NJPW G1 Climax 34 Final Revealed

The finals of the G1 Climax 34 tournament are rapidly approaching, taking place tomorrow at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Today, the semi-finals were hosted in the same arena. Heading into the show, the semi finals were Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Yota Tsuji vs. David Finlay. The finalists have now been revealed for the G1 Climax after a month of big matches, upsets, and more.

Zack Sabre Jr finished top of Block A, with Shingo Takagi needing to go through a play-off match to make his way to the semi finals. In Block B, it was David Finlay who finished top of proceedings, with Tsuji going through  a play-off by defeating Konosuke Takeshita.

It was the finals of Block B up first, and it was Yota Tsuji who pulled off the victory, defeating David Finlay. Tsuji took control early after a back and forth with Finlay, standing as the more dominant competitor in the opening stages. Finlay found his way back into the match with a backbreaker. Finlay continued his assault on Tsuji, throwing him into the barricade. Tsuji reversed a powerbomb through a table attempt, getting himself back in the contest with a sea of moves including a hurricanrana and lung blower.

The pair continued hitting big moves back and forth with some near-falls dotted in. After several teases, it was Finlay who managed to put Tsuji through the table, and followed this up with an Oblivion - but Tsuji kicked out. The ending of the match saw reversals and finisher attempts, all ending with Tsuji nailed the Gene Blaster to win the match and score his place in the G1 Climax finals.

Block A’s final came up next, and Zack Sabre Jr. picked up a huge victory over Shingo Takagi. The match started off physically, with Takagi using hard-hitting strikes and ZSJ using his technical prowess and submission mastery. The pair shared periods of dominance in the match, swapping momentum throughout. Takagi nailed ZSJ with a big lariat, gaining an advantage, hitting a Made In Japan and attempting his finishing move. ZSJ managed to avoid and hit the Zack Driver, but he did not make the cover.

The pair landed some stiff kicks and other shots, but were both tiring towards the end. ZSJ hit the Zack Driver again, but just for a two count, and he followed this up with a knee bar. Takagi tapped out, giving ZSJ the win and putting him in the finals against Tsuji tomorrow.