New Japan Pro Wrestling
The annual G1 Climax continued as 20 wrestlers fight for the right to challenge the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 19. The past week featured the final block matches as the tournament heads to the playoffs, with the remaining six wrestlers still in contention to win it all.
NJPW have decided to go back to the old format of two blocks of 10 wrestlers, and, after the first seven days, it’s a clear improvement on the past two years. It’s easier and more enjoyable to watch as the wrestlers have more chances to show out and more time to sell future storylines against many different opponents.
A Block
Zack Sabre Jr. topped the block with a four-point difference to second place, ending with a 7-2 record and 14 points. After suffering defeats to Shota Umino and Shingo Takagi, Zack didn’t cool down, winning his final three matches against EVIL, Gabe Kidd, and SANADA on the final night in Niigata. With that, he is advancing as the number 1 seed and is just one win away from reaching the G1 Climax final. His performances in the tournament so far have been tremendous, and he is a clear contender for MVP, especially in the A Block, where he consistently had one of the best matches of each respective show.
The second spot was taken by Shingo Takagi, who advanced to the playoffs after defeating Jake Lee on the final night with a Pumping Bomb. The Dragon’s start into the tournament wasn’t strong as he lost three of his first five matches, but he clutched it in the end with big wins over EVIL, Zack Sabre Jr., and Jake Lee. While the first half of the year wasn’t great for Takagi with underwhelming matches against HENARE & Yuya Uemura, he started to show up in the G1 Climax again and it’s clear why he is seen as one of the best on the roster.
Surprisingly, The Great-O-Khan ended up in the third spot in the block after a major win over IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito in the main event of the final show. He started his tournament with four straight losses but turned it around by winning his final five matches, including stopping the winning streak of EVIL and eliminating SANADA. It may seem shocking on paper, but he deserves it due to his great performances in the G1 and rightfully earned his spot in the quarter-finals. Tetsuya Naito seemingly loves O-Khan, as he was the first major wrestler to lay down to O-Khan in a singles match back in the New Japan Cup in 2021 and has now lost to him on the final day of the G1, as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion sent O-Khan to the playoffs.
Shota had a disappointing tournament, finishing in 9th place with 8 Points and a 4-5 record. On paper, it looks solid after he defeated all three names that advanced to the playoffs and stopped EVIL from advancing, but, for him, it’s a terrible result. Shota Umino started calling himself the ‘Ace of New Japan’ but wasn’t able to advance in the G1 Climax, so the question arises – what’s next for him? It’s a difficult question to answer, particularly since his performances in the tournament weren’t good enough for him to go through. It’s unknown how much impact his hip injury had, but it’s been brewing for a while now and he is losing fan support as well, with the crowd only getting behind him when he faced Jake Lee & EVIL. A heel turn isn’t impossible anymore, as well as another short excursion to give him time to reinvent himself, similar to that of Tetsuya Naito. Umino’s stock is dropping, and something needs to change before Wrestle Kingdom.
B Block
David Finlay qualified in the top spot in the B Block after defeating El Phantasmo on the final block night. The IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion has had a great showing so far in the tournament and has proved many of his doubters wrong with several great matches against nearly all the names in his block. While he is unlikely to win the G1 Climax due to him holding the secondary belt, his tournament is already a success as it has brought more eyes to the Global Championship.
After a win over Ren Narita on the final night, Konosuke Takeshita advanced to the playoffs. The AEW wrestler has been the clear MVP of the tournament and most of the great matches in the G1 have featured him. In particular, his matches against Hirooki Goto and Yuya Uemura stood out to fans and received high praise. He is bringing back the late 2010s G1 Climax feeling that the past few years have been missing.
Yota Tsuji still has the chance to win the New Japan Cup and the G1 Climax in the same year, as he advanced following a victory over NJPW Television Champion Jeff Cobb in the main event on the last B Block day. Tsuji has been great in the G1, showing why he is supposed to be the future of the company, and it seems like he might be the present soon.
Outside the top three, Yuya Uemura had a fantastic tournament until his match against Yota Tsuji, where he injured his arm needed to forfeit his final match against Boltin Oleg, being set to miss some time. It’s tragic considering how great his run was, as he was able to raise his stock more than anyone else and showed why fans had high hopes for him in the first place. Next year, there is the built-in opportunity for New Japan to tell the story of Uemura wanting to redeem himself in 2025’s G1 Climax.
Playoff
The G1 Climax is heading into its final stage with the playoffs starting, as the second and third place of each block will fight for a spot in the block final, where they will meet the winner of their respective block.
On the A Block side, Shingo Takagi will face Great-O-Khan with the winner meeting Zack Sabre Jr. on Saturday, while on the B Block side, in a rematch from night one, Yota Tsuji will try to get his revenge on Konosuke Takeshita with winner facing the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay in Sumo Hall.
It’s an exciting final six as, of the remaining wrestlers in the G1 Climax, none have won the tournament before With that, New Japan will be crowning a first-time G1 Winner for the first time in five years as the last was Kota Ibushi in 2019 when he defeated Jay White in the finals. From the six, Yota Tsuji and Zack Sabre Jr. seem to be the favourites to win the tournament, but a Shingo Takagi win shouldn’t be counted out. Great-O-Khan could also play a role in the final as it doesn’t seem like his story is over yet, and a surprise victory over Takagi could be possible for the current KOPW Champion.
Official G1 Climax Standings after Night 16:
A Block –
14 – Zack Sabre Jr. (7-2-0)
10 – Shingo Takagi (5-4-0)
10 – Great-O-Khan (5-4-0)
10 – EVIL (5-4-0)
10 – Tetsuya Naito (5-4-0)
8 – SANADA (4-3-0)
8 – Gabe Kidd (4-5-0)
8 – Shota Umino (4-5-0)
8 – Jake Lee (4-5-0)
4 – Callum Newman (2-7-0)
B BLOCK –
12 – David Finlay (6-3-0)
10 – Konosuke Takeshita (5-4-0)
10 – Yota Tsuji (5-4-0)
10 – Ren Narita (5-4-0)
10 – Jeff Cobb (5-4-0)
8 – Yuya Uemura (4-5-0)
8 – HENARE (4-5-0)
8 – Hirooki Goto (4-5-0)
8 – Oleg Boltin (4-5-0)
6 – El Phantasmo (3-6-0)
