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

By Robert McCauley

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 12: Kota Ibushi celebrates the victory with the trophy following the final bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling G1 Climax 29 at Nippon Budokan on August 12, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 12: Kota Ibushi celebrates the victory with the trophy following the final bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling G1 Climax 29 at Nippon Budokan on August 12, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images) /
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SANADA (4-5) – A-Block

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

New year, new look for SANADA. While his final point total mirrored his past efforts, SANADA managed to achieve a career milestone; he defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada.

Coming into their seventh singles encounter, SANADA held a record of 0-6 against Okada, a man he claims to be his rival. Now that he’s finally managed to score a win, that statement has become a reality. It was the loss to SANADA that derailed Okada’s perfect run to that point in the tournament.

Outside of the monumental win over Okada, SANADA’s highlight came on the opening day where he defeated RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, Zack Sabre Jr. Two wins over reigning champions can only be seen as a success for a man who has yet to win a singles title in the company.

Taichi (4-5) – B-Block

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

Despite being in the company for over a decade, this was the first year Taichi made the cut to enter the G1 Climax. By the end of the tournament he managed to make a good impression on the fans and came away with several key victories.

Three of his four wins came from men who had previously beat him since he moved to the heavyweight division last year. Tetsuya Naito fell victim to Taichi’s newly-acquired Iron Fingers from Hell while Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii were beaten clean.

Taichi ended his tournament with a statement victory over NEVER Openweight Champion, Tomohiro Ishii. Per the request of Ishii, Taichi fought him clean and was able to show both the fans and Ishii his true potential. His shenanigan-filled match with Tetsuya Naito likely means there will be an IWGP Intercontinental Championship rematch as well as one for Ishii’s NEVER Openweight Championship.

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