The G1 (Grade One) Climax (G1（グレードワン）クライマックス, Gurēdo Wan Kuraimakkusu) is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually – and currently – held as a round-robin, with the most victorious wrestlers in each pool wrestling in a short tournament to decide that year's winner. Since 2012, the winner of the tournament earns the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the following January's Wrestle Kingdom show.

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In its current format, the tournament lasts four weeks. The winner of each pool is determined by a points system; two points for a victory, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss or no contest. Under the current format, double decisions (such as double count-outs or double disqualifications) are treated as draws.

NJPW had an annual tournament since 1974 under various names: the World League (ワールドリーグ戦, Wārudorīgu-sen) (1974–1977, based on the World (Big) League tournament from the old Japanese Wrestling Association held between 1959 and 1972);^{[1][2][3][4][5]} the MSG League (MSGシリーズ, MSG shirīzu) (1978–1982);^{[6][7][8][9][10]} the IWGP League (IWGPリーグ戦, IWGP rīgu-sen) (1983–1988), "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix (インターナショナル・レスリング・グラン・プリ, intānashonaru resuringu guran puri). Most of these tournaments were dominated by NJPW's founding top star Antonio Inoki.

Although the 1983 winner, Hulk Hogan, was awarded a championship belt, this is not the beginning of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but its early version that was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year. The current IWGP Heavyweight Championship arrived only in 1987, replacing the old version.^[11]

In 1989, there was a World Cup Tournament (ワールドカップ争奪リーグ戦, Wārudokappu sōdatsu rīgu-sen), which included wrestlers from the then-Soviet Union.^[5][12] No tournament was held in 1990.

With Inoki's dominance over NJPW gone, the promotion established the G1 Climax tournament in 1991 as a platform to showcase the company's top heavyweights and have them compete in round-robin matches where the winners of the two divisions would then square off in the tournament final. NJPW's then president Seiji Sakaguchi named the tournament after the G1 horse race.^[13] Though considered a continuation of the previous tournaments,^[5] officially NJPW does not recognize the earlier tournaments as part of the G1 Climax lineage.^[14] The first G1 was held from August 7 to August 11, 1991, at Tokyo's Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The winner of the tournament, assuming they are not already the champion, has traditionally earned a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Since 2012, the winner has earned the "Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate", a contract for a title shot at NJPW's largest event, Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome, held annually on January 4. Much like WWE's Money in the Bank contract, the certificate is kept in a briefcase that the wrestler then has to defend until the end of the year.^[15][16] Since its inception, the contract has only changed hands one time, on November 7, 2020 at Power Struggle when Jay White defeated Kota Ibushi. In 2021, the now retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt was given to G1 winner Kazuchika Okada instead of a briefcase. In 2015, the tournament format was changed with NJPW reducing the number of G1 Climax matches per show, giving the participating wrestlers more time to rest between matches. This increased the tournament's length to four weeks.^[17] In 2016, Kenny Omega became the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the tournament.

The G1 Climax tournament has often been used as a platform for NJPW to push their rising stars. Wins by young up-and-comers over Japanese legends would usually take their respective careers to new heights. The first tournament was specifically created to make stars out of Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto, three NJPW wrestlers who had just returned to the promotion from their overseas learning excursions.^[13] Past winners include Mutoh, Chono, Hashimoto, Yuji Nagata, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and others who have gone on to become wrestling superstars.

Unlike the New Japan Cup, the G1 Climax features the then-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion as one of the participants, except in 1992, 2001, 2004 and 2008, when then-champions Riki Choshu (in 1992), Kazuyuki Fujita (in 2001 and 2004), and Keiji Mutoh (in 2008), respectively, did not compete in the tournament. Often being labeled as a favorite to win the tournament, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion has reached the final five times, the first one being in 1995 when Keiji Mutoh won the tournament. Mutoh would repeat this feat again in 1999, but would lose the final to Manabu Nakanishi. Other then-reigning champions to reach the final include Kensuke Sasaki in 2000, Kazuyuki Fujita in 2005 and Yuji Nagata in 2007. Mutoh and Sasaki are the only two wrestlers to have won the G1 Climax while holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.^[18] Overall, Antonio Inoki holds the record for most tournament wins with ten, while Masahiro Chono with his five wins holds the record for most tournament wins under its G1 Climax name. Hiroyoshi Tenzan has taken part in the G1 Climax tournament a record 21 times.

The opening night of the 2019 G1 Climax took place in Dallas, Texas, marking the first time the opening night took place outside Japan.^[19]

The finals for the 2020 G1 Climax took place in October due to the Summer Olympics originally intended to be held in Tokyo when the tournament is usually held, making this the first time the tournament took place in the Autumn.^[20]

The longest match in tournament history is Kota Ibushi vs. Sanada in the 2020 finals at 35 minutes and 12 seconds. The longest match with a decisive winner in the block stages of the tournament is Sanada vs. Kazuchika Okada in the 2019 tournament at 29 minutes and 47 seconds, 13 seconds shy of the 30-minute time limit. Conversely, the shortest match is Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano in the 2020 tournament at just 18 seconds.

The 1974 World League ran from April 5 to May 8, 1974. The tournament began with 16 wrestlers, eight Japanese and eight Internationals (called gaijin, the Japanese term for foreigners), placed into groups accordingly. All first round matches featured the Japanese against the Internationals. The top four finishers from both groups advanced to a second round of round-robin competition.^[1][27]

The 1975 World League ran from April 4 to May 16, 1975. The tournament featured 16 wrestlers, but the Locals versus Internationals format was abolished. The top five finishers advanced to a knockout round, with the top finisher receiving a bye to the final.^[2][27]

The 1976 World League ran from April 2 to May 11, 1976. The tournament featured 14 wrestlers. The top finisher advanced to the final match of the tournament, to face the winner of a three-wrestler round-robin semifinal round.^[3][27]

The 1977 World League ran from April 21 to May 30, 1977. The tournament featured 11 wrestlers.^[4][27]

The 1978 MSG League ran from April 21 to May 30, 1978. The tournament featured nine wrestlers.^[6][27]

The 1979 MSG League ran from April 27 to June 7, 1979. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers.^[7][27]

The 1980 MSG League ran from April 25 to June 5, 1980. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers.^[8][27]

The 1981 MSG League ran from May 8 to June 4, 1981. The tournament featured 11 wrestlers.^[9][27]

The 1982 MSG League ran from March 4 to April 1, 1982. The tournament featured 14 wrestlers.^[10][27]

The 1983 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from May 6 to June 2, 1983. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers.^[21][27] The winner was awarded a championship belt (the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship) defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year).^[11]

The 1984 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from May 11 to June 14, 1984. The tournament featured 12 wrestlers, and was the first time that the tournament featured no sort of final round.^[22][27]

The 1985 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from May 10 to June 15, 1985. The tournament featured 13 wrestlers, and was single-elimination. This was the first time the tournament did not feature a points system.^[23][27]

The 1986 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from May 16 to June 19, 1986. The tournament featured the return of the points system, with 14 wrestlers in two blocks of seven each. The top two from each block advanced to a knockout stage.^[24][27] The winner won the vacated IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original version).^[11]

The 1987 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from May 11 to June 12, 1987. The tournament featured 14 wrestlers in two blocks of seven each. The top finishers from each block advanced to the final, with the winner becoming the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Tatsumi Fujinami missed the tournament due to an injury he suffered on the IWGP Champion Series tour, but acted as a commentator for the final match.^[25][27]

The 1988 International Wrestling Grand Prix ran from July 15 to July 29, 1988. The tournament featured five wrestlers in a single block, with the winner becoming the number one contender to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami for August 8.^[26]

The 1989 World Cup Tournament was held from November 24 to December 7, 1989. The tournament featured 20 wrestlers in four blocks of five each.^[5][12]

The 1991 G1 Climax was a round-robin tournament consisting of two four-man blocks, and running from August 7 to August 11, 1991.^[27][28]

The 1992 G1 Climax was a 16-man single-elimination tournament, and was also for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It ran from August 6 to August 12, 1992.^[27][30] Terry Taylor advanced to the quarterfinals, due to a shoulder injury suffered by his scheduled opponent Hiroshi Hase on August 3.^[80]

The 1993 G1 Climax was once again a 16-man single-elimination tournament, held from August 3 to August 7, 1993. NJPW invited several non-NJPW wrestlers to participate in the 1993 tournament, including Hiromichi Fuyuki, Ashura Hara, Takashi Ishikawa and The Great Kabuki from WAR, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara from Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi.^[27][31][81]

The 1994 G1 Climax returned to the round-robin format, this time with two blocks of six. It was held from August 3 to August 7, 1994. Guest natives included Yoshiaki Fujiwara from Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi and Yoshiaki Yatsu from Social Progress Wrestling Federation (SPWF).^[27][32]

The 1995 G1 Climax was another eight-man round-robin tournament held August 11 to August 15, with the addition that the top two scorers from each block would advance to a four-man mini-tournament to decide the winner. Masahiro Chono advanced out of his block despite being tied with Ric Flair because of his faster match winning time over Shiro Koshinaka.^[27][33]

The 1996 G1 Climax was held from August 2 to August 6, 1996, and was a round-robin tournament featuring two blocks of five.^[27][34] Junji Hirata suffered an injury during his match with Kensuke Sasaki, which caused him to forfeit his remaining matches.

The 1997 G1 Climax was a 14-man single-elimination tournament, with Kensuke Sasaki and Buff Bagwell receiving byes to the quarterfinals. The tournament was held from August 1 to August 3.^[27][35]

The 1998 G1 Climax was another 16-man single-elimination tournament, held between July 31 and August 2. Genichiro Tenryu, who had separated from his own WAR promotion to become a freelancer since early in the year, was invited.^[27][36]

The 1999 G1 Climax was a 12-man round-robin tournament, held from August 10 to August 15.^[27][37]

The 2000 G1 Climax was a round-robin tournament, featuring four blocks of five, with each block champion advancing to a four-man tournament to decide that year's winner; it was held from August 7 to August 13. Also note that the points system was modified from the original: 1 point for a victory, and zero points for a draw or loss. This was the first time that two recognized junior heavyweights; IWGP titleholder Tatsuhito Takaiwa and previous champion Jyushin Thunder Liger, were invited to compete in the heavyweight tournament.^[38]

The 2001 G1 Climax was a two-block, twelve-man round-robin tournament held from August 4 to August 12. It returned to the original method of scoring, and also reintroduced the 1995 G1's format of each block's top two scorers advancing to the final four. Jyushin Thunder Liger and Minoru Tanaka were the junior heavyweight invitees.^[39]

The 2002 G1 Climax was identical in structure to the previous year's, and was held from August 3 to August 11.^[38]

The 2003 G1 Climax was another 12-man round-robin tournament, held from August 10 to August 17. Jun Akiyama from Pro Wrestling Noah, along with freelancer Yoshihiro Takayama were invitees.^[41]

The 2004 G1 Climax was a two-block, sixteen-man tournament held from August 7 to August 15. As well as the increased number of participants, it introduced a format in which the second and third runners-up from each block would advance to a four-man tournament, the two finalists of which would advance to a second four-man tournament also featuring each block winner; the eventual winner of this tournament would win the G1 Climax. Also, it would seem that, for this particular year, matches which ended in a double countout or double disqualification would result in zero points for both competitors.^[42]