The NJPW World League 1974 was a professional wrestling tournament produced by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) that took place from April 5 to May 8, 1974. It was the first edition of what is currently known as the G1 Climax. The World League took it's inspiration from the World Big League tournament that was held in the defunct Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance from 1959 to 1972. Due to Antonio Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Killer Karl Krupp all finishing round two with 5.5 points, they competed in a single round-robin tiebreaker block to determine the tournament's winner.
Sixteen wrestlers were entered into the tournament, being split into two blocks, with eight Japanese wrestlers being grouped into the first block, while the remaining eight non-Japanese wrestlers were grouped in the second block. During the first round, only the Japanese and non-Japanese wrestlers faced off, with the top four of each block advancing to the second round of round-robin competition, where there were no restrictions on matches.
