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

Will Ospreay (4-5) – A-Block

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

Carrying the mantel of the few IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions to ever enter the G1 Climax, Will Ospreay had a lot to prove. His tournament started with losses to major players in the heavyweight division such as Kota Ibushi and IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, but Ospreay never gave up.

On the final night of the A-Block, Ospreay did the impossible; he pinned the eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi, clean as a sheet in the middle of the ring. A junior heavyweight beating a legend like Tanahashi just does not happen, but it happened just days ago.

Ospreay has very little to lay claim for coming out of the tournament but he proved on the final night that he can not only hang with, he can beat the top heavyweights. Now he’ll go back to defending his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Shingo Takagi (4-5) – B-Block

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

The second of two junior heavyweights to take part in the tournament, Shingo Takagi matched fellow junior, Wil Ospreay, with four wins. Unlike Ospreay, Shingo declared himself a heavyweight at the end of the tournament, shedding his junior skin.

Although he had a rough go early, Shingo ended his G1 Climax with two statement wins. First, he defeated Tomohiro Ishii in a big-time main event in Ishii’s home prefecture. He would follow up that win by beating another man of similar ilk, Hirooki Goto.

Now officially a heavyweight, the doors are wide open for Shingo. He will likely be targeting Tomohiro Ishii’s NEVER Openweight Championship next.