Ryohei Oiwa has won the prestigious NJPW G1 Climax tournament for the first time in his career.
The finals took place on August 16, with Oiwa defeating Yuya Uemura to win the tournament and earn himself a future opportunity at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Oiwa won the match by locking in the crossface on Uemura. The match also featured callbacks to previous tournament winners Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tatsumi Fujimani, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tenzan announced his pro wrestling retirement the night before.
Oiwa celebrated his victory with the rest of TDMK. Oiwa also noted that much like his mentor Zack Sabre Jr., he would not be waiting until Wrestle Kingdom to cash in his title opportunity. Instead he will challenge Yota Tsuji at King of Pro Wrestling in October. This was the same show where Sabre Jr. won his title two years prior.
Ryohei Oiwa Wins NJPW G1 Climax
The 27-year-old defeated Callum Newman to make it to the final. Oiwa also defeated 2025 tournament winner Konosuke Takeshita in the A Block round to advance to the semi-finals. Both men were tied on points, but the win over Takeshita booked Oiwa’s place in the finals. Oiwa previously held the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship alongside Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson, but never singles gold in New Japan.
Featured image: NJPW
