So close and yet still so far away!

The G1 Climax moves on from round robin to single elimination as Wild Cards battle it out! Who will move on to the playoff semifinals this Saturday?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• 8 Man Tag: Just5Guys VS Bishamon, Tomoaki Honma & Katsuya Murashima; Just5Guys win.
• Six Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg VS The House of Torture; Tanahashi, Yano & Oleg win.
• Jeff Cobb & Francesco Akira VS Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee; Gabe & Jake wins.
• Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI VS HENARE & Callum Newman; Henare & Callum win.
• Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Jado VS The House of Torture; The House of Torture wins.
• Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson VS David Finlay & Gedo; ZSJ & Jackson win.
• G1 Climax 34 A Block Playoff: Shingo Takagi VS Great-O-Khan; Takagi wins and advances to the A Block Semifinal.
• G1 Climax 34 B Block Playoff: Konosuke Takeshita VS Yota Tsuji; Yota wins and advances to the B Block Semifinal.

PLAY BY PLAY

Six Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg VS The House of Torture!

While big bad Boltin couldn’t make it to the playoffs, he can still stand tall as NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion alongside The President & The Producer! But will they stand tall together? Or will Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru stack the deck against The Ace, The Joker & The Rook?

Oh but of course The House attacks during introductions! Murder Machine goes after Oleg, Tokyo Pimp goes after Yano, and Heel Master goes after Tanahashi while Tanahashi’s on the corner! The fans boo, the bell rings, and the ref reprimands as The House mug Tanahashi in a corner. Sho gets in the ref’s face, then Yujiro & Kanemaru double whip Tanahashi. Kanemaru runs in but Tanahashi dodges to dropkick Sho’s legs! Tanahashi then sends Yujiro into Kanemaru, and he dropkicks both of them down! The fans cheer as Tanahashi air guitars, and he drags Kanemaru up. Tanahashi fires hands, whips, but Kanemaru reverses.

Sho gets a cheap shot in at the ropes! Kanemaru then dropkicks Tanahashi’s legs, whips, and dropkicks the legs again! Tanahashi is down, Sho & Yujiro go after Oleg & Yano! Kanemaru drags Tanahashi around, to then YANK the leg! Kanemaru drags Tanahashi over, tags Yujiro, and Sho distracts the ref while the others split the wishbone! Yujiro drags Tanahashi up and bumps him off buckles. Yujiro stomps Tanahashi, puts the leg around ropes, and pulls! The ref is too busy keeping Yano & Oleg back, and that allows the whole House to mess with Tanahashi! The fans boo but The House gets away with that one.

Yujiro snapmares Tanahashi, grabs the leg, and stomps it, then SPLASHES down on it! Cover, TWO! The fans cheer, but Yujiro sits Tanahashi up for a basement BOOT! Cover, TWO! The fans cheer more, Tanahashi crawls but Sho tags in. Sho drags Tanahashi back, has the leg, and DDTs the foot! The fans boo but Sho DDTs the foot again! Tanahashi writhes, Sho covers, TWO! Tag to Kanemaru and he drags Tanahashi around. Yano storms in but the ref reprimands, so the ref misses the DOUBLE KNEE SMASH! Tanahashi writhes, Kanemaru taunts him, and then stomps him! Tanahashi rises and eggs Kanemaru on!

Kanemaru kicks the leg, Tanahashi fires a forearm, but Kanemaru CLAWS eyes! Kanemaru kicks Tanahashi to the corner, tags in Sho, and Sho sucker punches Yano and Oleg! Sho talks smack, then kicks Tanahashi. Tanahashi gets mad and fires forearm after forearm! Sho kicks Tanahashi’s leg! Sho wrenches, makes Tanahashi kneel, then kicks, kicks and SUPER- NO, Tanahashi blocks that to DRAGON SCREW! Sho writhes, Kanemaru runs in, but Tanahashi blocks his kick, to DRAGON SCREW! The fans rally as Tanahashi crawls, hot tag to Oleg! The fans fire up as Oleg POUNCES Sho, and CLOBBERS Kanemaru!

Oleg runs up on Yujiro but he runs away. Only to sneak back in! Yujiro CLUBS Oleg, he and Sho double whip Oleg to a corner. But Oleg comes back, picks up Sho AND Kanemaru, and RAMS them into Yujiro! The fans fire up as Oleg takes out all three at once! Oleg then deadlifts Sho for the Shake, Rattle and THROW! Oleg then brings Kanemaru up, for more Shake, Rattle and THROW! Kanemaru tumbles away, but Oleg storms back up on him. Oleg whips Kanemaru into Sho, then SPLASHES them both! Oleg keeps moving and he CLOBBERS Sho, to then SPLASH DOWN! Cover, TWO! Sho survives but the fans rally for Oleg.

Oleg drags Sho up again, fireman’s carries, and KAMI- NO, Sho claws the eyes! The ref reprimands but Sho runs, SPEAR stuffed by Oleg! Oleg gut wrenches, but Sho bends fingers! Oleg kicks low, but Sho uses the ref as a shield! Sho dropkicks a leg, then dropkicks the leg out! Tag to Yujiro and he hurries to stand Oleg up. Yujiro puts Oleg on ropes, and BOOTS him! Oleg sputters, Yujiro runs, but Oleg blocks the boot! Oleg shoves Yujiro, then CLOBBERS him! Both men are down, but Oleg crawls to hot tag Yano! The fans cheer as Yano unties a buckle pad! Yano whips, Yujiro reverses, but Yano avoids the buckles!

Yano then dodges Yujiro to send him into steel! Roll up, TWO! Yujiro survives but Yano brings him up. Yujiro kicks low, runs, but into an atomic drop! Yano says he’s too smart! Yano brings Yujiro in, but Yujiro BITES Yano’s hand! The ref reprimands but Yujiro CLUBS and whips Yano. Yano reverses, Yujiro holds ropes, so Yano runs in, Yujiro dodges, and Sho anchors Yano’s feet! Yujiro BOOTS Yano while Kanemaru BLASTS Oleg & Tanahashi! The House whips Yano to a corner, to ELBOW, forearm SMASH and BOOT! Yujiro reels Yano in, FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, Oleg breaks it! The fans cheer but The House swarms Oleg!

The House kicks Oleg out, then gets in the ref’s face. Yujiro has his pimp cane! Yujiro aims, the fans boo, but Tanahashi storms in! Tanahashi ROCKS Yujiro, SHOTEIS Sho, but Yujiro CANE SHOTS Tanahashi low! Yujiro holds Tanahashi in place, Kanemaru storms up, but Tanahashi ducks, WHISKEY MIST hits Yujiro! SHOTEI for Kanemaru! Yano rolls Yujiro, the champs win!

Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg, by pinfall

The House tried their tricks but they all backfired! Will they ever learn to do things the right way? As for The Ace, The Joker & The Rook, who will step up next to go after the NEVER Openweight Six Man titles?

After the Six Man Tag, Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Jado VS The House of Torture…

Though the House wins this one, Ren Narita keeps going after his rival, The Roughneck! The fans boo and Young Lions try to stop this, but The House just beats up on everyone! ELP is still down and out from losing, so the entire House stomps away on Shota and Jado. But here come Tanahashi, Yano & Oleg! The NEVER Openweight Six Man Champs run off all six men of The House, but The King of Darkness tells President Ace that he’s coming for the titles. Will The House make sure Everything is Evil? Or will The Ace always trump a king?

G1 Climax 34 A Block Playoff: Shingo Takagi VS Great-O-Khan!

The Rampaging Dragon and The Dominator meet again, and this might be worst case scenario for the KOPW Champion. Khan is 0-4 against Takagi in singles competition, and now there’s much more at stake than two points. Can Khan conquer Takagi and continue on? Or will Takagi prove that his time has come?

The fans are dueling already between “TA-KA-GI! TA-KA-GI!” and “O-KHAN! O-KHAN!” The bell rings and the dueling continues while the two stare down. Khan and Takagi slowly circle, feel things out, and they clinch. They go around, fighting for control, but Takagi goes to ropes. The ref counts the break and Khan lets off cleanly. The fans cheer while Khan waits on Takagi. They reset and circle again, and they clinch. Takagi cording holds, but Khan slips his arms up to facelock, then shifts around to waistlock. Khan wrangles Takagi to the mat, rolls him to a cover, ONE! Takagi has the ROPEBREAK, and Khan lets off.

The fans applaud and the two reset again. Takagi and Khan circle again while the fans rally up. They feel things out, knuckle lock, and clinch. They fight for control, and Khan facelocks. Khan cranks on the hold, but Takagi fights it being a guillotine. Takagi RAMS Khan into a corner, runs back in, but Khan dodges. Khan keeps moving but Takagi dodges to RUN Khan over! The fans fire up while Khan shakes out the arm. Takagi drags Khan up and into a chinlock. Khan pulls at Takagi’s hair, but Takagi grinds the hold. Takagi pushes Khan down to ELBOW DROP, then SENTON! The fans cheer while Khan scrambles to ropes.

Khan sputters but Takagi storms over. Takagi kicks Khan’s arm, drags him up, but Khan fights the suplex! Khan clinches Takagi but Takagi clinches back. They go around, cording hold for cording hold, until Khan hits a BELLY2BELLY SUPLEX! Khan then drags Takagi around, traps an arm and presses Takagi’s head into the mat! Takagi endures, but Khan just grabs the other arm. Khan has a double wristlock on that one, but Takagi reaches out with a leg for the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer and Khan lets go. Khan wraps the arm around ropes and pulls! The ref counts, Khan lets off at 4, and Takagi goes to a corner.

Khan storms over to grab the arm again, but Takagi fires headbutts into Khan’s side. Khan CLUBS the bad arm again and again in return. Then Khan wraps the arm around ropes, to Mongolian Chop it! Khan grinds a forearm into Takagi’s face, the ref counts, and Khan lets off, to Mongolian Chop again! The ref reprimands but the fans cheer while Takagi staggers away. We pass five minutes, and Takagi elbows into Khan’s stomach! Khan grabs the arm, wrenches, and KICKS it! Takagi staggers away, the fans rally up, and Khan storms over. Takagi holds ropes and the ref reprimands, so Khan CLUBS Takagi!

The ref reprimands more while Takagi staggers. Khan grabs the bad arm, and he steps over to omoplata! Takagi endures, so Khan grinds his elbow into Takagi’s back. Takagi moves around, rolls, and has the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer, the ref counts, and Khan lets off slowly. Khan waits on Takagi while the fans rally up. Takagi sits up, so Khan gives him scuffing kicks. Takagi stands, so Khan goes right for the arm! Khan KNEES the arm again and again! But Takagi powers up to JAB! JAB! And JAB! Then DOUBLE CHOP! Takagi runs, but Khan shoots around, IRON CLAW SLEEPER! Takagi RAMS Khan into buckles!

Khan storms up to have a standard SLEEPER! But Takagi makes him a backpack to BACKPACK SENTON! The fans rally while both men are down, and Khan goes to a corner. Takagi stands, runs in at the corner, but he blocks a boot! Takagi LARIATS through, and the fans fire up. Takagi JABS, CHOPS and repeat! JAB, JAB, JAB, CHOP! Takagi shakes out the bad hand, but he storms after Khan. Takagi whips, ELBOWS! JABS! YUKON feint and DDT! The fans fire up again and Takagi looks to camera. Not yet, though! Takagi drags Khan up to suplex high and hard! Cover, TWO! Khan stays in this but Takagi says now…!

Takagi looks, finds the camera, and says, “TOKI GA KITA!” The time has come and the fans fire up again! Takagi storms over to Khan, drags him up, and KNEES him against ropes again and again! The ref reprimands, Takagi snapmares Khan and runs, to SLIDING- JUJIGATAMI! But Takagi fights up to fight the Head ‘n’ Arm! So Khan shifts to a modified fireman’s carry takedown! The fans cheer while both men are down at the 10 minute mark! Khan rises, and he drags Takagi up by his wrists. Khan hits a MONKEY FLIP! Then he hauls Takagi up to BELLY2BELLY! Then, SAYANAGI! Ippon! Cover, TWO!

But into a DOUBLE WRISTLOCK! Takagi fights but Khan CRANKS the arm back! Takagi scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! Khan holds until the ref counts 4, and the fans rally up again. Khan storms back up on Takagi, and has the IRON CLAW SLEEPER! Takagi fights free, throws elbows, but Khan Mongolian Chops! And Mongolian Chops again! Takagi blocks the next round to steal Mongolian Chops! And Mongolian Chops! But Khan UPPERCUTS! The fans fire up, Khan runs, but Takagi follows to LARIAT! And then SAIDO! Both men are down again but the fans rally back up!

Takagi rises, and he gets the fans to join in on “OI! OI! OI!” Khan is in a corner, Takagi runs in, and he LARIATS! Takagi has to shake out the bad arm, but then he brings Khan up to the top rope. Takagi climbs up after Khan, and SUPERPLEXES him down! The fans fire up while Khan writhes! Takagi crawls his way over, and he sits Khan up for a SLIDING LARIAT! Both men are down again because Takagi’s still using the bad arm! Takagi grits his teeth, rises up, and the fans rally. Takagi fires up so the fans fire up, too! Takagi goes back for Khan, drags him up, and pump handles, only for Khan to fight the lift!

Takagi fires knees into Khan, then runs, PUMPING BOMBER! But it wasn’t as strong because of the pain in Takagi’s arm! Takagi tries again, PUMPING BOMBER! Khan still stands and the fans rally up again! Takagi throws ridge hand chops, then CHOPS Khan down! Takagi shakes out the arm, stands Khan back up, and he POINT- NO! Khan blocks the bomber to wrench the arm! Khan wrangles Takagi to the mat for the DOUBLE WRISTLOCK! Takagi endures, kicks around, but Khan pulls on the arm! Takagi still finds the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer, the ref counts, and Khan lets go as we reach 15 minutes.

The fans duel, and the “O-KHAN! O-KHAN!” is outdoing the “TA-KA-GI!” Khan drags Takagi up, wrenches, and ELBOW- NO! Takagi has a SLEEPER now! Takagi squeezes tight, but Khan reaches out. Khan slips around, IRON CLAW SLEEPER, into FGO PLEX!! Both men are down and the fans rally up again. Khan slides to a corner, aims at Takagi, and then runs in to BOOT him down! Then the IRON CLAW, but Takagi fights the lift! Khan KNEES low, IRON CLAWS again, but Takagi CLUBS free! Takagi ducks ‘n’ dodges but so does Khan! PUMPING BOMBER TAKEDOWN! Cover, TWO!! Khan escapes and the fans are fired up!

Takagi aims as Khan rises back up! The dueling is strong, and Takagi BLINDSIDE YUKONS! Khan just gets mad! Khan CLOBBERS Takagi! Then ELIMI- NO, Takagi slips free to backslide! TWO, and Takagi SLIDING FOREARMS! Both men are down again and the fans fire up more! Takagi rises, Khan stirs, and Takagi sits Khan up for HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS! Takagi lets off, but then he sits Khan up for MORE HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL- WAIT! Khan is rising! Khan blocks an elbow, but Takagi HEADBUTTS! PUMPING- Mongolian Chop blocks that! But ROLLING YUKON hits! Khan roars, but Takagi JABS, HEADBUTTS, and- IRON RIGHT from Khan!!

The fans are thunderous, but Takagi comes back! PUMPING- NO, Khan catches Takagi into a FUJIWARA ARMBAR!! Takagi endures as Khan pulls back on that bad arm! Khan steps over, and he rolls Takagi into an ARMBAR! Takagi clasps hands, Khan CLUBS away on the grip! The grip breaks, ARMBAR!!! Takagi flails, reaches out, and the fans are thunderous! Takagi fights around but Khan lets him go to wrench, ELBOW BREAKER, and then pump handle?! But Takagi fights the lift to DDT!! The fans are thunderous again while both men are down! Khan sputters and Takagi clutches the bad arm while the fans rally.

Khan flounders to a corner, the fans duel as hard as they can as we hit 20 minutes, and Takagi runs up! LARIAT in the corner! Takagi keeps moving, he RAMS Khan, then reels him in for a GERMAN SUPLEX! And then YUKON BOMBER!! Cover, TWO?!? Khan survives and the fans are thunderous again! Takagi roars and he drags Khan back up. Pump handle, torture rack, LAST OF THE DRAGONS!!! Cover, Takagi wins!!

Winner: Shingo Takagi, by pinfall (advances to the semifinals)

Khan put up a valiant effort, but now he is 0-5 against Takagi in singles competition! Takagi is going on to face The Front Man, Zack Sabre Jr, who he already beat this year. Will this Rampaging Dragon soar all the way to the Climax? Or is he about to #JustTapOut?

G1 Climax 34 B Block Playoff: Konosuke Takeshita VS Yota Tsuji!

The Alpha and Gene Blast both had uphill battles to get to this point in the tournament, and now they meet again. Konosuke took the win during the round robin phase, will he take this one, too? Or will Yota make sure this is still the GENE1?

The bell rings and the “YO-TA! YO-TA!” is strong already. Yota and Konosuke stare down, circle, and then feel things out. They clinch, fight for control, but then they break. They go again, tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, and they’re in a deadlock. Konosuke wrenches an arm, wristlocks, but Yota spins through to wrench back. Yota wristlocks but Konosuke rolls. Konosuke wrenches, hammerlocks, but Yota switches that and trips Konosuke up. Yota floats to a headlock, but Konosuke rolls it to a cover, ONE! Yota holds on, grinds the headlock, but Konosuke fights up to his feet. Yota still grinds the hold, but Konosuke powers him tor opes.

Konosuke powers out, they RAM shoulders, and neither man falls. Yota runs, Konosuke ROCKS him, then whips. Yota reverses but the TAKESHITA LINE connects! The fans cheer, and Konosuke brings Yota to the apron. APRON DDT! Yota clutches his head while he flops to the floor, and Konosuke shakes out the bad leg. Konosuke drags Yota up, puts him in the ring, and the fans applaud. Konosuke clamps on a chinlock and he grinds Yota down. Yota endures, but Konosuke traps an arm. Konosuke cranks on the neck, but Yota pries at the hold. Konosuke cranks Yota around the other way, into a chinlock stretch!

Yota endures, the fans rally, but Konosuke pulls back on the hold. Yota still fights up, throws elbows into the bad leg, and Konosuke lets off. Konosuke BOOTS Yota down, then shakes out his leg. Konosuke brings Yota up to bump off buckles, then he ROCKS Yota with a forearm! Yota sits down, the fans rally, but Konosuke KNEES Yota again and again! Konosuke drags Yota up to scoop and SLAM him into the drop zone. Konosuke goes up the corner and shouts, “C’MON!” The fans fire up, but Konosuke’s bad leg makes him wobble on the ropes. Konosuke steadies himself to SENTON, but onto knees! The fans cheer as Yota saves himself!

Yota grabs Konosuke’s bad leg, GROUND DRAGON SCREW! Konosuke writhes, we pass five minutes, and Konosuke goes to ropes. Yota storms over, brings him up, and he YANKS the bad leg. Konosuke sits up but Yota YANKS the leg again! Yota turns Konosuke around to put the leg on ropes, for a HIP DROP! Red Shoes reprimands but Yota paces while Konosuke clutches his leg. Konosuke hobbles to a corner and Yota storms over. Yota grabs the leg and lifts it up, for a KNEE JAMMER! Konosuke drops to his knees, but Yota stands him up. Yota CHOPS, but that just makes Konosuke mad! Yota CHOPS again, so Konosuke fires a forearm!

Yota fires a forearm, Konosuke fires back, but Yota kicks the bad leg! Konosuke sits down, Yota drags him back up, and Yota bumps Konosuke off buckles. Yota RAMS into Konosuke again and again, then lets off as Red Shoes counts. Yota runs back in, but into a BOOT! Konosuke runs, but into a kitchen sink knee! Yota grabs the bad leg again, GROUND DRAGON SCREW! The fans rally while Konosuke crawls. Yota grabs the bad leg to SMASH the knee into the mat! Yota then ties up the legs and pulls on the deathlock calf killer! Konosuke endures, reaches out, and fights his way forward! The fans rally, Yota throws down elbows, then pulls on the leg!

Konosuke still fights, and he has the ROPEBREAK! Yota lets go right away, and he looms over Konosuke. Yota kicks at the leg, toying with Konosuke. Konosuke rises up but Yota fires a forearm! Konosuke still stands, so Yota ROCKS him! Konosuke goes to ropes, Yota storms up, and Konosuke reels back, only for Yota to BODY BLOW! Konosuke drops to his knees, but Yota hauls him up. Konosuke fights the fireman’s carry with elbows! Yota staggers, Konosuke whips, but Yota reverses! Konosuke’s leg gives out and he falls at center! Yota runs, but into a LARIAT!! Yota gets spun and both men are down!

The fans fire up and Konosuke rises up! The fans rally as Konosuke storms around. Konosuke goes over to Yota, drags him up at 10 minutes, and hoists him to the top rope. Konosuke climbs, brings Yota up, but Yota resists with body shots! The fans rally as Konosuke still manages the SUPERPLEX! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! Yota flops out of the ring while Konosuke shakes out the bad leg. Konosuke then storms out, and brings out chairs from under the ring! Konosuke piles the chairs onto Yota, this is looking like something from DDT Pro! Konosuke slides into the ring, fires up, and SLINGSHOT SENTONS onto the pile!!

The fans fire up while Red Shoes checks on both men. Yota coughs and sputters while Konosuke clutches his leg. Konosuke grits his teeth as he sits up, and the ring count starts. Konosuke stands, hobbles past Yota and rolls in at 5 of 20. Yota is still down at 10, and the fans rally up harder. Yota flounders out of the chairs at 15, stands at 17, and he rolls in at 18! The fans cheer and Konosuke storms over to Yota. Konosuke reels Yota in, but Yota fights the lift with a headlock! Yota fires elbows, runs, but Konosuke reels him in! BLUE- NO, Yota snapmares free! And then scoops to BACKBREAKER! The fans fire up while Konosuke bails out.

Yota builds speed and DIVES! Direct hit into railing! The fans fire up and Yota roars! Yota goes around the outside, makes a full lap, then fires up again. The fans cheer and Yota brings Konosuke into the ring. Konosuke runs up, but Yota BODY BLOWS again! Yota runs, but into a BOOT! Yota drops to his knees, but he blocks Konosuke’s knee! Yota kicks the bad leg, then clinches for a BACKBREAKER! FLATLINER! But Konosuke avoids the stomp to GERMAN SUPLEX! Yota is right up! SUPERKICK! Konosuke stays up to rebound, DOUBLE LARIATS collide! Both men wobble, then fall down, and the fans fire up again!

Konosuke and Yota stir while the fans rally back up. The “TA-KE-SH’TA!” chants are showing up, evening with the “YO~TA! YO~TA!” Both men slowly rise, feeding off that energy! We pass 15 minutes as Yota stands. Konosuke glares up at him, but Yota just grins. Yota eggs Konosuke on, so Konosuke gets to his feet. The two run in to Rugby scrum it out! The fans rally and duel as each man goes for a suplex! They go around, fighting for control, thrashing around to find any point of leverage! Yota suplexes, for ORANGE CRUSH!! Cover, TWO!! Yota roars and the fans are thunderous! Yota then goes to a corner and takes aim!

Konosuke rises, GENE- BUSAIKU KNEE!! Konosuke takes Yota down first, but it was perhaps double-edged given his bad legs! The fans rally up again and Konosuke drags Yota to a drop zone. Konosuke goes to the apron, and the fans rally as he rises up. Konosuke climbs up a corner, but Yota GAMANGIRIS first! The fans rally as Yota rises, and he goes to the very top! Yota brings Konosuke up, but Konosuke SUPER LARIATS!! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives and Konosuke is frustrated but the fans rally up again. Konosuke powers up while the fans are dueling, and Konosuke stands Yota up. Konosuke winds up to LARIAT!

Yota drops to a knee, but he still grins! Konosuke stands Yota up again, to LARIAT! And LARIAT again! Yota just fires up as he rises! Konosuke runs but Yota ducks ‘n’ dodges to V-TRIGGER! Konosuke rebounds, into Yota’s LARIAT!! Cover, ONE?!?!? Yota is shocked and the fans are thunderous as Konosuke roars! Yota fires a flurry of forearms, but Konosuke just grits his teeth! So Yota SLAPS him! And SLAPS him again! And SLAPS him again! Then HEADBUTTS! Konosuke falls back, but he fights to sit back up! Yota roars to CURB STOMP! The fans are thunderous again as Yota goes up and up and MAROON- NO! BLUE THUNDER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!!!

The fans are thunderous again as Yota survives! Konosuke aims, Yota rises, ALPHA ELBOW!! And then suplex for RAGING- STUN DOG MILLIONAIRE!! Yota gets moving, and GENE BLASTER!!! Cover, ROPEBREAK!!! Konosuke’s long legs save him and Yota can’t believe it! We hit 20 minutes and the fans are thunderously dueling! Yota rises while Konosuke crawls, and Yota roars! The fans fire up more, and Yota takes aim again. Konosuke slowly rises, into a GENE- NO, Konosuke sends Yota into buckles! GERMAN SUPLEX!!! Yota tumbles,. Konosuke throws off the elbow pad, but GENE BLASTER OUTTA NOWHERE!!! Cover, Yota wins!!

Winner: Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (advances to the semifinals)

Konosuke gets his arm up just after the bell, his body couldn’t keep up with his fighting spirit! But an incredible run from Konosuke, he can return to AEW with his head held high.

As for Yota, once he catches his breath, he stands to have the mic. “Oi, Takeshita! Konosuke Takeshita, wait a moment. You asked me what I’m aiming for. I’ll tell you, and it’s simple. I’m aiming for THE IWGP World Heavyweight Championship! The IWGP is the best in the world.” The fans cheer that! Yota continues by saying he knows what Konosuke’s trying to say. “How do you see the world beyond that?” Yota wants Konosuke to listen: Yota WILL win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the near future. And as NJPW’s top champion, he’ll crush all the other champions, too!

So when Yota and Konosuke are both champions some day, Yota wants to face him again. The fans love that idea! With that, Konosuke takes his leave, and Yota addresses the crowd. “I’m two steps away from winning the G1! After all, this Summer is the toughest in the world. But that’s why it’s NJPW.” The fans applaud, and Yota says he is more than willing to go through it all to win both the Spring and Summer trophies, which NO ONE has ever done! The fans cheer that, too! Yota finishes by saying NJPW is his responsibility. Mic drop and the fans cheer, but will Yota be leading the way into the Climax?

My Thoughts:

A great night for NJPW with this, and clearly in those tune-up matches, they’re setting up some Team Ace VS House of Torture stuff for the NEVER Openweight Six Man titles. That’s a rivalry that’s been building for a little bit so good to see it happening going into Autumn. Meanwhile, the combo of Gabe & Jake is looking strong, and they even signaled for titles. Maybe they want to take on TMDK for the Heavyweight Tag titles. It’d be fitting if the War Dogs and TMDK feuded next, both ZSJ and Finlay are top seeds and that could potentially be the G1 Climax final.

The Wild Card matches tonight were great stuff, and definitely built upon the previous matches in the round robin phase. And clearly they want to tease the possibility of an LIJ finals, too, with both Takagi and Yota moving on. Yota’s promo was also good, planting the seed of seeing more big stuff from NJPW and AEW. Granted, Konosuke would need to win a title, and I hope Tony Khan figures out a path to make Konosuke at least like, International Champion, given the Don Callis Family story with Will Ospreay, who is currently in said title story.

My Score: 8.9/10