By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 34 Night 15”
August 12, 2024 in Niigata, Japan at Aore Nagaoka
Streamed live on New Japan World
This year’s tournament is comprised of 20 competitors, split into two 10-man Blocks. This is a round-robin tournament, so each man will have nine tournament matches. This show features just the A Block in tournament action. Walker Stewart provided commentary. This is a small arena and even with the lights low, it appears we have 2,000 to 4,000 in attendance.
We have reached the final night of the A Block! A reminder that three wrestlers will reach the playoffs. Zack Sabre Jr. has clinched a playoff spot while three others have been eliminated. It means six wrestlers are fighting for the two remaining spots today. (Boasting update: I am in fifth place out of 730 entries in Chris Samsa’s online tournament, just two points behind the four guys tied for first place in front of me.)
* Noteworthy since Saturday’s show is that Yuya Uemura suffered an elbow injury during his match and he will forfeit his final B Block match. I didn’t expect Yuya to advance (he was 4-4 and in the playoff picture.) Hopefully the injury is minor and he’ll be back soon. It also means his preview tag match for this show has been canceled.
1. Hirooki Goto and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi and Yota Tsuji at 6:39. Goto and Tsuji opened. Tanahashi hit a crossbody block on Tsuji at 1:30. Goto hit a back suplex on Tsuji. Bushi got the hot tag at 4:30, and he dove through the ropes onto Goto. In the ring, Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Bushi. He hit the GTR elbow drop to the sternum to pin Bushi. Decent, short, to the point.
2. “Guerrillas of Destiny” El Phantasmo and Jado defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” David Finlay and Gedo at 7:02. Gedo and Jado were set to begin, but Finlay attacked Jado from behind, and the BCWD worked Gedo over. ELP finally tagged in and traded forearm strikes with Finlay at 4:30. Finlay hit a backbreaker over his knee on Phantasmo. ELP hit a Superkick on Finlay, then one on Gedo, and he pinned Gedo. Okay.
3. “House of Torture” Ren Narita, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Konosuke Takeshita and “United Empire” Francesco Akira, Henare, and Jeff Cobb at 9:01. Once again, Takeshita is teaming with someone he is not aligned with, which is really unusual in NJPW. All six brawled at the bell. The HoT kept Henare grounded early on. Henare hit a senton on Yujiro at 5:00. Takeshita got the hot tag. Cobb hit a delayed vertical suplex; Sho kicked Jeff in the gut but Cobb didn’t budge. Akira tagged in at 7:00 and hit a huracanrana on Kanemaru and a top-rope crossbody block. Kanemaru sprayed whisky in Akira’s eyes, then he got a rollup to pin Akira!
4) Gabe Kidd (8) defeated Callum Newman (4) in an A Block tournament match at 5:23. Both men are already eliminated. Callum came out first and he dove on Kidd. They got in the ring and the bell sounded to officially begin at 0:32. Kidd hit some chops. Newman hit a springboard dropkick and they were both down at 2:30. Newman hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Newman hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 4:30, then a spinning heel kick to the jaw. He went for the OsCutter but Kidd slapped him on the back, then Kidd hit two piledrivers for the pin. Surprisingly short; again, official time was actually less than five minutes. Before the tournament began, I said the ceiling for Newman was 3-6, and he finished at 2-7. Kidd hit another piledriver after the bell.
* Henare joined Walker Stewart on commentary.
5. Zack Sabre Jr. (14) defeated Sanada (8) in an A Block tournament match at 15:44. Sabre has already qualified for the playoffs; I know it’s not in his nature, but would he be willing to lose quickly to avoid an injury? Right on cue, Walker noted that Sabre has already “locked in his place” as the No. 1 seed. Standing switches to open. Walker said they are 3-3-1 against each other. They traded rollups and Sanada got a believable nearfall at 3:00; I really thought it was possible it would end there. They switched to trading European Uppercuts. Sanada hit a dropkick at 6:30 tha sent Sabre to the floor, so Sanada hit a plancha on him. In the ring, Sabre hit a basement dropkick and took control of the offense.
Sanada hit a dropkick on Zack’s knee, then he hit the Magic Screw twisting neckbreaker, and they were both down at 9:00. Sanada went for a moonsault, but Sabre caught an arm and locked in a hammerlock, and Sanada screamed in pain but refused to tap. This crowd was really into this one. Sabre applied a modified Rings of Saturn, but Sanada reached the ropes at 12:00. Sanada got a rollup for a nearfall. He went for a Shining Wizard but Sabre blocked it. Sanada hit a Shining Wizard to the jaw but he couldn’t hit Deadfall. Sabre set up for the Zack Driver but Sanada turned it into Skull End, but Sabre escaped. Zack nailed the Zack Driver for the pin! Wow, Sanada finishes the tournament at 4-5. I would have bet money on Sanada winning today.
6. Shingo Takagi (10) defeated Jake Lee (8) in an A Block tournament match at 13:49. One of these two will finish with a disappointing losing record, but I wouldn’t rule out a draw here, too, so they both finish at 9 points (4-4-1). A lockup and a feeling-out process to open. Shingo hit a senton at 2:30. Jake hit a running knee strike to the chest as Shingo was on the apron, and Lee was in charge back in the ring and he kept Shingo grounded. Shingo finally hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and they were both down at 7:30. Shingo hit a series of chops and jabs in the corner, and this fired up the crowd. He hit a suplex for a nearfall.
Shingo nailed a Pumping Bomber. Jake Lee hit a running Penalty Kick and a back suplex for a nearfall at 11:30. Shingo hit a Death Valley Driver and they were both down. Shingo hit a clothesline into the corner, then a second-rope superplex at 13:00. He hit some Pumping Bombers but Lee didn’t go down. They traded kicks. Shingo hit another Pumping Bomber for the pin. (I thought Lee got a shoulder up.) Yep, Lee yelled at the ref, questioning the call. Shingo mathematically stays alive for a playoff spot at 5-4.
7. Shota Umino (8) defeated EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (10) in an A Block tournament match at 20:31. Shota attacked EVIL from behind and they brawled at ringside. The bell rang at 0:45 to officially begin. EVIL moved a turnbuckle pad and Shota crashed into the corner and hurt his back. They went to the floor, where EVIL shoved him back-first into the guardrail at 2:30. In the ring, EVIL choked Shota with a chain and he kept Umino grounded. EVIL hit some chops but it just fired up Shota, and Shota hit a dropkick at 6:30. Shota hit a DDT onto the ring apron. In the ring, Shota hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall at 9:30.
Shota accidentally superkicked the referee! Togo immediately hopped in the ring and choked Shota. Kanemaru ran in. EVIL and Togo hit a Magic Killer on Shota and pretended they got the pin. The ref got back in, and Shota hit a tornado DDT on EVIL at 12:00, then he applied an STF. Sho distracted the ref. Yujiro snuck into the ring and shoved Shota into the ref, and the HoT beat up Shota. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to the groin at 14:00, and EVIL got a believable nearfall. Yujiro hit the Pimp Juice DDT on Shota and EVIL got another nearfall! Hiroshi Tanahashi ran in to make the save and that got a pop.
Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey into a teammate’s eyes. EVIL hit a low blow on Tanahashi and kicked him to the floor. Shota hit a stunner on EVIL. Shota hit a running knee to the back, then a side slam for a nearfall at 17:30, then a running swinging neckbreaker. He tried to get a Death Rider but EVIL shrugged free. EVIL nailed a decapitating clothesline for a believable nearfall. Shota hit an enzuigiri, then a Hidden Blade to the back of the head. EVIL hit a low blow and his own Death Rider for a believable nearfall, and Walker was in disbelief at the kickout. Umino hit the Everything is Evil on EVIL and they were both down at 20:00! Shota hit another sideslam, then the Death Rider double-arm DDT for the pin! EVIL started 5-0 but finished 5-4 and is eliminated.
* Because of the tie-breaker, Shingo Takagi just qualified for the playoffs (in my bracket, I had him winning the No. 1 seed, but Sabre advancing to the championship ahead of him). Because Shingo beat EVIL last week, Shingo had the tie-breaker over EVIL although they both finished 5-4.
8. Great-O-Khan (10) defeated Tetsuya Naito (10) in an A Block tournament match at 18:57. O-Khan started 0-4 while Naito finished 0-2; the winner faces Takagi in the playoffs. A feeling-out process early on. They fought to the floor, where Naito whipped O-Khan into the guardrail at 3:00. In the ring, O-Khan grapevined the leg on the mat. Naito hit a deep armdrag and a running knee to the back at 8:30. Naito hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker for a nearfall. O-Khan went back to grapevine of the leg on the mat and this match has been a chore to get into.
Naio hit a tornado DDT and they were both down at 12:30. O-Khan hit a German Suplex… and went right back to the grapevine of the leg on the mat. O-Khan hit a back suplex and they were both down at 17:00. Yeah, this is a chore to get into, but the crowd is digging it. O-Khan set up for his claw-to-the-face slam, but Naito escaped and Naito hit a Destino for a believable nearfall. Naito went for a second Destino but O-Khan blocked it! O-Khan hit a Flatliner, then he hit the Claw-to-the-face slam for the pin! O-Khan went from 0-4 to 5-4 to advance!
Final Thoughts: I smiled as O-Khan got the pin. This crowd was so hot for Naito, but he’s already champion, so there is no point in him reaching the playoffs. No, I didn’t like the match at all, but at least the ending was good. I’ll go with Sanada-Sabre for best match, with Shingo-Lee for second place. This was such a lackluster night of action that I’m not going to give a third place award, which I don’t think I’ve done before.
So, Zack Sabre Jr. has the first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, and Shingo Takagi faces the surprising Great-O-Khan in the first round. But first, the B Block will wrap up on Wednesday. As I noted above, Yuya Uemura is injured and has forfeited his match, but we have six others who will fight for the three playoff spots, as no one has officially locked in a playoff spot.
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