10 Best Ever Wrestling Tournaments
3. NJPW G1 Climax 24 (2014)
NJPW’s G1 Climax is unique on this list in that it doesn’t operate under a single elimination format. Instead, the G1 traditionally gathers 20 of NJPW’s best heavyweights together and splits them into two groups. Each wrestler faces everyone within their group once, with two points given for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. The two group winners advance to the final, and the eventual winner is guaranteed a shot at the company’s top prize: the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
The G1 is a long, gruelling tournament that takes place over multiple weeks. Each day presents a cluster of tournament matches thrown together with a series of undercard tag contests, and keeping up with it can be a nightmare. Still, the G1 routinely provides some of the year’s best wrestling matches, and 2014 is probably its strongest incarnation.
Not a single day passed without the G1 Climax 24 producing at least two or three “must watch” contests. It kicked-off with blockbuster matches like Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata and AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada, and it never slowed down. Day seven provided an instant classic between current WWE Champion Styles and legendary catch wrestler Minoru Suzuki, and while AJ finished joint top of his group, he lost out to Okada on head-to-head record.
The final saw Okada and Nakamura, two of NJPW’s biggest stars, compete against each other, and Okada walked away with the victory. He was unsuccessful in his attempt at claiming Hiroshi Tanahashi’s IWGP Championship in their Wrestle Kingdom 9 title match, but took Tanahashi’s role as company ace with a stunning victory the following year.