G1 Climax Block A
Katsuyori Shibata. One of the most dangerous strikers in NJPW, He is one of the favourites to win, Shibata came through in the same generation as Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura with the 3 being considered the new 3 musketeers.
![]()
Hiroshi Tanahashi. The ace of New Japan. He just came off a lost to Prince Devitt at Dominion. He is a 6 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, A 2 time New Japan Cup winner, A 2 time IWGP Tag Team Champion, A GHC Tag Team Champion and winner of the G1 in 2007. Tanahashi is arguably the best bet for winner
[img src="http://
" alt=" "]
Prince Devitt. He beat the Ace to get here and has a chance to do it again as he's in the same block as Tanahashi. He's the leader of the rebellious Bullet Club which is quickly establishing itself as one of the biggest threats to the future of New Japan. The current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion has held the belt on 3 occasions and won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 6 times with 2 partners with the first 2 being with Minoru Tanaka and the other 4 as part of Apollo 55. He won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament can he go all the way and win the G1 though?
Yuji Nagata. A NJPW Legend. He won the G1 all the way back in 2001 12 years ago. He is a 2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and has the 2nd longest title reign in history by defenses with 10 defenses of the title to his name. He's also won AJPW's Champion Carnival in 2011 and won the IWGP World Tag League twice with the latest victory being in 2010 with Wataru Inoue. Yuji Nagata may be on the older side but he knows what he's doing when tournament season comes around. Can Yuji Nagata go all the way and win the G1 one last time before it's too late.
Shinsuke Nakamura. All 3 muskeeters ended up in Block A, The current IWGP Intercontinental Champion won the G1 in 2011 and looks to replicate his success. He is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion having held the belt 3 times between 2003 and 2009. A former tag partner of "Mr. August" Masahiro Chono, he looks to replicate the success that Chono found in the G1 however with competition getting tougher each year it's questioned if Nakamura has it in him to go all the way in what many are naming "The block from hell"
Lance Archer. At over 2 meters tall, “The Murder-hawk Monster” Lance Archer can prove to be an unsettling and brutal opponent in the ring. Debuting in July 2000, Archer has competed all over the world, including TNA and the WWE. In June of 2011, though, he joined Suzuki-Gun and formed the two time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title winning K.E.S. (“Killer Elite Squad”) with Davey Boy Smith Jr. This is his first G1 Climax and many are questioning if Archer is ready to take this step however he argues that he is more than ready to make the whole roster bow to Suzuki-Gun
Trained by pro wrestling legends Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu, Ishii is renowned for his dogged determination and toughness. Known in NJPW as a no-nonsense workhorse able to produce amazing matches night after night, he takes the brunt of any opponent’s attacks head-on and returns the favor in kind. His short stature belies his explosive strength, which he uses to inflict brutal chops and head butts. Tomohiro Ishii enters his first G1 Climax with hopes of going all the way to meet stable mate Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom.
Masato Tanaka is the only japanese ECW World champion ever, Having won the belt in December 99. He is the current and to date only NEVER Openweight Champion. He's one of the dark horses in the A Block and one of the most unpredictable competitors in the whole tournament, He has a history of tournament wins having won Zero1's Fire Festival on 4 occasions. He has also won the Zero1 World Heavyweight title on 2 occasions, The Zero1 United National Championship. And the NWA International Tag Team championship on 4 occasions
Shelton Benjamin is one of the most decorated wrestlers on the planet. He is part of the Suzuki-Gun stable and is a former 3 time WWE Intercontinental champion, a 2 time WWE tag team champion alongside Charlie Haas his long time tag partner, a WWE US champion, a 2 time ROH Tag Team champion with Haas and a WWC Universal champion. Benjamin is one of the most athletic wrestlers in the tournament and could be a surprise finalist.
Christopher Daniels, One of the biggest names in the US scene is an amazing wrestler having been active since 1993. He has won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on 6 different occasions, the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team championship with Bryan Danielson all the way back in 2004. The TNA Tag titles twice and the ROH tag titles twice. He's also won the TNA X-Division & ROH TV titles.
G1 Climax Block B
The Golden Star, Kota Ibushi is one of NJPW's most popular juniors. He's currently one of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions alongside his Golden Lovers partner in Kenny Omega, He's also a 2 time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and has won the Best of the Super Juniors in 2011. Kota Ibushi is a future star in the making. Will the 2013 G1 be his breakout?
With a strong wrestling pedigree and impressive physique, Davey Boy Smith Jr. brings power and technicality to the ring. The son of the legendary “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, he made his debut in Canada in 2000. Under the name Harry Smith, he briefly wrestled in NJPW through 2005, before heading to America and WWE from 2006 to 2011. In August of 2012 he joined up with Suzuki-gun and partnered with Lance Archer to form the Killer Elite Squad (K.E.S.). Now going single in the G1 could he be the one.
A formidable wrestler. Hirooki Goto graduated from the NJPW dojo in 2003. The G in G1 stood for Goto in 2008 when he went all the way and won the tournament. He's also won the New Japan Cup on 3 occasions and the most recent World Tag League with Karl Anderson. Hirooki Goto seems to have a natural success in tournaments and hes hoping to win the G1 for a 2nd time.
A product of the original LA Dojo, Karl Anderson made his NJPW debut in 2008. Quickly gaining a reputation as a tag team master, he held the IWGP Tag team Championships with Giant Bernard for a year and a half between 2010 and 2012. He was equally impressive as a singles wrestler however, becoming only the second non-Japanese wrestler to make the G1 Climax final, in 2012. He made it to the final last year and he's hoping to go 1 step further now he's a member of Bullet Club.
Debuting for Toryumon at the age of 16, he joined NJPW in August of 2007. After training overseas he returned in 2012 to compete in Wrestle Kingdom VI at the Tokyo Dome, where he joined CHAOS. The following month he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight belt in a moment known as the ‘Rainmaker Shock’. He has since won the G1 last year and won the latest edition of the New Japan Cup. He's currently IWGP Heavyweight Champion and he's hoping to repeat last years success
A veteran fighter wielding devastating upper body strength. Ever since his debut for New Japan in 1991, Kojima has displayed legendary vigor and strength in the ring. Known for a deadly lariat, which he honed under the training of Stan Hansen. In February of 2005 Kojima held both the Triple Crown Heavyweight and the IWGP Heavyweight titles, a first in pro wrestling. Teamed with Hiroyoshi Tenzan he has been IWGP Tag Team Champion five times, tying the record. Kojima always gets the crowd pumped with his famous battle cry, “Ichau zo, baka yaro!” (“Here I come, punk!”) followed by certain pain for his opponent. Kojima is looking to win the G1 and show the world, here he comes.
The King of Pro-Wrestling and the leader of Suzuki-Gun, Minoru Suzuki is a name that strikes respect and fear deep in the heart of competitors and fans alike. After initially training in the NJPW Dojo, Suzuki joined the UWF group in 1989, before becoming one of the founding fathers of Japanese MMA. Returning to pro-wrestling in 2003, Suzuki picked up gold wherever he went, including IWGP Tag Team, NEVER Openweight, and IWGP Intercontinental gold in NJPW. With over 30 years of career expereince, Suzuki shows no signs of slowing down, and seems to only get more terrifying with every year that goes by. Minoru Suzuki challenged for the Heavyweight title at Wrestling Dontaku and is now looking to use the G1 to gain another attempt.
Seiya Sanada was trained by the All Japan dojo and debuted in 2007. He tested to attend the NJPW prior to that but failed to gain entry. Sanada has slowly been working his way up the card in AJPW. He has won the All Asia tag team belts twice, the World Tag team championships once, and the Garora TV championship. He looks like he could be a star in the making for All Japan, and just came back from excursion. However, he didnt rejoin AJPW, He joined NJPW and looks to make a statement in his G1 debut.
A charismatic wrestler who is one of the most popularin New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Tetsuya Naito joined the company in 2006, and spent two years on an excursion in 2009 and 2010. Has been moving up the card since, and looks like he could get a run at the very top. he hopes to make his name in the 2013 G1 and looks like he just might go all the way
Togi Makabe is one of the most beloved veterans on the New Japan roster. The star of ring, stage and screen, Makabe is beloved in Japan for his appearances in major motion pictures like the Japanese version of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, and regular outings on television, his penchant for sweets making the nickname ‘sweets Makabe’ arguably more of a household utterance than ‘Unchained Gorilla’. Yet make no mistake; Makabe represents NJPW with his heart on his sleeve and violent action behind his words. The G1 Climax in 2009 and IWGP Heavyweight Championship top a list of achievements that also include two IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns. He looks to add a 2nd G1 victory and just might.
