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One of the most prestigious professional wrestling tournaments in the world rings Saturday in Chicago.
G1 Climax 36 begins at the 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 shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January.
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Rocky Romero in the ring during the 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 draw and zero points for a loss or no contest. Double countouts and double disqualifications are considered draws.
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 because it’s a style of championship and it’s obviously very physically demanding. It’s the tournament that makes you a legend, if you have the opportunity to participate in it,” New Japan Ambassador Rocky Romero told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview. “Obviously it’s very physically demanding. The schedule is also difficult, but I think its popularity comes from the fact that it really is 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 participated in it. Scott Norton. I mean, Steve Austin, I believe, participated 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 participated in the tournament was Jon Moxley. He joined the tournament in 2019 after leaving WWE.
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Romero remembers contacting Moxley when he became a free agent and trying to lure him to the tournament despite the physical demand of the event.
“There’s a famous story where Jon Moxley left WWE and he kind of reached out and said, ‘You know, I’d love to kind of do New Japan.’ And the first idea and the timing was like Mox, would you like to do the G1? There was a hesitation and he said, “Well, I don’t know. “You know, it was like the first thing that came out of WWE,” he recalls. “Here’s a 30 day tour. 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 this conversation and I would say 30 seconds later, a minute later, I think he looked at Renée (Paquette), his wife and said, “They want me to do the G1.” » She said, “Well, what’s the problem?” » And he said to me: ‘Yeah. I have to do the G1. It’s 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 go straight into the G1, which was pretty crazy. I mean, like I said, that’s what legends are made of.”
This is the standard set by New Japan, making G1 highly regarded in the world of professional wrestling.
Romero said Tsuji and Takeshita are the likely favorites for the tournament. He also named Saber and Wolf as two of the wrestlers likely to achieve victory.
“You never know. Like Yota Tsuji, he’s definitely the best wrestler this year, I think. Then you have Konosuke Takeshita as well who not only won last year, but he’s really been one of the best wrestlers on the planet for the last two years and really showed what he is last year by not only winning the tournament but also becoming the IWGP heavyweight champion,” he said. “I’m thinking Takeshita or Tsuji, who also happen to be the main event in Chicago on Saturday.
Zack Saber Jr. and Konosuke Takeshita participate in 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 moment can win it all. He’s one of the best tournament wrestlers of all time. Everyone always talks about (Kazuchika) Okada, but I feel like Zack Saber is up there in tournaments. You never know. But I think the most interesting person in this area is probably Aaron Wolf. He’s an Olympic gold medal judoka. It’s definitely his first really, really big challenge on this type of scale. So I think a lot of eyes are going to 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 won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
“Look, I don’t think anyone expected Callum Newman, at his age, 23 or whatever, to win the IWGP Championship earlier this year,” Romero said. “Now he lost it, you know, 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 which he’s going to be a major player. I think he’s got big shoes to fill. He’s a protégé of Will Ospreay. If he can reach the heights that Ospreay has reached, I mean, you know, Ospreay has never won a G1, maybe Callum can.”
The G1 Climax starts in the United States for only the second time in its history. The first time the United States launched the tournament was in 2019 in Dallas.
Romero said launching the event in the United States 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 United States and have 4,000, 5,000 fans come to support such a historic and important tournament, I think it’s a big deal for many, not just for New Japan, not only for the wrestlers, but for the fans as well,” 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 young talents, 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 about showing 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 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 arrived.”
