NEW JAPAN G1 CLIMAX 35 RESULTS – NIGHT 14 (8/8): Alan4L’s results and analysis of the traditional 8/8 trip to Yokohama feat. ZSJ vs. Drilla, Takeshita vs. Umino, more

NJPW G1 CLIMAX 35 NIGHT 14 REPORT
AUGUST 8, 2025
YOKOHAMA BUDOKAN (we miss you Big Bunka Gym and Red Brick Warehouse)
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY ALAN4L, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton were on commentary.

So before we begin, for the history buffs, this is always a very notable date on the G1 Climax calendar. The reason I picked this show when Sean asked me which I’d like to cover is the same reason why I always direct my eyes straight to its card when the schedule comes out every year. Barring issues such as pesky pandemics, New Japan will always run Yokohama on August 8th. This ties in nicely most years with a crucial stage of the G1 as wrestlers vie for contention in the finals. And most years the card will feature one hell of a wrestling match which tries to show what New Japan and Strong Style is all about. The nod to history is the famous “Super Monday” of 37 years ago. 8/8/88, the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium, Antonio Inoki versus Tatsumi Fujinami, one hour and one of the matches most synonymous with the spirit and style of this promotion. I hope they never abandon this tradition, and I look forward to continuing to see if the modern NJPW wrestlers of the day can live up to what came before.
(x) GREAT-O-KHAN vs. GABE KIDD
WINNER: Great-O-Khan (8 pts) via forfeit

Results from the preview tags:

(1) TORU YANO & BOLTIN OLEG beat TAICHI & MASATORA YASUDA

(2) HOUSE OF TORTURE (Sanada & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) beat TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson)

(3) YOTA TSUJI & DAIKI NAGAI beat UNITED EMPIRE (Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young)

(4) HOUSE OF TORTURE (“King Of Darkness” Evil & Dick Togo) beat HIROSHI TANAHASHI & KATSUYA MURASHIMA

(5) YUYA UEMURA & TOMOAKI HONMA beat BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (David Finlay & Gedo)

This wasn’t the best night of undercard tags of the tour by any means. We’ve seen all the pairings enough to know what to expect and on this night I could feel the wrestlers themselves were somewhat over doing them. That said, I think they’ve been a fun part of the tour on the whole and I don’t regret watching as many as I did. It’s particularly gratifying watching the young lions in this environment, and the Tanahashi/Murashima tandem is the most charming thing in wrestling.

(6) EL PHANTASMO (6) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (8) – B Block match

At one point early in this one, El P went for an Orihara Moonsault to the floor. He was losing his balance and the camera was focused only on him. When he got the moonsault off, Yoshi was nowhere to be found. The camera wasn’t on him but based on everyone’s reactions, he was never in the area of El P’s trajectory so the dive was essentially onto nobody. It pays to check both sides before you cross the road. One of my favourite Mitsuharu Misawa memories is during a six man tag in his later years, his partner Ricky Marvin attempted a dive to his floor but didn’t look for his opponent’s position. Sadly for Ricky, he dived to the wrong side of the turnbuckle. Onto nobody. Misawa, known for his stoicism, absolutely lost it with laughter. Head in arm. Belly shaking. The works. It was great. If it’s any consolation for Phantasmo, the Pro Wrestling Noah legend would have been laughing his ass off if he were here to see this.

After that moment of weirdness, they got things back on track. The back half of the bout saw them exchange their signature moves, showing good chemistry along the way. Yoshi dished out some of his hearty chops, and got a great nearfall off a sneaky small package counter to a moonsault (bad night on the moonsault front for El P). Phantasmo eventually found his target on the floor, hitting a forceful topé before finishing things out with the Thunder Kiss ‘86 to end his G1 on a good note (his final bout was due to be against Gabe Kidd).

WINNER: El Phantasmo (8 pts) in 12:30. (***¼)

(Alan’s Analysis: This was an energetic match which saw both guys bring the effort. On par with alot of Yoshi-Hashi’s matches which have been the tournament openers on B Block nights.)

(7) ZACK SABRE JR. (10) vs. DRILLA MALONEY (8) – B Block match

This match was heated from the start coming off a belligerent post-match confrontation at Korakuen the day prior and a must-see promo from Zack backstage after it. Two Brits full of aggro is something you probably want to avoid as a general rule, but it makes for a tasty G1 scenario. They channeled the intensity into some good strike exchanges and some really well done British style highspots that wouldn’t have looked out of place on ITV in the 70s or 80s with the likes of Terry Rudge, Steve Grey and Jon Cortez flying about the ring, snapping on holds and flowing through counters. Maloney was very impressive keeping up with the IWGP champion here.

The key story did evolve into Drilla trying to use his brute force to power through Zack’s technique. It was going well for him as he countered a Muga-style headstand with a short piledriver, and later hit a great full on standing-version. Zack was showing signs of being overwhelmed as he got rag dolled around but that may have been just the thing to lure his younger opponent into a false sense of security. When Maloney thought he could Powerbomb his way out of a Triangle Choke, Zack slipped into a perfect armbar on his left arm – the arm which suffered a torn bicep last year. The Birmingham man tapped instantly in a super realistic finish. Post-match saw them resume their trash talking. That’s the Brits for ya! (says the Irishman).

WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr. (12 pts) in 14:01. (****)

(Alan’s Analysis: I really liked this and it lived up to my expectations but one could maybe argue that they didn’t quite grab this Yokohama crowd like they could have. It didn’t feel dead or anything, but I’d have liked a bit more volume to match the excellent work in the ring. Probably Drilla’s best outing of a very strong G1 debut.)

(8) SHINGO TAKAGI (6) vs. REN NARITA (10) – B Block match

We got ourselves a House Of Torture match folks, so you know what that means. All the usual Narita tricks, with the focus on Shingo’s leg for the most part. Takagi sold the leg huge as he battled through Figure 4’s and other holds Narita was deploying. Yoshinobu Kanemaru got involved of course, and the commentators did a nice job bringing up his history with Shingo. Daiki Nagai was there to counter things and help his new mentor. He did a good job doing so and he prevented Narita’s push-up bar attack at the perfect moment, allowing Takagi to strike with a Pumping Bomber and The Last Of The Dragon to get the win.

WINNER: Shingo Takagi (8 pts) in 17:10. (***½)

To me, this was easily the best HoT match of the tour. Shocking that the writer who considers Shingo Takagi the greatest wrestler of all time would say such a thing, I know. I’ll stand by this one though. Takagi’s years in the Dragon Gate environment mean he’s very accustomed to HoT style antics as they were more entwined in the genes of the promotion. As such he knows how to make it work in a much more interesting way than Narita & Co are typically able to. The timing, the placement and the construction of the interference spots was much improved here. For a 17 minute Ren Narita match, this was way better than you’d think.

(9) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (10) vs. SHOTA UMINO (8) – B Block match

So this was the match when I looked at the card, I circled and said “ok that’s the match they’re giving the Inoki/Fujinami spot to”. The design here was clearly to give these two the time and space to put on the best match possible in the main event.

They built this one slowly with a strong feeling out process which made sense for two guys who’ve had very little ring-time with one another. A significant moment was Umino being stopped in his tracks while in control, grasping his neck, selling that he had jarred it and was suffering the after effects of the brainbuster to the floor that Takeshita had delivered in their post-match brawl at Korakuen. The Alpha would capitalise by hitting that same move again to take control of the match.

As the match wore on, both competitors were selling significant fatigue and various injured body parts. They fought hard nonetheless, reaching down deep in big strike exchanges, and hurling each other around with German suplexes and top rope superplexes. To some it may have seemed like excess, but everyone has a different tolerance and their work here was getting the desired reaction from the Yokohama fans. As the match escalated, so did the atmosphere in the building.

The most polarising part of the match came just before the finishing stretch.Takeshita had his chickenwing hold locked on following his new necksnap that he’s been using in the tournament. This sequence beat both Gabe Kidd and Takagi and they were selling it big with Umino locked in the hold, nowhere to go with his father Red Shoes Unno the man with the responsibility of stopping the contest. The drama built and then Takeshita just gave up the hold and went for a pin. The commentators tried to explain it, suggesting either Takeshita was losing his grip, or perhaps he was worried about the clock. Some may buy those explanations, some may think it was that he knew Red Shoes wouldn’t call the match so the pin was the better option. Others may think it was terrible and took the wind out of the sails. Regardless they got things going again with a superb close to the match which saw Umino hit the Second Chapter to gain the two points.

WINNER: Shota Umino (10 pts) in 25:46. (****½)

(Alan’s Analysis: I thought this match was outstanding and up there with the best of the tournament. Perhaps it was the best. I don’t think it will be everyone’s cup of tea and I’m sure some will scoff at any Inoki/Fujinami comparison. But to me, I thought it did an excellent job representing the strengths and positive sides of the 2025 NJPW product, and I’d be happy to see a rematch before this tournament is over.)

There was something very notable about the post-match. If Shota Umino becomes the star NJPW want him to be, I will always point to this night in Yokohama and the reaction the fans gave him after his victory. Rows of fans flocked to the guardrails to high five with him, hug him, yell encouragement to him etc. And this lad was soaking it in let me tell you! You could tell it meant a lot to him giving the ups and downs he’s had in terms of fan reaction. Is Shota Umino finally on the right track? It sure looked like it on 8/8 in Yokohama!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Unlike the A Block, the B Block seems pretty cut and dry going into the final night. One would think Zack, Takeshita and Umino are going to be the three qualifiers. The big mystery to me is which one would have missed out if Gabe was still involved. Or would Gabe have lost out? Regardless, based on this show, the likely top 3 are in fine form heading into the playoffs.