AEW star & NJPW legend among expected field for NJPW G1 tournament

With the full roster for this summer’s NJPW G1 Climax 35 tournament set to be announced during this weekend’s Dominion event, an early look at four entrants was revealed in a poster for the event.

First noted on Reddit, an event poster seen in NJPW’s Tokon Shop in Tokyo featured AEW star and NJPW Never Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita, NJPW president and soon-to-be retired legend Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino, and Ren Narita. The person that shared the news noted that it’s being billed as Tanahashi’s final G1 tournament as he will retire in 2026.

While the field will be announced this weekend, the bracket is expected to be announced at a later date.

The annual tournament will run from July 18 through August 17, meaning Takeshita will be gone from AEW action during that time. He will not miss All In Texas (July 12) and will then have a week before Forbidden Door in London on August 24.

Tanahashi did not compete in last year’s G1, but was part of the 2023 tournament. He’s won the tournament three times with the last coming in 2018.