The G1 Climax has wrapped up, and after nineteen tournament events, the big tour of the year saw a notable decrease in attendance figures from past years.
This year’s G1 attracted a total disclosed attendance of 43,078 over nineteen events or an average of 2,267 per show, according to the figures New Japan Pro Wrestling released.
The total attendance fell by 11.5 percent from last year’s total of 48,683 and average of 2,562 over the nineteen shows in 2024.
The G1 in 2025 failed to attract 3,000 fans for any of the round-robin shows, with the final two nights at Ariake Arena drawing 4,558 and 6,870, respectively. The two-night total of 11,428 fans was a decrease of 14.7 percent from last year’s final two nights at Sumo Hall with Zack Sabre Jr. over Yota Tsuji in last year’s final.
Brandon Thurston at Wrestlenomics has charted the past decade of G1 events, and this year’s tournament ranks as the lowest attended version of the past decade, which is when the G1 expanded to the month-long format.
During its “golden period,” where the G1 Climax became the must-see wrestling tournament of the year, it peaked in 2019 with 92,345 fans over eighteen shows, with Kota Ibushi winning that year’s G1.
The pandemic dramatically affected New Japan as it ran limited-capacity shows for the 2020 & 2021 installments while moving the tournament to the fall from its usual summer staging.
In its first year back at full capacity with crowds, the 2022 version drew 48,138 fans and was impacted by a combination of the COVID-19 effect, the proliferation of AEW, and the loss of key stars. That trend has continued with NJPW losing Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay over the past several years, with the 2025 version being Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final tournament.
