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.
65-524: 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
130-804: A wrestler and went under his Korean name Kwak Gwang-ung. He ended the tournament with a record of one win and two losses, and was disqualified due to the penalty points system. When Yoshida returned to Japan, he became captain of the Senshu wrestling team in his fourth year at university and won the Freestyle and Greco-Roman 100 kg class tournaments at the All Japan Championship in 1973. Yoshida debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in August 1974 against El Greco. In
195-465: A Japanese mother and Korean father. His father left Korea's Chūseihoku-dō for Japan in 1939 and worked as a garbage man for much of his life. Yoshida has said that he faced discrimination from teachers in elementary school due to his Korean heritage. He took part in baseball and judo as a teenager and after training in the judo department at Giyang Junior High School, he moved to the wrestling department of Yamaguchi prefecture's Sakurakaoka High School as
260-425: A Japanese promotion when he turned on Inoki and Fujinami in a six man tag match. Choshu spent the rest of the year feuding with Fujinami while attracting additional supporters to his faction, then known as New Wolves. Choshu was joined by Masa Saito , to provide a more senior rival for Antonio Inoki, along with Kuniaki Kobayashi and Gran Hamada, who would feud with Tiger Mask in the junior division. Strong Kobayashi
325-470: A barbed wire deathmatch in 2000. Choshu accepted and wrestled Onita in a deadly squash, where Choshu ended up winning. He then balanced wrestling and booking for NJPW, until his departure in 2002, stemming from the departures of Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima , among others, to AJPW, which caused his position of head booker taken away. After leaving NJPW, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling in 2003, which would later be changed to Riki Pro, after
390-671: A chair and injure his ribs, setting up Choshu as a babyface within the promotion he had invaded a year earlier. In April 1986, the Calgary Hurricanes, who were also members of Choshu's stable, invaded AJPW as a new faction setting up a three-way battle between Japanese factions that lasted throughout the Summer of 1986. In early 1987, Choshu left AJPW to return to NJPW, with some members joining him, others staying behind in AJPW, and others retiring. Upon returning to NJPW in 1987, Choshu
455-412: A double countout or double disqualification would result in zero points for both competitors. This was a double countout, and so neither Chono nor Nakamura received any points. The 2005 G1 Climax was another 16-man round-robin tournament, held from August 4 to August 14. It returned to the format of 2003, eliminating the "quarterfinals" seen in 2004, and simply bringing each block's top two scorers into
520-458: 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. The 1996 G1 Climax was held from August 2 to August 6, 1996, and was a round-robin tournament featuring two blocks of five. Junji Hirata suffered an injury during his match with Kensuke Sasaki , which caused him to forfeit his remaining matches. The 1997 G1 Climax
585-437: 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. Additionally, head-to-head tiebreakers did not decide numerical ties; the winners of Block A and Block C were decided by tiebreaker matches, even though there was a clear winner in the two participants' league match. This
650-713: A long trip to the United States, leaving the New Wolves without a senior leader. Though the New Wolves had only lasted a few months, NJPW's business had doubled, setting the tone for the future of puroresu where Japanese vs Japanese rivalries within a promotion would become a booking staple. In June 1983, Choshu and former IWE faction member Animal Hamaguchi quit NJPW to form a breakaway promotion, but on July 1, 1983 they returned to NJPW TV as Ishin Gundan (Revolutionary Army) with Choshu and Hamaguchi immediately gelling as
715-440: A single tour, were booked. Riki Choshu Mitsuo Yoshida ( 吉田 光雄 , Yoshida Mitsuo , born Kwak Gwang-ung ( Korean : 곽광웅 ; Hanja : 郭光雄 ), December 3, 1951) , better known by his ring name Riki Choshu ( 長州 力 , Chōshū Riki ) , is a South Korean - Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both
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#1732773277488780-553: A site foreman, booker and part-time wrestler. Choshu once again left NJPW in 2010 and primarily worked in Tatsumi Fujinami ’s Dradition , as well as his own self-produced Power Hall events as a freelancer . Choshu was a second generation Zainichi Korean . He was naturalized in 2016. Mitsuo Yoshida was born Kwak Gwang-ung ( Korean : 곽광웅 ), the youngest of four children in Tokuyama , Yamaguchi Prefecture to
845-502: A special student. He eventually came in second place in the 73 kg class of the Nagasaki National Freestyle wrestling tournament, which attracted attention from university wrestling officials and he later enrolled at Senshu University School of Commerce on a wrestling scholarship. Yoshida joined the amateur wrestling team at Senshu University shortly after enrolling and was teammates with Mitsushi Hirasawa,
910-619: A tag team. They were joined by Tiger Toguchi (Kim Duk), Killer Khan, and Kuniaki Kobayashi, who continued his feud with Tiger Mask (Sayama). In October, former olympian Yoshiaki Yatsu joined the group. NJPW did record business as Ishin Gundan vs Seiki Gundan (NJPW) continued to dominate booking through September 1984, when Choshu suddenly left, taking most of Ishin Gundan with him to form the Japan Pro-Wrestling (JPW) promotion that "invaded" All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Choshu attended an AJPW event on November 1, 1984 where he
975-512: A tournament first, the exact tie for first place in Block A between Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi was decided by a coin toss. The 2010 version of the G1 Climax tournament was announced in late May 2010 and was the 20th anniversary of the G1 Climax tournament. The tournament took place over eight shows between August 6 and August 15, 2010. Naomichi Marufuji was scheduled to participate in
1040-642: A wrestler and a booker . He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers for his work in the 1980s and 1990s and is known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame , better known in English as the Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter . After leaving NJPW in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), but eventually returned to New Japan in October 2005 as
1105-573: 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. 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
1170-550: The G1 horse race. Though considered a continuation of the previous tournaments, officially NJPW does not recognize the earlier tournaments as part of the G1 Climax lineage. 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,
1235-678: The G1 Climax , winning every single match in the tournament. In 1997, he won his third IWGP Tag Team title with Kensuke Sasaki . In January 1998, he retired from the ring; for his retirement match, he wrestled five matches in one night, winning four out of five matches, defeating Tatsuhito Takaiwa , Yutaka Yoshie , Jushin Thunder Liger and Kazuyuki Fujita , only to fall to his former tag team partner Takashi Iizuka . He would focus on booking matches for NJPW after that. Retirement did not last long, as Atsushi Onita challenged Choshu to
1300-639: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship . On May 27, the match ended in a no contest, in which the title was held up. Fujinami won the rematch on June 24. In July 1989, he won his first IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Salman Hashimikov of the Soviet Union. The same month, he would also win his second IWGP Tag Team title with young up-and-comer Takayuki Iizuka . Two more IWGP Heavyweight title reigns would follow between August 19, 1990 and January 4, 1992. In August 1996, he won
1365-854: The Japan Pro Wrestling Association and the Japanese Wrestling Association ( JWA ), was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan . It operated from 1953 to 1973. Rikidōzan , a former rikishi ( sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-style professional wrestler in 1951, decided in 1953 to establish a territory that would represent the National Wrestling Alliance in Japan. In those early days, Japanese professional wrestlers came from out of
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#17327732774881430-559: 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
1495-520: The sumo or judo ranks; former sumotori usually used their shikona (Rikidōzan, Azumafuji , Toyonobori , etc.) while former judokas usually used their real names or modifications of them ( Masahiko Kimura , Michiaki Yoshimura, etc.) Rikidōzan pushed himself as the top star of the promotion, first battling other Japanese wrestlers such as Kimura and Toshio Yamaguchi, but found a strong niche in feuds with American wrestlers such as Lou Thesz , The Destroyer and Bobo Brazil . In 1957 he defeated Thesz to win
1560-516: 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. 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
1625-508: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 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. The finals for
1690-698: The Japanese against the Internationals. The top four finishers from both groups advanced to a second round of round-robin competition. 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. The 1976 World League ran from April 2 to May 11, 1976. The tournament featured 14 wrestlers. The top finisher advanced to
1755-655: The PWA Champion's Grail, a new championship merging the lineage of Rikidozan and Toyonobori's 1962 Toyonaka trophy with the Wrestling Retribution Project trophy won by Kenny Omega in Hollywood in 2011. This is not an exhaustive list, as the JWA was the only Japanese promotion until 1966 and many wrestlers, both Japanese who competed for a brief time and then retired, or foreigners who came for
1820-734: The United National titlein the semi-main event under Baba versus Rusher Kimura. The Budokan show aired the next day on atwo-hour prime time TV special as the popularity of AJPW soared due to the popularity of Japanese vs Japanese storylines. Choshu's jump to AJPW had immediately shifted the balance of power from New Japan to All Japan, forever changing the booking style of All Japan, which had historically relied on Japanese vs foreigner rivalries but would go on to feature Japanese vs Japanese rivalries even after Choshu jumped back to New Japan in 1987. In January 1986, Jumbo Tsuruta turned heel, running in on several of Choshu's matches to attack him with
1885-744: The World (Big) League tournament from the old Japanese Wrestling Association held between 1959 and 1972); the MSG League ( MSGシリーズ , MSG shirīzu ) (1978–1982); 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
1950-671: The direct followers to the JWA World League. Therefore, respectively, the G1 Climax for the NJPW and the Champion Carnival for the AJPW are considered the direct descendants of the original World League. The following is a list of the winners of each edition: NWA Tag League ( NWAタッグ・リーグ戦 , NWA taggu rīgu-sen ) , also called World Tag League, was a professional wrestling tournament annually held by Japanese Wrestling Association from 1970 till 1972. The 1973 edition
2015-770: The direct followers to the JWA World Tag League. Therefore, respectively, the G1 Tag League for the NJPW and the World's Strongest Tag Determination League for the AJPW are the indirect descendant of the original World Tag League. In fact, in 2012, NJPW renamed the G1 Tag League the World Tag League. The following is a list of the winners of each edition: In 2024, the revival of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling lead by Scott D'Amore established
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2080-400: The early eighties, NJPW had run a very successful Japanese vs Japanese program pitting Inoki and NJPW wrestlers against Rusher Kimura and IWE wrestlers, who were actually employed by NJPW following the dissolution of IWE. In late 1982, NJPW Chairman and booker Hisashi Shinma decided to have Choshu turn heel and create a new faction. On October 28, 1982, Choshu became the first "traitor heel" in
2145-502: The failure of some of their big shows. He ran Riki Pro until 2005 when he returned to NJPW as a site foreman, booker and wrestler. In 2007, Choshu joined the Legend stable with Masahiro Chono , Jyushin Thunder Liger and AKIRA . Choshu also promotes an occasional series of events called "LOCK UP", which feature talent from New Japan and other promotions. New Japan supported this financially until 2008 before withdrawing. In 2012, Choshu
2210-631: The father of future NJPW wrestler Mitsuhide Hirasawa . In 1971, he won the All Japan Student Wrestling Championship in the 90 kg class. Thanks to his victory in the tournament, Yoshida was selected to represent Japan in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich , Germany. Officials however refused to let him compete for Japan on account of him being part Korean . Nevertheless, South Korea instead invited him to join their freestyle team and he represented South Korea as
2275-404: 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
2340-431: The final four. The 2006 G1 Climax was a 10-man round-robin tournament held from August 6 to August 13. The 2007 G1 Climax, featuring twelve men in two blocks, was held from August 5 to August 12. The 2008 G1 Climax, featuring fourteen men in two blocks, was held from August 9 to August 17 over seven shows. The 2009 G1 Climax, featuring fourteen men in two blocks, was held from August 7 to August 16 over eight shows. In
2405-428: The final four. Jyushin Thunder Liger and Minoru Tanaka were the junior heavyweight invitees. The 2002 G1 Climax was identical in structure to the previous year's, and was held from August 3 to August 11. 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. The 2004 G1 Climax
2470-825: The final match of the tournament, to face the winner of a three-wrestler round-robin semifinal round. The 1977 World League ran from April 21 to May 30, 1977. The tournament featured 11 wrestlers. The 1978 MSG League ran from April 21 to May 30, 1978. The tournament featured nine wrestlers. The 1979 MSG League ran from April 27 to June 7, 1979. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers. The 1980 MSG League ran from April 25 to June 5, 1980. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers. The 1981 MSG League ran from May 8 to June 4, 1981. The tournament featured 11 wrestlers. The 1982 MSG League ran from March 4 to April 1, 1982. The tournament featured 14 wrestlers. The 1983 International Wrestling Grand Prix Championship League ran from May 6 to June 2, 1983. The tournament featured 10 wrestlers. The winner
2535-582: 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. 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. The 1989 World Cup Tournament
2600-593: The late 1960s by International Wrestling Enterprise , which featured the first major World heavyweight championship based in Japan, the IWA title . The JWA's top stars, Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki left to form their own promotions ( All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling , respectively) in 1972. With its top drawing cards gone, the JWA was therefore out of business the following year. World Big League ( ワールド大リーグ戦 , wārudo dai rīgu-sen ) , later renamed to simply World League ( ワールドリーグ戦 , wārudo rīgu-sen )
2665-520: The mid-1970s, he was sent to North America to gain experience. Wrestling under his real name (Mitsuo Yoshida, sometimes referred as "Mitsu"), he appeared in George Cannon 's "Superstars of Wrestling" promotion in Windsor, Ontario as a heel , managed by Superstar (or Supermouth) Dave Drasen. Choshu had a brief feud with the top fan favorite of Cannon's promotion, Luis Martinez. The ring name at
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2730-414: 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. In 2016, Kenny Omega became the first non-Japanese wrestler to win
2795-491: The quarterfinals, due to a shoulder injury suffered by his scheduled opponent Hiroshi Hase on August 3. 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 . The 1994 G1 Climax returned to
2860-422: 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). 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
2925-411: The then- Soviet Union . 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
2990-513: The time of debut was Mitsuo Yoshida (吉田 光雄), but from April 1977 after returning from overseas training, he adopted his famously known ring name Riki Choshu after Choshu (長州) in honor of the Choshu Forces , another name for his hometown Nagato . In the 4th World League match, which he participated in when he returned to Japan, he finished third with Nikolai Volkoff, behind winner Seiji Sakaguchi and runner-up The Masked Superstar . In
3055-547: The title that would be the JWA's top title thereafter, the NWA International Heavyweight Championship . As a newly found hero to the war-weary Japanese masses, Rikidōzan expanded into several business ventures. It resulted in his murder at the hands of a gangster in 1963 , at the peak of his fame. After Rikidōzan's death in 1963, the company continued to operate as the nation's premier (and only male) wrestling circuit until challenged in
3120-513: 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 and has no relation to the G1 Climax which began in 1991. The tournament began with 16 wrestlers, eight Japanese and eight Internationals, placed into groups accordingly. All first round matches featured
3185-462: The tournament, but was forced to pull out after suffering an arm injury on July 25. On August 5, NJPW announced that Prince Devitt would replace Marufuji in the tournament. With his victory, freelancer Satoshi Kojima became the third man to have won both the G1 Climax and All Japan Pro Wrestling 's Champion Carnival . Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance The Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance ( 日本プロレス協会 , Nihon Puroresu Kyōkai ) , also known as
3250-598: 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. Past winners include Mutoh, Chono, Hashimoto, Yuji Nagata , Hiroshi Tanahashi , and others who have gone on to become wrestling superstars. Unlike
3315-633: 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. 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,
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#17327732774883380-407: Was a professional wrestling tournament annually held by Japanese Wrestling Association from 1959 till 1972. The 1973 edition was not held as JWA folded that year. Wrestlers from all over the world participated in the various editions of the tournament, as it was meant since its beginning to be a world tournament. It had been one of the most important pro-wrestling tournaments of its time, because it
3445-427: Was a 12-man round-robin tournament, held from August 10 to August 15. This was the first of two years (with 2000) where head-to-head tiebreakers did not decide numerical ties; the winner of Block A was decided by tiebreaker matches, even when there was a clear winner in the two participants' league match. The 2000 G1 Climax was a round-robin tournament, featuring four blocks of five, with each block champion advancing to
3510-427: 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. 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. The 1999 G1 Climax
3575-635: Was a part of the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan. After NJPW split ties with Takeshi Kitano over the December 27 Sumo Hall riot, Choshu slowly climbed back up into the main event picture. In June 1988, he won his first IWGP Tag Team Championship with Masa Saito , with whom he had also partnered during a brief stint in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). At the same time, he feuded with Tatsumi Fujinami over
3640-487: 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
3705-467: Was also added to the faction, but retired before wrestling for them. On January 2, 1983, Killer Khan also turned heel on Fujinami in a tag team match to join the New Wolves. The group continued to feud with NJPW for several months, with Choshu finally defeating Fujinami by count out on April 3, 1983 to win the International title. Three weeks later, Saito lost a loser leaves town match to cover for
3770-461: Was awarded a championship belt (the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship ) defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year). The 1984 International Wrestling Grand Prix Champion League 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. The IWGP Champion Series ran from May 10 to June 15, 1985. The tournament featured 13 wrestlers, and
3835-413: Was booked in a series of matches for LEGEND The Pro Wrestling and Dradition . On June 26, 2019, Choshu teamed with Tomohiro Ishii and Shiro Koshinaka in a six-man tag team match against Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiji Mutoh, and Togi Makabe. Fujinami's team won when Makabe pinned Choshu. In the post-match, Choshu officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling. Choshu appears as a gang member in
3900-492: Was challenged by Genichiro Tenryu . Tenryu was second among AJPW's top Japanese stars, behind Jumbo Tsuruta, with Baba moving to more of an emeritus role. Choshu defeated Tenryu by count out in 9:21 on February 21, 1985 in the main event of a JWP show that was not televised, but is available via bootleg tapes. Tenryu continued as Choshu's main rival through the summer of 1985. On June 21, 1985, AJPW held their first show at Budokan in almost ten years with Choshu challenging Tenryu for
3965-449: Was held from November 24 to December 7, 1989. The tournament featured 20 wrestlers in four blocks of five each. The inaugural G1 Climax was a round-robin tournament consisting of two four-man blocks, and running from August 7 to August 11, 1991. 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. Terry Taylor advanced to
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#17327732774884030-428: Was not held as JWA folded that year. Wrestlers from all over the world participated in the various editions of the tournament, as it was meant to be a world tournament. It was created in 1970 as the tag team counterpart of World Big League. Its prestige led Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba to create in their respective promotions, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling , tournaments which were presented as
4095-521: Was one of the very few (and for some years after its creation the only) pro-wrestling tournament of its time to be considered representative of the entire pro-wrestling world. In 1970, JWA created a tag team counterpart of the World League, known as World Tag League . Its prestige led Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba to create their own respective promotions, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling , tournaments which were presented as
4160-608: Was single-elimination. This was the first time the tournament did not feature a points system. 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. The winner won the vacated IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original version) . 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
4225-444: 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. 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
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