By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 34 Night 13”
August 8, 2024 in Kanagawa, Japan at Yokohama Budokan
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. This show features just the A Block in tournament action. Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary.
* Entering tonight, only one of 10 competitors in the A Block (Callum Newman) has been eliminated. However, FIVE competitors are 3-4 and anyone who loses will also be eliminated. I expect at least two eliminations today.
1. Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg defeated Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima at 4:09. Oleg hit the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) on Murashima for the pin. Basic action.
2. Henare and Konosuke Takeshita defeated “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 5:34. Once again, Takeshita is forced to tag with someone he isn’t aligned with, and I can’t stress enough how unusual that is in NJPW. The HoT attacked as Henare entered the ring. Narita grapevined Henare’s leg. Takeshita entered at 2:30. Ren hit a suplex on Takeshita, but Takeshita dropped Ren with a leaping clothesline. Henare tied Kanemaru in a bearhug. Henare tied Kanemaru in a Full Nelson, and Kanemaru submitted. Okay.
3. Hirooki Goto and Tomoaki Honma defeated “Guerrillas of Destiny” El Phantasmo and Jado at 3:57. ELP and Goto opened. Jado hit a DDT on Goto for a nearfall at 3:00. Honma hit the Kokeshi falling headbutt on ELP. Goto rolled up Jado out of nowhere for the pin. Blessedly short.
4. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Francesco Akira defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gedo and David Finlay at 5:55. The BCWD attacked before the bell, and they worked Francesco over in their corner. Finlay hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 1:30. Akira hit a headscissorrs takedown. Cobb got the hot tag and hit a series of shoulder tackles on both heels. He hit a standing moonsault on Finlay for a nearfall at 3:30. Finlay avoided a Tour of the Islands and he hit a backbreaker over his knee on Cobb! Akira and Gedo tagged back in, and Akira ripped at Gedo’s beard. He hit a top-rope crossbody block for a believable nearfall, then the Fireball running double knees to the back of Gedo’s head for the pin. Good energy, much better than the first three matches.
5. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Yota Tsuji and Bushi defeated “Just 5 Guys” Yuya Uemura and Taka Michinoku at 6:04. Uemura and Tsuji opened and traded basic reversals with a standoff at 2:00. Yuya bodyslammed Bushi and he tagged Taka in. Taka tied up Bushi on the mat and cranked back on his head, while Yuya hit some chops on Tsuji. Bushi hit the Lungblower move to the chin for a nearfall. Bushi applied a modified Figure Four Leglock, and Taka tapped out. Decent action.
* This is the eighth tournament match for each competitor. Each win is worth two points; a (rare) draw is worth one point each. Thus each competitor has a maximum of 16 points at this time. Also, a reminder that THREE competitors from each block make the playoffs, so even someone at 4-4 (8 points) is still mathematically alive. Anyone at 3-5 (6 points) or worse is eliminated.
6. Tetsuya Naito (10) defeated Callum Newman (4) in an A Block tournament match at 5:54. Again, Newman is the only A Block competitor eliminated entering the day. Callum attacked Naito as he was entering the ring; they brawled on the floor while Naito still had his suit on! The bell rang to begin at 0:50. Naito dropkicked Newman to the floor and finally was able to remove his suit. Naito hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker for a nearfall. He hit a Frankensteiner at 5:00 but Newman popped to his feet. Newman missed an OsCutter. Naito hit a Destino for a nearfall, then a second one for the pin.
7. Great-O-Khan (8) defeated Sanada (8) in an A Block tournament match at 11:11. They brawled to the floor, and O-Khan tied Sanada’s leg up in the guardrail at 3:30. In the ring, O-Khan kept him grounded. Sanada hit a plancha at 7:00. He hit a Shining Wizard in the ring and they were both down. Sanada hit an STO Stunner for a nearfall. O-Khan went for a German Suplex but Sanada rotated and landed on his feet, and he hit a Shining Wizard to the back of the head at 10:30, then one to the face! He set up for Deadfall, but O-Khan blocked it! O-Khan then hit the Claw-to-the-face slam for the pin. O-Khan went from an 0-4 start to evening his record at 4-4! This feeds my belief that at least one wrestler will make the playoffs at a 5-4 record.
8. Jake Lee (8) defeated Shota Umino (6) in an A Block tournament match at 16:03. This is an elimination matchup, as the loser will fall to 3-5. Shota charged at Lee and they immediately traded forearm strikes. Lee rolled to the floor, so Shota followed and they kept brawling. Lee struck him across the back with a chair at 1:30, and he was in charge as they got back in the ring. He applied a Boston Crab, but Shota reached the ropes at 5:30. Shota hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Lee hit some Yes Kicks at 9:00. Shota dropped him with a forearm strike.
They got up and traded forearm strikes. Umino hit an Exploder Suplex; Lee hit a German Suplex; Shota nailed a Hidden Blade to the chin, and they were both down at 12:00. Shota hit a swinging neckbreaker, but he couldn’t hit the Death Rider double-arm DDT. He hit a DDT for a nearfall. Lee hit a back suplex at 13:30. Lee put Shota in the Torture Rack! Lee eventually dumped him to the mat. Lee hit a chokeslam for a believable nearfall at 15:00. Shota hit a Hidden Blade to the sternum, then one to the back of the head, but he again couldn’t hit the Death Rider! Lee hit a Helluva Kick for the pin. The final five minutes were intense. A lot of brackets are broken with Shota eliminated from the playoffs.
9. Zack Sabre Jr. (12) defeated Gabe Kidd (6) in an A Block tournament match at 16:19. I am on ‘upset alert’ here, just so Kidd isn’t eliminated. Kidd hit multiple chops right out of the gate; Sabre fell to the floor at 2:00 and his chest is already bright red. Kidd hit a suplex onto the thin mat at ringside at 3:30, and this has been completely one-sided early on. They got into the ring but Kidd just kept hitting chop after chop. They sat down cross-legged across from each other at 6:30 and began trading slaps to the face! They got up and traded clotheslines, and Kidd hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 8:30. Sabre finally stomped on the left arm. Kidd hit a chop but it hurt himself and this popped the crowd; it was comical.
Sabre went for a cross-armbreaker but Kidd escaped and hit a German Suplex at 10:30, and they were both down. Sabre applied an Octopus Stretch, but Kidd escaped and hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Kidd hit a Bulldog Powerslam! He went for a second-rope moonsault but Sabre caught his arm and applied a Triangle Choke! Kidd hit some forearm strikes to the jaw to escape at 13:00. Sabre hit a Zack Driver (Michinoku Driver) and they were both down. Kidd hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Sabre jumped on his back and applied a sleeper. Kidd gave the crowd the middle fingers and shouted he wasn’t going to tap out, but he collapsed to the mat and passed out. That was tremendous. “What fighting spirit!” Charlton said.
10. Shingo Takagi (8) defeated EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (10) in an A Block tournament match at 16:54. I can’t believe that Shingo could get eliminated here; having him at 3-4 is rather shocking to me. Like in a match earlier in the show, EVIL attacked as Shingo entered the ring, and they brawled at ringside before Shingo had even removed his robe. EVIL put a chair over Shingo’s head and hit it with another chair. In the ring, EVIL was in charge. Shingo finally hit a bodyslam and a senton for a nearfall at 5:30. He hit a twisting suplex. Shingo backed EVIL in the corner and hit a series of chops and jabs.
Shingo hit some Moxley-style elbow strikes. EVIL hit a clothesline at 8:00. He hit another hard clothesline and regained control of the offense. Shingo hit a headbutt and a sliding clothesline at 9:30. The ref got bumped and Togo jumped in the ring. However, Hiromu Takahashi ran in for the save. Bushi got in, too! He attacked Shingo! However, a real Bushi ran in for the save, as the first Bushi was Kanemaru. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Shingo’s groin at 12:30. The ref got back in and counted a nearfall. EVIL nailed the Darkness Falls powerbomb for a nearfall. EVIL set up for Everything is Evil but Shingo escaped and hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline.
Shingo again blocked Everything is Evil and he hit the Made in Japan pump-handle powerbomb. The ref started to count the pin but the bell rang and he stopped! Of course, it was Togo who rang the bell. The ref got bumped again, and the rest of the House of Torture hopped in again. Kanemaru hit Shingo with the whiskey bottle! Hiromu got back in to try to help. Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey in EVIL’s eyes! Bushi sprayed mist into EVIL’s eyes! Shingo nailed the Pumping Bomber clothesline, then the Last of the Dragon/modified Death Valley Driver for the pin. Shingo stays alive at 4-4, while EVIL has dropped three straight.
* Shingo got on the mic and thanked Hiromu for the help. He vowed the A Block isn’t done yet. He noted he is now 41 but he can compete with the young guys here.
Final Thoughts: Kidd-Sabre was a blast. Usually, Sabre forces someone to work his style of match, but that wasn’t the case here. Kidd lit up Sabre’s chest with chop after chop after chop. Sabre finally got rolling late; Kidd could sense he was fading and his double middle finger to the crowd before he passed out was perfect. I’ll go with Lee-Umino for second, as everyone knew it was an elimination match and the crowd could sense the importance of it. The main event was fine and takes third place; it had the usual House of Torture shenanigans but I feel like it didn’t drag early on like some EVIL matches certainly do.
So, Newman, Kidd and Umino are eliminated. Only Sabre has clinched a playoff spot, so that means six guys are fighting for the final two playoff spots when the A Block resumes. Meanwhile, the B Block will be in action on Saturday featuring Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura and Jeff Cobb vs. David Finlay.
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