New Japan Pro-Wrestling kicked off their 35th G1 Climax tournament today (July 19) in Hokkaido. For the next month, 20 wrestlers will compete round robin within two groups of 10, earning 2 points for each win, and 1 for a draw. The three wrestlers with the most points in each group (called Blocks) advance to the single-elimination rounds, with the ultimate winner earning a World title shot at next January's Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome.
For most of the tourney, shows are dedicated to action from
one Block or the other. Opening weekend features the full field in action, however.
Today's show opened with YOSHI-HASHI countering Last of the Dragon into a pin to upset former IWGP World champ Shingo Takagi in surprisingly quick fashion.
.@YOSHIHASHICHAOS "Itadakigari"
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 19, 2025
From the profile URL#NJPW #njpwworld #G1開幕 pic.twitter.com/A44E6faezi
A few matches later, Yuya Uemura defeated Oleg Boltin in a hard-hitting match up between two men who should be a big deal for NJPW going forward.
G1 CLIMAX 35 開幕戦‼️
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 19, 2025
G1 CLIMAX 35 Aブロック公式戦‼️
NEVER王者のボルチンがパワーで上村を圧倒
@Im_YuyaUemura × @OlegBoltin#njpwworld で配信中
視聴＆登録⏩「NJPW WORLD」で検索 #NJPW #njpwworld #G1開幕 pic.twitter.com/jR1h6Kr4Rt
Ryohei Oiwa outsmarted David Finlay to pick up two points in another upset, scoring a pin with waist control. Then AEW's Konosuke Takeshita delivered his latest great performance in a victory over Gabe Kidd that had the crowd rapt.
G1 CLIMAX 35 開幕戦‼️
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 19, 2025
G1 CLIMAX 35 Bブロック公式戦‼️
初対決‼️両者のイデオロギーがぶつかり合う
@GabeKidd0115 × @Takesoup#njpwworld で配信中
視聴＆登録⏩「NJPW WORLD」で検索 #NJPW #njpwworld #G1開幕 pic.twitter.com/NornvuAzN1
Kidd went out to a sleeper hold after being pummeled with strikes by The Alpha.
The biggest upset occured in the show's penultimate match, when Ren Narita survived current IWGP Zack Sabre Jr.'s usual array of submissions en route to pinfall victory. The House of Torture member did so by biting the Brit's calf to create an opening to hit Souled Out and his finisher.
Ren Narita "Hell's Guillotine"
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 19, 2025
From the profile URL#NJPW #njpwworld #G1開幕 pic.twitter.com/fXS6h9gsnz
The main event saw Hiroshi Tanahashi -- one of the most decorated stars in New Japan history and the promotion's current president, wrestling his last matches before retiring after next year's Wrestle Kingdom -- mercilessly target Taichi's knee throughout. That kept him from hitting a superplex, and left him down for the three High Flow Flows President Ace hit on his way to a G1 opening win.
.@tanahashi1_100 "High Fly Attack"
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 19, 2025
From the profile URL#NJPW #njpwworld #G1開幕 pic.twitter.com/crMQDqmXvo
Full results from today's action:
A Block
- Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Taichi
- Yota Tsuji def. SANADA
- Ryohei Oiwa def. David Finlay
- Yuya Uemura def. Boltin Oleg
- EVIL def. Callum Newman
B Block
- Ren Narita def. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Konosuke Takeshita def. Gabe Kidd
- Shota Umino def. El Phantasmo
- Drilla Moloney def. Great-O-Khan
- YOSHI-HASHI def. Shingo Takagi
The Standings are pretty easy to calculate at this point. Here's how NJPW keeps track:
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@njpwglobal/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26061501/20250719_131056.jpg)
@njpwglobalAction continues in both blocks on Sunday. Full schedule here.
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