A partial list of participants has been revealed for the upcoming 34th G1 Climax tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). This year, there are two big surprises with Jake Lee from Pro Wrestling NOAH and Konosuke Takeshita of AEW/DDT making their G1 Climax debut. Both wrestlers will be in the same block for the tournament.
The lineup for the tournament includes eighteen out of the twenty participants, with the remaining two spots in each block yet to be decided. In Block A, we have Tetsuya Naito, Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Great-O-Khan, Zack Sabre Jr., Gabe Kidd, EVIL, Jake Lee, and one more wrestler to be announced. In Block B, the participants are Hirooki Goto, El Phantasmo, Yota Tsuji, Jeff Cobb, Henare, David Finlay, Ren Narita, Yuya Uemura, Konosuke Takeshita, and another wrestler to be revealed.
The final participants for each block will be determined through a tournament that kicks off during the NJPW Soul tour and concludes with the finals at Tokyo Budokan on July 5. The tournament will feature wrestlers like Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, KENTA, and more competing in A Block, while B Block will see Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Satoshi Kojima, and others vying for a spot.
The G1 Climax tournament is scheduled to begin on July 20, with the finals set to take place at Sumo Hall on August 18. Wrestling fans can expect an exciting lineup of matches and fierce competition as these top wrestlers battle it out for the coveted G1 Climax title. Stay tuned for more updates and surprises as the tournament unfolds.