| G1 Climax 31 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 G1 Climax 31 logo | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | September 18–October 21, 2021 | ||
| City | See venues | ||
| Venue | See venues | ||
| Tagline(s) | Max the Max | ||
| Event chronology | |||
| |||
| G1 Climax chronology | |||
| |||
 Kazuchika Okada, winner of G1 Climax 31 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Professional wrestling |
| Location | |
| Dates | September 18, 2021–October 21, 2021 |
Tournament format(s) | Two-block round-robin tournament |
| Participants | 20 |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | Kazuchika Okada |
| Runner-up | Kota Ibushi |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Bouts fought | 91 |
The G1 Climax 31 was a professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The tournament commenced on September 18 and concluded on October 21, 2021. It is the thirty-first edition of G1 Climax, and forty-seventh edition of the tournament counting its previous forms under different names. B block winner Kazuchika Okada defeated A Block winner Kota Ibushi by referee stoppage after Ibushi suffered an arm injury when he attempted to perform a Phoenix Splash on Okada, forcing referee Red Shoes Unno to stop the match.
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 points for a defeat. Each night of the event sees the ten members of one block compete. On the final day of the event, the winners of each block face each other to determine the winner of the tournament, who also receives a future match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. The event is broadcast live on TV Asahi and Fighting TV Samurai in Japan, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling World worldwide.
The event saw the G1 Climax debut of Great-O-Khan, Tanga Loa, and Chase Owens. Tetsuya Naito suffered a legitimate knee injury during his match against Zack Sabre Jr. in the tournament's opening night, forcing him to forfeit the remainder of his matches.[1]
- ^ Currier, Joseph (September 20, 2021). "TETSUYA NAITO OUT OF NJPW G1 CLIMAX DUE TO KNEE INJURY". F4WOnline. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 22, 2021.