The G1 Climax is one of the most grueling, and arguably one of the most prestigious, professional wrestling tournaments on the planet. The near month-long block-style tournament pits 20 of the best wrestlers on the planet against one another as they all compete for the honor to hoist the G1 Climax trophy. But in addition to the trophy itself and the glory that comes with winning the tournament, the winner of the G1 Climax receives another extremely valuable prize. Since 2012, the winner of the tournament has been awarded a challenge rights contract that entitles the holder to a IWGP Heavyweight Championship title match in main event at Wrestle Kingdom the following year. While the history of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract (also known as the Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship Challenge Rights Certificate) is not exactly a long one, there have been several memorable moments involving the coveted macguffin. The holder of the contract is required to defend it in matches against opponents who defeated him over the course of the G1 tournament that year. The better the win/loss regard of the G1 winner, the fewer potential opponents there will be with the right to challenge for the Tokyo Dome contract. Past winners of the contract include Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega, and the most recent winner Hiroshi Tanahashi. With that being said, I wanted to take this time to write a bulleted history of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract that is awarded to the winner of the G1 Climax.
Who was the first winner of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract?
Kazuchika Okada was the first man to win the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract when it was introduced as a prize for winning the G1 Climax tournament in 2012. This would also serve as the first of Okada’s two G1 Climax wins.
How often does the winner of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract have to defend it?
The number of times that the holder of the contract (also known as the G1 Briefcase) must defend it varies based on the win/loss record the he had during the G1 Climax tournament. Although normally the holder of the contract only defends against opponents whom he suffered defeats against in the G1 Climax, Hiroshi Tanahashi most recently defended it against Kazuchika Okada despite not losing to Okada as part of the G1 Climax 28.
How often has the holder of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract gone on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom?
Although the contract propels the holder of it into an IWGP Heavyweight Title match at Wrestle Kingdom, the success rate of the contract holder is less than desirable to say the least. To date, no one who has used the contract to earn a IWGP Heavyweight Title match at Wrestle Kingdom has been successful in defeating the reigning champion.
Who holds the mark of having to defend the contract the most times before reaching their IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom?
Tetsuya Naito currently holds the recorded for most defenses of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract in a single year with three, having defended it twice against Masato Tanaka and once against Yujiro Takahashi before his title match at Wrestle Kingdom the following year.
Who holds the mark of having to defend the contract the fewest times before reaching their IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom?
Tetsuya Naito, ironically, also holds the record for the fewest number of times defending the G1 Briefcase with one having only defended against Tomohiro Ishii after winning the G1 Climax in 2017. Although Naito had also lost to Bad Luck Fale during the G1 Climax that year, he was never challenged to a match for the contract by the Underboss.
Which reigning champion has defeated the most holders of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract?
As mentioned earlier, the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion has never lost to the G1 Briefcase holder in their title bouts at Wrestle Kingdom. Currently, Kazuchika Okada holds the records for most defenses against holders of the challenge rights contract with three. In fact, Okada is the only man with victories over the other three past winners of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract; he has defeated Tetsuya Naito twice, Hiroshi Tanahashi twice, and Kenny Omega once.
Does the holder of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Contract also face the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom?
Although one would assume that the man challenging for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom would also be given the main event slot during the event, that has not always been the case. At Wrestle Kingdom 8, Tetsuya Naito (who was the holder of the G1 Briefcase at the time) challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. However, the two were not given the main event spotlight for their bout that night. In the months leading up to Wrestle Kingdom 8, fans were given the opportunity to vote for the match they wanted to see main event the Tokyo Dome show. Fans were tasked with choosing between the aforementioned IWGP Heavyweight Championship match or the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match that would see Hiroshi Tanahashi challenge then-champion Shinsuke Nakamura. By nearly a two-to-one margin, fans chose to give the main event match to Nakamura and Tanahashi which lead to Naito and Okada’s match being demoted to the semi-main event. This also marked the last time that the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match did not close out a Wrestle Kingdom event.
With Wrestle Kingdom 13 looming on the horizon (only a few months away) and the IWGP Heavyweight Title match being set to see champion Kenny Omega take on the challenger Hiroshi Tanahashi, I for one cannot wait to see the instant classic match these two stars are likely to deliver. Will Tanahashi be able to write the final chapter of the manifesto that has been the resurrection of his role as a main eventer in New Japan and become the first contract holder to successfully defeat the reigning champion in the Tokyo Dome? Or will the man who seeks to change the world, the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega, be able to turn back the challenge of the Ace of Universe to continue his title run? We will all watch in excitement as the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13 promises to be a 5-star match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship!
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