NJPW G1 Climax 34 night 18 live results: Semifinals
Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Yota Tsuji vs. David Finlay square off in today’s G1 semifinals.
Sabre vs. Shingo in today’s main event will decide the A Block representative in Sunday’s finals, with Sabre the top point scorer in the Block, and Shingo winning a playoff match to secure his place in the semis.
Finlay vs. Tsuji will decide B Block’s representative in Sunday’s finals, with Finlay the top scorer in the Block, and Tsuji winning a playoff match to earn his semifinals berth.
Today’s winners will meet Sunday for the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January.
Today’s undercard:
- Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Francesco Akira
- Taichi, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku vs. Taiji Ishimori, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Jado vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman
- Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee
- YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato vs. Robbie Eagles & Mikey Nicholls
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Undercard Results
Mikey Nicholls & Robbie Eagles defeated Shoma Kato & YOSHI-HASHI
Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee defeated Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma
Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb, & Konosuke Takeshita defeated El Phantasmo, Jado, & Shota Umino
EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask
Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori defeated DOUKI, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan & HENARE defeated BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
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G1 Playoff Results
B Block Final: Yota Tsuji defeated David Finlay
The B Block finally opened with a back-and-forth strike exchange that quickly worked its way into the corner. Tsuji won out by dropping Finlay with a shoulder tackle, knocking Finlay to the floor. Tsuji maintained his early lead, dropping Finlay before locking in body scissors to wear down Finlay.
Finlay dropped Tsuji against the turnbuckle to turn the match on its head. He followed up by whipping Tsuji into the corner and hitting a backbreaker to secure a strong lead. Finlay then turned to some work on the mat, until a Tsuji backbreaker sent him to the floor. When Tsuji tried to follow up with a tope, Finlay cut him off with a forearm to maintain his control.
On the floor, Finlay repeatedly drove Tsuji into the barricades. He then grabbed tables from under the ring that he attempted to drive Tsuji through with a powerbomb. Tsuji avoided the bomb and hit a tope in response to gain control for himself.
Back in the ring, Tsuji landed a rana, tackle, and lung blower to cement his control. Finlay fired back with a sliding strike to reset the match, but Tsuji landed a curb stomp to stay ahead. Tsuji then placed Finlay on the top rope, where a struggle ensued. After neither connected with a move, both worked their way to the apron, back to the tables set up by Finlay.
Tsuji attempted a curb stomp through the table but Finlay avoided the match-ender. Now, on the outside, Finlay grabbed Tsuji and threw him into the post, retaking control. Back in the ring, Finlay hit a pair of Irish Curse backbreakers, each scoring a nearfall.
Tsuji escaped the Dominator, leading to both men hitting the ropes. Tsuji then landed a devastating knee that nearly ended the match. Tsuji followed up by putting Finlay back on the top rope and hitting the Spanish fly for another nearfall. The falcon arrow and curb stomp followed Tsuji’s attempt to finish, leaving him in a strong position for his rope-assisted stomp.
Finlay avoided Malo Crash and hit Dominator to reverse the match’s momentum once again. Finlay then attempted to powerbomb Tsuji through the tables on the floor again, but Tsuji avoided disaster, leaving both men positioned on the apron. Tsuji managed to drop Finlay on the apron, sending him to the floor while keeping his G1 alive.
Tsuji hoisted Finlay up to drive him through the tables himself. After Finlay fought back, Tsuji threw him into the corner post. Finlay answered with a sudden burst of energy, which he used to powerbomb Finlay through one of the tables; the second one did not break. At this point, the referee began his count, which Tsuji beat at 19. Once Tsuji entered the ring, Finlay hit Oblivion for a two-count.
After Tsuji kicked out, a frustrated Finlay began to unload on Tusji with closed fist strikes, forcing the referee to intervene. Finlay hit a powerbomb for another nearfall. Finlay then landed a buckle bomb/powerbomb combination for another. Finlay, now more frustrated, hit two more buckle bombs but failed to hit the powerbomb on the follow-up. Instead, Tsuji reversed into a quick pin.
Once Finlay kicked out of the pin attempt, Tsuji hit him with a Gene Blaster; Finlay barely kicked out. Tsuji followed up with a curb stomp and Malo Crash for another nearfall. Tsuji then set up for another Gene Blaster but Finlay reversed into a pin. When Tsuji kicked out, Finlay reversed into Overkill. Tsuji blocked the finish, leading to back-and-forth strikes. Tsuji hit Finlay with a headbutt and a deadbolt suplex to earn enough distance from Finlay to set up his finish. He then hit the Gene Blaster and pinned Finlay to win the match.
Tsuji has won the B Block and advanced to the finals of the G1 Climax.
A Block Final: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Shingo Takagi
Tonight’s main event opened with some light grappling from ZSJ. As the pace increased with a bit of striking, Shingo tried to hold his own, but ZSJ was able to establish control nonetheless.
A neck crank from Shingo opened the door for some Shingo offense. He followed up by dropping ZSJ on his neck before whipping him into the barricades on the floor. Shingo then drove ZSJ into the apron before stomping him on the floor, establishing solid control.
ZSJ landed a head screw and a dropkick to turn the match around after spending a long time on the back foot. He followed up with targeted offense on the mat, drawing in strikes from Shingo. Shingo’s strikes were powerful enough to rock ZSJ, leading to a DDT and a suplex.
Shingo maintained his lead with a powerful offense, landing suplexes and potent strikes to keep ahead of ZSJ. ZSJ fired back by pulling Shingo to the mat and driving his knee into the mat. ZSJ followed up with a targeted attack on the knee, keeping Shingo grounded.
Shingo eventually landed a lariat to end ZSJ’s brutal attack. He followed up with a superplex which rolled through into a magic screw. ZSJ tried to answer with his signature groundwork, but Shingo responded with a simple choke to maintain his lead. Shingo then powered through and landed Made in Japan.
When Shingo attempted his finish, ZSJ avoided the end. Eventually, Shingo landed a partial pumping bomber, leading into a quick trade of pins. ZSJ was able to take advantage of this exchange by hitting a Zack Driver, but he was too exhausted to follow up.
ZSJ began to kick at a grounded Shingo. After landing a PK, ZSJ scored a nearfall. Shingo tried to respond with another hold, but ZSJ returned to attacking the leg, forcing Shingo into the ropes.
Shingo tried striking down ZSJ in the middle of the ring, but ZSJ pulled him to the mat and stomped his arm in response. After Shingo escaped ZSJ’s followup submission attempt, Shingo hit a pumping bomber, but he failed to cover ZSJ.
Shingo tried for his finish, but ZSJ transitioned into a choke. Shingo broke ZSJ’s choke by dropping him on his back, but ZSJ transitioned into a triangle immediately afterward. Shingo powered out and landed Last of the Dragon but ZSJ kicked out.
Shingo, growing desperate, began to club ZSJ with clotheslines in the middle of the ring. ZSJ responded with strikes of his own. ZSJ won out by hitting a Zack Driver, but Shingo kicked out. ZSJ then locked in a knee bar in the middle of the ring, which after an extended struggle, forced Shingo to tap out.
ZSJ has won the A Block and is in the finals of G1 Climax.
The finals are set—Yota Tsuji vs. Zack Sabre Jr.