Beloved AEW star Konosuke Takeshita took part in his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at this year’s G1 Climax 34. The yearly tournament has several pools of wrestlers that use a point system to determine the winners of each block and who heads to the next round. Last year’s event came down to Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito with the latter winning the tournament. The tournament gives wrestlers the opportunity to really show out and show fans what they are capable of. In 2024 Okada and Will Ospreay departed Japan to join AEW so NJPW hasn’t really had anyone rise to the occasion yet.
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There are several younger budding stars like United Empire’s Callum Newman, Shota Umino and Takeshita in this year’s tournament, so hopefully they’ll be able to get the ball rolling on the next face of Japan. On the first night of the tournament Takeshita seemed to do just that as he made a statement with his win over Yota Tsuji in Block B. “The Alpha” defeated the former NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champion with the Blue Thunder Bomb and a Raging Fire.
“Most of all I want to prove how good I am, how strong I am, and I want people to really take in the kind of wrestling I’ve been able to form as a Japanese who’s spent the last three years in the States,” Takeshita told the New Japan Pro Wrestling website about his debut. When asked if he had any further ambitions while competing, he noted that he does want to hold gold. He hasn’t held a championship since his departure from DDT in 2022 when he signed with AEW.
“I want some gold! In this business, belts are like tickets that take you to new places. I’m in the Don Callis Family in AEW, but I’m a single player and I want singles gold, and to keep showing NJPW just what Konosuke Takeshita can do. Over the next month, NJPW is going to see the sum total of everything I’ve put together in DDT and in the US, and why that makes mine the best wrestling there is. When it comes to the conversation of best in the world, I am the first name and I am the only name. I am the Alpha, Konosuke Takeshita.”
The action continues tonight in Osaka, Japan with several matches in both the A and B blocks. Last year’s winner Naito, Zack Sabre Jr., ELP, David Finlay, Ren Narita and more will be competing. Check out the full schedule for tonight below..
- A Block – Shota Umino vs. Shingo Takagi
- A Block – Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- A Block – SANADA vs. A Block Qualifier
- A Block – Great-O-Khan vs. Gabe Kidd
- A Block – Jake Lee vs. EVIL
- B Block – El Phantasmo vs. Ren Narita
- B Block – Hirooki Goto vs. Yuya Uemura
- B Block – Yota Tsuji vs. David Finlay
- B Block – HENARE vs. B Block Qualifier
Stay tuned to Comicbook for news and updates on New Japan Pro Wrestling.
