The single-elimination bracket for this year’s NJPW G1 Climax tournament is filled out.
Along with B Block talents EVIL, David Finlay and Yota Tsuji, who advanced to the playoffs just a few days ago, Zack Sabre Jr., Shota Umino, and Konosuke Takeshita secured their spots in the final stage of the G1 at Wednesday’s card at Act City Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.
Zack Sabre Jr. clinched the #1 spot in the B Block with a win over YOSHI-HASHI on Wednesday night, submitting him to end one of the standout matches of the tournament’s final days. The win advances Sabre Jr. to NJPW’s Saturday card, where he’ll fight in the semi-finals of the tournament against an opponent who will be determined in a little under 24 hours.
While Sabre Jr. had a slow start to his G1, dropping his first two matchups, a run of six consecutive victories (and a seventh when including a forfeit win over Gabe Kidd) made Sabre Jr. the most successful talent in either block of the G1 this year.
In his past seven G1 campaigns, YOSHI-HASHI had never reached eight points in block action. Despite the new career high, it wasn’t enough to push him into the playoff portion of the tour.
Shota Umino finished second in the G1 with 12 points after putting away Great-O-Khan in the co-main event of the night, overcoming him in 12 minutes with his Second Chapter finisher. The victory set Umino up for a massive next bout, meeting Yota Tsuji on Thursday night.
Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita snagged the third and final B Block playoff spot in the main event of the night, getting by House of Torture’s Ren Narita in a 20-minute battle.
After Dick Togo was chased away from ringside by Rocky Romero and Don Fale was removed by a wave of Young Lions, Takeshita was almost in a fair match against Narita. But remaining at ringside was Yoshinobu Kanemaru, whose attempt at interfering ended up backfiring on Narita.
Moments after catching a top-rope move from Narita into a Last Ride, Takeshita avoided the mist of whiskey from Kanemaru, who was on the ring apron. In the process of dodging the mist, Takeshita instead got Narita in harm’s way of the spray, giving him the chance to set up for a Crossface Chickenwing submission victory just seconds later.
Takeshita will return tomorrow night in quarter-final action against David Finlay in a win-or-go-home spot.
Shingo Takagi put an end to Drilla Moloney’s first-ever G1 with a win in 12 minutes, putting together all of his signature moves to finally find a pinfall in a competitive opening block match of the night. While Takagi remained alive in the tournament immediately following his win with 10 points, he would be eliminated later in the evening following other match results.
El Phantasmo didn’t appear on Wednesday, as it was the night he was scheduled to face Gabe Kidd, who withdrew in the early stages of the tournament due to injury. Phantasmo finished the evening with eight points, keeping him out of the playoff discussion.
Here are the results from Wednesday’s show:
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima def. Masatora Yasuda & Taichi
- Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa def. Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young
- Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano def. SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Shoma Kato & Yuya Uemura def. Daiki Nagai & Yota Tsuji
- Dick Togo & EVIL def. David Finlay & Gedo
- Shingo Takagi def. Drilla Moloney (B Block)
- Zack Sabre Jr. def. YOSHI-HASHI (B Block)
- Shota Umino def. Great-O-Khan (B Block)
- Konosuke Takeshita def. Ren Narita (B Block)
A Block Standings
- EVIL (12)
- David Finlay (10)
- Yota Tsuji (10)
- Yuya Uemura (10)
- Boltin Oleg (10)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi (8)
- Ryohei Oiwa (8)
- Callum Newman (8)
- SANADA (8)
- Taichi (6)
B Block Standings
- Zack Sabre Jr. (14)
- Shota Umino (12)
- Konosuke Takeshita (12)
- Ren Narita (10)
- El Phantasmo (8)
- YOSHI-HASHI (8)
- Shingo Takagi (8)
- Great-O-Khan (8)
- Drilla Moloney (8)
- Gabe Kidd (0)*
*Gabe Kidd withdrew from the NJPW G1 Climax due to injury on Night 5.
8/14/25 – G1 Climax Night 17
- Shota Umino vs. Yota Tsuji (Quarter-Final)
- David Finlay vs. Konosuke Takeshita (Quarter-Final)
8/16/25 – G1 Climax Night 18
- EVIL vs. TBD (Semi-Final)
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. TBD (Semi-Final)
8/17/25 – G1 Climax Night 19
- G1 Climax 35 Grand Final
