The G1 Climax reached its endpoint on Sunday with the winner of the tournament crowned in Tokyo.
Konosuke Takeshita prevailed over EVIL in the main event at the Ariake Arena in front of 6,870 fans.
The atmosphere saw a split crowd with plenty of support for EVIL displayed and acknowledged by the English broadcasters, Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton.
There was plenty of House of Torture involvement with the entire group accompanying EVIL to the ring. The members were systematically removed, including Zack Sabre Jr. appearing and taking Ren Narita to the back. It’s worth noting that Narita beat the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion during the round-robin portion of the G1.
The second half of the match featured no outside involvement and Takeshita’s continued selling of his left knee, which has been the story of the G1 for Takeshita.
After landing a Power Drive, he collapsed attempting the move a second time, and EVIL landed a low blow, which the referee missed.
Takeshita recovered and hit a Last Ride powerbomb, nailed EVIL with an elbow smash, and won with the Raging Fire after twenty-six minutes and twenty-six seconds.
The G1 winner was in tears, addressing the audience, stating, “I knew it. I’m glad I became a professional wrestler”.
The tournament provides Takeshita with a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, currently held by Zack Sabre Jr. The two traded wins in this year’s G1, with Zack beating Takeshita in Osaka during the round-robin stage and Takeshita beating ZSJ in the semi-final match.
RESULTS:
*G1 Climax – Final: Konosuke Takeshita over EVIL in 26:26
*Ren Narita, SHO, Yujiro & DOUKI over Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson in 10:59
*David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo over Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & Daiki Nagai in 10:10
*Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura over Great O-Khan, Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young in 8:24
*SANADA, Don Fale & Yoshinobu Kanemaru over Oleg Boltin, El Phantasmo & Tiger Mask in 6:58
*Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato over El Desperado, YOSHI-HASHI & Ryusuke Taguchi in 6:40
*Taichi & Satoshi Kojima over Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima in 7:14
*Masatora Yasuda & Zane Jay over Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Matsumoto in 6:27
