NJPW announced this year’s G1 Climax 30 participants and which block they are headed to. This year’s tournament kicks off on September 19 with the finals happening on October 18. The tournament will see the in-ring returns of wrestlers like Will Ospreay, Juice Robinson, and KENTA for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The winner of the G1 Climax receives an opportunity, that they will have to defend for the rest of 2020, for an IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match at Wrestle Kingdom in January.
A Block:
- Kota Ibushi (6th entry, 4th consecutive. 2019 G1 winner)
- Jeff Cobb (2nd entry, 2nd consecutive)
- Kazuchika Okada (9th entry, 9th consecutive, 2012, 2014 G1 winner)
- Tomohiro Ishii (8th entry, 8th consecutive, NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion)
- Will Ospreay (2nd entry, 2nd consecutive)
- Shingo Takagi (2nd entry, 2nd consecutive)
- Minoru Suzuki (9th entry, first in two years, NEVER Openweight Champion)
- Taichi (2nd entry, 2nd consecutive, IWGP Tag Team Champion)
- Jay White (3rd entry, 3rd consecutive)
- Yujiro Takahashi (7th entry, first in five years)
B Block:
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (19th entry, 19th consecutive – 2007, 2015 and 2018 G1 winner)
- Juice Robinson (4th entry, 4th consecutive)
- Hirooki Goto (13th entry, 13th consecutive, NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, 2008 G1 winner)
- Toru Yano (15th entry, 14th consecutive. Provisional King Of Pro Wrestling 2020)
- YOSHI-HASHI (4th entry, first in two years, NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion)
- Tetsuya Naito (11th entry, 11th consecutive, IWGP Intercontinental & Heavyweight Champion, 2013 and 2017 G1 winner)
- SANADA (5th entry, 5th consecutive)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (4th entry, 4th consecutive, IWGP Tag Team Champion)
- KENTA (2nd entry, 2nd consecutive, IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship right to challenge holder)
- EVIL (5th entry, 5th consecutive)
G1 Climax 30 gets underway on September 19, with tournament entrants set to be revealed on the New Japan Road card from Sendai. Starting today, you can keep up with all the news from wrestling’s greatest tournament with the G1 Climax 30 minisite. Get interviews, all the match results, the points standings and much more, all at the below link
All pics and videos courtesy of NJPW