NJPW G1 Climax 35 results: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Night eight of the NJPW G1 Climax 35 tournament takes place today in Osaka with four B Block matches on the card.

In the main event, Zack Sabre Jr. faces Konosuke Takeshita in a first-time-ever singles meeting.

Sabre, the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, is off to a rough start in the G1, tied for seventh place in the 10-man B Block with just 4 points. Takeshita, the former NEVER Openweight Champion, is part of a four-way tie for third place with his 6 points.

Shota Umino and Shingo Takagi will square off in the semi-main event. Shingo is in ninth place in the Block with just 2 points thus far, while Umino has 6 points.

Ren Narita, tied for first place in the B Block with his 8 points, faces Drilla Moloney and his 6 points in the second tournament bout of the night.

Great-O-Khan (6 points) and El Phantasmo (4 points) kick off today’s tournament action.

Five undercard tag matches previewing Friday’s A Block show begin today’s card. The show streams live on NJPW World beginning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.

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Main Card – Tag Team Matches

Daiki Nagai & Yota Tsuji defeated Masatora Yasuda & Taichi

(This moreso emphasized the growth of Nagai and Yasuda, so they may possibly graduate soon. I can’t wait to see how they develop later on.)

Nagai cornered Taichi early on, who tagged in Yasuda. Tsuji got the better of Yasuda who escaped after bringing out a hurricanrana. Taichi endured a Backbreaker and curb stomp to release a lariat on Tsuji. Nagai sent Yasuda soaring with a Monkey Flip following some fast-paced grappling. A dropkick by Yasuda gave him control once more. Nagai sank in a Boston Crab on Yasuda, successfully dragging him to the middle of the ring for a tap-out.

Yuya Uemura & Shoma Kato defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima

(Murashima has been earning accolades of his own, undoubtedly one of the most impressive of this recent crop of Young Lions. That said, Kato shows promise as he’s got the timing down and the in-ring awareness. Some in-ring psychology and some charisma and he’s set.)

Uemura and Tanahashi grappled after the bell, with the Ace coming out on top after a drop toehold. Murashima whittled Kato down, with he and Tanahashi taking turns slamming their opponent. Withstanding the unforgiving offense of Tanahashi, Kato toppled him with a dropkick. Uemura with a hot tag sprang with a fiery flurry of his own including a dropkick of his own. Dragon Screw Legwhip by Tanahashi gave him enough time to tag in Murashima. In rampaging fury, Murashima charged Uemura, who turned things around by targeting the Young Lion’s arm. Armbar fully locked in, Uemura tapped Murashima out.

House Of Torture (SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated United Empire (Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young)

(If anyone would want to create a highlight reel for Callum Newman, this match would give ample footage for it. Presented as the most effective member of this match, he came off like a star.)

Unsurprisingly, House of Torture intercepted their opponents before the bell for an underhanded assault. SANADA tossed Newman across the crowd area, toppling several chairs. Newman, back in the ring, quickly dispatched Kanemaru and SANADA with kicks. SANADA attempted thwarting this momentum with a Skull End, reversed only by a resounding kick by Newman. Young spiked Kanemaru, but SANADA prevented him capitalizing on it. Whiskey Mist by Kanemaru gave him a Gedo Clutch pinfall victory over Young.

TMDK (Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa) defeated House Of Torture (Dick Togo & EVIL)

(A classic House of Torture comeuppance bout, Jackson and Oiwa played to their strengths well. Nothing groundbreaking, as expected for an early half match on a G1 night, but not bad, either.)

Despite House of Torture’s typical antics of pre-match ambushes, Jackson survived a Senton by Togo and choke by EVIL. Sent outside to some bullying by HoT’s Don Fale, Jackson equalized him by reversing an Irish Whip to the barricade. Though Oiwa brought his might, struggled with Kanemaru courtesy of an EVIL interference; Jackson dispatched EVIL. His vertical suplex on Togo allowed Oiwa to work his arm in a Juji-gatame.

Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay & Gedo)

(Rather than exemplify the impressiveness of Finlay and Boltin, they saved it for later. In its place was a hilarious match not too dissimilar to a Bugs Bunny classic cartoon.)

Finlay brought the heat to Boltin, and he returned it in kind, capping it off with a Boltin Shake. A vengeful Finlay proceeded to target Boltin’s knee. Landing a Senton to Boltin, Finlay then taunted Yano on the rope. With Boltin wore down and horizontal in the ring, Gedo hoped for an easy win, only for the Kazakh wrestler to kick out of a pin leading to Finlay to tag back in. Distracting Gedo with the turnbuckle pad, Yano rolled Gedo up for a 2-Count. In a tug-of-war with hair and facial hair, Yano attempted another roll-up. Launching Gedo into the exposed corner, Yano hit Gedo with a Low Blow and won the match with a roll-up.

G1 Climax B-Block Matches

Great-O-Khan defeated El Phantasmo

(A nearly great match. This was intense as the match approached its closing stretch. Phantasmo having the bulk of the fight in his favor, only for Khan to pull out a devastating move at the last moment capped off a bout that felt like either man’s game to win.)

Khan’s power had an edge over Phantasmo, but a Tope Suicida sent him over the guardrails and into the crowd. Teasing dropping Khan onto Yamato Arena’s exposed floor, Phantasmo instead found himself ringside, battered on the guardrail. Pressing all of his weight on Phantasmo, Khan followed up his comeback by flipping his opponent over his shoulder. Phantasmo regained control with a crossbody and a moonsault.

Using his claw over Phantasmo’s face, Khan spun him around to disorient him. Phantasmo retaliated with a lariat, leading both men to collapse after a simultaneous lariat onto one another. Unidentified Flying Opponent courtesy of Phantasmo further wore on Khan. A desperate yet effective Tornado-DDT + Sudden Death brutalized Khan, but couldn’t keep him down. Khan’s Super Eliminator from the top rope devastated Phantasmo for the three crucial seconds, giving the United Empire member a victory.

Drilla Moloney defeated Ren Narita

(This wasn’t just a House of Torture comeuppance. This was survival by a one-man army. Moloney superseding Kanemaru and unleashing pressure on Narita, unrelenting, gave a heat to this match that will be an underrated match in the G1 Climax catalog.)

Yoshinobu surprised Moloney during the entrance, giving Narita an early advantage. To make matters worse for Moloney, Narita bit into his forehead, drawing blood. Kanemaru continued to aid Narita from the outside, softening Moloney. Fed up, the War Dog swung a comeback by catching Narita’s low blow and blasting him with a Spinebuster. German suplex by Narita scrambled Moloney for a chokehold. Moloney caught Narita mid-air for a powerbomb. A mighty and wild succession of offense by Moloney incapacitated Narita with a Drilla Killa gifting the War Dog a pinfall.

Shingo Takagi defeated Shota Umino

(Wow. For all the struggles Umino has had in recent years regarding fan perception, it cannot be denied how skillful he is. The action, the drama, the intensity ramped up increasingly, outright demanding a viewer’s attention.)

Umino and Takagi locked up, with the latter grabbing control with a shoulder tackle. In an instant, Umino earned a reprieve, trapping Takagi’s leg in the guardrail, swinging it against the blue steel. Back in the ring, Umino worked Takagi’s leg, with a Fisherman Suplex bringing more damage. Takagi, after much flinching and cringing, reversed Umino’s Dragon Screw Legwhip with one of his own. A sliding lariat lent Takagi more of an advantage.

Umino evaded a Made in Japan for a Dragon Screw Legwhip in the corner. STF locked in, Umino dragged Takagi deep as he sunk in the torment. A couple of Exploder Suplexes by Umino rendered he and Takagi immobile. From the top rope, Takagi flung Umino to the center of the ring and made a spirited comeback with a Made in Japan. Tornado-DDT by Umino returned Takagi back to the mat. Umino temporarily staggered during a forearm exchange but came out of it with a Strike-Knee and a Decapitation Lariat. Last of the Dragon by Takagi destroyed Umino, but unfortunately Umino’s targeting of the knee slowed him down. This cost him a Pumping Bomber victory as well. Ultimately, however, a Burning Dragon sealed the deal, making Takagi the winner.

Main Event G1 Climax B-Block

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Konosuke Takeshita

(What a match! Takeshita started out unfazed by the holds and submissions, calmly ekeing out of whatever Sabre threw at him. Sabre’s irritation at reaching for a rope break causing him to change tactics and be ruthless gave him all the edge. It was only a waiting game from there, and all Sabre had to do was hold on. Fantastic story.)

Sabre and Takeshita grappled to a stalemate, with the latter calmly dancing around the former’s technical offense. Grounded by a headscissors hold, Sabre wriggled dearly for a rope break despite his misgivings on them. Springboard dropkick by Sabre cut off Takeshita at the top rope, ruining his left leg. Sabre continued to target that leg, particularly the knee region. Contorting Takeshita like a pretzel, Sabre tied his opponent’s arm into his leg for a nasty bend.

On the outside, Takeshita reclaimed control of the match via a Brainbuster on the floor. Back in the ring, Sabre resumed work on Takeshita’s leg, and eventually arm. Eventually, Takeshita fired back with lariats and kicks. Cobra Twist by Sabre stretched Takeshita some more, but he fought out with a suplex. Reversal after reversal, the pair traded pins until Takeshita relented so he could deliver a knee. A Blue Thunderbomb by Takeshita and a Zack Driver by Sabre nearly finished the other. Sabre loudly slapped the neck of Takeshita, sent momentarily reeling, only to collide headfirst with Takeshita’s knee. Clinging tightly around Takeshita’s neck, Sabre held on even through a drop to the outside, maintaining control the whole way through. Unable to escape, Takeshita tapped out.

(The tag matches continue to paint a glimpse to the next night of Block A matches. Tonight’s G1 matches were incredible, progressively growing in match quality and they were all better than good.)