WhiteTail Wrestling

The annual G1 Climax tournament has finished in New Japan Pro Wrestling as British wrestler Zach Sabre Jr defeated Yota Tsuji in a high quality final at Ryugoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

The tournament had numerous quality matches and very few terrible ones but did not feature the sheer number of match of the year contenders that it was known for prior to the pandemic when NJPW was in many ways at its peak both in terms of in ring action and popularity.

I have not watched the entire tournament although what I have watched I mostly enjoyed. Back in 2019 my first G1 I watched every single match regardless whether it was in the tournament or a meaningless undercard match. That was a promotion that was exciting and had the best wrestlers in the world having the best matches night after night. NJPW in 2024 is very much a shadow of its former self.

Two shows from this year’s G1 that I did watch were the semi finals and final which took place on the 17th and 18th August 2024. The undercard was a mixed bag which featured some solid work mixed in with the terrible heel antics which have become so predictable from Bullet Club and House of Torture. If you do watch these shows I would recommend skipping the entire undercard unless you are a true NJPW completionist although in that case you have probably watched these shows already and don’t need me to tell you whether to watch these shows.

Semi final 1 featured Yota Tsuji defeating David Finlay in a great match which showcased the talents of both of these men but didn’t entirely dispell the concerns that many have about their abilities. Both of these wrestlers are very capable of having high quality matches but when it comes to having matches that are truly next level neither man seems capable unless they are carried by someone who is a true genius as Tsuji got carried by Ospreay in a classic match last year. Finlay is one of the better heels in NJPW with his matches worked well and featuring less bullshit that most Bullet Club matches which make them a lot less predictable and therefore a lot more enjoyable but none of his matches are making any top ten match of the year list.

Going into this tournament I did not want anything to do with Finlay who I thought of as Midlay I am so over the Gedo Bullet Club thing and Finlay as the rebel just does not work for me. Come on it’s time for something new and this gimmick is not any different from the Jay White thing and that at least featured the charisma of Jay White and Finlay does not have anywhere near the charisma of the Switchblade. Finlay did impress me during this tournament with his work he’s not a top tier worker but there were very few top tier workers in this tournament. In the end I didn’t hate having him in the semi final like I thought I would.

Tsuji is comfortably the best of the new three musketeers but that unfortunately isn’t saying much as Umino is undergoing an identity crisis is he the protege of Moxley using his finishing move or is he Tanahashi junior? He just feels aimless and boring and the way he comes to the ring through the crowd with his glowstick he just comes across as a try hard loser. Narita has an identity and a direction but that identity and direction just happens to stink. Nobody in the House of Torture is going anywhere or achieving something despite what morons say about how over it is in Japan that group is death regardless of how hard they are pushed. Tsuji on the other hand is charismatic has a great look and is a good wrestler with a solid move set. However is he the guy? With Ospreay and Okada now in AEW NJPW desperately needs someone who can be the guy not just in the future but now. Tsuji despite winning the New Japan Cup and getting title shots and now a push in the G1 is still well away from proving that he is the man in New Japan.

Now to the match. A bit slow early but picked up in the final ten minutes. Big table bump on the outside led to Finlay taking control of the match with Tsuji only just making it back in the ring. Finlay hit Tsuji with everything with a number of near falls and it seemed a matter of time until the Rebel reached the final but Tsuji had his moments to but he also could not get the job done as the excitement and intensity of the match increased as the match began to finish in that typical New Japan main event style with the crowd increasingly investing in the action. Then Tsuji hit the deadbolt suplex a move used by his rival Yuya Uemura who was injured in a match with Tsuji earlier in the tournament he followed up with the gene blaster to win the match and reach the G1 Final for 2024. ****1/2

Semi Final 2 featured Shingo Takagi against Zach Sabre Jr. I expected a special match here and despite this being a great match I felt that they held something back so instead of a ***** all time classic we got a great ****1/2 match that while being a match definitely worth watching will not be particularly memorable in a wrestling world where great matches of this level occur on a seemingly weekly basis somewhere in the world.

The two wrestlers in this match are to me the two veteran wrestlers that should be counted on to help carry this company through this difficult period where Okada and Ospreay are gone and Hiroshi Tanahashi is finished as a main event wrestler and is now the company president too broken down to go in the ring at any real level. Tetsuya Naito the biggest draw in the company and any current champion is also broken down and in my opinion needs to be cycled down the card regardless of his popularity to continue to push him risks missing the bus in bringing the next generation through.

That is where Takagi and ZSJ come in. Both are vastly experienced in the ring. Both are popular with the NJPW crowds although of course not at the level of Naito. Both wrestlers are also two of best in the world. Naito putting over say Tsuji for the title would of course be a big deal but what level of match are they going to have? Surely it would be better that after a short but meaningful run we have the next big NJPW star defeat a Takagi or a ZSJ in a classic title match that says to the whole world this man is ready now and we have the next Okada or Tanahashi ready to lead NJPW to the next golden age.

This match was wrestled very well as you would expect and the final few minutes were brilliant with an increased intensity as both men began to use their big moves with some good near falls and submission attempts but then the match ended with ZSJ victorious and this happened just as the match was reaching its height. Of course you don’t want to have a match overstay it’s welcome and end after the height of the match but you also don’t want to finish slightly too soon and I think this match ended slightly too soon another minute or two of intense action and maybe this reaches ***** as it stands ****1/2 is the highest I can rate this match.

Now to the final as ZSJ aims to become the first British wrestler to win the G1 Climax while Yota Tsuji tries to add the G1 Climax to the New Japan Cup he won earlier this year. Once again the undercard on this show was mostly forgettable although there were some matches set up for the upcoming Destruction tour. The final itself was another great match but was typical of this G1 in that it was not the true classic match that we have come to expect from G1 finals.

Of course they did their best and the match was great but the G1 Final has a reputation that is very hard to reach and they couldn’t quite get there. The match was wrestled very well with each men gaining control at various points as the match began to build towards its finish and as you would expect from a big NJPW main event the finish was intense and exciting filled with drama with near falls from both men and kicking out of finishing moves which would have defeated lesser opponents but who would win this match. Moves and counter moves are a big part of a great wrestling match and here we were Tsuji tries to finish off ZSJ but the submission genius ZSJ ties him up with a superb counter trapping Tsuji in an unescapable hold right in the centre of the ring. Tsuji has no choice to submit and ZSJ becomes the first British G1 winner.****1/2

The usual expectation of a G1 winner is that he will challenge the IWGP Heavyweight champion at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th. ZSJ in his post match promo instead he says he has no intention of waiting that long his title match will take place at Sumo Hall the very same venue he has won this G1 in October. There is now no guarantee that ZSJ will be in the main event at the Tokyo Dome in January. Neither is it guaranteed that Tetsuya Naito the IWGP champion and biggest draw in the company will be in that match. Naito vs ZSJ at King of Pro Wrestling in October is a test for this promotion.

Are NJPW so desperate to pop short term crowds that they keep as their champion a broken down and ageing Tetsuya Naito or does Zach Sabre Jr one of the finest wrestlers in the world who has been loyal to the promotion throughout the pandemic and its aftermath get given the opportunity to help carry the promotion throughout the next two to three years until the next generation is truly ready. This will not be an easy decision for the promotion but there is to me an obvious right decision. Zach Sabre Jr should be the next IWGP Heavyweight champion regardless of how popular Tetusya Naito is his continuing run as the champion of the promotion will only result in diminishing returns while ZSJ will be a reliable and hard working champion that will have title matches that will live up to the reputation of NJPW as the home of some of the greatest matches of all time. He also doesn’t have to be a long term champion and he can be used to put over the next generation. I hope that NJPW make that right decision in October.