With the G1 Climax 2021 edition now in full swing, Inside The Ropes will provide full coverage of the results after every show.
Unfortunately, Tetsuya Naito suffered a knee injury in his tournament-opener with Zack Sabre Jr. As a result, all of his remaining matches have been counted as forfeits and his opponents have gained automatic two points.
The G1 Climax is New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s biggest annual singles tournament. A twenty-man roundrobin tournament takes place over the course of a month; two points are awarded for a win, one point is awarded for a draw and zero points are awarded for a loss. Block matches have a thirty minute time limit.
The winners of each block face each other in one final match, with the winner earning the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 16. Shingo Takagi is the current champion and will be able to choose his own opponent for Wrestle Kingdom should he win the G1 Climax.
Despite reaching its thirty-first iteration, the reigning heavyweight champion has only won the G1 Climax on two occasions: Keiji Mutoh in 1995 and Kensuke Sasaki in 2000.
This year’s edition of the tournament features a notably depleted roster, as key New Japan figures such as Will Ospreay, Minoru Suzuki, Jay White and Juice Robinson are all in the United States for the time being; New Japan has sent various names over to work for Strong (their U.S. based division), whilst Suzuki is currently booked for various independent shows in the United States. However, he also took the time to appear in AEW!
The G1 Climax 2021 results can be found in full below, along with the tournament schedule:
Night 1 – A block, 18.9.2021
- Yujiro Takahashi (2) def. Kota Ibushi (0)
- Great-O-Khan (2) def. Tanga Loa (0)
- Toru Yano (2) def. KENTA (0)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (2) def. Tetsuya Naito (0)
- Shingo Takagi (2) def. Tomohiro Ishii (2)
Night 2 – B block, 19.9.2021
- EVIL (2) def. YOSHI-HASHI (0)
- Jeff Cobb (2) def. Chase Owens (0)
- SANADA (2) def. Tama Tonga (0)
- Taichi (2) def. Hirooki Goto (0)
- Kazuchika Okada (2) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (0)
Night 3 – A block, 23.9.2021
- Great-O-Khan (6) def. Toru Yano (4)
- KENTA (4) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
- Kota Ibushi (4) def. Tomohiro Ishii (2)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (4) def. Shingo Takagi (4)
Night 4 – B block, 24.9.2021
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) def. Hirooki Goto (0)
- Tama Tonga (2) def. Chase Owens (0)
- Jeff Cobb (4) def. YOSHI-HASHI (0)
- Taichi (4) def. SANADA (2)
- Kazuchika Okada (4) def. EVIL (2)
Night 5 – A block, 26.9.2021
- Great-O-Khan (8) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
- Toru Yano (6) def. Tanga Loa (2)
- KENTA (6) def. Tomohiro Ishii (2)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (6) def. Kota Ibushi (4)
Night 6 – B block, 29.9.2021
- EVIL (4) def. Taichi (4)
- SANADA (4) def. Chase Owens (0)
- Jeff Cobb (6) def. Hirooki Goto (0)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) def. Tama Tonga (2)
- Kazuchika Okada (6) def. YOSHI-HASHI (0)
Night 7 – A block, 30.9.2021
- Tomohiro Ishii (4) def. Tanga Loa (2)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (8) def. Great-O-Khan (8)
- Kota Ibushi (6) def. Toru Yano (6)
- Shingo Takagi (6) def. KENTA (6)
Night 8 – B block, 1.10.2021
- Jeff Cobb (8) def. Tama Tonga (2)
- EVIL (6) def. Chase Owens (0)
- YOSHI-HASHI (2) def. Taichi (4)
- Kazuchika Okada (8) def. Hirooki Goto (0)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (6) def. SANADA (4)
Night 9 – A block, 3.10.2021
- KENTA (8) def. Great-O-Khan (8)
- Tanga Loa (4) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
- Tomohiro Ishii (6) def. Zack Sabre Jr. (8)
- Kota Ibushi (8) def. Shingo Takagi (6)
Night 10 – B block, 4.10.2021
- Chase Owens (2) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6)
- EVIL (8) def. Tama Tonga (2)
- Jeff Cobb (10) def. Taichi (4)
- Hirooki Goto (2) def. YOSHI-HASHI (2)
- Kazuchika Okada (10) def. SANADA (4)
Night 11 – A block, 7.10.2021
- Kota Ibushi (10) def. Tanga Loa (4)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (10) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
- Shingo Takagi (8) def. Toru Yano (6)
- Tomohiro Ishii (8) def. Great-O-Khan (8)
Night 12 – B block, 8.10.2021
- YOSHI-HASHI (4) def. Tama Tonga (2)
- Hirooki Goto (4) def. Chase Owens (2)
- Jeff Cobb (12) def. SANADA (4)
- EVIL (10) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6)
- Kazuchika Okada (12) def. Taichi (4)
Night 13 – A block, 9.10.2021
- KENTA (10) def. Zack Sabre Jr. (10)
- Toru Yano (8) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
- Shingo Takagi (10) def. Tanga Loa (4)
- Kota Ibushi (12) def. Great-O-Khan (8)
Night 14 – B block, 12.10.2021
- Tama Tonga (4) def. Taichi (4)
- SANADA (6) def. YOSHI-HASHI (4)
- Kazuchika Okada (14) def. Chase Owens (2)
- EVIL (12) def. Hirooki Goto (4)
- Jeff Cobb (14) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6)
Night 15 – A block, 13.10.2021
- Tomohiro Ishii (8) def. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
- KENTA (12) def. Tanga Loa (4)
- Zack Sabre Jr. (12) def. Toru Yano (8)
- Shingo Takagi (12) def. Great-O-Khan (8)
Night 16 – B block, 14.10.2021
- Chase Owens (4) def. Taichi (4)
- SANADA (8) def. Hirooki Goto (4)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (8) def. YOSHI-HASHI (4)
- Jeff Cobb (16) def. EVIL (12)
- Tama Tonga (6) def. Kazuchika Okada (14)
Night 17 – A block finals, 18.10.2021
- Kota Ibushi (14) def. KENTA (12)
- Toru Yano (10) def. Tomohiro Ishii (8)
- Shingo Takagi (13) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (5) ended in a double countout
- Tanga Loa (6) def. Zack Sabre Jr. (12)
Kota Ibushi wins the A block.
Night 18 – B block finals, 20.10.2021
- Taichi (6) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8)
- Hirooki Goto (6) def. Tama Tonga (6)
- YOSHI-HASHI (6) def. Chase Owens (4)
- EVIL (14) def. SANADA (8)
- Kazuchika Okada (16) def. Jeff Cobb (16)
Kazuchika Okada wins the B block.
Night 19 – Tournament final, 21.10.2021
- Kazuchika Okada def. Kota Ibushi via referee stoppage.
Kazuchika Okada wins the G1 Climax 2021!
The entirety of the G1 Climax, as well as previous tournaments, can be watched on NJPWWorld.