AEW Star wins NJPW Debut as part of G1 climax competition

The NJPW G1 Climax 34 competition began today, and AEW will be there. The competition begins on July 20 and ends on August 18. In the finals, the block winners will square off, with the victor taking home an IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom in January.

Notable participants in the competition include Tetsuya Naito, a mainstay for NJPW, and SANADA. Konosuke Takeshita of AEW/DDT and Jake Lee of Pro Wrestling NOAH are the two shocks at the same moment. Takeshita defeated Yota Tsuji in a Block B bout to win his NJPW debut on Saturday's program. After he hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and Raging Fire combo, he finished.

Konosuke Takeshita of AEW delivered in his NJPW debut, scoring two points in Block B of the G1 Climax 34. Takeshita was named last month as one of this year's contestants, revealing that the former DDT Pro Wrestling star would be making his debut in the "King of Sports," and he defeated Yota Tsuji after 17 minutes of action in the co-main event of the first night in Osaka.

The fight itself featured hard-hitting offence from both fighters in the early rounds. Takeshita took control of Tsuji with a strong lariat, throwing a tope con giro that sent his opponent into the railing on the outside. Back inside the ring, Tsuji recovered control with lucha libre-style offence, landing a tijeras and tornillo to the floor, much to the delight of the audience.

Takeshita now has two points in Block B

Takeshita survived a Boston Crab and then executed a brainbuster after reversing a suplex attempt. He then nailed an Akiyama knee and a German Suplex for the two-count. With a headbutt, a Marlowe Crash, and a captivating Spanish Fly off the top rope by Tsuji, he came dangerously close to losing the contest in the closing moments. Takeshita gave Tsuji a sharp flying knee as he shaped up to finish with the Gene Blast. Takeshita then used Razing Fire to win by pinfall.

In Block B, Takeshita now has two points, joined by Jeff Cobb, HENARE, Boltin Oleg, and Yuya Uemura. On July 23 in Hiroshima, he will play his second match in the tournament against HENARE.

Result of other matches:

Block B Match: Oleg Boltin def. Ren Narita

Block A Match: Callum Newman def. Shota Umino

Block B Match: HENARE def. El Phantasmo

Block A Match: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Great-O-Khan

Block B Match: Jeff Cobb def. Hirooki Goto

Block A Match: Jake Lee def. SANADA

Block B Match: Yuya Uemura def. David Finlay

Block A Match: EVIL def. Gabe Kidd

Block B Match: Konosuke Takeshita def. Yota Tsuji

Block A Match: Shingo Takagi def. Tetsuya Naito