Day 16 brought B Block competition to a close in the NJPW G1 Climax 35, and the final three playoff competitors have been determined. See who made it to the top three on the last day of B Block matches and a preview of the quarterfinals set for tomorrow:
NJPW G1 Climax 35 Day 16 Results:
- Main event: B Block – Konosuke Takeshita def. Ren Narita
- 8th match: B Block – Shota Umino def. Great O-Khan
- 7th match: B Block – Zack Sabre Jr. def. YOSHI-HASHI
- 6th match: B Block – Shingo Takagi def. Drilla Moloney
- 5th match: EVIL & Dick Togo def. David Finlay & Gedo
- 4th match: Yota Tsuji & Daiki Nagai def. Yuya Uemura & Shoma Kato
- 3rd match: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano def. Sanada & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- 2nd match: Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson def. Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young
- 1st match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima def. Taichi & Masatora Yasuda
ZSJ, Umino, and Takeshita Secure Final Playoff Spots
This year’s tournament playoff picture is complete, as Zack Sabre Jr., Shota Umino, and Konosuke Takeshita claimed the top three spots in the B Block to advance. Reigning tournament winner Sabre secured the bye to the semis by leading the block with a 14-point finish.
While ZSJ was already assured to advance regardless of whether he wins or loses to YOSHI-HASHI, both Umino and Takeshita had to win their matches to progress. They did just that, finishing with 12 points each, coming in second and third, respectively.
Takeshita and his opponent in the main event, Ren Narita, were in the same situation going into their match: win to get in. The Alpha pulled out the victory, outlasting Narita and the usual interference by the rest of the House of Torture.
In the semifinal, Umino prevailed over Great O-Khan, who was fighting for his slim playoff chances. O-Khan winning would have automatically put Takeshita in second place, eliminating both Umino and Narita, but Roughneck had other plans.
In the other matches, Shingo Takagi defeated Drilla Moloney to finish with 10 points, leaving the other in the dust with eight. YOSHI-HASHI finished with eight as well after losing five straight matches, while ZSJ won six straight to end his block run.
Quarterfinals Begin Tomorrow
The quarterfinals kick off tomorrow at Korakuen Hall at 6:30 p.m. JST/5:30 a.m. ET live streaming on NJPW World. B Block’s second placer, Shota Umino, will square off with A Block’s third placer, Yota Tsuji, while A Block’s second placer, David Finlay, clashes with B Block’s third placer, Konosuke Takeshita.
Umino and Tsuji will face each other for the fifth time in their careers, the second time in the G1 Climax. They have two victories each, the last one belonging to Tsuji when he beat Umino in G1 Climax 33 block competition, which was also the first time they wrestled one another in a New Japan ring. This time will have much higher stakes as the loser will be eliminated, and the winner will advance to face EVIL in the semifinals on Saturday.
On the other side of the bracket, it will be a first-time collision between Takeshita and Finlay. The latter had to dig deep and make a run to qualify for this year’s playoffs after losing four straight, while Takeshita only lost twice. They both meet for the first time ever, with the winner moving on to go up against Zack Sabre Jr.
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