By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 34 Night 17”
August 15, 2024 in Chiba, Japan at Makuhari Messe 9 Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
The group stage is over! We are down to just six wrestlers remaining. As the No. 1 seeds, David Finlay and Zack Sabre Jr. have first-round byes. So, this show features the two first-round matches. This is the large, drab gym and it feels really small for a show of this level of importance, as attendance is maybe 1,200 with everyone seated on the floor. Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary.
1. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada and Taichi and Douki and Taka Michinoku defeated Tomoaki Honma and Katsuya Murashima and “Bishimon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi at 7:14. This is the first appearance of both Taichi and Yoshi-Hashi on this tour, and those two jawed at each other and opened the match. (If you recall, both were eliminated in G1 qualifiers.) They traded spin kicks. Taichi hit a Mafia Kick. Sanada and Goto battled at 3:00. Taka entered and hit a pump kick. Honma entered and hit a DDT-and-Flatliner combo, but he missed a Kokeshi falling headbutt. Murashima entered at 5:00 and battled Douki. Douki hit an enzuigiri, then a Northern Lights Suplex for the pin. Decent.
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, and Boltin Oleg defeated “House of Torture” Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 8:51. Yano’s team wore their six-man tag titles. (It really is easy to forget those titles exist.) The HoT attacked before the bell. Yujiro shoved Yano into a guardrail at ringside. The HoT worked over Tanahashi in the ring. Sho hit some Dragonscrew Legwhips at 3:00. Tanahashi hit one on Sho, then on Yujiro. Oleg got a hot tag at 4:30 and he hit some shoulder tackles and sent opponents flying. Oleg tossed Sho around in his arms then hit the gut-wrench suplex. He did that to Yujiro, too!
Yano got a hot tag and immediately removed a corner pad. He rolled up Yujiro for a nearfall. Yujiro got his walking staff and he struck Tanahashi with it. Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey in Yujiro’s eyes. Yano immediately rolled up Yujiro for the pin. Watching Oleg throw around guys smaller than him is the only reason to watch this match.
3. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd and Jake Lee defeated “United Empire” Francesco Akira and Jef Cobb at 6:57. The BCWD attacked from behind and all four brawled on the floor, with Kidd pairing off with Cobb, while Lee and Akira brawled into the seating area. In the ring, Cobb hit a standing moonsault on Lee at 4:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Akira hit a plancha on Lee, then a leg lariat on Lee in the ring. He hit a top-rope crossbody block, then a senton off Cobb’s shoulders onto Lee for a nearfall. However, Kidd hit a straight punch to Akira’s jaw, and Lee immediately hit a chokeslam to pin Akira. Really good undercard match. Charlton speculated that Kidd and Lee could be a tag team title contender.
4. “United Empire” Henare and Callum Newman defeated “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi and Tetsuya Naito at 6:10. Callum and Naito opened, with Callum hitting his running Mafia Kick on Naito. Bush dove through the ropes onto Newman at 2:00. In the ring, Henare applied a full nelson on Bushi, who tapped out. Once again, Naito never took his shirt off and doesn’t appear to have broken a sweat.
5. “House of Torture” EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo defeated Shoma Umino, El Phantasmo, and Jado at 7:44. ELP thinks Jado may have pulled the ref out of the ring a day ago (it was Gedo), and it is clear he is having some doubts if he can trust Jado. Charlton added that Jado was loyal to the Tongans, not to ELP. The HoT attacked at the bell and they worked over Phantasmo. Shota and Ren traded offense, with Shota hitting an Exploder Suplex. Jado entered at 5:30 and he dropped EVIL with a clothesline. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Jado’s groin for a nearfall. EVIL then hit the Everything is Evil uranage to pin Jado. Okay.
* All six members of the House of Torture continued a post-match beatdown until Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg and Yano ran down and made the save.
6. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” David Finlay and Gedo at 9:33. Harley is bald and thick and he wore a Hannibal Lector-style mask over his mouth. I’m told he’s Australian and has been a member of TMDK for years. Finlay and Sabre battled early on; these two both have first-round byes and could easily meet in the finals. Jackson entered at 4:00 and he’s a thick bull; Walker said it was his first NJPW match since 2006! He hit a double clothesline. Sabre and Finlay traded more blows. Jackson and Gedo tagged in, but Gedo was reluctant to tie up. He asked Hartley to shake his hand. Hartley hit a running Splash into the corner and got a nearfall at 8:00. Jackson fell backward onto Gedo as Gedo tried a sleeper, then he hit a senton and a Death Valley Driver for the pin.
7. Shingo Takagi defeated Great-O-Khan in a G1 Climax A Block playoff match at 20:49. A feeling-out process early on. Shingo knocked him down and took over early on. O-Khan focused on twisting the right arm, and Walker said it would affect Shingo’s ability to hit a Pumping Bomber. O-Khan went for a sleeper so Shingo fell backward on him at 7:30 as this has been methodical early on. Shingo finally backed him into a corner and unloaded his jabs and chops. He hit a DDT. O-Khan tossed Shingo to the mat and went back to working the right arm. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops at 11:30, so Shingo hit his own onto O-Khan.
Shingo nailed a back suplex and they were both down. He nailed a second-rope superplex at 13:00, then a sliding clothesline. Shingo hit a running clothesline but O-Khan staggered and didn’t fall, and Walker said “the power isn’t there.” O-Khan went back to an armbar, but Shingo reached the ropes at 15:00; the time check was right on. O-Khan hit a head-capture suplex and they were both down. O-Khan went for the Eliminator (Claw to the face slam) but Shingo blocked it, and Shingo hit the Pumping Bomber clothesline for a nearfall. O-Khan dropped Shingo with a clothesline.
Shingo hit some headbutts. O-Khan hit a straight punch to the jaw, and he applied a Fujiwara Armbar, and he switched to a crossarm breaker. O-Khan picked him up, but Shingo turned it into a DDT at 19:30. Shingo nailed a German Suplex and a Pumping Bomber for a nearfall. Shingo put O-Khan on his shoulders and hit The Last of The Dragon (modified Death Valley Driver) and scored the pin. Good match; it started a bit slower than I expected but they really built nicely. That said, I neve once considered the possibility of O-Khan winning. Shingo will now face Zack Sabre Jr., who he beat earlier in the tournament.
8. Yota Tsuji defeated Konosuke Takeshita in a G1 Climax B Block playoff match at 21:29. Charlton and Stewart talked about the injuries Takeshita has suffered in recent matches. Standing switches to open. Takeshita hit a clothesline at 2:30 but was favoring his knee, as Walker continued to talk about the beatdown the House of Torture did on that leg. Konosuke kept Yota grounded early on. Worth noting both men are wrestling as babyfaces. He went for a second-rope senton but Tsuji got his knees up at 5:00, and Yota immediately hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Konosuke’s damaged knee and he worked the limb over.
Tsuji hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip at 7:00. Yota hit a stiff punch to the gut that keeled Takeshita over. Takeshita hit a second-rope superplex at 10:30. Takeshita hit a slingshot senton from in the ring onto a pile of chairs on Yota on the floor! Tsuji dove through the ropes onto Takeshita at 12:30. In the ring, Takeshita hit a German Suplex. They hit stereo clotheslines and were both down at 14:00. Tsuji hit a Raging Fire (Falcon Arrow). Tsuji went for a Gene Blaster (spear) but Takeshita caught him with a knee strike. Takeshita nailed a top-rope clothesline for a nearfall at 17:30.
Yota hit a jumping knee and a clothesline but Takeshita popped up at the one-count. They traded blows, and Tsuji dropped him with a headbutt. Tsuji hit a stomp to the head. Takeshita nailed a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 19:30. Tsuji hit a Stundog Millionaire and a Gene Blaster, but Takeshita got a foot on the ropes! Takeshita avoided a Gene Blaster and he hit a German Suplex. However, Tsuji popped up and nailed the Gene Blaster for the pin! A superb match. Tsuji now advances to the B Block finals against David Finlay.
* Tsuji got on the mic and put over Takeshita. Yota said he’s driving for the title belt. He vowed to win the G1 Climax and vowed to be the first person to win both the New Japan Cup and G1 Climax in the same year.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event. Even though I had Takeshita advancing in my bracket, I figured Tsuji would advance here. Definitely a match worth checking out. The Shingo vs. O-Khan match was fine; I had a bit higher hopes for it, but it was good.
Well, I picked Sabre, Shingo and Finlay to reach the final four in my online bracket, but I had Takeshita instead of Tsuji. So, that will cost me my chance at winning Chris Samsa’s 730-entrant online bracket challenge.
The tournament resumes on Saturday with the two semifinal matches.
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