The kickoff date for New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 2021 G1 Climax tournament has been set.
New Japan’s 31st G1 Climax tournament will begin on September 18th and the finals of the tournament will wrap up in October on the 21st of that month. Osaka, Ota Ward, Kobe, Hamamatsu, Hiroshima, Kochi, Sendai and Yokohama are playing host to this year’s G1.
灼熱の秋！最強戦士決定戦『G1 CLIMAX 31』大会日程が決定！
開幕戦は9.18＆19大阪2連戦！
最終戦は10.20＆21武道館2連戦！さらに、大阪・大田区・神戸・浜松・広島・高知・仙台・横浜のチケット販売概要も発表！https://t.co/wxfzPimVYK#njpw #g131 pic.twitter.com/RoidiD7UL0
— 新日本プロレスリング株式会社 (@njpw1972) July 8, 2021
In the 2020 finals, Kota Ibushi defeated SANADA. Ibushi went on to capture the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships at Wrestle Kingdom this past January. Those titles have since been unified and Shingo Takagi is currently in possession of the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
The Summer Olympic Games are taking place in Tokyo and those festivities begin on July 23rd and stretches through August 8th. The Olympics are going to be held under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as confirmed by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga.
Dating back to April, New Japan has cancelled a number of shows due to the state of emergency rulings.
NJPW’s next event is their Summer Struggle in Sapporo show on 7/10 that is being headlined by Taiji Ishimori challenging El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.
