By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 35 – Night 5”
July 25, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Ota-City General Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a small arena or a really big gym, and we can see fans seated in risers/lower deck seating. 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.
* Today, just the A Block is in action, plus preview tags. HOWEVER, we opened with Gabe Kidd hobbling to the ring and announcing that his leg is not better, and he will be forfeiting the remainder of his B Block matches. So, Kidd will officially finish his G1 at 0-9 (one pin loss, followed by eight forfeits.)
1. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato. Y-H and O-Khan opened. They brawled to the floor, past the guardrail, and into the crowd. In the ring, O-Khan beat up Shoma. O-Khan got back in and hit his Mongolian Chops on Yoshi-Hashi at 4:30. Young got in but Kato dropkicked him. Young hit a leg lariat and the “Jakob’s Ladder” (Sliced Bread out of the corner) to pin Shoma. So-so match.
Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato at 7:49.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson vs. Jado and El Phantasmo. ELP and Sabre opened, and they almost immediately traded forearm strikes and European Uppercuts, and Phantasmo hit a dropkick. Sabre hit some European Uppercuts on Jado. ELP got a hot tag and hit a Lionsault on Sabre Jr. for a nearfall at 5:00. Sabre put ELP in an ankle lock. Hartley got in and hit a massive senton on Phantasmo for a nearfall. Phantasmo got a jackknife cover out of nowhere to pin Hartley! A much better match than the opener.
Jado and El Phantasmo defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson at 6:37.
3. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma. Our first time seeing Honma on this tour. The HoT attacked Shota. Kanemaru whipped Honma into a guardrail. In the ring, Narita targeted Honma’s left arm and stomped on him. Shota got in and hit a dropkick on Ren at 4:30, but Umino sold a knee injury. Honma hit a clothesline on Narita for a nearfall at 6:30. Kanemaru sprayed whiskey in Honma’s eyes, and Narita struck Honma with his push-up bar in the chest and got the cheap pin. Blah.
Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma at 7:04.
4. Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero vs. Shingo Takagi and Daiki Nagai. Shingo and Takeshita opened, and they traded shoulder blocks with neither man going down. Takeshita held Daiki upside down, did a deep squat, before finally hitting the delayed vertical suplex. Romero got in and stomped on Nagai. Daiki put Romero in a Boston Crab at 5:30, but Konosuke made the save. Shingo and Takeshita traded forearm strikes. Rocky and Daiki traded rollups. Romero applied a cross-armbreaker, and Daiki tapped out. Easily the best match so far.
Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero defeated Shingo Takagi and Daiki Nagai at 7:31.
5. Boltin Oleg (4) vs. Sanada (2) in an A Block tournament match. Sanada attacked Boltin as Oleg got in the ring, and we’re underway! They brawled to the floor, and Sanada whipped him into the guardrail, and they went into the crowd. They got back in the ring and traded forearm strikes. Oleg hit a suplex, and they were both down at 4:30. Oleg hit some bodyslams and a big splash to the mat for a nearfall, then he flipped Sanada around in his arms and hit a gut-wrench suplex. Sanada went for a plancha to the floor, but Oleg caught him. However, Sanada hit a Magic Screw twisting neckbreaker from the apron to the floor at 6:30!
In the ring, Sanada hit a second Magic Screw, this time off the top rope, and he locked in the Skull End (dragon sleeper). He hit a missile dropkick at 8:30. Sanada went for a low blow mule kick, but Boltin sidestepped it. He went for a moonsault press, but Oleg caught him and hit an F5! Oleg set up for Kamikaze but Sanada escaped, and Sanada hit a running knee to the back of the head at 10:00. He set up for a Shining Wizard, but Oleg caught him and hit the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for the pin!
Boltin Oleg (6) defeated Sanada (2) at 10:14.
6. Callum Newman (2) vs. Yuya Uemura (2) in an A Block tournament match. Callum pushed him a few times before the bell. Callum hit his sprinting Mafia Kick in the opening seconds. Charlton said both men are frustrated at being 1-2 at this point. Yuya tied up the left arm. Callum hit a dropkick in the corner and a running penalty kick. Yuya applied a cross-armbreaker at 6:00.
Newman hit a top-rope doublestomp onto Yuya’s back as Yuya was leaning over while standing on the floor at 8:00. In the ring, Newman hit a top-rope doublestomp to the stomach for a nearfall. He hit a German Suplex at 10:00, but Yuya hopped up and hit his own German Suplex. Callum hit a running knee. Yuya nailed the Deadbolt (double-underhook suplex with a bridge) for the clean pin. “That was incredible,” Stewart said.
Yuya Uemura (4) defeated Callum Newman (2) at 10:48.
7. EVIL (w/Don Fale and Dick Togo) (4) vs. Taichi (4) in an A Block tournament match. Whoever wins will join Oleg as the leader of the Block. The HoT rolled into the ring and stomped on Yasuda, a Young Lion. Taichi rolled into the ring, EVIL attacked him from behind, and we’re underway. He whipped Taichi into an exposed corner for a nearfall at 1:30. Taichi hit an enzuigiri in the corner. EVIL hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Taichi hit a hard clothesline that dropped EVIL, then a back suplex for a nearfall.
Taichi accidentally bumped the ref. Togo jumped in the ring and choked Taichi. Yasuda got on the ring and dropkicked Togo, and he brawled with Fale! Taichi clotheslined EVIL, sending him to the floor at 7:30. Fale threw EVIL into the ring at the 18-count! (EVIL was out; he may have lost there by count-out.) Taichi immediately hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 9:00. Fale hit a chairshot to Taichi’s back; EVIL hit a clothesline for a believable nearfall. Taichi got a jackknife cover for a believable nearfall. He set up for Black Mephisto, but EVIL blocked it. EVIL hit a modified Stroke faceplant and got the pin. The crowd was into it.
EVIL (6) defeated Taichi (4) at 10:33.
8. Ryohei Oiwa (4) vs. Yota Tsuji (4) in an A Block tournament match. The winner will move into a three-way tie for first with Oleg and EVIL. They tied up on the mat early on, and an early feeling-out process. They went to the floor, and Tsuji crashed into the guardrail at 4:30. Back in the ring, Oiwa hit some bodyslams and a senton for a nearfall. Yota snapped Oiwa’s left arm and began targeting it. Oiwa avoided a second-rope Stomp and hit a back suplex at 6:00, but he sold the pain in his arm. Yota hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:30. Oiwa hit a DDT for a nearfall, but still clutched his elbow. Yota hit a Flatliner. Oiwa stomped on his head.
Yota hit a stomp on Oiwa’s head, then another, then a flipping powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:00, and he snapped Oiwa’s fingers and hit a running knee in the corner, then the Marlow Crash (second-rope stomp.) He set up for the Gene Blaster, but Oiwa hit a clothesline. OIwa hit some German Suplexes. Yota hit a snap German Suplex and a Gene Blaster, and they were both down at 12:00. Oiwa hit his own spear for a nearfall, then a clothesline for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall. This crowd was pretty hot now. Oiwa hit a Chaos Theory (rolling German Suplex) for a believable nearfall at 13:30. Oiwa went for his discus clothesline, but Yota got a unique-looking backslide for the flash pin.
Yota Tsuji (6) defeated Ryohei Oiwa (4) at 13:42.
9. David Finlay (w/Gedo) (2) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) in an A Block tournament match. They immediately tied up on the mat, and Finlay rolled to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Tanahashi hit his second-rope crossbody block and a basement dropkick on the knee at 3:30. Finlay began targeting the left leg and stomped on it. Hiroshi hit a snap suplex, tossing Finlay into the turnbuckles at 6:30. He hit his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall. Finlay hit a back suplex. They rolled to the floor at 8:00, and Tanahashi flipped Finlay face-first into the ring post! Both men rolled back into the ring at the 19-count.
They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing, and this got more and more intense! Finlay nailed the Dominator (swinging face plant) for a nearfall at 11:30. Tanahashi hit some Twist-and-Shout neckbreakers, and he was fired up. He hit a Sling Blade, then another. He hit a top-rope crossbody block, then a High Fly Flow (frog splash) for a believable nearfall at 13:30. He went for a second one, but Finlay got his knees up to block it. Finlay hit the Oblivion shoulder-breaker over his knee, then a second one, for a nearfall right at the 15:00 call. Finlay hit a stiff headbutt to the jaw. Finlay set up for Overkill, but Tanahashi got an inside cradle for the flash pin!
Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) defeated David Finlay (2) at 16:02.
* Hiroshi got on the mic and noted it’s his last G1 and he’s standing in the ring with conviction, and he thanked the fans. He played some air guitar, which pleased the crowd.
Final Thoughts: A solid night of action. Yota-Oiwa was the highlight, and while I always expected Tsuji to win, Oiwa had a lot of hope spots. The main event takes second, and it’s a good thing I don’t bet on pro wrestling, because I fully expected Finlay to take that match. Yuya-Callum takes third. Of course, the news that Kidd is out of the rest of the tournament put a damper on things, but I was mentally prepared for that outcome.
The B Block is back in action on Saturday, with the A Block competing on Sunday.
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