Leaked NJPW G1 Climax 2021 Participant Revealed (SPOILERS!)
This American first-timer will make his G1 Climax boy in NJPW's signature tournament this year.
Chase Owens will be part of this year's NJPW G1 Climax tournament, reports Dave Meltzer.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer stated that this will be part of NJPW's attempt at building the Bullet Club man up throughout 2021. His victory in the pre-show KOPW 2021 Championship Rambo (a 22-man comedy Royal Rumble, effectively) was done to increase the 31-year-old's credibility ahead of New Japan's signature tournament.
This will be Owens' first run in the G1 Climax. Though the Ricky Morton-trained wrestler has been with the promotion since 2014, he has primarily been booked as a pin-eater for Bullet Club and has rarely looked like breaking out as a singles act.
Despite never wrestling in the G1, Owens has multiple New Japan Cup and Best of the Super Juniors appearances to his name. His most recent tournament match was a first-round New Japan Cup 2021 exit to David Finlay in March.
June 2020 saw Owens accused of making "inappropriate sexual advances" to a minor, which the wrestler later claimed as "part of an angle" for the NWA Smokey Mountain promotion.
G1 Climax 31 kicks off in Osaka on 18 September and runs until 21 October, finishing at the 11,000-capacity Ryōgoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo.