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One of the most prestigious pro wrestling tournaments in the world rings the first bell on Saturday in Chicago on Saturday.
G1 Climax 36 begins in the NOW Arena with some of the best pro wrestlers New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) has to offer. The winner of the tournament gets a future shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January.
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Rocky Romero in the ring during AEW Collision on June 15 at the Covelli Center in Youngstown, OH. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The event lasts four weeks. There are wrestlers separated into two blocks – A and B. Wrestlers get two points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss or a no-contest. Double count outs and double disqualifications are determined as a tie.
Block A includes: Last year’s winner Konosuke Takeshita, Hirooki Goto, Boltin Oleg, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Jake Lee, Sanada, Great-O-Khan, Yuto-Ice and Ryohei Oiwa.
Block B includes: Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, Drilla Maloney, Zack Saber Jr., Callum Newman, Ren Narita, Gabe Kidd, Henare, Aaron Wolf and Oskar.
“I think because it’s a league style and obviously it’s super physically demanding. It’s the tournament that kind of makes you a legend if you get the opportunity to be in it,” New Japan ambassador Rocky Romero told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview. “Obviously it’s super physically demanding. The schedule is tough as well, but I think the popularity of it comes from the fact that it’s really the highest caliber that New Japan has to offer.
“This tournament, like I said, creates legends at the end of the day. It’s the most famous tournament. … We’ve had people, you know, Masahiro Chono have been in. Scott Norton. I mean, Steve Austin, I think, has been in it. So, I mean, names that really matter have been a part of this tournament since the beginning of ’91.”
Yota Tsuji and Callum Newman face each other during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling press conference on May 9, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Among the greats who have participated in the tournament was Jon Moxley. He entered the tournament in 2019 after leaving WWE.
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Romero recalled reaching out to Moxley when he became a free agent and trying to lure him to the tournament despite how physically demanding the event could be.
“There’s a famous story when Jon Moxley had left WWE and he’d kind of reached out and said, ‘You know, I’d love to do New Japan.’ And the initial idea and the timing was like, well Mox, do you want to do G1? There was hesitation there, and he said, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ You know, it’s like the first thing to come out of WWE,” he recalled. “Here’s a 30-day trip. First time breaking in New Japan and then being thrown right to the wolves, so to speak.
“We hung up and he said, “Let me think about it.” You know, we had that conversation, and I’d say 30 seconds later, a minute later, I think he looked over to Renee (Paquette), his wife, and said, “They want me to take G1.” She’s like, ‘Well, what’s the big deal?’ And he said, ‘Yes. I’m going to do G1. This is this is crazy.’ Yeah, I don’t think he ever expected that. So he called me back right away and said I’m in and then, you know, it ended up being one of the coolest things for Mox to leave WWE and then go straight into G1, which was pretty crazy. I mean, like I said, those are the things that make legends.”
It is the standard that New Japan has set, making G1 highly respected in the professional wrestling world.
Romero said Tsuji and Takeshita are the likely favorites going into the tournament. He also named Saber and Wolf as two of the wrestlers who could come out on top.
“You never know. Like Yota Tsuji is definitely the top dog this year. Then you also have Konosuke Takeshita, who not only won last year, but he’s really been one of the best wrestlers on the planet for the last few years and really showed what he’s all about last year by not only winning the tournament, but also becoming the IWGP Heavyweight Champion,” he said. “I believe Takeshita or Tsuji, who also happens to be the main event in Chicago on Saturday.
Zack Saber Jr. and Konosuke Takeshita compete during New Japan Pro-Wrestling – G1 CLIMAX 35 at Ariake Arena on August 16, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
“Then you have players like Zack Saber Jr. who could win anything at any time. He’s one of the best tournament wrestlers of all time. Everybody always talks about (Kazuchika) Okada, but I feel like Zack Saber is up there in tournaments. You just never know. But I think probably the most interesting person going into this is probably Aaron Wolf’s first gold medal, his first Judoka medal. challenge on this type of scale. So I think that many eyes will be on Aaron Wolf.”
Newman is also a wrestler to watch.
The 23-year-old Englishman is the leader of the United Empire faction. He already made waves in New Japan earlier this year when he captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
“Look, I don’t think anybody expected Callum Newman at his age, 23 years old or whatever, to win the IWGP Championship earlier this year,” Romero said. “Now he lost it, you know, back to Yota Tsuji, but he’s a guy that I think the world has a lot of stock in, New Japan has a lot of stock in him being a big player. I think he’s got some big shoes to fill. He’s a protégé of Will Ospreay. If he can reach the heights that I think Ospreay has never won, Ospreay knows you’ve never won, Ospreay may never have won. Can.”
The G1 Climax starts in the US for only the second time in its history. The first time the USA started the tournament was in 2019 in Dallas.
Romero said starting the event in the US really puts New Japan in the international spotlight.
“Well, of course it makes the tournament global and international. New Japan is by far the biggest professional wrestling company in Asia, but to be able to come over to the United States and have 4,000, 5,000 fans come and show up and support such a historic and important tournament like that, I think it’s a big deal for a lot of people, not only for New Japan, but also for the fans from Rome,” he said. “And I think that for the wrestlers, most importantly, they want to show the world that New Japan is the best. It’s the best wrestling on the planet. I think that with this year, it’s mainly all young talent, young athletes.
Konosuke Takeshita takes on Zack Saber Jr. during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Ryogoku Kokugikan on October 13, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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“So, I think for them, it’s to show the world that they’re as good as an Okada or better, or they’re as good as a (Hiroshi) Tanahashi or better or Kenny Omega. All these iconic names that have been involved in the tournament, especially over the last 10 years. All these names have been huge players in pro wrestling. So, I just think it’s a great opportunity for this year to come into the world this year. The New Japan is here, and this generation is here and has arrived.”
