Prestigious international pro wrestling tournament begins in US for second time, Rocky Romero breaks it down

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Prestigious International Pro Wrestling Tournament Returns to US

G1 Climax 36 Returns to American Soil for Second Time

The G1 Climax 36 tournament officially begins this Saturday at Chicago's NOW Arena, marking only the second time this prestigious international pro wrestling tournament has been hosted in the United States. This four-week-long event brings together some of the finest professional wrestlers from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, with the ultimate prize being a future opportunity to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January.

The competition structure divides participants into two distinct blocks labeled A and B. Each wrestler earns two points for victories, one point for draws, and zero points for losses or no contests. Notably, both double count outs and double disqualifications are classified as draws within the scoring system.

Block A and Block B Lineups

Block A features an impressive roster that includes last year's champion Konosuke Takeshita alongside Hirooki Goto, Boltin Oleg, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Jake Lee, Sanada, Great-O-Khan, Yuto-Ice, and Ryohei Oiwa. Meanwhile, Block B showcases Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, Drilla Maloney, Zack Sabre Jr., Callum Newman, Ren Narita, Gabe Kidd, Henare, Aaron Wolf, and Oskar.

Rocky Romero, serving as New Japan's ambassador, shared his insights with Fox News Digital regarding the tournament's significance. He emphasized that the league-style format creates legends for those fortunate enough to participate.

"I think that because it's a league style, and it is, obviously, super physically demanding. This is the tournament that kind of makes you a legend, if you get the opportunity to be in it," Romero explained.

The ambassador continued by noting that while the schedule presents considerable challenges, the event's popularity stems from showcasing New Japan's highest caliber talent. He pointed out that numerous legendary names have competed since the tournament's inception in 1991, including Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton, and Steve Austin.

Jon Moxley's Remarkable Journey

Among the tournament's distinguished participants was Jon Moxley, who joined in 2019 following his departure from WWE. Romero recounted the memorable moment when he contacted Moxley as a free agent, attempting to convince him to enter the physically demanding competition despite Moxley's recent exit from WWE.

"There's a famous story when Jon Moxley had left the WWE, and he had kind of reached out and said, 'You know, I'd love to kind of do New Japan.' And the first idea and the timing was like, well Mox, would you want to do the G1? There was hesitation there, and he was like, 'Well, I don't know.' You know, that's like the first thing coming out of WWE," Romero recalled.

The ambassador described the situation as throwing Moxley "right to the wolves" with a 30-day tour being his first major New Japan experience. After hanging up, Moxley consulted with his wife Renee Paquette before immediately calling back to accept the challenge.

"We hung up, and he's like, 'Let me think about it.' You know, we had that conversation and I would say 30 seconds later, a minute later, I think he looked over to Renee (Paquette), his wife and was like, 'They want me to do the G1.' She's like, 'Well, what's the what's the problem?' And he was like, 'Yeah. I need to do the G1. This is this is crazy.' Yeah, I don't think he ever expected it. So, he called me back immediately and was like, I'm in, and then, you know, it ended up being one of the coolest things for Mox to leave WWE and then go straight into the G1, which was pretty crazy. I mean, like I said, it's the stuff that makes legends."

Tournament Favorites and Dark Horses

Setting the standard that New Japan has established, the G1 maintains high regard throughout the professional wrestling world. Romero identified Yota Tsuji and Konosuke Takeshita as the primary favorites heading into the competition. Takeshita not only claimed victory last year but has also emerged as one of the planet's premier wrestlers, simultaneously capturing the IWGP heavyweight championship.

Additionally, Romero highlighted Zack Sabre Jr. as a perennial tournament contender who could win at any moment. However, he suggested that Aaron Wolf might prove to be the most compelling participant, given his background as an Olympic gold medalist judoka facing his first major challenge on this scale.

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