The G1 Climax 30 was a professional wrestling tournament produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The tournament commenced on September 19 and concluded on October 18, 2020. It was the thirtieth edition of G1 Climax, and forty-sixth edition of the tournament counting its previous forms under different names. A Block winner Kota Ibushi defeated B Block winner Sanada in the final to win the tournament.
Considered NJPW's most important tournament, the G1 Climax features twenty wrestlers, divided in two blocks of ten ("A" and "B"). Each participant faces all nine other wrestlers within the same block in singles matches. The winner of each block is determined via a point system, with two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no point for a defeat; each night of the event sees the ten members of one block compete for the tournament. On the final day of the event, the winners of both blocks face each other to determine the winner of the G1 Climax, who will gain a future match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW's biggest yearly event. The event was broadcast live on TV Asahi and Fighting TV Samurai in Japan, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling World worldwide.
Production + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English CommentatorsKevin Kelly Rocky Romero Chris Charlton Japanese CommentatorsKoki Yamazaki Shinji Yoshino Shigeki Kiyono Yuichi Tabata Haruo Murata Kazuo Yamazaki Yohei Onishi Milano Collection A.T.Souichi Shibata Jyushin Thunder Liger Miki Motoi Katsuhiko Kanazawa Daisuke Takahashi Kazuki Kusanagi Hiroki Mikami Shunpei Terakawa Ring announcersKimihiko OzakiMakoto AbeRefereesKenta SatoMarty AsamiRed Shoes Unno
Tournament rules The tournament features twenty wrestlers, divided in two blocks of ten ("A" and "B"). Each participant faces all nine other wrestler within the same block in singles match, with the winner of each block being determined via a point system, gaining two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no point for a loss; each night of the event sees the ten members of a same block compete for the tournament. In case of several wrestler sharing the top score, the results of the matches those wrestlers had when facing each others in the tournament act as tiebreaker, with the one having the most wins over the other top-scorers determining the winner of the block.
On the final day of the event, the respective winners of both blocks face each other to determine the winner of the G1 Climax, who would gain a future match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, NJPW's top championship, at Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW's biggest yearly event; if the IWGP Heavyweight Champion himself wins, he gets to pick his opponent at Wrestle Kingdom. The Young Lion matches have a fifteen-minutes time limit, while the matches of the tournament have a 30-minutes time limit (with the time limit being reached resulting in a tie); the final match between the two block winners has no time limit.
History In January 2020, NJPW announced that the 2020 edition of the G1 Climax would take place from September to October, instead of its usual July–August schedule, to avoid conflict with the 2020 Summer Olympics. During the New Japan Road event on September 9, NJPW announced the full tournament bracket for the G1 Climax.
Storylines The event includes matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The tournament saw the in-ring returns of Juice Robinson and Will Ospreay to NJPW for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Jay White, Jeff Cobb, and Kenta returned to NJPW in August on their weekly TV show, NJPW Strong, which was taped in America. However, this tournament was White, Cobb, and Kenta's returns to Japan since the start of the pandemic.
Venues DatesVenueLocationSeptember 19Osaka Prefectural GymnasiumNamba, OsakaSeptember 20September 23Hokkaido Prefectural Sports CenterToyohira-ku, SapporoSeptember 24September 27World Memorial HallChūō-ku, KobeSeptember 29Korakuen HallBunkyo, TokyoSeptember 30October 1City Hall Plaza Aore NagaokaNagaoka, NiigataOctober 5Takamatsu City General GymnasiumTakamatsu, KagawaOctober 6Hiroshima Sun PlazaNishi-ku, HiroshimaOctober 7October 8Zip Arena OkayamaOkayama, OkayamaOctober 10Osaka Prefectural GymnasiumNamba, OsakaOctober 11Aichi Prefectural GymnasiumNagoya, AichiOctober 13Hamamatsu ArenaHamamatsu, ShizuokaOctober 14Yokohama BudokanKanagawa-ku, YokohamaOctober 16Ryogoku KokugikanSumida, TokyoOctober 17October 18
Results Night 1 (A Block) The first night of A Block took place on September 19, 2020 at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Namba, Osaka.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Kota Ibushi 0 2 Jay White 0 2 Minoru Suzuki 0 2 Taichi 0 2 Will Ospreay 0 22 Shingo Takagi 0 0 Jeff Cobb 0 0 Tomohiro Ishii 0 0 Yujiro Takahashi 0 0 Kazuchika Okada 0 0
Night 2 (B Block) The first night of B Block took place on September 20, 2020 at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Namba, Osaka.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Tetsuya Naito 0 2 Toru Yano 0 2 Juice Robinson 0 2 Zack Sabre Jr. 0 2 Kenta 0 22 Hiroshi Tanahashi 0 0 Sanada 0 0 Yoshi-Hashi 0 0 Evil 0 0 Hirooki Goto 0 0
Night 3 (A Block) The second night of A Block took place on September 23, 2020 at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Will Ospreay 2 4Taichi 2 4 Jay White 2 42 Kota Ibushi 2 2Minoru Suzuki 2 2Kazuchika Okada 0 2Jeff Cobb 0 23 Tomohiro Ishii 0 0Yujiro Takahashi 0 0Shingo Takagi 0 0
Night 4 (B Block) The second night of B Block took place on September 24, 2020 at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Tetsuya Naito 2 4 Toru Yano 2 4 Juice Robinson 2 42 Zack Sabre Jr. 2 2 Kenta 2 2Evil 0 2Hirooki Goto 0 23Hiroshi Tanahashi 0 0 Sanada 0 0 Yoshi-Hashi 0 0
Night 5 (A Block) The third night of A Block took place on September 27, 2020 at the World Memorial Hall in Chūō-ku, Kobe.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1Taichi 4 6Jay White 4 62 Will Ospreay 4 4 Kota Ibushi 2 4Minoru Suzuki 2 43Kazuchika Okada 2 2Jeff Cobb 2 2Shingo Takagi 0 24Tomohiro Ishii 0 0Yujiro Takahashi 0 0
Night 6 (B Block) The third night of B Block took place on September 29, 2020 at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Tetsuya Naito 4 6 Toru Yano 4 62 Juice Robinson 4 4Kenta 2 43 Zack Sabre Jr. 2 2Evil 2 2Hirooki Goto 2 24Hiroshi Tanahashi 0 2Yoshi-Hashi 0 25 Sanada 0 0
Night 7 (A Block) The fourth night of A Block took place on September 30, 2020 at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1Taichi 6 6Jay White 6 6 Will Ospreay 4 6 Kota Ibushi 4 6Minoru Suzuki 4 62Kazuchika Okada 2 43Jeff Cobb 2 2Shingo Takagi 2 2Tomohiro Ishii 0 24Yujiro Takahashi 0 0
Night 8 (B Block) The fourth night of B Block took place on October 1, 2020 at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Tetsuya Naito 6 6 Toru Yano 6 6 Juice Robinson 4 62Kenta 4 4 Zack Sabre Jr. 2 4Evil 2 4Hiroshi Tanahashi 2 43Hirooki Goto 2 2Yoshi-Hashi 2 2 Sanada 0 2
Night 9 (A Block) The fifth night of A Block took place on October 5, 2020 at the Takamatsu City General Gymnasium in Takamatsu, Kagawa.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1Kota Ibushi 6 82 Jay White 6 6 Will Ospreay 6 6Taichi 6 6Minoru Suzuki 6 6Kazuchika Okada 4 63Jeff Cobb 2 4Shingo Takagi 2 4Tomohiro Ishii 2 4 4Yujiro Takahashi 0 0
Night 10 (B Block) The fifth night of B Block took place on October 6, 2020 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.
Tournament scores Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Tetsuya Naito 6 82Evil 4 6Hiroshi Tanahashi 4 6 Toru Yano 6 6 Juice Robinson 6 63Hirooki Goto 2 4Sanada 2 4Kenta 4 4 Zack Sabre Jr. 4 44Yoshi-Hashi 2 2
Night 11 (A Block) The sixth night of the A Block took place on October 7, 2020 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.
Tournament scores Colors Can still win the block Cannot win the block regardless of future results Rank Wrestler Result Points1Kota Ibushi88Jay White68Kazuchika Okada68Will Ospreay682Minoru Suzuki66Taichi66Shingo Takagi46Tomohiro Ishii463Jeff Cobb444Yujiro Takahashi00
Night 12 (B Block) The sixth night of the B Block took place on October 8, 2020 at Zip Arena Okayama in Okayama, Okayama.
Tournament scores Colors Can still win the block Cannot win the block regardless of future results Rank Wrestler Result Points1Tetsuya Naito8102Evil68 3Hiroshi Tanahashi66Juice Robinson66Toru Yano66Hirooki Goto46Sanada46Zack Sabre Jr.464Kenta445Yoshi-Hashi22
Night 13 (A Block) The seventh night of A Block took place on October 10, 2020 at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Namba, Osaka.
Tournament scores Colors Can still win the block Cannot win the block regardless of future results Rank Wrestler Result Points1Kota Ibushi810Jay White810Kazuchika Okada810Will Ospreay8102Taichi66Shingo Takagi66Minoru Suzuki66Tomohiro Ishii66Jeff Cobb463Yujiro Takahashi00
Night 14 (B Block) The seventh night of B Block took place on October 11, 2020 at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi.
Tournament scores Colors Can still win the block Cannot win the block regardless of future results Rank Wrestler Result Points1Evil810Tetsuya Naito10102Hirooki Goto68Zack Sabre Jr.68Sanada683Toru Yano66Hiroshi Tanahashi66Juice Robinson66Kenta464Yoshi-Hashi22
Night 15 (A Block) The eighth night of A Block took place on October 13, 2020 at the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.
Tournament scores Colors Can still win the block Cannot win the block regardless of future results Rank Wrestler Result Points1Jay White 1012Kota Ibushi 1012Kazuchika Okada 10122 Will Ospreay 10 103 Taichi 6 8Jeff Cobb 684 Minoru Suzuki 6 6 Tomohiro Ishii 6 6 Shingo Takagi 6 6 5 Yujiro Takahashi 0 0
Night 16 (B Block) The eighth night of B Block took place on October 14, 2020 at the Yokohama Budokan in Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama.
Tournament scores Colors Can still win the block Cannot win the block regardless of future results Rank Wrestler Result Points1Evil1012Tetsuya Naito10122Sanada810Zack Sabre Jr.8103Hirooki Goto88Kenta684Hiroshi Tanahashi66Juice Robinson66Toru Yano665Yoshi-Hashi22
Night 17 (A Block Final) The ninth night of A Block took place on October 16, 2020 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo. Kota Ibushi was declared the winner of A Block after Tomohiro Ishii pinned Jay White.
Tournament scores Colors Winner of the block Did not win the block Rank Wrestler Result Points1 Kota Ibushi 12142 Jay White 12 12 Will Ospreay 10 12 Kazuchika Okada 12 123 Taichi 8 8Jeff Cobb 88Shingo Takagi 6 8Tomohiro Ishii 6 84 Minoru Suzuki 6 6 5 Yujiro Takahashi 0 2
Night 18 (B Block Final) The ninth night of B Block will take place on October 17, 2020 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo. Sanada was declared the winner of B Block after pinning Evil.
Tournament scores Colors Winner of the block Did not win the block Rank Wrestler Result Points1Sanada10122Evil1212Tetsuya Naito12123Kenta810Zack Sabre Jr.10104Juice Robinson68Hiroshi Tanahashi68Hirooki Goto885Toru Yano666Yoshi-Hashi24
Night 19 (Final) The final night took place on October 18, 2020 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo. A Block winner Kota Ibushi defeated B Block winner Sanada to be declared the winner of the tournament.
Participants
+Final standingsBlock ABlock BKota Ibushi14Sanada12Will Ospreay12Evil12Jay White 12Tetsuya Naito12Kazuchika Okada12Kenta10Taichi8Zack Sabre Jr.10Jeff Cobb8Hirooki Goto 8Tomohiro Ishii 8Hiroshi Tanahashi8Shingo Takagi8Juice Robinson8Minoru Suzuki6Toru Yano6Yujiro Takahashi2Yoshi-Hashi4