New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced earlier today the G1 Climax 26 Blocks. This year’s G1 Climax tournament has 20 participants. The blocks are divided into ten wrestlers each, with NJPW regulars and several surprises making up the field.
Most notably, the two wrestlers from Pro Wrestling NOAH in Naomichi Marufuji and Katsuhiko Nakajima. Hiroshi Tanahashi also makes his return to the promotion after being out since the 5/21 Best of the Super Juniors XXIII opening night show due to injury. There are also six first time G1 participants this year as well. Along with Nakajima, Kenny Omega, YOSHI-HASHI, Tama Tonga, SANADA, EVIL all make their G1 Climax debuts.
The G1 Climax tournament has been held every year since 1991. The 2016 edition, takes place from July 18 to August 14 in 14 different Japanese cities. Below are the full G1 Climax 26 Blocks, along with key matches and airing times for the shows. All shows will air live on New Japan’s streaming service NJPW World, which costs around $8.50 a month.
Special Note: At some point before the tournament, I will have an extensive preview for the G1 Climax 26. In it, I will detail the G1’s history, explain how it works, what first time viewers should expect, and also offer some predictions on who could win it all. Similar to how I covered last year’s G1 Climax, there will be written reviews for each night. I will also have short Wrestling 2 the MAX Podcasts detailing the action in audio form.
NJPW G1 Climax 26 Blocks
A BLOCK
Togi Makabe (Great Bash Heel)
Satoshi Kojima
Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
Tama Tonga (Bullet Club)
SANADA (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
Naomichi Marufuji (GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champion) (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champion) (CHAOS)
Hiroshi Tanahashi
B BLOCK
Katsuyori Shibata (NEVER Openweight Champion)
Yuji Nagata
Tomoaki Honma (Great Bash Heel)
Michael Elgin (IWGP Intercontinental Champion)
Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
Toru Yano (GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champion) (CHAOS)
EVIL (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
Katsuhiko Nakajima (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS)
G1 Climax 26 Big Matches
7/18- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
7/18- Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji
7/22- Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito
7/22- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma
7/23- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe
7/23- Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA
7/24- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
7/24- Tomoaki Honma vs. YOSHI-HASHI
7/25- Togi Makabe vs. SANADA
7/25- Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
7/27- Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
7/27- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Michael Elgin
7/28- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Naomichi Marufuji
7/28- Hirooki Goto vs. SANADA
7/30- Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega
7/30- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito
7/31- Togi Makabe vs. Naomichi Marufuji
7/31- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto
8/1- YOSHI-HASHI vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
8/1- Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomoaki Honma
8/3- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
8/3- Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe
8/4- Tetsuya Naito vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
8/4- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kenny Omega
8/6- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji
8/6- Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
8/7- Yuji Nagata vs. Kenny Omega
8/7- Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL
8/8- Tomohiro Ishii vs. SANADA
8/8- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima
8/10- Michael Elgin vs. Tomoaki Honma
8/10- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata
8/12- Hirooki Goto vs. Naomichi Marufuji
8/12- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
8/13- Katsuyori Shibata vs. EVIL
8/13- Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega
City and Arena Location in Japan, plus time it airs live in the United States of America
7/18 – Sapporo – Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center – 2AM Eastern
7/22 – Tokyo – Korakuen Hall – 5:30AM Eastern
7/23 – Tokyo – Machida City Gymnasium – 5:30AM Eastern
7/24 – Tokyo – Korakuen Hall – 5:30AM Eastern
7/25 – Fukushima – Fukushima Big Palette – 5:30AM Eastern
7/27 – Nagano – Nagano Big Hat – 5:30AM Eastern
7/28 – Tokorozawa – Tokorazawa City Gymnasium – 5:30AM Eastern
7/30 – Aichi – Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium – 5AM Eastern
7/31 – Gifu – Gifu Industrial Hall – 3AM Eastern
8/01 – Kagawa – Takamatsu City Gymnasium – 6AM Eastern
8/03 – Kagoshima – Kagoshima Arena – 5:30AM Eastern
8/04 – Fukuoka – Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium – 5:30AM Eastern
8/06 – Osaka – EDION Arena – 4AM Eastern
8/07 – Hamamatsu – Act City Shizuoka – 3AM Eastern
8/08 – Yokoham – Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium – 5:30AM Eastern
8/10 – Yamagata – Yamagata General Sports Center – 5:30AM Eastern
8/12 SEMIFINALS – Tokyo – Ryogoku Sumo Hall – 5:30AM Eastern
8/13 SEMIFINALS – Tokyo – Ryogoku Sumo Hall – 5:30AM Eastern
8/14 FINALS – Tokyo – Ryogoku Sumo Hall – 2AM Eastern
