Why NJPW Didn't Add Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii To G1 Climax 34

New Japan Pro-Wrestling have utilised a different format to determine two of the G1 Climax 34 competitors as the promotion has held a qualifying tournament as part of their New Japan Soul tour. Top NJPW stars like Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii were part of the tournament, although both were eliminated in the semi-finals of the qualifier on July 3, with Tanahashi losing to Boltin Oleg while Ishii lost to YOSHI-HASHI.

Ishii and Tanahashi have been G1 regulars for many years but Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that neither were added to the round-robin tournament this time around as the feeling within New Japan was they wouldn't be able to manage the G1 schedule at this stage of their careers. 

"The basic gist for both Tanahashi and Ishii losing, since obviously they were the most marketable guys you could put in, is basically an inside feeling that they cannot take nine matches at that level at this stage of their careers," Meltzer said.

Injuries have noticeably caught up with Hiroshi Tanahashi in 2024, with the NJPW President often struggling to move around the squared circle. Ishii has also suffered his own issues from a career of battering people and being battered in New Japan. 

NJPW G1 Climax 34 is scheduled to get underway on July 20 and run until the finals on August 18. 20 wrestlers will be in the two-block tournament, including IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, David Finlay, EVIL, Pro Wrestling NOAH's Jake Lee, and AEW's Konosuke Takeshita. 

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