Jushin “Thunder” Liger confirmed for New Japan Dallas show

One of the most prolific junior heavyweights of all time, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, will be touching down in Dallas on July 6 for the New Japan G1 Climax.

On May 20, the NJPW website posted an update to the card for the G1 Climax 29 show in Dallas, “Opening Day in Dallas,” confirming that the legendary Jushin “Thunder” Liger will be taking part.

Liger has been a constant presence in the pro wrestling scene in Japan since 1984 and gained a following in the States when he wrestled for WCW throughout the 1990’s. Liger is also known for innovating and perfecting the Shooting Star Press maneuver in the early stages of his career.

Liger, a NJPW roster member for decades, has seemed to be winding down his career over the last few years, which is supported by the fact that he participated in his last Best Of The Super Juniors tournament in 2018.

Liger has gained support from the current generation of wrestling fans with his appearances in ROH and his match against Tyler Breeze in NXT.

The show in Dallas seems to be NJPW’s biggest push towards USA expansion since the ROH joint show at Madison Square Garden in April, and the presence of Kazuchika Okada, Liger, and the other aces of NJPW supports this. This will be the first time the G1 tournament will kick off outside of Japan and one of the few times the company has run shows in the United States.

Liger will mostly likely be in an a classic New Japan tag match early on the card but NJPW might throw the crowd a curveball and pit Liger against an up-and-coming junior heavyweight. It will most certainly be one of his last-ever matches, and perhaps the last time he wrestles in the United States. He is set to retire following NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 in January, 2020.

In addition to Liger, NJPW has also announced that Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, IWGP Intercontinental Champion Kota Ibushi and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada will also be appearing at the Dallas event in July.