At night two of Wrestle Grand Slam in Metlife Dome (for full results, click here), New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the full list of entrants and block assignments for G1 Climax 31, so without further ado, let’s list ‘em out and break ‘em down!
A Block
- Great-O-Khan (Entering the G1 Climax for the first time and representing the UNITED EMPIRE)
- KENTA (Entering the G1 Climax for the third time and representing Bullet Club)
- Kota Ibushi (Entering the G1 Climax for the seventh time, he won in 2019 and 2020)
- Shingo Takagi (Entering the G1 Climax for the third time and representing Los Ingobernables de Japon)
- Tanga Loa (Entering the G1 Climax for the first time and representing Bullet Club)
- Tetsuya Naito (Entering the G1 Climax for the twelfth time and representing Los Ingobernables de Japon, he won in 2013 and 2017)
- Tomohiro Ishii (Entering the G1 Climax for the ninth time and representing Chaos)
- Toru Yano (Entering the G1 Climax for the sixteenth time and representing Chaos)
- Yujiro Takahashi (Entering the G1 Climax for the eighth time and representing Bullet Club)
- Zack Sabre, Jr. (Entering the G1 Climax for the fifth time and representing Suzuki-gun)
B Block
- Chase Owens (Entering the G1 Climax for the first time and representing Bullet Club)
- EVIL (Entering the G1 Climax for the sixth time and representing Bullet Club)
- Hirooki Goto (Entering the G1 Climax for the fourteenth time and representing Chaos, he won in 2008)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (Entering the G1 Climax for the twentieth time, he won in 2007, 2015, and 2018)
- Jeff Cobb (Entering the G1 Climax for the third time and representing the UNITED EMPIRE)
- Kazuchika Okada (Entering the G1 Climax for the tenth time and representing Chaos, he won in 2012 and 2014)
- SANADA (Entering the G1 Climax for the sixth time and representing Los Ingobernables de Japon)
- Taichi (Entering the G1 Climax for the third time and representing Suzuki-gun)
- Tama Tonga (Entering the G1 Climax for the fourth time and representing Bullet Club)
- YOSHI-HASHI (Entering the G1 Climax for the fifth time and representing Chaos)
Much like last year’s lineup this isn’t the flashiest or most exciting G1 lineup, but given that COVID is still very much a concern when it comes to international travel it’s probably for the best.
A Block is a slightly more varied lineup with heavy hitting workhorses Ibushi, Shingo, Ishii, and Sabre along with Toru Yano (truly the highlight of any given G1 Climax), whereas B Block is much more the Okada-Tanahashi show, but with SANADA and Cobb to grease the wheels it should still be a lot of fun.
The tournament starts on Sept. 18 in Osaka and runs until the finals on Oct. 21 at the legendary Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
There you have it, folks
Excited to start that butt o’clock wakeup grind for this year’s G1 Climax field, Cagesiders?