NJPW Reveals G1 Climax 31 Schedule

The G1 Climax 31 schedule has been set.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling revealed today the annual tournament will begin on September 18 and September 19 with two shows at Edion Arena Osaka. NJPW will then tour Japan before the G1 finishes at the Nippon Budokan on October 20 and October 21.

The tournament has traditionally taken place in the summer, but last year's G1 was moved to the autumn because of the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The games were ultimately postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are set to get underway later this month on July 23. Seemingly with this in mind, NJPW announced the Summer Struggle tour for July and August and G1 Climax 31 will commence in September.

Plans for the G1 were reportedly finalised in recent weeks and the participants of the tournament have been decided. Who will be wrestling has yet to be revealed, but the likes of Shingo Takagi, Jay White, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi have been prominently featured in New Japan throughout 2021.

Kota Ibushi has emerged victorious from the 2019 and 2020 G1 finals, but if a new winner will be crowned in October remains to be seen.