NJPW G1 Climax 30 Participants Announced
Will Ospreay returns as NJPW's signature tournament takes shape.
Today's New Japan Road show saw NJPW announce the full lineup for their upcoming G1 Climax 30 tournament.
Here's how the blocks shape up:-
A Block: Kota Ibushi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi, Yujiro Takahashi, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Jay White.
B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Zack Sabre Jr., Juice Robinson, KENTA.
The biggest takeaway here is the return of foreign-based wrestlers Jay White, Juice Robinson, KENTA, and Will Ospreay. These wrestlers have sat out of NJPW's Japanese operations since the promotion's return to action earlier this summer. Ospreay's inclusion is particularly notable, given the severity of the allegations made towards him during (and beyond) the #SpeakingOut movement.
There are no real surprises elsewhere, with no junior heavyweights included and no wrestlers appearing in their first G1.
A Block looks the most promising on first glance, particularly with Shingo Takagi set to face Kazuchika Okada and Kota Ibushi one-on-one for the first time, though names like Zack Sabre Jr., Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi guarantee bangers in B Block too.
NJPW's signature round-robin style tournament kicks off on Saturday 18 September and wraps in Tokyo's Ryogoku Sumo Hall on Sunday 18 October.