NJPW has revealed the first competitors in the G1 Climax 36 tournament, which is set to begin in the summer of 2206.
The names were revealed as part of the Dominion event on June 14. Among the entrants are 2025 tournament winner Konosuke Takeshita, reigning IWGP World Champion Callum Newman, and Gabe Kidd, who is a member of the AEW roster. Kidd had been out with a shoulder injury since Dynasty back in April.
Not every spot has been filled as part of the line-up. The winners of the IWGP Tag Team title match at Dominion between The Knock Out Brothers and HENARE & Great-O-Khan will be automatically entered in the G1. The last four spots will be determined via play-in matches that will take place during the Road to G1 Climax tour that begins on June 19.
The G1 Climax is a round robin tournament that will see all competitors in each block face one another before advancing to the knockout stages. The overall winner will receive a World Title opportunity at a later date. While this was traditionally Wrestle Kingdom, previous winners Zack Sabre Jr. and Konosuke Takeshita have cashed in this opportunity earlier.
The 2026 tournament will begin on July 11 at the NOW Arena in Illinois and will conclude on August 15 at Sumo Hall.
NJPW G1 Climax 36 Entrants:
A Block
- Konosuke Takeshita
- Yota Tsuji
- SANADA
- Shingo Takagi
- Jake Lee
- Boltin Oleg
- Hirooki Goto
- Winner of IWGP Tag Team title match
- Play-in winner A
- Play-in winner B
B Block
- Callum Newman
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- Shota Umino
- Yuya Uemura
- Ren Narita
- Drilla Moloney
- Gabe Kidd
- Winner of IWGP Tag Team title match
- Play-in winner A
- Play-in winner B
Featured image: NJPW
