9 Things You Need To Know About The G1 Climax 25 Tournament
7. Tournament Prestige
Aside from the history, there are far greater reasons a wrestler wants to win the G1. There's notoriety in becoming the winner, it tends to stick with each wrestler and elevates their career just by being number one. An amazing trophy that only a few get to display on their mantle. Around $40,000 is awarded, and finally a potential title shot at NJPW's biggest show Wrestle Kingdom, which is usually in January.
Think of it this way, the G1 tournament is a bit like WWE's Royal Rumble. The competitors go through a grueling test, with one winner getting a chance to wrestle for the title at WrestleMania. In this case it's a series of 10 matches, and the title shot might get taken away.
Instead of just automatically being "the man" for a couple months, they have to remind everyone of that by having a match with their title shot on the line before Wrestle Kingdom occurs.