NJPW Star Makes History To Win G1 Climax 34

History was made in the finals of NJPW’s G1 Climax Tournament.

On August 18th, Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Yota Tsuji to win the G1 Climax Tournament for the first time. After more than 30 minutes of tense action, ZSJ forced Tsuji to submit after hooking his arms and legs.

In the wake of his victory, Sabre Jr. said January was too long to wait for his shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, so instead he wants to win the gold at King of Pro Wrestling. This would mean he could make his first defence at Royal Quest IV in London on October 20th.

This would mark a break from tradition where the G1 Climax winner usually challenges for the title at Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome.

Tsuji made the finals after coming third in Block B and then defeating Konosuke Takeshita, and David Finlay in the quarter and semi-finals respectively. Had he been victorious, the star would have become the first man to win the New Japan Cup and G1 Climax Tournament in the same year.

Meanwhile, Sabre Jr. topped Block A before beating Shingo Takagi in the semi-finals.

Zack Sabre Jr. Makes NJPW History

With victory, Sabre Jr. became the first British wrestler to win the tournament and only the fourth foreigner to claim the prize. ZBJ is only the second foreign star to win the tournament since it was officially named the G1 Climax in 1991. The only other star to accomplish the feat is Kenny Omega who won the tournament back in 2016.

The match between Sabre Jr. and Tsuji also marked the first time since 2012 when Kazuchika Okada met Karl Anderson that the finalists were competing in the finals for the first time.

In an interesting footnote, Bryan Danielson recently revealed he agreed to participate in the tournament, but a deal never came together. He went on to admit that competing in the G1 has been a dream that’s unlikely to come true as he stands on the brink of retirement.