NJPW G1 Climax 35 Winner Konosuke Takeshita World Title Match Set For October

Following his win over EVIL in the tournament final last August 17, The Alpha stated that his goal is to walk into Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome on January 4 next year as the G1 winner and IWGP World Heavyweight champion. He will get the chance to accomplish it come October when he challenges for New Japan’s biggest prize.

His opponent is yet to be decided as the reigning champion Zack Sabre Jr. will have another title defense on Destruction on September 28 against Ren Narita. Sabre recently defended it successfully against fellow Brit Nigel McGuinness at AEW Forbidden Door just yesterday at the O2 Arena in London.

Narita earned the right to challenge for the title when he beat Sabre in the G1 last month. It was not without controversy, though, as he used his weapon of choice, the pushup bar, to inflict damage on the champion’s leg, which helped him win the match.

As for Takeshita’s match-up against the two, he and Sabre have only faced each other twice, with both matches happening in this year’s G1. Sabre won their first encounter during the B Block competition, but Takeshita got them back when it mattered the most in the semifinals to eliminate them and eventually win the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Narita has lost to Takeshita twice, which also happened in the G1, with both losses preventing him from advancing to the playoffs.

Whoever Takeshita will face at King of Pro Wrestling will be quite a challenge, as both Sabre and Narita present a different kind of threat in the ring. The only thing certain is that his path to the pinnacle of pro-wrestling leads to October 13.