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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 35: NIGHT 8 REPORT
JULY 23, 2025
NAGAOKA, NIIGATA, JAPAN AT AORE NAGAOKA
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentator: Walker Stewart, Rocky Romero
UNDERCARD TAGS
(1) YOTA TSUJI & DAIKI NAGAI vs. TAICHI & MASATORA YASUDA
Nagai knocked Yasuda with a spinebuster, setting him up for a Boston Crab for the submission win.
WINNERS: Yota Tsuji & Daiki Nagai at 7:12
(2) HIROSHI TANAHASHI & KATSUYA MURASHIMA vs. YUYA UEMURA & SHOMA KATO
Uemura laid Murashima out with the Dangerous Driver and forced him to tap out with a step-over armbar.
WINNERS: Yuya Uemura & Shoma Kaot at 9:05
(3) UNITED EMPIRE (Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Sanada & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Kanemaru knocked the referee out of the ring and blinded Young with a whiskey spit, setting him up for a roll-through and the win.
WINNERS: House of Torture at 6:46
(4) TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Evil & Dick Togo)
Jackson planted Togo with a delayed vertical suplex and Oiwa forced him to submit with a double wrist lock.
WINNERS: TMDK at 5:57
(5) BOLTIN OLEG & TORU YANO vs. BULLET CLUB (David Finlay & Gedo)
Oleg clotheslined Finlay out of the ring while Yano drove Gedo into the exposed turnbuckle, hit him with a low blow and got the three count with a roll-up.
WINNERS: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano at 6:23
B BLOCK MATCHES
YOSHI-HASHI (6) vs. GABE KIDD (0) – B Block Match
Gabe Kidd withdrew from the tournament, therefore had to forfeit his match against Yoshi-Hashi.
WINNER: Yoshi-Hashi (8 pts) via Forfeit
(6) EL PHANTASMO (2) (w/Jado) vs. THE GREAT-O-KHAN (4) – B Block Match
O-Khan attacked ELP before the bell could ring, but ELP was able to respond with a chop. ELP low-bridged O-Khan and crushed him with a plancha before making him crash over the guardrail with a suicide dive. ELP dragged O-Khan into the crowd and Irish-whipped him into a wall, setting him up for a diving splash from a ledge. O-Khan blocked a suplex and dumped ELP onto the edge of a guardrail with a bodyslam. O-Khan rammed ELP into the guardrail and dropped him onto the apron for a two count. Before ELP could react, O-Khan hit him with Mongolian chops and sat on his head atop the turnbuckle.
O-Khan put ELP in a Camel Clutch, but ELP was able to break it and crush O-Khan with a springboard crossbody and a Lionsault. O-Khan blocked the UFO and caught ELP with a backbreaker before putting him in a Cobra Twist and laying him out with a spinning inverted Air Raid Crash. ELP landed on his feet off a German suplex and took O-Khan with a discus clothesline. O-Khan planted ELP with another German suplex before they clobbered each other with clotheslines at the same time. O-Khan knocked ELP off his feet with Mongolian chops, only for ELP to respond with a kick to the abdomen and an enzuigiri.
ELP put O-Khan down with the UFO, but he kicked out at two. O-Khan knocked ELP off his feet with an arm drag and caught him with a pump kick, followed by a straight punch to the face. ELP avoided the Eliminator and spiked O-Khan with a Tornado DDT, setting him up for the Sudden Death kick and a nearfall. O-Khan stopped ELP atop the turnbuckle with a gut punch and tried to go for avalanche TTD. ELP got away from O-Khan’s grip and clocked him with an enzuigiri. O-Khan blocked a superplex and knocked ELP out with an avalanche Eliminator.
WINNER: The Great-O-Khan (6 pts) at 14:51 (***1/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: A solid effort between these two, but a tad slow for my liking. There were some decent exchanges, however I don’t think it ever went past a certain level, despite the amount of time they were allotted.)
(7) DRILLA MOLONEY (6) vs. REN NARITA (6) (w/Yoshinobu Kanemaru) – B Block Match
Kanemaru attacked Moloney during his entrance while Narita distracted the referee. Narita clobbered Moloney with a chair shot to the head and smashed his head into the ring post. Once the match actually started, Narita choked Moloney out using the ropes and drove his head into the exposed turnbuckle. Narita put Moloney in a headlock before taking him down with a clothesline and a knee drop. Narita distracted the referee, allowing Kanemaru to nail Moloney with a knee strike. Kanemaru stomped Moloney down behind the referee’s back and Narita choked him out.
Moloney managed to Irish-whip Narita into the exposed turnbuckle and plant him with a suplex. Moloney pummeled Narita with a barrage of chops and blocked a low blow before flattening him with a spinebuster. Narita withstood an enzuigiri and distracted the referee, allowing Kanemaru to nail Moloney with a chair shot for a nearfall. Narita put Moloney down with a German suplex and trapped in a deep sleeper hold, until he was able to reach the ropes. Moloney missed a strike, allowing Narita to shove him into the referee, hit him with a low blow and lay him out with the Double Cross.
Moloney countered the Hell’s Guillotine with a powerbomb for a close two count. Narita avoided the Drilla Killa and pushed Moloney into the referee, making him crash out of the ring. Kanemaru attacked Moloney from behind, but Moloney quickly shut him down with a Spear. Moloney blasted Narita with a thrust kick and crushed him with a diving elbow drop. Narita missed a low blow kick, allowing Moloney to hit him with a low blow of his own. Moloney took Narita down with Gore and knocked him out with the Drilla Killa.
WINNER: Drilla Moloney (8 pts) at 9:57 (**3/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: Hot ending sequence, but this was still your average House of Torture nonsense match. Still annoyed that Narita had one great match on his own and is now back to the HoT formula. At least, Moloney won which means Narita’s chances of moving to the next round are lower.)
(8) SHOTA UMINO (4) vs. SHINGO TAKAGI (2) – B Block Match
Umino caught Takagi with a boot to the face before they started trading shoulder tackles and forearm strikes. Takagi caught Umino with a shoulder tackle, followed by a kneedrop and a headlock. Umino blocked a knee to the abdomen and knocked Takagi out of the ring with two dropkicks to the legs. At ringside, Umino avoided a running kick into the guardrail and hyper-extended his leg using it. Back in the ring, Umino put Takagi in a leg lock, until he was able to reach the ropes. Umino took Takagi down with a fisherman suplex, but he kicked out at two.
Takagi avoided a dragon screw and knocked Umino down with one of his own. They beat each other down with chops to the chest, until Takgai knocked Umino off his feet with a load of jabs to the head. Takagi dropped Umino with a release suplex and a sliding lariat for a two count. Umino knocked Takagi down with an arm drag and nailed him with a pair of dragon screws, setting him up for an STF. Takagi managed to reach the ropes before starting a forearm strike exchange with Umino. They hit each other with Xploders, a dragon suplex and a German suplex, leaving each other knocked down. Takagi caught Umino with a lariat to the back, blocked a Tornado DDT and spiked him with one of his own.
Takagi put Umino down with a superplex for a close two count. Umino missed an enzuigiri, allowing Takagi to drop him with Made in Japan for a nearfall. Umino took Takagi down with a Tornado DDT, followed by a double knee strike. Takagi avoided a lariat, but Umino connected it on his second attempt. Takagi caught Umino off-guard with a swinging neckbreaker. They pummeled each other with forearm strikes, until Umino knocked Takagi off his feet with an enzuigiri. Umino blasted Takagi with a running knee strike,but he kicked out at two.
Umino clocked Takagi with a lariat, but Takagi countered the follow-up Second Chapter with a brainbuster for a shocking kick out at one. Before Takagi could react, Umino shut him down with a lariat for another kick out at one. Umino nailed Takagi with a headbutt, only for Takagi to shut him down with a modified GTR. Takagi managed to lay Umimo out with the Last of the Dragon, but couldn’t go for the pinfall due to his hurt knee. Takagi turned Umino inside out with a Pumping Bomber for a close nearfall. Umino tried to get up, only for Takagi to immediately beat him with a Burning Dragon.
WINNER: Shingo Takagi (4 pts) at 22:46 (****)
(Pomares’ Analysis: Strong and hard-hitting match to finally give Takagi a much-needed victory in this tournament. Not much else to say here. Just two men going back-and-forth with their stiffest strikes, until one of them was not able to go on anymore. Simply yet very effective match.)
(9) ZACK SABRE JR (4) vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (6) – B Block Match
Takeshita knocked ZSJ off his feet, but ZSJ rolled away before he could go for any hold. ZSJ put Takeshita down with a Straight Jacket lock, until Takeshita was able to reverse the hold. ZSJ kicked Takeshita away and tried to take him down by locking both of his wrists, only for Takeshita to shut him down with an overhead throw. Takeshita put ZSJ in a headscissors lock, forcing him to struggle to reach the ropes. ZSJ caught Takeshita off-guard with a dropkick atop the turnbuckle, making him crash onto the top rope. ZSJ tied Takeshita’s legs and put him in a headlock in the middle of the ropes to put tension on his back. Takeshita took a breather at ringside, only for SZJ to tie both of his legs when he returned to the ring.
ZSJ beat Takeshtia down with numerous uppercuts and put him in a double wrist lock, until Takeshita shut him down with a German suplex. ZSJ blocked an Irish-whip into the guardrail and locked Takeshita in a Guillotine, but Takeshita spiked him with a brainbuster on the floor. Back in the ring, Takeshita cracked SZJ with a big boot and turned him inside out with a lariat for a two count. ZSJ blocked a superplex and nailed Takeshita with forearm strikes before catching him off-guard with an armbar using the top rope. ZSJ put Takeshita in an armlock and twisted it with his feet.
Takeshita withstood a pair of running kicks to the face and an uppercut before taking ZSJ down with a Xploder. Takeshita dropped ZSJ with a back suplex and ZSJ quickly retaliated with a kick to the chest. ZSJ tried to put Takeshita in a Cobra Twist, until Takeshita shut him down with the Bastard Driver and a wheelbarrow German suplex. Takeshita blocked a heel hook takeover and kicked out of an European Clutch attempt. They exchanged numerous pinning combinations, until Takeshita clocked ZSJ with a Power Drive Knee. ZSJ countered a lariat with an armbar takedown, but Takeshita was able to break it and lay him out with a Blue Thunderbomb for a nearfall.
ZSJ blocked Raging Fire and hit Takeshita the Zack Driver for a nearfall. Takeshita tried to taunt ZSJ, only for ZSJ to make him collapse with a massive uppercut. They exchanged various forearm strikes, until ZSJ shocked Takeshita with a slap. Takeshita blocked a running strike with a knee straight to the face. ZSJ countered Raging Fire with a Rear Naked Choke and refused to let it go after Takeshita dumped his body backwards. Takeshita climbed the top turnbuckle and jumped down to crush ZSJ, but he still wouldn’t let go. Takeshita tried to lift ZSJ and go for a Blue Thunderbomb, only for ZSJ to immediately lock him in the sleeper hold again, until Takeshita tapped out.
WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr (6 pts) at 22:37 (****1/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: A top-notch main event to showcase Takeshita’s ability to match ZSJ’s mat game while still proving ZSJ’s superiority at it. ZSJ was able to avoid Takeshita’s strikes for the majority of the match and even after Takeshita got one in, ZSJ was still able to respond with a couple of brutal strikes of his own. Both ZSJ and Takeshita have been two of the most consistent performers in the G1 Climax and I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of it, most of the best matches of the tournament come from these two.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Focusing exclusively on the tournament matches, this was a show of two halves. Both O-Khan vs. ELP and Narita vs. Moloney were more less what we expected from them and nothing to write home about. Meanwhile, both Umino vs. Takagi and Takeshita vs. ZSJ were outstanding matches that lived up to the G1 Climax name. Excited to see how they develop the second half of Block B, even though Night 10’s card doesn’t look as strong on paper.
You can contact me at mauriciopomares@gmail.com, on Twitter @PomiWrestling or on BlueSky @pomiwrestling.bsky.social
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