5 possible winners of the NJPW G1 Climax 31 tournament

#1 Kazuchika Okada - NJPW

Kazuchika Okada has been one of the top stars in NJPW for close to a decade now. He is widely regarded by many fans and pundits as the face of the company. Okada has been in transformative feuds with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega that have allowed New Japan Pro Wrestling to expand and gain new fans worldwide.

Kazuchika Okada's 720-day IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign made the title far and away the most prestigious in the pro wrestling industry. He broke the record for days holding the title and title defenses. The loss of the gold to Omega was marvelous in how it changed Okada. He went on a journey to find himself again, changing the color of his hair and coming out with balloons.

Okada refound his edge and regained "The Rainmaker" persona on his way to regaining the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden from "Switchblade" Jay White at the NJPW G1 Supercard in 2019. He went a long run with the title until he eventually lost the gold to Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020.

The pandemic made The Rainmaker go on another crisis of confidence and try new things. Instead of relying on his signature Rainmaker finisher, he tried a new submission called the Money Clip. However, the betrayal of Will Ospreay and subsequent epic encounter at Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night One made him utilize the Rainmaker finisher once again.

That win over Ospreay was supposed to set up an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship bout at Wrestle Grand Slam in May. However, Will Ospreay went down with a neck injury and left Japan, vacating the title. Okada got his opportunity against Shingo Takagi, losing at Dominion 2021 for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Winning the B Block and then the entire G1 Climax 31 tournament will allow Kazuchika Okada to make his way back to the richest prize in NJPW. If Okada is able to win, he will get his opportunity two years after the last time he held the title. His first match of the tournament will see him battle with his arch rival Hiroshi Tanahashi once again.

Kazuchika Okada will also face his biggest rival this year in NJPW, Jeff Cobb. He will square off with other competitors that he has a history with like SANADA, Hirooki Goto and EVIL. It has been seven years since The Rainmaker won the G1 Climax. Being a past winner of the tournament twice, it will be a rise back to the top in many ways for Okada.

The G1 Climax 31 presents a brand new path to redemption for Kazuchika Okada. This has been something that has become a common storyline in the company and a journey that Okada has been on before. That's why Okada is the most likely winner of the G1 Climax 31 tournament.