New Japan G1 Climax 29: Fallout, takeaways, what’s next

Toru Yano (4-5) – B-Block

Wins: Jon Moxley, Tetsuya Naito, Taichi & Jay White
Losses: Jeff Cobb, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Juice Robinson & Shingo Takagi

The man affectionately called the sublime master thief, Toru Yano is able to beat anyone by hook or by crook and that was on full display this year. Three of the block’s highest point-getters all suffered a loss to Yano whether it be by a roll-up (Tetsuya Naito and Jay White) or tying his opponent up to a dojo boy to cause a count-out victory (Jon Moxley).

Yano has a claim for two titles coming out of the tournament, both the IWGP Intercontinental  Championship and IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship. Although not normally his style to compete for singles titles in recent years, you can never count Yano out and his opponents doing so is exactly why he finished with four wins.

Lance Archer (3-6) – A-Block

Wins: Bad Luck Fale, EVIL & Will Ospreay
Losses: Kota Ibushi, KENTA, Kazuchika Okada, Zack Sabre Jr., SANADA & Hiroshi Tanahashi

Despite ending his G1 Climax with the least amount of wins of all 20 competitors, Lance Archer came out ahead of everyone else in terms of becoming the breakout star of the tournament. With his long-time tag team partner leaving the company, most had written off Archer’s future with NJPW.

He used those lowered expectations and turned them on their heads by breaking out high-flying moves that someone of his style and size shouldn’t be able to pull off. His wins were sparse and he finished the tournament without any notable victories but the lasting impact of his performances will be felt for a while.