By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 35 – Night 3”
July 22, 2025, in Miyagi, Japan, at Sendai SunplazaHall
Streamed live on New Japan World
* This year’s tournament features two Blocks with ten wrestlers per Block. It is a round-robin tournament, so each competitor will have nine singles matches over 19 shows in about a month. The top THREE in each Block will advance to the playoffs; the winner of each Block will have a first-round bye. Different this year is that A2 will face B3 in the playoffs, while B2 will face A3. (Last year, A2 faced A3 in a repeat of a match they could have had just days earlier, so I think this is a better format.) Wins are worth two points and a draw is one point.
* Only the A Block is in action tonight, plus some preview tags. The big news from Night 2 is that Gabe Kidd has hyper-extended his knee and is questionable not only for his next tournament match on Wednesday, but also the remainder of the tournament. I’m hopeful that if he does indeed forfeit his match Wednesday, that he can resume competing when the B Block is back in action on Saturday. Anyhow, Kidd’s preview tag here has been canceled. (The preview tags are so worthless, I don’t think anyone really minds.)
1. Taiji Ishimori and Drilla Moloney vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato. Y-H and Drilla opened. Ishimori snapped Kato’s neck and worked him over. Yoshi-Hashi hit a running headhunter on Moloney at 3:30. Drilla suplexed Y-H. Shoma put Ishimori in a Boston Crab but Moloney made the save. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Shoma hit a dropkick. Ishimori hit an impressive Crucifix Driver, applied the Bone Lock (crossface) annd Kato tapped out. Decent opener.
Taiji Ishimori and Drilla Moloney defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato at 6:30.
2. El Phantasmo and Jado vs. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The HoT attacked from behind and we’re underway! Kanemaru tied up Jado on the mat. ELP hit a plancha to the floor on Kanemaru at 3:00. ELP and Ren traded several rollups. Narita hit Jado in the leg with his push-up bar. Kanemaru immediately put Jado in a Figure Four, and Jado tapped out. Blah.
Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated El Phantasmo and Jado at 6:14.
3. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero. O-Khan and Takeshita opened, and Takeshita hit a flying clothesline early on. Romero and Takeshita worked over Young. Romero rolled up Young for a clean pin. Takeshita and O-Khan continued to fight after the bell. Fairly basic.
Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero defeated Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young at 7:11.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson vs. Katsuya Murashima and Shota Umino. The massive bull Jackson opened against Murashima and bodyslammed him. Sabre entered and hit some kicks to Katsuya’s spine. Shota got a hot tag and hit some basement dropkicks on each opponent. He traded European Uppercuts with Sabre at 4:00. Shota hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Sabre tied him up on the mat. Shota hit a tornado DDT, and they were both down. Murashima picked up Hartley but fell over backwards, and Jackson got a nearfall. Hartley hit a senton for a nearfall at 7:00, but Umino made the save. Murashima finally hit a Bulldog Powerslam to a massive pop, and he got a nearfall. Hartley hit a Death Valley Driver for the pin on Murashima. Easily better than the other preview tags.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson defeated Katsuya Murashima and Shota Umino at 8:54.
* Drilla Moloney joined Stewart on commentary. He’s got a thick British accent and a gruff voice.
5. Ryohei Oiwa (2) vs. Callum Newman (2) in an A Block tournament. They immediately brawled to ringside. In the ring, Oiwa hit a suplex at 2:30. He hit a dropkick, kipped up, and was fired up. Walker said this is a first-time-ever singles match. Newman was down and selling a right knee injury. He got up and they traded forearm strikes at 6:00, and Callum hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest.
Oiwa caught a leg and applied a version of a single-leg crab, and he slammed the damaged knee into the mat. Callum hit a clothesline and a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Newman hit a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a series of German Suplexes, ending in a Chaos Theory (rolling German) for a nearfall, and the 10:00 call was spot-on. Oiwa then hit a discus clothesline for the pin. Good action.
Ryohei Oiwa (4) defeated Callum Newman (2) at 10:23.
6. Boltin Oleg (2) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) in an A Block tournament match. They went to the mat and traded reversals early on. They got up and Oleg unloaded some chps at 2:00. Tanahashi hit a second-rope crossbody block and a basement dropkick on the knee. Oleg flipped Hiroshi around in his arms, then hit a gut-wrench suplex for a nearfall, and he kept Tanahashi grounded. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 4:30. This crowd was loud and fully behind the Ace. He hit a second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall.
Walker noted that Tanahashi has 98 wins in the G1 Climax, and is looking to be the first man to reach 100. Tanahashi hit a German Suplex. Oleg hit a dropkick at 6:30, then a Vader Bomb for a nearfall. Oleg set up for the Kamikaze, but Tanahashi escaped and hit a Twist-and-Shout neckbreaker, then two more! Boltin slammed him to the mat for a nearfall at 8:30. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade for a nearfall. Hiroshi leapt off the top rope, but Oleg caught him, put Tanahashi on his shoulders and nailed the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for the pin. Great crowd heat here.
Boltin Oleg (4) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) at 9:50.
7. EVIL (4) vs. Sanada (0) in an A Block tournament match. House of Torture members collide! Stewart pointed out that Sanada came out alone, while Don Fale and Dick Togo joined EVIL. Sanada walked over to Fale and Togo to give them their salute, but EVIL attacked from behind! Stewart said this is their 10th-ever singles match. They shook hands but, of course, tried to hit each other. “I think they are trying to out-dickhead one another,” Stewart said. They brawled to the floor and into the crowd, and Sanada whipped EVIL into a Japanese production team at 2:00. “It’s a bad day to be an announcer in New Japan,” Stewart said.
They got back into the ring and the bell rang, but of course, it was just a HoT ruse. Fale punched Sanada in the gut on the floor! In the ring, EVIL applied a Sharpshooter at 4:00. Yoshinobu Kanemaru put on a ref’s shirt! “This is a mockery of pro wrestling!” Stewart shouted. The match continued with Kanemaru as referee. Each man set up for a finisher but couldn’t hit it. Sanada applied the Skull End (modified dragon sleeper). The real referee yanked Kanemaru out of the ring and put his ref shirt back on, and that got a pop. EVIL hit a low blow uppercut, but Sanada rolled up EVIL for the pin out of nowhere. Non-stop chicanery; it didn’t need to be longer than this.
Sanada (2) defeated EVIL (4) at 6:35.
8. David Finlay (w/Gedo) (2) vs. Taichi (2) in an A Block tournament match. Standing switches to open. Taichi hit some spin kicks to the thighs as Finlay hit some forearm strikes. Taichi struck him with a punch that sent Finlay to the floor to regroup. They fought on the floor, and Finlay shoved Taichi into the ring post at 4:00. In the ring, Finlay hit his Irish Curse backbreaker over the knee for a nearfall at 6:00, and he was in charge. Finlay hit a Falcon Arrow at 7:30. Taichi fired back with a hard clothesline, and they were both down.
Taichi hit an enzuigiri at 9:00. Taichi hit a Saito Suplex while standing right next to the ropes, flipping Finlay over the ropes to the floor! That popped the crowd. Finlay was down on the thin mat at ringside, selling pain in his back. Taichi stopped the count by dragging Finlay into the ring, hitting a second clothesline, and getting a nearfall at 11:00. Walker said Taichi might have made a huge mistake by not just taking a count-out win.
FInlay nailed the Oblivion neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. This crowd was HOT now. (I can’t help it, I get a kick out of Gedo’s non-stop swearing at ringside.) Finlay set up for Overkill, but Taichi blocked it. Finlay hit a Buckle Bomb, then a discus elbow. He again couldn’t hit Overkill (pop-up knee strike to the sternum). Taichi hit a superkick, then Black Mephisto (Air Raid Crash) for the pin! A really good match.
Taichi (4) defeated David Finlay Jr. (2) at 13:34.
9. Yuya Uemura (2) vs. Yota Tsuji (2) in an A Block tournament match. Walker noted that it was last year that Yuya tore a muscle in his arm in a match against Yota. (I recall the injury; I didn’t remember the opponent!) The crowd was hot and split at the bell, and they opened in an intense lockup. Walker said these guys had 22 time-limit draws as Young Lions, and are 2-2 since then. A feeling-out process, and Yota knocked him down with a shoulder block at 2:00. Uemura applied a hammerlock, and this was methodical early on.
Tsuji hit a baseball slide dropkick that sent Uemura to the floor at 6:00. Tsuji then dove through the ropes onto Uemura. In the ring, Yuya hit a Divorce Court Armbreaker at 7:30 and snapped at the damaged elbow. Yuya hit a back suplex for a nearfall. They fought on the top rope, where Yota hit a Spanish Fly for a nearfall, and they were both down at 11:00. They got up and traded deafening chops. “That is a soul-crushing chop!” Walker said of one Yota delivered to Uemura’s chest. The crowd loved this ongoing exchange.
Yuya missed a top-rope crossbody block, and he sold pain in his stomach and arm. Yota charged for a Gene Blaster (spear), but Yuya hit an armdrag at 14:00. Yuya set up for the Deadbolt Suplex, but Tsuji blocked it. Yota again charged, but Yuya again blocked the Gene Blaster. Yuya hit a Dragon Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall. He hit a frogsplash for a believable nearfall at 16:00. Yuya leapt off the top rope, but Yota hit a leaping Gene Blaster for a nearfall. Yiuya again blocked a Gene Blaster and hit a huracanrana. However, Yota finally nailed the Gene Blaster for the pin. Excellent match. “That was downright phenomenal!” Walker said. Yuya’s chest was raw and red.
Yota Tsuji (4) defeated Yuya Uemura (2) at 16:54.
* Yota spoke on the mic, but no Chris Charlton tonight for the quick translation.
Final Thoughts: An excellent main event, up there with the ELP-Takeshita match from night 2 as among the best of the tournament so far. Tsuji-Finlay was really good, too. I’ll narrowly go with Tanahashi-Oleg for third, largely because the crowd was so hot for that one. EVIL-Sanada was at least short; while I wouldn’t say I laughed at the comedy, I didn’t give it an eye-roll either. So, after three rounds, everyone in the A Block is either 2-1 or 1-2. Again, the B Block will be in action on Wednesday, and hopefully Kidd is good to go.
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