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One of the most prestigious professional wrestling tournaments in the world rings the first bell on Saturday in Chicago.
G1 Climax 36 kicks off at NOW Arena with some of the best professional wrestlers New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) has to offer. The winner of the tournament will have 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 winning, one point for drawing, and zero points for losing or not competing. Double counts and double disqualifications are considered ties.
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 it’s a league style and obviously it’s very physically demanding. This is the tournament that makes you a legend, if you have the opportunity to be in it,” New Japan ambassador Rocky Romero told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview. “Obviously, it’s very physically demanding. The schedule is also difficult, but I think its popularity comes from it really being the highest caliber that New Japan has to offer.
“This tournament, like I said, ultimately creates legends. It’s the most famous tournament… We’ve had people, you know, Masahiro Chono has been in it. Scott Norton. I mean, Steve Austin, I think, has been in it. So, I mean, names that really mean something have been a part of this tournament since 1991, its inception.”
Yota Tsuji and Callum Newman face off 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 joined the tournament in 2019 after leaving WWE.
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Romero recalled contacting 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 left WWE and he came up and said, ‘You know, I’d love to do New Japan.’ And the first idea and moment was, well, Mox, would you like to do G1? There was hesitation and he said, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ You know, that’s the first thing that comes out of WWE,” he recalled. “Here’s a 30-day tour. The first time to wrestle in New Japan and then be thrown straight 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 would say 30 seconds later, a minute later, I think he looked at Renee (Paquette), his wife, and said, ‘They want me to do the G1.’ She says, ‘Well, what’s the problem?’ And he said, ‘Yes. I need to do the G1. This is crazy.’ Yeah, I don’t think he ever expected it. So, he called me right away and said, ‘I’m in,’ and then, you know, it ended up being one of the best things for Mox to leave WWE and then go straight to G1, which was pretty crazy. “I mean, like I said, it’s the things that legends do.”
That’s the standard New Japan has set, making the G1 highly regarded in the world of professional wrestling.
Romero said Tsuji and Takeshita are the likely favorites heading into the tournament. He also named Saber and Wolf as two of the wrestlers who could make it to the top.
“You never know. I think Yota Tsuji is definitely the best wrestler this year. Then there’s also Konosuke Takeshita, who not only won last year but really has been one of the best wrestlers on the planet for the last two 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 think Takeshita or Tsuji, who will also 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 at any time could win anything. He’s one of the best tournament wrestlers of all time. Everyone always talks about (Kazuchika) Okada, but I feel like Zack Saber is right up there in tournaments. You never know. But I think the most interesting person who’s probably coming into this is Aaron Wolf. He’s an Olympic gold medalist judoka. It’s really his first really big challenge on this kind of scale. So I think a lot of eyes will be on him. on Aaron Wolf.”
Newman is also a fighter to watch.
The 23-year-old Englishman is the leader of the United Empire faction. He already made a splash in New Japan earlier this year when he captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
“Look, I don’t think anyone 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, again to Yota Tsuji, but I think he’s a guy that the world has a lot of stock in, New Japan has a lot of stock in, and he’s going to be a big player. I think he’s got big shoes to fill. He’s a protégé of Will Ospreay. If he can manage to reach the heights that Ospreay has achieved, I mean, Ospreay’s never won a G1, maybe Callum can.”
The G1 Climax begins in the US for the second time in its history. The first time the United States started the tournament was in 2019 in Dallas.
Romero said starting the event in the U.S. really puts New Japan in the international spotlight.
“Well, obviously, it makes the tournament global and international. New Japan is by far the largest professional wrestling company in Asia, but to be able to come to the US and have 4,000, 5,000 fans come and show up and support such a historic and important type of tournament, I think it’s a big deal for many, not just for New Japan, not just for the wrestlers, but for the fans,” Romero said. “And I think for the wrestlers, the most important thing is that they want to show the world that New Japan is the best. It’s the best wrestling on the planet. I think this year, it’s mainly about young talent, young athletes.
Konosuke Takeshita faces 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 showing the world that they’re as good as Okada or better, or that they’re as good as (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 of these names have been big players in professional wrestling. So, I think for this year, coming to the United States is just a great opportunity to show the world, hey, New Japan is here, and this generation is here. and it’s arrived.”
