NJPW is changing some things about their G1 Climax 34 Tournament. For those of you who haven’t ever watched it, this is undoubtedly the hardest and best pro wrestling tournament we have today. Not saying it always will be, but for now it is. NJPW has revealed details on this year’s G1 Climax 34 tournament and announced the schedule for it.
Wrestlers Revealed
The G1 Climax 34 tournament will begin on July 20th and return to a 20-man A and B block format. The wrestlers will be revealed during the New Japan Soul tour on June 16th. However, only 18 out of the 20 wrestlers will be announced. A selection tournament will determine the final slots for both blocks. The finals of that tournament will be taking place on July 5th.
Time Limits, Scoring, and Block Champions Determined
Another change to the NJPW G1 Climax 34 tournament is how the block champions will be determined. The New Japan Pro Wrestling website states:
Once the NJPW G1 Climax 34 starts you will see this year’s league matches will be back to the 30-minute grueling contests. Many fans and wrestlers did not like the 20-minute time limits during G1 Climax 33.
As for scoring, it will be two points for a win and one point for a draw up to the league’s final nights.
The big change this year is the top three finishers will advance. The second and third-place finishers will face off in Makuhari, Japan on August 15th. The top point scorer will receive a bye to Ryogoku, Japan on August 17th for the semifinals. The semifinals will determine an overall winner for each block that will compete in the grand final on August 18th.
Last Year’s Tournament
Last year’s NJPW G1 Climax 33 tournament was split into four blocks featuring 32 wrestlers. Tetsuya Naito won the G1 Climax 33 by defeating Kazuchika Okada in the finals.
Announcement of NJPW Big Show Schedules
NJPW also announced its big show schedule.
A Notable event that fans are looking forward to is the second-ever Historic X-Over event. This is a joint production featuring wrestlers from both NJPW and Stardom. It will take place on November 17th in Edion Arena Osaka. Also, NJPW will run a show in the same arena earlier in the month on November 4th.
Other events announced a Kobe World Hall event on September 29th and a December 8th event at Gran Messe Kumamoto. It was also confirmed that next year’s Wrestle Kingdom 19 will be on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome.
Announcements of Events:
- July 20: NJPW G1 Climax 34
- August 14: Ryogoku Sumo Hall
- August 31: Capital Collision at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington D.C.
- September 29: Kobe World Hall
- November 4: EDION Arena Osaka
- November 17: Historic X-Over II in Edion Arena Osaka
- December 8: Gran Messe Kumamoto
- January 4, 2025: Wrestle Kingdom 19 at Toyko Dome
