMAX COVERAGE THAN EVER BEFORE WITH 12 NEW EPISODES OF 'NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING' SHOWCASING THE TOURNAMENT FRIDAYS AT 8pE BEGINNING AUG. 18

LOS ANGELES ? Aug. 16, 2017 ? NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING's biggest tournament?the G1 CLIMAX?takes over AXS TV's Friday nights for the next three months as the network presents 12 all-new, hour-long episodes showcasing top matches from the tournament on the award-winning series NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING beginning this Friday, Aug. 18 at 8pE. The 12 hours of tournament action are the most coverage of the annual G1 CLIMAX in AXS TV's history and will be presented by legendary wrestling broadcaster Jim Ross and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett.

Now in its 27th year, the G1 CLIMAX tournament is like no other televised event in wrestling, pitting 20 of NJPW's top competitors against each other in a grueling, month-long series of matches spread across 19 separate events. For the round-robin tournament, the wrestlers are separated into two blocks (A & B), where they compete for the highest score (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw). The winners of each block then face off in the finals for the tournament championship and a right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title on NJPW's biggest stage, Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome Jan. 4.

Each of AXS TV's first eight episodes will feature two of the best matches from an A or B Block event, along with highlights from other matches at the event, kicking off Aug. 18 with Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito.

The line-ups for the first eight episodes of AXS TV's G1 Climax 27 coverage are as follows (subject to change):

Aug. 18 ? A Block ? Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Aug. 25 ? B Block ? Minoru Suzuki vs. Kenny Omega, SANADA vs. EVIL

Sept. 1 ? A Block ? YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale

Sept. 8 ? B Block ? Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga

Sept. 15 ? A Block ? Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi, Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito

Sept. 22 ? B Block ? Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL, Juice Robinson vs. Kenny Omega

Sept. 29 ? A Block ? Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito

Oct. 6 – B Block ? Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki, Michael Elgin vs. EVIL

The line-ups for the final four episodes of AXS TV's coverage will be announced at a later date.