New Japan wrapped up the G1 CLIMAX 34 Tournament today with the Finals, which would feature a first-time winner.
Today’s event was held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and can be watched on demand OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY on New Japan World in Japanese and English. This event aired as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 exclusively on TV Asahi in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 8056. That may be the promotion’s best post-pandemic Ryogoku number as the venue has generally been used at less-than-full capacity, which is 15,000 for sumo and normally around 14,000 for wrestling.
Match 1: Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Shoma Kato, Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata. Taguchi beat Kato with Oh My & Gar Ankle.
Match 2; Taichi beat Katsuya Murashima.
Match 3: Robbie Eagles & Mikey Nicholls beat Francesco Akira & Konosuke Takeshita. Eagles pinned AKira after Hyperion.
Match 4: Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors & Taiji Ishimori beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI & SANADA. Ishimori pinned TAKA after Bloody Cross.
Match 5: Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & HIrooki Goto beat Jake Lee, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASI pinned Finlay. Afterwards, YOSHI-HASHI issued an IWGP Global Championship challenge.
Match 6: Match 6: Yoshinobu Kanemaro, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat El Phantasmo, Shota Umino, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL pinned Tanahashi after a Dick Togo diving senton. Afterwards, EVIL tried to convince El Phantasmo to turn and join House Of Torture but Jado talked him out of it, leading to the heel beatdown.
Match 7: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Jeff Cobb. Takahashi pinned HENARE after Nameless Hiromu Roll. Afterwards, Takahashi made a NEVER Openweight Championship challenge.
Masa Chono joined Japanese commentary as a special guest for the final match.
Main Event: G1 CLIMAX 34 Finals: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yota Tsuji to win the tournament. It’s the first G1 triumph for ZSJ. The match went 31 minutes. As a result, Sabre earns an IWGP World Championship shot in the future…but he’s breaking tradition by not waiting for Tokyo Dome on January 4. He wants the shot on 10/14 when they return to Ryogoku for KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024.
The next event is CAPITAL COLLISION on 8/30 at Entertainment And Sports Arena in Washington, DC. Live streaming as a PPV on New Japan World will begin at 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET. The PPV is available for pre-order for $19.99 in the US and 2990 Japanese yen (around $20) in Japan. Purchase will include the live broadcast and on demand replays until the viewing period ends, tentatively scheduled for October 31.
UPDATE: After the event, New Japan posted a quick English video on YouTube announcing ROYAL QUEST 4, the promotion’s return to England. It will be on 10/20 at Crystal Palace National Sports Center in London. Pre-sale begins next week.
