By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 35 – Night 6”
July 26, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Ota-City General Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary. The venue is a small arena or a really big gym, and we could 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 B Block is in action, plus preview tags. Because Gabe Kidd has forfeited his matches due to injury, we have just four tournament matches today.
* The show opened with Hiroshi Tanahashi and an executive in the ring with a photo of Hulk Hogan. We had a nice 10-bell salute, and Charlton gave a brief history of Hogan’s run of matches in Japan.
1. Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano vs. Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai. Oleg and Yota charged at each other at the bell. Yota hit a Flatliner move. Daiki tagged in at 2:00, and they hit a double suplex on Boltin for a nearfall. Nagai battled Yano, hitting a Spinebuster for a nearfall at 4:30. Yano hit a standing powerbomb on Nagai for the pin.
Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano defeated Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai at 4:46.
2. “Bullet Cub” David Finlay and Gedo vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young. Callum came out first, and he hit a plancha to the floor as Finlay approached; they brawled on the floor, and we got a bell at 00:18. (Where is the CONSISTENCY? I thought someone needed to be in the ring for the match to start???) Finlay and Newman finally got into the ring at 1:30 and continued brawling. The Bullet Club beat up Young. Gedo hit a Buzzsaw Kick for a nearfall at 5:00. Young hit the Jakob’s Ladder (Sliced Bread out of the corner) to pin Gedo. Meh.
Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young defeated David Finlay and Gedo at 5:59/official time of 5:41.
3. “House of Torture” Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Taichi and Shoma Kato. The HoT attacked from behind before the bell and attacked Taichi before he even had his jacket off. Taichi and Sanada brawled past the guardrail and into the crowd. We finally settled down and had a match, with the HoT working over Shoma in their corner. Kanemaru put Shoma in a Boston Crab, and Shoma tapped out. Meh.
Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taichi and Shoma Kato at 8:38.
4. “House of Torture” EVIL and Dick Togo (w/Don Fale vs. Tomoaki Honma and Yuya Uemura. The HoT came out first, and they attacked as Yuya entered the ring, and we’re underway. Togo stomped on Honma. Togo hit a flying punch for a nearfall, and we got a bell at 3:14, but of course, it was just HoT shenanigans, and the match kept going. Honma “hulked up!” and pointed at Togo, but Togo cut it off. (It might be the only thing to save this awful match is to do a full Hogan tribute!) Yuya finally tagged in at 4:30, and he battled EVIL. EVIL hit several clotheslines, but Honma didn’t go down, and Honma knocked him down with a leaping headbutt. Don Fale ran in and splashed Honma in the corner. EVIL and Togo immediately hit a Magic Killer (team slam) and pinned Honma. Collectively, these first four matches have been just awful.
EVIL and Dick Togo defeated Tomoaki Honma and Yuya Uemura at 7:46.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuya Murashima vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson. Tanahashi and Oiwa opened. They traded forearm strikes. Hartley and Murashima tagged in at 3:00 and traded shoulder blocks. Hartley hit a massive senton for a nearfall at 5:00. Murashima finally knocked him down with a shoulder block, and he hit a Bulldog Powerslam to a massive pop for a nearfall. Hartley hit the Jagged Edge (Death Valley Driver) to pin Murashima. Easily the best of the preview tags today (but that’s not saying much.)
Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuya Murashima at 6:53.
6. Drilla Moloney (6) defeated Gabe Kidd (0) via forfeit due to injury. Again, just putting this here to help everyone (including me!) keep track of the points.
7. Yoshi-Hashi (6) vs. Great-O-Khan (2) in a B Block tournament match. Yoshi-Hashi is the unlikely leader of the Block at 3-1, but I presume he finishes no better than 5-4. Basic action early on, and O-Khan hit a double-underhook suplex for a nearfall at 3:30. Charlton reiterated that in both Blocks last year, someone made the playoffs with a 5-4 record. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter (running Blockbuster). O-Khan hit some Mongolian Chops.
Y-H hit a butterfly suplex. O-Khan hit a Tombstone Driver for a nearfall at 7:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a DDT, and they were both down. He dropped O-Khan with a clothesline for a nearfall at 10:00. O-Khan hit a pop-up Eliminator slam; he eventually made the cover for a nearfall. He hit a Death Valley Driver. They traded forearm strikes, and O-Khan hit a punch to the jaw, then an Eliminator slam for the pin. Solid match. I presumed Yoshi-Hashi was losing here to pull him towards the median score.
Great-O-Khan (4) defeated Yoshi-Hashi (6) at 12:25.
8. Zack Sabre Jr. (2) vs. El Phantasmo (2) in a B Block tournament match. As expected, they tied up on the mat and traded offense in a knuckle lock. They playfully slapped each other in the face until Zack hit a harder one that dropped Phantasmo. ELP hit a dropkick that sent Sabre to the floor at 5:00, and he hit a plancha to the floor. Phantasmo hit a dive through the ropes and barreled onto Sabre. ELP then dove off the top turnbuckle, flying over the guardrail, and slamming onto Sabre in the crowd at 7:00.
Back in the ring, they fought on the top rope and ELP hit a headbutt that dropped Sabre to the mat, then ELP hit a tornado DDT. Sabre snapped ELP’s neck between his ankles at 10:00, and Zack hit a tornado DDT. ELP hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Sabre hit a Pele Kick on the shoulder. ELP hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Sabre hit a Zack Driver and they were both down at 11:30. Sabre tied him in a pretzel on the mat, but Phantasmo got a foot on the ropes at 13:30. Sabre went for a Triangle Choke, but ELP hit a powerbomb and a CR2 (modified Styles Clash) for a believable nearfall at 15:30.
Phantasmo went for the Thunderkiss 86 (springboard frogsplash), but Sabre got his knees up. ELP hit a superkick for a nearfall, but Sabre got a foot on the ropes at 17:00. Sabre hit another hard slap to the face, then another Zack Driver for a nearfall, and he applied a rear-naked choke; ELP fell backwards onto Sabre, but Zack kept it locked in. Zack also grabbed a leg to turn ELP into a human pretzel, and ELP quickly tapped out. Very good action. Sabre finally gets his first (non-forfeit) win of the tournament.
Zack Sabre Jr. (4) defeated El Phantasmo (2) at 18:55.
9. Shota Umino (4) vs. Ren Narita (4) in a B Block tournament match. Ren stalled on the floor at the bell. In the ring, Shota slammed Ren’s knee. They went to the floor and Shota targeted the knee. Ren grabbed a chair and cracked it across Shota’s left elbow, and he began targeting the arm as they fought at ringside. He twisted the arm in the guardrail. In the ring, Ren applied a cross-armbreaker, but Shota got a foot on the ropes at 5:30. Shota hit a basement dropkick on Ren’s knee. This has been methodical so far.
Shota hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 7:30. He went for a crossface, but Ren scrambled to the ropes. Ren went for a cross-armbreaker. Shota hit a springboard tornado DDT for a nearfall at 10:00. He switched to an STF and we had a bell at 11:40, but again, it was just Kanemaru ringing the bell. Ren grabbed his push-up bar, but Shota hit him with a dropkick. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Narita applied a front guillotine choke, then an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. He hit a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall at 15:00.
Ren had a bloody nose. Shota hit a Shining Wizard to the face for a believable nearfall. Kanemaru tripped Shota, and Ren again got his push-up bar, but Shota again avoided it and hit an enzuigiri, then a clothesline. Ren hit a low blow and the Double-Cross (X-Factor) for a believable nearfall at 17:30. Ren nailed the Hell’s Guillotine (top-rope flying knee strike to the throat) for the tainted pin. Good action.
Ren Narita (6) defeated Shota Umino (4) at 17:45.
10. Shingo Takagi (2) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (4) in a B Block tournament match. A feeling-out process early on. Takeshita beat Shingo in a (disappointingly short) match at Wrestle Kingdom, so this is the big rematch. They began trading forearm strikes at 2:00. Takeshita hit a second-rope flying senton for a nearfall at 4:30. Shingo backed him into a corner and hit some jab punches, then a suplex for a nearfall at 6:00, then a DDT. Takeshita hit a huracanrana. He hit a DDT on the ring apron, and they brawled at ringside. Shingo hit a Death Valley Driver onto the thin mat at ringside at 8:30.
In the ring, Shingo hit a superplex, then a sliding clothesline for a nearfall. They traded German Suplexes. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 13:00. They fought in the corner and Shingo clotheslined him to the mat. Shingo hit a clothesline to the back of the neck and he hit the Made In Japan pump-handle powerbomb. Takeshita hit a leaping, spinning Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall at 15:30. Shingo hit a twisting neckbreaker. Takeshita hit a brainbuster and they were both down.
They hit stereo clotheslines and both collapsed. Shingo hit a thudding headbutt. More stereo clotheslines and Shingo hit a German Suplex. He nailed the Pumping Bomber clothesline for a nearfall at 18:30. He hit his Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Takeshita hit Raging Fire (spinning Falcon Arrow), but Takeshita rolled to the ropes to avoid being pinned. Yes, this has easily surpassed their Wrestle Kingdom match. Shingo hit a Tombstone Piledriver and a wheelbarrow German Suplex, then another Pumping Bomber clothesline for a nearfall at 21:30.
Takeshita hit his own Made in Japan for a nearfall!! Takeshita hit a Power Drive running knee for a nearfall. “What’s it going to take?” Charlton shouted. They got up and traded more forearm strikes and Shingo hit another headbutt. Takeshita snapped Shingo’s head and applied a Crossface Chickenwing on the mat, and the crowd rallied for Shingo. The ref checked Shingo and called for the bell; Shingo did NOT tap out. That was utterly fantastic. “That is G1 Climax at its finest!” Walker said.
Konosuke Takeshita (6) defeated Shingo Takagi (2) at 23:57.
* Takeshita got on the mic and said he absolutely cannot lose to Shingo because he absolutely respects him. Takeshita said he’s seeking to win the G1 Climax.
Final Thoughts: If Takeshita-Takagi isn’t the best match of the tournament so far, it’s certainly in the top three. After sluggish preview tags and some basic tournament matches, these two went out there and dazzled with a buzzworthy, must-see match. Sabre-ELP was really good for second. Y-H vs. O-Khan was acceptable but forgettable. Ren-Shota had the usual HoT shenanigans that brought it down a notch.
RANT: I know that trying to find consistency in rules in pro wrestling will send you to the funny farm, but I expect better from NJPW than I do from, say WWE. Point being, we hear over and over that we can’t have a bell to officially begin the match until the competitors are in the ring…. and then we have a match like this tonight where the bell rings while guys are brawling on the floor. This is not a one-off… it happens from time to time, and it’s just unacceptable when you are trying to present your product as authentic looking with consistent rules from match to match. To me, it would be like watching a baseball game at a different ball park, your favorite player hits the foul pole, and the umpire saying, “oh here, that’s not a home run. That’s just a foul ball here.” I just ask for consistency. Okay, rant over.
The tournament will already reach its midpoint when action resumes on Sunday with just the A Block in tournament matches, headlined by Tanahashi vs. Oiwa.
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