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 playoff matches and the final as the tournament ended, with a first-time G1 Climax winner getting crowned.
NJPW decided to go back to the old format of two blocks of 10 wrestlers, and, after the first seven days, it was clear to see the 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.
Playoffs
The G1 Climax headed into its final stage with the playoffs as the second and third place of each block fought for a spot in the block final, where they would meet the winner of their respective block. On the A Block side, Shingo Takagi faced 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 looked to get revenge on Konosuke Takeshita with the winner facing the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay in Sumo Hall.
In the first quarter-final, the run of the Great-O-Khan came to an end in a great match against Shingo Takagi. The two have excellent chemistry and killed it in maybe the best match of O-Khan’s career. Throughout the tournament, he developed from being a joke character to a serious contender, and that’s a huge step in his career. He went away from the gimmick shtick and comedy. Instead, he was focused on being a great wrestler, which worked out well for him. In the B Block quarter-final, Yota Tsuji got his revenge on Konosuke Takeshita in a great match, that was weaker than their first, but still great as the crowd was into it and rooted loudly for Tsuji.
Yota Tsuji beat David Finlay in the semi-final to advance to the final in the best match of the tournament. Their match at Wrestling Dontaku in May was underwhelming, but ever since, their chemistry has gotten better with every match, and this was by far their best one together. Finlay’s work on top was great, targeting the back in inventive and entertaining ways. Tsuji hit Yuya Uemura’s Deadbolt Suplex and then the Gene Blaster to beat the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. Both gained a lot from the tournament, especially Finlay, who had some of his best showings ever in a New Japan ring and is becoming the guy they want him to be.
In the main event, Zack Sabre Jr. tapped out Shingo Takagi to follow Yota Tsuji to the final of the tournament. That match was great as well as it had a slower build at the beginning, but they were able to grab the fans by the middle section and build up a fantastic finishing stretch, with ZSJ going to the final for the first time in his career.
Final
After a gruelling battle that went over 30 minutes, Zack Sabre Jr. won the G1 Climax Final after tapping out Yota Tsuji. He is the second foreigner in history to win the G1 tournament after Kenny Omega did it in 2016. It was a slow build that took its time to get into the next gear, but both did well to create an exciting finishing stretch. Normally, Tsuji struggles in this kind of match, but over the past year, he improved significantly in these matches. The test matches against Uemura, Finlay, and others helped him to get there, even if his performances at first weren’t quite at the top level. Zack’s armwork was effective throughout the entire match. There was a situation early where Tsuji wasn’t able to lift Zack enough to get the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker because of the injured arm, so he just dropped Zack. Sabre’s work in general in this match was tremendous and just worked for what they were going for. They had the crowd on their feet and created a tremendous atmosphere, and they got even louder when Zack pulled it off.
After Zack Sabre Jr. decided to stay in Japan, even when he had the chance to leave. Throughout the pandemic, he finally had the big moment that he deserved. He announced that he will challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at King of Pro Wrestling in October instead of at Wrestle Kingdom. He explained that waiting until January is boring and that Sumo Hall is his favourite venue and he wants to win the title there. His goal is to defend the title at Royal Quest and to walk out as champ at the Dome. It makes Wrestle Kingdom season way more unpredictable, and that’s a big upside from this. In kayfabe, it makes sense, too, as Zack Sabre Jr. has all the momentum in the world heading out of the G1 Climax, while Tetsuya Naito is at a low point with five losses during his campaign.
Before that, Tetsuya Naito will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against the Great-O-Khan, who is getting his first-ever title match for the top championship of New Japan. A major spot for him, and it’s well-deserved after his great G1 Climax run, where he shockingly made the playoffs after starting it with a record of 0-4. The winner of the match will face Zack Sabre Jr. at Sumo Hall.
Final G1 Climax Standings:
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)
All Japan Pro Wrestling
Yuma Aoyagi won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship from Yuma Anzai this past weekend. The match was good, but it could have been better, as the first 15 minutes of the nearly 30-minute match felt empty, but once it hit the next gear, it was great and lived up to the expectations. Aoyagi hit the Fool to win the Triple Crown Title for the second time, putting him once again on top of All Japan. His 2024 has been underwhelming so far as Aoyagi lost the most due to the arrival of Katsuhiko Nakajima, but now he has the chance to redeem himself with his second run.
Meanwhile, during his championship run, Yuma Anzai proved his worth on top of All Japan and was the perfect champion after the whole Katsuhiko Nakajima ordeal. He took the chance that All Japan gave him and showed his worth. He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent and is developing into one of the best wrestlers on this planet right in front of our eyes.
