G1 Special in USA

G1 Special in USA is an upcoming two-day event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The two shows are scheduled to take place on July 1 and 2, 2017, in Long Beach, California, United States at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. These will be the first NJPW shows that the promotion has produced independently in the U.S. NJPW will crown the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion during the weekend. The event's name refers to the annual G1 Climax tournament as these shows also serve as a prelude to the 2017 G1 Climax.

Background
In December 2016, rumors emerged of NJPW planning to hold the first two nights of the 2017 G1 Climax in the United States with New England-based wrestling personality George Carroll and wrestler Rocky Romero reportedly doing ground work for the dates in Long Beach, California. NJPW officially announced the shows for July 1 and 2, 2017, during Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017. However, these shows would not be part of the G1 Climax, but would instead serve as a prelude to the tournament, which takes place between July 17 and August 13. These two shows would be the first NJPW shows that the promotion has produced independently in the United States, as opposed to co-producing with an American promotion.

After announcing the Long Beach shows, NJPW went public with their plan of an American expansion, which would include running extended tours in the United States with California as the base, while also establishing a gym in Los Angeles, run by Rocky Romero to train Americans. The full-scale running of the American market was set to launch in 2018. According to Takaaki Kidani, the plan was a direct response to WWE taking four wrestlers from NJPW in January 2016. Tickets for the shows as well as meet-and-greets were put on sale on April 1 and sold out within hours, despite the fact that NJPW had not announced any matches for the two shows. Three days later, NJPW announced the first group of wrestlers taking part in the event; Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega. In May, NJPW put additional seats for the shows on sale, which were also quickly sold out.

On May 12, during the third night of the NJPW and Ring of Honor (ROH) co-produced War of the Worlds tour in New York City, it was announced that NJPW would hold a round-robin tournament to crown the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion during the G1 Special in USA weekend. It was also announced that both the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships would be defended during the weekend.

The two shows will air live through NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World, and will feature English commentary. According to Jim Ross, AXS TV will announce their own broadcasting plans for the shows on May 18.