On July 1 and 2, NJPW will be holding a G1 Special event in Long Beach, California as a prelude to their biggest tournament of the year, G1 Climax. As they expand into the US market, NJPW debuted the IWGP United State Heavyweight Championship and the first champion will be crowned at the G1 Special. Initially, the tournament was said to be round-robin, but it now looks like they are going with a single-elimination, 8-man tournament. The eight participants are: Michael Elgin, Kenny Omega, Jay Lethal, Hangman Page, Juice Robinson, Zack Sabre Jr., Tomohiro Ishii, and Tetsuya Naito.

Here is the full lineup for July 1 and a preliminary lineup for July 2:

July 1
* Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Chaos (Beretta, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Rocky Romero and Will Ospreay)
* Dragon Lee, Jushin Thunder Liger, Titán & Volador Jr. vs. Bushi, Evil, Hiromu Takahashi & Sanada
* Hangman Page vs. Jay Lethal (1st round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
* Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (1st round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
* David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay White and Kushida vs. Billy Gunn, Sho Tanaka, Yohei Komatsu and Yos–tatsu
* Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. War Machine (IWGP Tag Team Championship)
* Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (1st round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
* Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin (1st round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
* Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Cody (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)

July 2
* The Young Bucks (c) vs. Roppongi Vice (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Billy Gunn (IWGP Intercontinental Championship)
* Winner of Kenny Omega/Michael Elgin vs. winner of Jay Lethal/Hangman Page (Semifinals – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
* Winner of Juice Robinson/Zack Sabre Jr. vs. winner of Tetsuya Naito/Tomohiro Ishii (Semifinals – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
* Winner of Semis #1 vs. Winner of Semis #2 (Finals for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship)

 

July 1 will air live on AXS TV at 8pm, while the July 2 show will air on AXS TV on Friday, July 7 at 8pm ET, both will have commentary by Jim Ross and Josh Barnett. Both shows will air live on NJPW World, but the July 1 show will be unavailable in the United States until the VOD comes out (exact time is not yet know). It’s about $9 to sign up for NJPW World.

Source: WrestlingINC

The NJPW Dominion pay-per-view will take place on Sunday from the Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. Remember to join us at 3am EST for live coverage.

Below is the card for Sunday:

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Lumberjack deathmatch for the NEVER Openweight Championship
Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Hirooki Goto

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. KUSHIDA

Cody vs. Michael Elgin

IWGP Tag Team Championship
War Machine (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) vs. The Young Bucks

Gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Bushi, Evil and Sanada (c) vs. Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Juice Robinson, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima vs. Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata

Dark Match
David Finlay, Shota Umino and Tomoyuki Oka vs. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura and Tetsuhiro Yagi

To watch the show, you can sign up for NJPW World by clicking here, it’s about $9 a month.

To celebrate the upcoming Dominion event, NJPW has given free access to watch the past five Dominion shows.

At yesterday’s NJPW US Press Conference a number of wrestlers were named for the upcoming G1 Special on July 1 and 2. As noted previously, the first show will air live on AXS TV at 8pm EST. Here’s the lineup:

* Bad Luck Fale
* Billy Gunn
* Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
* BUSHI
* Cody Rhodes
* David Finlay
* Dragon Lee
* EVIL
* Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa)
* Hangman Page
* Hiromu Takahashi
* Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Jay Lethal
* Jay White
* Juice Robinson
* Jushin Liger
* Kazuchika Okada
* Kenny Omega
* KUSHIDA
* Marty Scurll
* Michael Elgin
* Roppongi Vice (Beretta & Rocky Romero)
* SANADA
* Tempura Boyz (Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu)
* Tetsuya Naito
* Titán
* Tomohiro Ishii
* Volador, Jr.
* War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)
* Will Ospreay
* YOs–tATSU
* Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
* Yujiro Takahashi
* Zack Sabre, Jr.

– While it’s been confirmed Jay Lethal and Adam Page are in the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship tournament. NJPW also said the IWGP Heavyweight, Intercontinental, Tag Team, and Junior Tag Team Championship will all be defended at these shows.

Here is yesterday’s NJPW U.S. Press Conference which included Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega:

 

Source: WrestlingINC

AXS TV announced that they will air New Japan Pro Wrestling‘s G-1 Climax special events in Long Beach this summer. July 1 event will air LIVE at 8pm ET and the event on July 2 will air in its entirety on Friday, July 7 at 8pm ET.

AXS TV announced the following:

AXS TV TO LIVE BROADCAST NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING’S FIRST-EVER U.S. EVENT, THE ‘G1 SPECIAL IN THE USA,’ SATURDAY, JULY 1 AT 8pE

The Historic Broadcast is AXS TV’s First Live NJPW Broadcast and Marks the Promotion’s Biggest Step into the U.S. Market

Night Two Premieres in Its Entirety on AXS TV, Friday, July 7 at 8pE

Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks Join Superstars Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito at the ‘G1 SPECIAL’

Catch Up on the Most Recent NJPW Events Friday Nights in June on AXS TV Leading Up to the Event Including New Japan Cup, Sakura Genesis, Dominion and More

LOS ANGELES – May 18, 2016 – AXS TV, TV ASAHI and NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING today announced AXS TV will be the exclusive U.S. television broadcast home of NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTING’s first-ever U.S. event—the G1 SPECIAL IN THE USA—live Saturday, July 1 at 8pE/5pP from the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.

Following Saturday night’s live event broadcast of the G1 SPECIAL, AXS TV will premiere the second night of the event in a four-hour showcase on Friday, July 7 at 8pE/5pP. The special presentation will feature every match from night two in Long Beach with limited commercial interruption.

The G1 SPECIAL marks AXS TV’s first live broadcast of NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING, the world’s fastest growing and second largest wrestling promotion, which the network has showcased on Friday nights in its award-winning, hour-long weekly series since 2015. AXS TV’s NJPW broadcast team—Wrestling Hall of Famer Jim Ross and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett—will be ringside for both nights of the event to call the action for the network.

“New Japan is coming to the U.S. for the first time in its illustrious 45-year history,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “The timing for the first-ever U.S. event and live TV broadcast is perfect—the weekly NJPW television show on AXS TV is a hit and the tickets for the G1 SPECIAL in the USA sold out within hours. We are excited to see how fans respond to this historic live broadcast.”

“New Japan Pro Wrestling is simply delighted to have our very first event in the United States, and to have it air live on TV marks a major breakthrough for the Japanese pro-wrestling promoters,” said Mr. Naoki Sugabayashi, Chairman of the Board, New Japan Pro Wrestling. “It is definitely going to have the most exciting matches by the most formidable wrestlers… don’t miss it!”

“New Japan Pro Wrestling has been one of our most important partners over the years and we are absolutely excited that NJPW is now holding its premier major event in the United States,” said Mr. Hitoshi Matsumoto, Deputy General Manager, Business Division, TV Asahi. “NJPW content is a big success in Japan supported by fans of all generations and genders, so we do hope the viewers in the United States will find themselves hooked with the same explosion of excitement.”

“This is going to be one of the most eagerly anticipated events that I have broadcast in my 40+ year career,” said Jim Ross. “Restaurant-quality slobberknockers will be abundant on this historic weekend of pro wrestling excellence.”

“New Japan is bringing the lead in to the most prestigious tournament in the world of professional wrestling to the U.S.,” said Josh Barnett, “and I am pumped to call the blood, sweat, and tears ringside with J.R.!”

Also announced today, the G1 SPECIAL is scheduled to feature American stars Cody Rhodes and “The Young Bucks” Matt and Nick Jackson, in addition to NJPW superstars Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito. More wrestlers and official match listings are forthcoming.

Leading up to the live G1 SPECIAL broadcast, AXS TV will give viewers the opportunity to catch up on the latest NJPW events during the networks’ Friday night series with the “Summer of Strong Style” event showcasing all of the promotion’s 2017 events. Upcoming episodes include top matches from New Beginning in Sapporo and Osaka; New Japan Cup; Sakura Genesis; Wrestling Toyo and Dontaku; and, the night before G1 SPECIAL—Friday, June 30—back-to-back episodes featuring June’s Dominion 6.11 event.

Following the G1 SPECIAL, AXS TV will continue to showcase NJPW events closer to their original airdate during its Friday night series, starting with the Best of the Super Juniors and the G1 Climax 27 tournament.

AXS TV’s upcoming NJPW schedule is as follows (subject to change):

• May 26 @ 7pE – “Wrestle Kingdom 11” 4-Part Marathon
• June 2 @ 7pE & 8pE – “New Beginning in Sapporo”
• June 9 @ 7pE & 8pE – “New Beginning in Osaka”
• June 16 @ 7pE, 8pE & 9pE – “New Japan Cup” & “Sakura Genesis”
• June 23 @ 7pE & 8pE – “Wrestling Toyo” & “Wrestling Dontaku”
• June 30 @ 7pE & 8pE – “Dominion 2017”
• LIVE – July 1, 2017 @ 8pE/5pP – “G1 Special in the USA Night 1”
• July 7 @ 8pE – “G1 Special in the USA Night 2”