By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 35 – Night 4”
July 23, 2025, in Niigata, Japan, at Aore Nagaoka
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart and Rocky Romero provided commentary. This is a small arena. The lights were low but the ring was well lit.
* 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 B Block is in action tonight, plus some preview tags. The big news from Night 2 is that Gabe Kidd has hyper-extended his knee. NJPW announced Tuesday that Kidd will forfeit his match here as well. I am hopeful he will make his Saturday match, but if he doesn’t, I suspect he will forfeit the rest of the tournament.
1. “House of Torture” Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg. The sight of Yano alone is enough reason to hate preview tags. As expected, the HoT attacked, and the action immediately went to the floor and into the crowd. We got a bell to officially begin at 0:58, and the heels worked over Yano. Oleg got in and hit a double suplex at 3:30. He flipped Sanada in his arms and hit a gut-wrench suplex. Yano and Kanemaru tagged back in and Yoshinobu targeted the left leg and applied a Figure Four. Yano ducked being sprayed by whiskey. Yano took a swig of whiskey, sprayed it on Kanemaru, and rolled him up for the pin. Meh.
Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg defeated Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 6:55/official time of 5:57.
2. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young vs. Yuya Uemura and Shoma Kato. Yuya and Callum opened and tied up on the mat. They got up and traded chops at 2:30, and Newman hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Young hit a basement dropkick to Yuya’s back. Uemura hit a flying forearm on Jakob, and they were both down. Kato tagged in at 4:30 to battle Young, and he hit a suplex for a nearfall. He got a schoolboy rollup for a believable nearfall. However, Young hit the “Jakob’s Ladder” (Sliced Bread out of the corner) to pin Kato. Walker pointed out it was a rare pinfall for Young.
Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young defeated Yuya Uemura and Shoma Kato at 6:41.
3. “House of Torture” EVIL and Dick Togo (w/Don Fale) vs. Taichi and Yasuda. Taichi headed toward ringside but was attacked from behind by EVIL, Don Fale, and Dick Togo. They dragged him into the ring and stomped on him. The ref called for the bell to officially begin at 00:48. The HoT worked over the Young Lion. Romero kept joking about EVIL being NJPW president, and Walker had to keep correcting him. Taichi tagged in at 4:00 and battled EVIL. Yasuda bodyslammed EVIL! He hit a dropkick for a nearfall at 6:30. EVIL applied a Sharpshooter, and Yasuda tapped out.
EVIL and Dick Togo defeated Taichi and Yasuda at 7:18/official time of 6:30.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai. Walker once again explained that the LIJ calls are still working together but no longer will use the LIJ faction name. Yota and Oiwa charged at each other at the bell, and Yota targeted Oiwa’s lower back. Oiwa hit a back suplex and they were both down at 3:00. Hartley and Nagai got in, and Hartley flattened him with a crossbody block. Nagai threw some forearm strikes that Hartley completely no-sold, and Hartley dropped him with one hard chop. Hartley hit a splash into the corner and a short-arm clothesline, then his massive senton at 5:00. Daiki finally hit a spinebuster on Hartley for a nearfall. Hartley hit a “Jagged Edge” (Death Valley Driver) for the pin. The crowd loved the big man-little man dynamic.
Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai at 6:24.
5. “Bullet Club” David Finlay and Gedo vs. Katsuya Murashima and Hiroshi Tanahashi. A massive pop for Tanahashi. (A couple of days ago, Chris Charlton pointed out that this will be the final Tanahashi match in a lot of these cities on the G1 tour.) Finlay and Tanahashi opened; Walker said that it will be a first-time-ever singles match on Saturday. The babyfaces cleared the ring and did air guitar together. (One of the reasons I like Murashima; he shows so much personality.)
Finlay hit a hard clothesline on Murashima, then a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 3:00. They went to the floor, with Finlay beating up Katsuya. Kurashima and Gedo brawled. Tanahashi finally got a hot tag at 6:00, and he hit a basement dropkick on Finlay’s knee. He hit the second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade on Finlay and a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Gedo. Murashima hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Gedo! Tanahashi applied a Texas Cloverleaf, and Gedo tapped out.
Katsuya Murashima and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated David Finlay and Gedo at 7:57.
6. Shingo Takagi (2) defeated Gabe Kidd (0) via forfeit in a B Block tournament match. Again, just putting this here to keep track of everyone’s points. Shingo had dropped his first two matches, so he really needed to get on the board here.
7. Drilla Moloney (4) vs. Yoshi-Hashi (4) in a B Block tournament match. Raise your hand if you had these two guys at 2-0 and in first place! Anyone? Not me! They traded chops at the bell. Moloney whipped him into a corner at 3:30, and Y-H sold back pain. Rocky and Walker talked about how Yoshi-Hashi won his first two matches in less than five minutes each, and how good that was for his body to not have the wear-and-tear from longer bouts. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter clothesline at 5:00.
Yoshi-Hashi hit a Dragon Suplex, so Drilla hit one. They traded forearm strikes, and Drilla hit a spinebuster for a nearfall. Drilla hit a top-rope elbow drop to the sternum at 8:00. He hit a Gore for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi hit a modified Destino to escape a Drilla Killa, and they were both down at 9:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall; the 10-minute call was really late. He hit Karma (a pump-handle powerbomb) for the pin! Yoshi-Hashi is alone in first place!
Yoshi-Hashi (6) defeated Drilla Moloney (4) at 11:31.
8. Ren Narita (2) vs. El Phantasmo (w/Jado) (2) in a B Block tournament match. Ren came out first, but he looped behind ELP and attacked him on the floor, and I started my stopwatch at first contact. They brawled past the guardrail and into the crowd. ELP leaped off the stage (it was only a three- or four-foot drop at this spot) onto Narita on the floor at 2:00; Walker noted we still haven’t had a bell, but they made their way back to ringside. They got in the ring and we have our bell to officially begin at 2:16. Phantasmo hit a huracanrana, and he clotheslined Ren over the top rope to the floor, then hit a plancha onto him.
In the ring, Narita tied up ELP’s legs, and ELP reached the ropes at 4:30. He whipped Phantasmo’s legs against the ring post. ELP hit a Lionsault for a nearfall at 7:00 but sold the pain in his knee. They traded rollups. ELP got a backslide for a nearfall at 8:30. Ren hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Ren went for his push-up bar, but Jado grabbed it; ELP accidentally dropkicked Jado! Ren went for his Double-Cross (X-Factor) but Phantasmo blocked it. ELP hit a Burning Hammer, then a Thunderkiss 86 (springboard frogsplash) for a visual pin, but Kanemaru appeared out of nowhere and pulled the ref from the ring! ELP superkicked Kanemaru. Ren hit a low blow uppercut and the Double-Cross, then the “Hell’s Guillotine” (top-rope flying knee strike to the throat) for the tainted pin.
Ren Narita (4) defeated El Phantasmo (2) at 12:09/official time of 9:55.
9. Great-O-Khan (2) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (2) in a B Block tournament match. They tied up on the mat at the bell. They went to the floor at 2:30 and began trading forearm strikes, and Takeshita was whipped into the guardrail. O-Khan bodyslammed Takeshita on the top of the barricade! O-Khan hit a uranage onto the ring apron and remained in charge; the 5:00 call was a bit early. They got back in the ring with O-Khan still in charge, as he hit his Mongolian Chops. He dropped Takeshita snake-eyes in the corner. Takeshita hit a suplex at 8:00, and they were both down, and Konosuke was selling a neck injury that was affecting his arm.
Takeshita hit a head-scissors takedown, then his leaping clothesline. He hit a flip dive to the floor and crashed onto O-Khan at 9:30, and they were both down at ringside. Back in the ring, they traded forearm strikes while on their knees at 11:00. O-Khan hit a backbreaker over his knee and tied him in an abdominal stretch with the Claw over the face. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 14:00, then a top-rope senton splash for a nearfall.
Takeshita set up for Raging Fire, but O-Khan hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall. Takeshita hit a running knee for a nearfall. O-Khan applied a Claw to the face, pushed Takeshita to the mat, and got a nearfall. O-Khan hit a Flatliner move, but he couldn’t hit the Eliminator. He punched Takeshita in the stomach. They hit simultaneous forearm strikes. Takeshita nailed Raging Fire (spinning Falcon Arrow) for the pin. Another hard-hitting match; Takeshita is bringing out the best of everyone.
Konosuke Takeshita (4) defeated Great-O-Khan (2) at 17:03.
10. Zack Sabre Jr. (2) vs. Shota Umino (2) in a B Block tournament match. Rocky noted there is a lot of bad blood between these two, and Shota has been thinking about this rematch since Wrestle Kingdom. They traded forearms. They went to the mat, and Shota twisted the ankle, until Sabre reached the ropes at 2:00. Sabre snapped Umino’s neck between his ankles, then a stiff, LOUD, kick to the spine. They got up and Sabre unloaded some European Uppercuts. Shota hit a standing neckbreaker at 5:00, then a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall, and he applied an STF on the mat and stayed focused on Sabre’s damaged leg.
Sabre snapped the left elbow and tied both arms behind Shota’s back at 9:30, but Umino got a foot on the ropes. Sabre again snapped Umino’s neck between his ankles, and he hit a Zack Driver at 11:30. They got up, and Sabre hit more European Uppercuts. Umino hit a hard running knee to the back at 14:00, then a second-rope superplex for a nearfall, then a dropkick. They hit stereo clotheslines and were both staggered. Sabre leapt, caught Umino’s body, and dragged him to the mat in a submission hold. Pretty fluid. Romero said the “don’t play checkers with someone playing chess” line, as Sabre tied Umino in a pretzel on the mat, but Shota eventually got a leg on the ropes at 17:30.
Sabre hit some Yes Kicks. Shota hit an enzuigiri. Sabre dropped him with a clothesline. Shota hit a release German Suplex and a clothesline, and the 20:00 call was almost spot-on. Walker noted we haven’t had a draw yet (I think this is the longest match of this year’s tournament thus far). Shota hit a running knee for a nearfall. Sabre hit a second Zack Driver for a nearfall, then an O’Connor roll for a nearfall at 21:30. Shota hit a decapitating clothesline, then the Second Chapter (Snow Plow driver) for the pin! Shota finally got a big pinfall win over Sabre! Walker pointed out that Sabre’s only win is via forfeit, and he just “can’t buy a win.”
Shota Umino (4) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (2) at 22:09.
* Shota spoke to the crowd. Rocky and Stewart had a translation system. They said that Shota said the goal remains the same — to become IWGP champion. He thanked the crowd for coming.
Final Thoughts: It was clear from the start that Shota and Sabre were going long, as they worked their way up. I liked the Wrestle Kingdom match a lot — certainly more than a lot of others did. Was this on that level? No, it wasn’t. But it was quite good. Takeshita vs. O-Khan takes second place.
Thursday is a travel day — don’t call it “a day off!” — and the A Block is back in action on Friday. Again, the big question is if Gabe Kidd will be back in action on Saturday.
Be the first to comment