NJPW Announces G1 Climax 33 Lineup, Including AEW's Eddie Kingston

This weekend's NJPW Dominion was a massive night for fans of the juggernaut puroresu company. Outside of the various star-studded matches and a major announcement heading into Forbidden Door, Dominion also saw the entire lineup for this year's G1 Climax get announced. The premiere men's tournament in Japan, the G1 Climax 33 will host 32 competitors vying to win the grueling round-robin tournament. In this 32-man lineup, 10 are new entries, four are former G1 Climax winners, and two will represent companies that NJPW has good relationships with.

The participants for the G1 Climax 33 are as follows:

Kazuchicka Okada (4x Winner)

Tetsuya Naito (2x Winner)

SANADA

Will Ospreay

Hiroshi Tanahashi (3x Winner)

David Finlay

Shota Umino (First Appearance)

Shingo Takagi

Tomohiro Ishii

Tama Tonga

Tanga Loa

Hikuleo (First Appearance)

Hirooki Goto (1x Winner)

YOSHI-HASHI

Toru Yano

KENTA

Zack Sabre Jr.

Taichi

Eddie Kingston (AEW) (First Appearance)

EL Phantasmo

Ren Narita (First Appearance)

EVIL

Chase Owens

Jeff Cobb

Great-O-Khan

Aaron Henare

Gabriel Kidd (First Appearance)

Alex Coughlin (First Appearance)

Shane Haste (First Appearance)

Mikey Nicholls (First Appearance)

Yota Tsuji (First Appearance)

Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH) (First Appearance)

Likely the two most remarkable additions to this year's jampacked tournament are the ones entering from different companies. First, AEW star Eddie Kingston will be making the trip to Japan to compete in his first-ever G1 Climax. The fan-favorite is known for being influenced by Japanese wrestling legends, making his inclusion a welcome one. Kingston has already stated his desire to wrestle both Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi in Japan, and while the blocks have yet to be announced, he could very well get one or both of those dream matches sometime this Summer.

Secondly, the G1 Climax will see a Pro Wrestling NOAH representative for the first time since 2017, when Kaito Kiyomiya makes his first appearance in NJPW's annual tournament. The former GHC Heavyweight Champion has been on something of a downward spiral since his rivalry with Okada earlier this year ended in total defeat for the NOAH representative. While he is likely aiming for another match with Okada, the 26-year-old star's entry into the G1 Climax 33 is sure to present fresh matchups for the seven-year veteran and could be just what he needs to get back to the top of the puroresu world.