By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 34 Night One”
July 20, 2024 in Osaka, Japan at Edion Arena
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. Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary. This is a small arena; there are likely 2,000 or more fans here.
1. Bolting Oleg (2) defeated Ren Narita (0) in a B Block tournament match at 7:46. Oleg wore light blue trunks, knee pad and elbow pads with a big winter cap; no more Young Lion basic black trunks! Ren attacked before the bell. Oleg hit a shoulder tackle and he went for the Kamikaze/forward Finlay Roll, but Ren escaped and regrouped on the floor. Ren hit a kick that sent Oleg from the apron to the floor at 1:00. Ren hit a chairshot to the back and tied up Oleg’s arm in the guardrail. Charlton said this is one of 50 first-time ever matches in this year’s tournament.
In the ring, Ren snapped Oleg’s left arm over his shoulder at 4:00 and remained focused on damaging the arm. Ren went for a crossarm breaker but Oleg got feet on the ropes. He hit a running knee to Oleg’s chest, then a top-rope kneestrike to the sternum for a nearfall, and he went back to a crossarm breaker at 7:00. Oleg stood up and hit a F5 out of nowhere, and he shook the feeling back into his arm. He nailed the Kamikaze for the pin!
2. Callum Newman (2) defeated Shota Umino (0) in an A Block tournament match at 9:45. Walker Stewart pointed out Callum’s ring gear and overall look pays tribute to Will Ospreay. This is Shota’s first match back since fracturing his hip in an AEW match on June 12; no indication of any issues as he walked to the ring. They immediately traded forearm strikes at the bell. Shota bodyslammed him stomach-first and hit a basement dropkick. Newman applied a Boston Crab. Shota hit a dropkick at 3:00, and he tied Callum in an STF. Callum hit a Stundog Millionaire and a running Penalty Kick for a nearfall. Callum hit a Kip-up enziguri; he leapt off the ropes but Shota caught him with a stunner and they were both down at 6:30.
Shota hit a Tornado DDT and a sideslam for a nearfall. Shota set up for a Death Rider/double-arm DDT but Newman escaped. Shota dropped him with a forearm strike. Callum hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 8:30; Charlton noted that Umino landed on the hip. Newman hit a top-rope doublestomp and an Oscutter/springboard stunner for the pin. The ref even seemed surprised that Shota didn’t kick out there, and I have to wonder if Shota re-injured that hip during the match. I hope this is great selling, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Shota doesn’t make it through the tournament without some forfeits.
3. Henare (2) defeated El Phantasmo (w/Jado) (0) in a B Block tournament match at 9:26. Walker wondered if ELP is mentally ready to compete after losing all his GoD teammates. Henare immediately hit some forearm strikes. ELP hit a dive through the ropes at 1:30. ELP hit a Lionsault in the ring for a nearfall. Henare hit a senton for a nearfall at 4:00. He dropped ELP with a clothesline. Phantasmo hit his own clothesline and they were both down. Henare nailed a jumping knee in the corner and a Berzerker Bomb for a nearfall. They traded mid-ring forearm strikes and ELP was wobbly.
Henare hit a spin kick to the head and a running knee for a nearfall at 7:00. ELP hit a dropkick for a nearfall, then an enzuigiri. He nailed a Burning Hammer and a springboard frogsplash for a believable nearfall. Henare hit a Samoan Drop, then the Rampage football tackle for a believable nearfall at 9:00. Henare hit a punch to the gut and a fisherman’s brainbuster for the pn. Good match.
4. Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Kosei Fujita) (2) defeated Great-O-Khan (0) in an A Block tournament match at 11:10. O-Khan immediately dumped Sabre over the ropes to the floor. Sabre tied him in a front guillotine choke on the floor, but O-Khan slammed Zack back-first into rows of chairs, and they traded blows near the fans. Both men got back into the ring before being counted out at 3:00, and O-Khan grounded Sabre. Sabre hit a basement dropkick to the back. Standing switches, and Sabre hit a modified Northern Lights Suplex at 7:00. O-Khan hit an Angle Slam.
O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops; Sabre hit some European Uppercuts. O-Khan hit a punch to the jaw and a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall. Sabre applied a Triangle Choke, but O-Khan turned it into a powerbomb to escape at 9:30. Sabre hit his Pele Kick to the left arm. O-Khan applied a Claw over the face. Sabre hit a DDT and a Zack Driver for the pin.
5. Jeff Cobb (2) defeated Hirooki Goto (0) in a B Block tournament match at 7:24. They immediately traded forearms. Walker said Cobb has won 3 of 5 prior singles matches. Goto hit a plancha to the floor at 1:30. In the ring, Cobb hit a short-arm clothesline. He hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Cobb hit a spin kick into the corner at 4:00. Goto hit a clothesline but Cobb stayed on his feet; a second clothesline dropped Jeff. Goto hit a bulldog for a nearfall. Goto hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 6:00. Cobb went for the Tour of the Islands but Goto escaped and got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Moments later, Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands/swinging powerslam for the pin. Good fast-paced action.
6. Jake Lee (2) defeated Sanada (0) in an A Block tournament match at 4:57. If you are unfamiliar with Lee, he is rather tall. Standing switches and a feeling-out process. Jake Lee hit a chokeslam for a nearfall at 2:30; Sanada waited longer than expected to kick out there. Sanada placed Lee’s feet on the ropes and hit the Magic Screw swinging neckbreaker. Sanada hit a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall, then a Shining Wizard to the back of the head at 4:00. He got an O’Connor Roll for a nearfall! Lee nailed a Helluva Kick and scored the pin! That came out of nowhere! Shockingly short. Charlton stressed that Lee just beat a former NJPW champion in under five minutes.
7. Yuya Uemura (2) defeated David Finlay (w/Gedo) (0) in a B Block tournament match at 16:22. The commentators talked about how Finlay is the online favorite to win the B Block in a pick’m game. Yuya’s hair is completely black; no red tint anymore. Yuya hit a deep armdrag and worked the left arm. Finlay shoved Yuya off the ring apron with Yuya’s back crashing against the guardrail at 2:30. Finlay repeatedly slammed Yuya back-first against the guardrail and was loudly booed. In the ring, Finlay hit a release suplex with a cocky cover at 5:00, and he remained in control. Yuya hit a dropkick and a bulldog for a nearfall.
Finlay hit a backbreaker over his knee at 7:30. Uemua clotheslined Finlay to the floor, then Yuya hit a plancha at 9:30. In the ring, Yuya hit a back suplex. He got a backslide for a nearfall and a Crucifix for a nearfall, then a twisting uranage for a nearfall at 12:30. Finlay hit a release powerbomb for a nearfall, then the Dominator/swinging faceplant for a believable nearfall. Yuya hit a German Suplex for a nearfall and he set up for the Deadbolt Suplex, but Finlay fought free. They traded forearm strikes, and Yuya hit a Pele Kick at 15:30. Finlay nailed a Buckle Bomb, then a second one. Yuya got a huracanrana out of nowhere for the pin! That was really, really good.
8. EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (2) defeated Gabe Kidd (0) in an A Block tournament match at 14:39. These heels are in loosely-aligned factions. Kidd hit a flip to the floor on EVIL and Togo as they approached the ring! He dragged Togo into the ring and hit a brainbuster on him. The commentators pointed out the bell hasn’t rang but I started my stopwatch at first contact. Kidd hit a moonsault to the floor on EVIL and they brawled at ringside. Kidd is getting cheers! They got chairs and clanged them against each other as they now fought in the crowd. Kidd charged at EVIL, but EVIL threw a chair at his head at 3:00. EVIL put a chair over Gabe’s head and struck it with another chair.
EVIL entered the ring and the bell rang to begin at 4:20. (Inconsistent NJPW rules; Gabe is down and out on the floor; what happened to waiting until both men are in the ring to officially begin?) Kidd got back into the ring but EVIL kept him grounded. Kidd backed EVIL into a corner and hit a series of chops at 8:00. EVIL hit a suplex for a nearfall. EVIL hit a rolling forearm and a hard clothesline at 10:30. Kidd hit a back suplex for a nearfall. EVIL went for a low blow but KIdd blocked it. Kidd hit a brainbuster at 12:30, then a rebound lariat for a nearfall. The ref got pushed to the floor. Togo immediately hopped in the ring and choked Kidd. EVIL hit a low blow uppercut, then the heels hit a team Magic Killer on Kidd. EVIL nailed the Everything is Evil uranage for the cheap pin. So, official time appears to be about 10:19.
9. Konosuke Takeshita (2) defeated Yota Tsuji (0) in a B Block tournament match at 17:14. They stood nose-to-nose and circled each other before an intense lockup. Yota hit a shoulder tackle for a nearfall. Takeshita hit a flying clothesline at 3:30 then a flip dive to the floor. He dropped Yota throat-first on the guardrail. In the ring, Takeshita hit a second-rope flying senton at 5:30. Yota fired up and hit a flip dive to the floor on Takeshita. In the ring, Tsuji hit a Lungblower to the gut and he locked in a Boston Crab at 8:30. Takeshita fired back with a brainbuster and they were both down as the 10:00 clock is spot-on. Takeshita hit a running knee to the sternum, then a German Suplex for a believable nearfall.
They fought on the top rope; Yota hit a headbutt to the chest, then a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 12:30. Takeshita avoided the Gene Blaster (spear), and he nailed a Poison Rana. Yota popped up and hit a superkick and a sit-out powerbomb and they were both down. This action is HOT. They got up and traded forearm strikes and Yota collapsed. Yota hit another headbutt to the chest, then a top-rope Curbstomb to the head for a believable nearfall at 16:30; I thought that was it. Yota went for Gene Blaster but Takeshita caught him with a knee. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and a Dead to Rights powerbomb for the pin. Stellar match, absolutely stellar.
10. Shingo Takagi (2) defeated Tetsuya Naito (0) in an A Block tournament match at 23:13. Naito beat Shingo in their only prior match in 2019. (It is why I thought Shingo was winning the New Japan Cup a few months ago, as it is a fresh matchup.) Naito offered the LIJ fist in the air; Shingo backed away rather than join in! A feeling-out process early on. Shingo dropped him with a shoulder tackle. He hit a senton at 2:30, then clotheslined Naito to the floor. He whipped Naito into the guardrail, then into another one. In the ring, Shingo was in control, and he hit a suplex at 6:00, and he switched to an STF. They got up and began trading forearm strikes, and Naito collapsed at 7:30.
Naito flipped Takagi, with his knee hitting Shingo in the back of the neck. Naito hit a basement dropkick, and Shingo was clutching at his neck. Naito hit a Rude Awakening/standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 9:00. Naito tied up the neck and shoulders on the mat, but Shingo got his feet on the ropes. Shingo hit a DDT at 11:30. Shingo hit a sliding clothesline and a powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall. Naito hit an enzuigiri then a Gloria sideslam for a nearfall at 13:30.
Shingo nailed a second-rope Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall at 15:30. Shingo nailed a Pumping Bomber clothesline, then a Made in Japan flipping powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Naito hit a Destino out of nowhere and they were both down at 19:00. Naito hit a Frankensteiner, then a tornado DDT. Naito hit a rolling Koppo Kick. Shingo nailed a vertical powerbomb, dropping Naito high on his shoulders and neck for a believable nearfall at 22:30. Shingo nailed the Last of the Dragon (powerbomb off his shoulders) for the clean pin! A very good match; the outcome I expected and predicted in the online tournament.
* Shingo got on the mic and noted that Naito won their last meeting, but this time, Shingo won. He said they need to have a rubber match. He then offered the LIJ fist pump in the air, and Naito offered one back as he vanished through the curtain to the back.
Final Thoughts: Last year’s tournament was 32 wrestlers and I read non-stop that the field was too big. I personally believe if you have 32 top-notch wrestlers in the tournament it’s not a problem. Either way, this year’s field is clearly benefiting from not having Chase Owens, Toru Yano, Bad Luck Fale or Yujiro Takahashi taking up slots. Night one felt tight and sharp; this felt like ‘the best of the best.’ I will go with the stellar Takeshita-Tsuji match for best, with the main event just ahead of Yuya-Finlay, but it’s close.
The big takeaways from night one is that Jake Lee dominated in less than five minutes and it’s hard to gauge how dominating he’ll be. Same with recent Young Lion Boltin Oleg, who just towered over Ren Narita. The other big takeaway is if Shota Umino will be able to hold up for nine singles matches. Even if it is a ‘work’ that his hip is hurting him, I can see him selling it in every match of the tournament and finishing a disappointing 4-5. I wouldn’t read too much into Newman’s win, either; I still expect him to finish at about 3-6. The tournament continues on Sunday.
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