The semifinals of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax 35 are set following Thursday’s playoff event at a sold-out Korakuen Hall.
Two qualifying matches on the card determined the last entrants for Saturday’s final-four contests at the Ariake Arena.
In the first of the two featured contests, Konosuke Takeshita defeated David Finlay to advance.
The match quickly devolved into a brawl on the outside, where Finlay set up two tables at ringside. Back in the ring, Finlay methodically targeted Takeshita’s knee, gaining the advantage. Despite the damage, Takeshita rallied but was eventually driven through both tables with a powerbomb on the arena floor. He narrowly beat the referee’s 20-count to return to the ring.
In the closing stretch, Takeshita endured a flurry of offense before landing a Last Ride and a Power Drive knee strike, ultimately securing the victory with the Raging Fire.
The main event saw Yota Tsuji overcome Shota Umino in a match between two former Young Lion classmates.
Tsuji controlled the early portion of the contest with a series of high-flying maneuvers, including a suicide dive to the outside. Umino shifted the momentum by focusing his attack on Tsuji’s knee, limiting his opponent’s power-based offense.
Tsuji adapted, using a moonsault from the turnbuckle to the floor to regain control. After a dramatic series of near-falls from both men, Tsuji hit a Guerrero Special from the top rope, followed by a Gene Blaster, to pin Umino and claim his spot in the semifinals.
The G1 Climax 35 semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, August 16, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Konosuke Takeshita will face the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and B Block winner, Zack Sabre Jr. In the other semifinal match, Yota Tsuji will take on the A Block winner, EVIL.
Full results
- G1 Climax Playoff: Yota Tsuji def. Shota Umino
- G1 Climax Playoff: Konosuke Takeshita def. David Finlay
- House of Torture (EVIL, Don Fale & DOUKI) def. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson)
- Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori) def. Shingo Takagi & Daiki Nagai
- United Empire (The Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuya Uemura & Katsuya Murashima
- House of Torture (Ren Narita, SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano, El Phantasmo & Jado
- Taichi & Satoshi Kojima def. YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato
