The Elite Eight is set.
Tetsuya Naito and Zack Sabre Jr were the final two men to advance in block action of the NJPW G1 Climax 33 tournament. Naito topped D Block while ZSJ came in second.
Naito closed out the night with a victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi to finish with a 5-2 (10 points) record. In the co-main event, ZSJ bested Hirooki Goto, also moving his record to 5-2 (10 points).
Naito placed above ZSJ as a result of his victory over the reigning NJPW World TV Champion on August 2 during round robin action.
Naito lost to Shane Haste and Jeff Cobb during the round robin stage while ZSJ was bested by Naito and Cobb. Cobb ended up finishing in third with a 4-2-1 (9 pts) record. He went to a double countout with Haste on the final night of D Block action.
Naito will now face Hikuleo, who finished second in A Block, in the Elite Eight. Zack Sabre Jr will battle Kazuchika Okada, who won B Block in the playoff.
Fans can find updated standings and the results archive for NJPW G1 Climax 33 by clicking here.
