Night 16 (August 14)

Boltin Oleg (8) def. Yuya Uemura (8) - forfeit
Henare (8) def. Hirooki Goto (4)
David Finlay (12) def. El Phantasmo ( 6)
Konosuke Takeshita (10) def. Ren Narita (10)
Yota Tsuji (10) def. Jeff Cobb (10)

Finlay and El Phantasmo had an interesting story to tell which they have been hyping in the backstage interviews. When Finlay took over leadership of Bullet Club, El Phantasmo was against him, eventually getting brutally kicked out by Finlay and the War Dogs. Hence Finlay calls El Phantasmo soft, not a killer, while the now-friendless El Phantasmo faces an old foe.

Unfortunately, being second on the card, the match didn't have time to shine. ELP had Finlay beat, which is more than can be said for most of his opponents, but Gedo distracted the referee, allowing Finlay to use the shillelagh for a tainted victory and, more importantly, B block victory.

Ren Narita and House of Torture pulled out all the stops to defeat Takeshita, but the AEW star powered through and knocked Narita out with a World Class forearm. Ren Narita is eliminated and Takeshita advances to face the winner of the main event.

Jeff Cobb can't catch a break in the G1. He always performs so well in the block stages but gets shafted at the last round. The main event was surprisingly one-sided with Tsuji scoring the majority of offense, winning with two Gene Blasts in a row.

B Block Top 3
David Finlay (12)
Konosuke Takeshita (10)
Yota Tsuji (10)

A special congratulations to AEW's Takeshita for advancing from the block stages, but I feel his next match will be his last.

Quarterfinals (August 15)

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Zack Sabre Jr. and Bullet Club (excluding House of Torture) are generally kept far apart. To my knowledge ZSJ has never met former leaders Kenny Omega or Jay White in singles action. Have they ever even shared a ring? That's why the tag matches between the block winners are interesting.

On this night Zack teamed with a new TMDK member called Hartley Jackson to take on David Finlay and Gedo. Most of the match was Zack and Finlay battling it out, fun action. It ended as expected, with the brick shithouse Hartley overwhelming Gedo.

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I complained about the quarter finals being repeat matches, but seeing O-Khan and Takagi battle a second time is intriguing. O-Khan lost to both Zack and Takagi in the block stages, in that sense the likely outcome is O-Khan overcoming both adversaries and making the final.

O-Khan had a gameplan in mind, targeting Takagi's right arm, just as Zack did earlier in the tournament. That didn't stop Takagi from using his right arm for every strike, but the blows were noticeably less effective. Takagi couldn't build his usual level of momentum. O-Khan's gameplan was flawless, but Takagi is a tough man to beat with a willpower few others possess. He was able to survive O-Khan's technical offense and hit Last of the Dragons to meet Zack once more.

In my view a strange booking decision. Why give O-Khan this super push, including beating Naito, for it to end so suddenly? Who knows. Next up is Takagi vs Zack. Takagi won their block match. can Takagi go 2-0 against Zack as he did against Great O-Khan? I don't think so. I also don't think it matters, because I'm 90% sure Finlay is winning the tournament.

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In the main event Yota Tsuji aims to avenge his first round defeat to Konosuke Takeshita. I have a strong feeling he will succeeed. Tsuji has the blessing of President Tanahashi. Not only that, but Takeshita's left knee is hurt, the punishment of the gruelling G1, and the point of focus of Ren Narita just one night prior.

The injured leg came into play quickly, causing Takeshita to hesitate on a second rope senton, ample time for Tsuji to get his knees up and establish control. Takeshita found a way back in and started using arguably desperate tactics: he piled a few chairs on Tsuji on the floor and delivered a slingshot senton from inside the ring.

Later on, Takeshita countered Tsuji's Gene Blast (spear) with a nasty flying knee attack. He followed up with an unusual move. With both men stood on the top rope, Takeshita hit a huge lariat - a super lariat! A strike exchang went unsurprisingly in Takeshita's favour, but Tsuji surprised his opponent with a Gene Blast! Normally that's game over, but Takeshita got his foot on the rope for a brilliant near fall. It was only delaying the inevitable, however, as Tsuji soon found space to hit a second Gene Blast and book his ticket to the semi-final against David Finlay.

Takeshita was moved by the G1 tournament and the response he received from the New Japan fans. In a teary interview he promised to become stronger to make his fans proud, both old and new. Even before seeing that promo I was going to write that Takeshita is the best non-NJPW G1 participant we've seen in a long time, if not ever. Brilliant showing.

Semifinals (August 16)

Interestingly, these repeat matches is that they are all from early in the G1. Quarterfinals: Shingo vs O-Khan: Round 2. Takeshita vs Tsuji: Round 1. Today's semifinals: Tsuji vs Finlay: Round 1. Shingo vs Zack: Round 9. That's the exception, but I will say that the alternative semi-final -
O-Khan vs Zack is from Round 1.

Enough rambling, onto the semifinals.

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Yota Tsuji met David Finlay in the first semifinal. Finlay employed a methodical strategy of targeting Tsuji's back. At one point he channelled Roderick Strong with all the backbreakers he employed. Commentary mentioned that Finlay is 31 years old which shocked me.

Tsuji fought back into the match with his unique blend of power, agility and lucha libre. Back and forth they went, Finlay sometimes thwarting Tsuji's original offense, other times not. One memorable moment was Tsuji countering Finlay's spear with a flying knee, exactly what Takeshita did to Tsuji the day before. Awesome callback. Multiple times they fought to put each other through a table that Finlay set up at ringside early in the match.

The table remained unbroken until over 20 minutes in the match when Finlay powerbombed Tsuji through the table. Tsuji crawled into the ring at the count of 19 but it appeared to be over. Tsuji was defenseless as Finlay, like so many times before, hit powerbomb after powerbomb. Unlike so many times before, however, Tsuji kept on kicking out. Finlay is never a man to deny an opponent a wish for more punishment, so he didn't lose his cool, but Tsuji surprised Finlay with a hurricanara counter followed by a Gene Blast!!

Finlay kicked out, but Tsuji had the breather he desperately needed. Finlay went for Overkill but Tsuji blocked it by catching the knee. Finlay threw forearms from his compromised position but Tsuji overhooked an arm. He overhooked the other arm and hit the Deadbolt Suplex, Yuya Uemura's finisher!! Uemura being Tsuji's rival who broke his arm in the match against Tsuji and was forfeited from the tournament. Tsuji followed up with a second Gene Blast for a monumental victory.

Amazing match with a shocking outcome. There goes my 90% odds on Finlay. I need to recalculate. Let's consider 10% that was reserved for Zack to win. The match ran for 28 and 2/3 minutes, Finlay hit 6 powerbombs, the final will be Tsuji's 12th G1 match. Multiply all that together and take 10%, Zack has 206.35% chance of winning. The numbers don't lie, and they spell disaster for you, Yota Tsuji.

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Zack Sabre Jr. vs Shingo Takagi. We've done the math - Zack is winning. How does it happen?

Zack starts the match by targeting Takagi's right arm. The same arm that O-Khan so heavily focused on the previous night, and the same arm that Zack targeted in their previous match. Takagi foils this plan quickly by taking Zack to the floor and turning it into a brawl. The Dragon takes over, focusing on Zack's neck. He starts with holds, before smartly switching to his usual bruiser style. Going technical with Zack is not a good idea in the long run. Takagi is dominating, but Zack finds an opening, attacking another limb: the left leg.

The dynamic of the match changed as Takagi lost a lot of his speed and explosive power. Nevertheless he still manages some heavy offense, a spike DDT and Made in Japan knocks Zack loopy. Shingo even applied a grounded Cobra Twist that had Zack desperately grabbing the ropes. It looks like the Takagi bulldozer is running over his opponents once again, but Zack had other plans. He escaped Last of the Dragon and applied a sleeper hold, transitioning into a Triangle Choke. However Takagi powers Zack up and hits Last of the Dragon! Noooo! One! Two! Zack kicks out!!!

Amazing near fall. Nobody has kicekd out of that in a long time. My faith in Zack grows more. Indeed, minutes later, Takagi is trapped in a nasty leglock. After an agonising period of suffering, Takagi has no choice but to tap out. The prophecy is fulfiled. Zack Sabre Jr. is in the final of the G1 Climax.

HE BLOODY DID IT!!!



ZACK SABRE JR. WINS G1 CLIMAX - OFFICIALLY BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD

my condolences @ness

I don't have much to say about the match itself. To be honest, I didn't think it was very good. Zack and Yota had surprisingly little chemistry. I'll give the plot summary: Tsuji attacked Zack's ribs - a weak point that was exposed in the G1 but targeted by few. It proved effective, taking Zack out of his game, but Zack directed most of his offense towards Tsuji's arm. Zack's entire gameplan was directed against the Gene Blast. The first time Tsuji tried it, Zack deftly sidestepped into an armbar. Tsuji managed to get his long leg on the ropes quickly. Tsuji tried it once more, Zack countered in exactly the same way, but this time he managed to trap every one of Tsuji's limbs, forcing the young warrior to verbally submit.

Notably, Zack is the first man to win the G1 Climax by submission since Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 2004.

Let's focus on the aftermath. Zack's post-match speech was shocking in that he rejected the traditional Tokyo Dome title shot on January 4, instead choosing to challenge at the King of Pro Wrestling event in October. He gave a few reasons.
1) Ryogoku Sumo Hall is his favourite venue to wrestle - the venue that hosted the G1 final.
2) He does not like the long gap between the G1 Climax and the Tokyo Dome, he wants the title shot as quickly as possible.
3) The NJPW London show Royal Quest IV is six days after King of Pro Wrestling, so he will be able to defend there as champion.

I'm sure this is what Zack wants, but perhaps the real reason behind the booking is that Naito is too broken to wrestle at a high level, so he's going to drop the belt earlier than expected. I sure hope that's the reason. The G1 winner losing at a lesser tier event, normally reserved for a throwaway title defense, would be a pretty big anticlimax.

Zack had some interesting comments in the G1 climax press conference.

"I’m still overwhelmed from the reaction from the fans not just from this weekend, but all through the G1," Zack commented. "From people I met on the street to everyone I’ve met over the course of the series, everyone has the belief I was going to win the G1. I’ve spent most of my adult life in Japan, but I feel that this last month in particular was one where I made a connection with Japanese fans, and these two nights in Ryogoku was the best atmosphere I’ve ever had in my career."

Sabre went on to acknowledge comments from Bryan Danielson in the media regarding his G1 campaign. "I’m really grateful for him saying he believed in me. He’s someone that’s inspired me from the beginning of my career, and when you have a rival and contemporary like that who believes in you, that gave me the boost I needed, as well as (Yoshinari) Ogawa san announcing his retirement. My whole career has been about me aspiring to personal goals, but this is bigger than me."

"I’ll soon be the first vegan IWGP World Heavyweight Champion so I hope I can raise awareness about veganism without being preachy or condescending. Traditional Japanese food has a lot of grains and vegetables, so I think there’s room to educate the pro-wrestling world in Japan more about veganism when I become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion."

OOOHHHHH ZACK SABRE JUNIIOORRRRRR

OOOHHHHH ZACK SABRE JUNIIOORRRRRR

I can’t speak to Naito being hurt but if his match with Moxley at Forbidden Door and what little I saw of him in this G1 is any indication, he needs like a year off. He looks like shit and moves like Tanahashi. If he’s going to be the top name in the company for the next 2-3 years he needs to take time now and heal so he can carry that load.

There are younger, healthier, more talented guys on that roster that could easily take Naito’s spot. As much as I like him, he’s not Tanahashi. He’s not Nakamura. He’s not Okada. He doesn’t grab the audience like they did unless he is doing his roll call.

Fully expecting ZSJ to win and take the title to England now. It makes too much sense and not even Gedo could fuck this up (famous last words).

Expecting the WK main event to be a rematch of these finals now. Or maybe someone like Umino gets the spotlight, but I think that’s too early.

Very minor All In spoilers:

SPOILER: Click to show

There was a billboard outside Wembley today that said “FORBIDDEN DOOR LONDON 2025”

If Zack Sabre Jr does not walk into that show with the IWGP World title around his waist then what the actual fuck is New Japan doing

Great post but I do disagree on one point.

Aug 24, 2024 5:42:30 GMT RT said:

There are younger, healthier, more talented guys on that roster that could easily take Naito’s spot. As much as I like him, he’s not Tanahashi. He’s not Nakamura. He’s not Okada. He doesn’t grab the audience like they did unless he is doing his roll call.

I'd argue that Naito grabs the audience at least as much as any of those guys. NJPW has always had their squeaky clean top babyface, their Ace, the Tanahashi and Okada, but Naito has always been the antihero, the 1b to their 1a. Naito and LIJ have been the alternative to the white meat babyface, they capture the audience unlike any other act in recent memory, and Naito consistently moves more merchandise than any other act.

Even in this G1 Naito was incredibly over despite his clear struggles inside the ring. The only time I recall the crowd not heavily favouring Naito was in the last round match against Great O-Khan.

Really shows they don't have any stars anymore they have to resort to this!!!

Every time @empress' Husband posted an update I kept thinking... he doesn't know! He still doesn't know!

Real happy ZSJ won. He called out Bryan in the aftermatch for his third match.