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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 34: NIGHT 13 REPORT
AUGUST 8, 2024
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Commentary: Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton
UNDERCARD TAGS
(1) TORU YANO & BOLTIN OLEG beat SHOMA KATO & KATSUYA MURASHIMA
(2) HENARE & KONOSKU TAKESHITA beat HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
(3) HIROOKI GOTO & TOMOAKI HONMA beat GOD (ELP & Jado)
(4) UNITED EMPIRE (Jeff Cobb & Francesco Akira) beat BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Gedo & David Finlay)
(5) LIJ (Yota Tsuji & Bushi beat JUST 5 GUYS ( Yuya Uemura & Taka Michinoku)
A BLOCK MATCHES
Note: Only Callum Newman has been eliminated so far. There are five wrestlers with 3-4 records, so anyone of those wrestlers that loses will also be eliminated.
(6) TETSUYA NAITO (10) vs. CALLUM NEWMAN (4) – A Block match
The announcers talked about Callum’s win over Shota Umino and Shingo Takagi. Newman is eliminated from contention in the G1 Climax 34 tournament. Charlton noted that Naito hasn’t lost a singles match in Yokohama since 2014.
Newman jumped Naito as he stood on the ring apron while making his entrance. They battled on the floor and Newman eventually sent Naito into the guardrail with a shotgun dropkick. Newman went for the Os-Cutter as the official bell rang and Naito tossed him over the top as he went for the springboard. Newman crashed to the floor and Naito slowly took off his entrance suit. The announcers mentioned Naito beat Newman at Dominion back in June before he captured the IWGP World Hvt. Championship at Forbidden Door.
New man controlled the action inside the ring. He hit a PK and a standing moonsault for a two count and the fans applauded. Newman looks so much more comfortable in the ring than he has at any point consistently in the past at this point in the tournament.
Newman no-sold a Frankensteiner and hit a big kick to Naito’s head for a two count. Naito fired back a short time later and caught Newman with a spinebuster. He went for a Destino, but Newman blocked it. Newman blocked a second Destino attempt and turned it into a knee to the jaw. Newman missed an Os-cutter and Naito hit a Destino for a nearfall. Naito then hit a full version of the Destino for the win.
WINNER: Tetsuya Naito (10 pts) at 5:55. (**)
Naito can control his own Destiny in the G1 if Sanada loses later tonight. Naito faces Great-O-Khan next.
(Radican’s Analysis: Newman looked really good against Naito and I’m glad they kept the match short for Naito’s sake, as he needs the rest. Newman is carrying himself with a lot of confidence in the ring even though he’s only got two wins still to show for it from a storyline standpoint.)
(7) GREAT-O-KHAN (6) vs. SANADA (8) – A Block match
Sanada landed on his feet going for a dive and sold his leg. O-Khan took him down quickly and went to work on his leg immediately. Sanada rolled to the floor and O-Khan used the guardrail for leverage to punish his leg further. O-Khan made a cover for a two count before continuing to aggressively target Sanada’s leg.
Sanada fired back and shook some feeling into his injured leg. The fans fired up with Sanada in control. He set up for a TKO, but O-Khan slipped behind him and grabbed a choke. Sanada fought out of it and they went back and forth trading counters. At one point Sanada countered a stump puller on his leg. Sanada ended the exchange by hitting a Shining Wizard.
O-Khan fired back and went right back after Sanada’s leg. Sanada escaped and caught him with a TKO after failing on a first try earlier in the match. He charged at O-Khan and got mollywhopped right in the face by a vicious punch and both men were down as the fans fired up. O-Khan went for a German, but Sanada landed on his feet. He no sold the pain and hit a Shining Wizard to O-Khan’s back as O-Khan had no idea Sanada had landed on his feet.
Sanada sold his leg and went to the corner. He measured O-Khan and hit another Shining Wizard. O-Khan got the claw out of nowhere and a short time later he hit the Eliminator for the win.
WINNER: Great-O-Khan (8 pts) in 11:15. (***½)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a big win for O-Khan to keep his hopes alive of advancing in the tournament. O-Khan has made quite the recovery after starting the tournament 0-4 to level up now at 4-4. If O-Khan can beat Naito, he will advance.
This match was very good with both men wrestling above their usual standard in front of a good crowd that provided some heat for the big moments in the match. Sanada did a nice job of selling his leg throughout the match.)
Both men are eliminated with a loss or draw here. Charlton talked about how this has been an up and down tournament for Umino. They also detailed some of the injuries he’s battling through right now. The announcers talked about Lee getting over at Korakuen Hall while wrestling Gabe Kidd and beating him on the last night of A block action.
Umino tried to surprise Lee, but he was ready for him. Lee traded blows with Umino before bailing to the floor. Umino followed him and no-sold a whip into the barrier before nailing Lee with a big dropkick. Lee mounted a comeback a short time later and they went back to the floor where Lee nailed Umino with a chairshot to the back.
A short time later, Lee worked over Umino’s back with a Boston crab. Umino escaped and caught Lee coming off the ropes with a nice dropkick. Umino hung Lee up in the ropes and went for a slingshot DDT that connected, but didn’t come off exactly smooth. Lee fired back and nailed Umino with a big kick and he went down. Lee went back to the corner to buy some time to recover. Lee began nailing Umino with some kicks to the chest and he yelled back at Lee that they didn’t hurt. Lee took his time and measured Umino before obliterating him with a big knee to the head.
Umino went down and Lee went back to the corner as the ref checked on him. Lee went for another knee, but Umino blocked it and wiped out Lee with a big punch. Umino taunted Lee with some light kicks and he fired up. Lee stood and began trading blows in the middle of the ring with Umino. They traded forearms in the middle of the ring until Umino caught Lee with an exploder. Lee got up and hit a German, but Umino got right up and hit a flying forearm and both men were down! WOW!
Umino hit Ignition for a nearfall. He went for the Death Rider, but Lee blocked it. They went back and forth and Lee hit a belly to back suplex and both men were down. Lee covered Umino with one arm, as he could barely move and he only got a two count. Lee got a torture rack, but Umino wouldn’t submit and Lee dumped him unceremoniously to the mat.
Lee hit the Elevation chokeslam, but Umino kicked out at the last second. Lee stalked Umino in the corner, but Umino surprised him with a flying forearm. He went for a Death Rider, but Lee escaped. They traded bows and Lee hit a big helluva kick for the win.
Shota Umino is eliminated from contention to advance, which is a bit of a shock.
WINNER: Jake Lee (8 pts) in 16:00. (****)
(Radican’s Analysis: Lee has improved quite a bit since getting off to a rocky start in the ring during the early stages of the tournament. This was a great matchup of Umino’s striking with his hands vs. Lee’s striking with his kicks. The final minutes of this match with both men showing great fire, especially Umino, were tremendous.)
(9) ZACK SABRE JR. (10) vs. GABE KIDD (6) – A Block match
They set a good pace early trading strikes in the ring. Sabre got Kidd to the ground and got a pinning combination for a nearfall. Kidd chopped Sabre to the floor a short time later. Sabre got a flying guillotine on the floor, but Kidd turned it into a suplex and the crowd gasped.
Sabre’s chest turned red and began to bleed after a series of brutal chops from Kidd. Kidd invited Sabre to sit down cross legged across from him. Kidd invited Shibata to watch this and they began trading slaps. Sabre got the advantage, but Kidd bit his head. Sabre hit Kidd with several slaps and knocked him over.
Both men began trading big moves and suplex. Sabre finally concluded the sequence with a running kick to the midsection and both men were down. They got up and hit each other with lariat at the same time. They then traded clothesline and then Kidd caught Sabre with a brainbuster for a 2 count
Sabre blocked a slap attempt and stomped on Kidd’s arm. He continued to go after Kidd’s arm and the fans applauded. Sabre went for an armbar, but Kidd countered it and hit a German and both men were down as the fans applauded. Sabre went for the octopus hold and Kidd turned it into a Tombstone, as it seemed he had an answer for Sabre’s signature offense on this night.
Kidd went for a powerbomb and his arm gave out. Both men traded pinning combinations and Sabre got a near fall and the fans fired up. Sabre hit a big slam on Sabre to the mat and went for a moonsault, but Sabre caught him with a triangle. Kidd hit some big blows from the mount and eventually escaped Sabre’s submission.
Sabre went for a Gotch piledriver, but Kidd countered it. He hit the Zack Driver a short time later, but couldn’t make the cover and the fans fired up once again with both men down. They had a great exchange where Sabre was chasing Kidd on the ropes and Kidd turned around at the last second and obliterated Sabre with a clothesline and once again both men were down as the 15 minute mark came and went.
They traded counters again and Sabre got a sleeper. Kidd flipped up a double bird and Sabre used his legs to trap Kidd’s arms. Sabre then brought Kidd down to the mat and Kidd passed out. Kidd is eliminated from the tournament.
WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr. (12 pts) in 16:20. (****½)
Sabre guarantees himself at least a playoff spot with the win.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a great match. The crowd was hotter than they had been all night and they told a really good story. Sabre tried to match strikes with Kidd, but eventually he began to go after his arm to neutralize his strikes and power moves.
They went all out down the stretch and it is hard to believe this match only went a shade over 16 minutes, as it felt epic given the hectic back and forth quality of the action down the stretch with plenty of fighting spirit spots.)
(10) EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (10) vs. SHINGO TAKAGI (6) – A Block match
If Shingo loses, he is eliminated. If Evil wins, he is tied for the lead in the block. Dick Togo ran down and grabbed Takagi’s leg as he got on the apron during his entrance. Evil knocked Takagi off the apron to the floor and he went into the guardrail. Red Shoes refused to count after Takagi got into the ring and he turned his back when Evil tried to make a pin.
Shingo tried to charge at Evil, but he went right into the exposed turnbuckles when Evil moved. Takagi mounted a comeback and the fans fired up as he worked over Evil in the ring. Evil surprised Takagi with a misdirection clothesline and both men were down.
Evil hit some big shots on Takagi, but he fired back and wiped Evil out with a sliding clothesline and the fans fired up and chanted his name. Evil blocked a kick from Shingo and tossed his leg into the ref. Togo ran in to attack Evil and Hiromu Takahashi got into the ring to get Togo, but Evil hit a low blow from behind.
Bushi ran out next, but he attacked Takagi. It was a fake Ibushi. He unmasked and it was Kanemaru. The real Bushi came down, but got sent packing quickly. House of Torture then began to work over Takagi. The ref got tossed back into the ring and he counted the pin on Takagi, but he managed to kick out.
Evil hit Darkness Falls a short time later for a 2 count. He went for Everything is Evil, but Takagi blocked it and caught him off the ropes with a pumping bomber. Both men traded counters and Takagi hit Made in Japan, but Togo rang the bell to break up the pinfall. Stewart said this was the same thing that happened a year ago when they wrestled in G1. The ref got sent packing again and House of Torture went back to work on Takagi.
Evil went for Everything is Evil, but Takagi fought him off. Togo and Takagi set up for The Magic Killer, but Takashi ran in to break it up. Kanemaru went to spit alcohol into Takagi’s mouth, but he hit Evil. Takahashi and Bushi then cleared the ring. Takagi nailed Evil with a big pumping bomber and the fans applauded. Takagi then hit Last of the Dragon and it was good for the win.
WINNER: Shingo Takagi (8 pts) in 16:55. (***)
Evil stays alive with the win.
(Radican’s Analysis: These guys wrestled hard, so this wasn’t as bad as the usual House of Torture matches. I’m really sick of them doing whatever they want, especially after NJPW put out a statement from Tanahashi saying this would be put to an end. Outside of the interference, this was good, but not the greatest way to end the show.)
Takagi cut a promo saying even though he’s 41, in wrestling you can be 90 and achieve your dreams. Takagi said he hasn’t given up on his dream of winning the tournament. Evil is still in good shape with 10 points and owning several tie breakers.
Final Thoughts: This was a very good night for the A block. It felt like every match was important, as many wrestlers were in the position of having to either win to keep their hopes alive or end their hopes of winning the tournament with a loss.
Newman, Kidd, and Umino are eliminated. I thought for sure Umino would make it to the semis of this block and I wouldn’t have been shocked if Kidd advanced.
Nobody has really broken out in this block yet, but the talent is showing signs of big improvement. Newman has been really imp,ressive at times in this tournament and is carrying himself with a lot of confidence. Umino seems on the cusp of being a star, but something is missing.
If you’re looking for matches to go out of your way to see, check out Lee vs. Umino and Sabre vs. Kidd.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR _Torch.
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