By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 35 – Night 11”
August 3, 2025, in Fukuoka, Japan, at Fukuoka Convention Center
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began. The venue is a small arena; the lights were low, making it hard to see the crowd.
* 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. This is everyone’s seventh tournament match. Anyone who falls to 2-5 will be eliminated.
1. Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato. Rocky and Shoma opened. Takeshita attacked Yoshi-Hashi and whipped him into the guardrail. Takeshita got in the ring and worked over Kato. Rocky and Kato traded forearm strikes. Kato put Rocky in a Boston Crab at 7:00, but Takeshita broke it up. Rocky hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread to pin Kato. Decent.
Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato at 8:11.
2. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young vs. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Ugh I am not interested in O-Khan vs. Narita at all. The HoT attacked at the bell and we’re underway. Narita and O-Khan opened in the ring, with O-Khan hitting his Mongolian Chops. Narita tied up a leg on the mat. O-Khan tossed Narita but sold pain in his knee. Young tagged in at 4:30 and he hit a tornado DDT on Ren for a nearfall. Kanemaru entered and he targeted Young’s knee, twisting it over and over, then applying a Figure Four, and Jakob tapped out. Blah.
Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young at 7:22.
3. El Phantasmo and Jado vs. “Bullet Club” Drilla Moloney and Taiji Ishimori. Phantasmo fell to 1-5 on Saturday and is the first person eliminated. ELP and Drilla opened. Jado got in and battled Drilla, then ELP got back in and he hit a Lionsault for a nearfall at 3:30. Moloney hit some chops and a Spinebuster. Ishimori entered for the first time at 5:00 and battled Jado, with Jado applying a crossface. However, Ishimori rolled him over for the flash pin! (Granted it’s just a preview tag, but it sure looked like Jado got a shoulder up before the three-count!)
Drilla Moloney and Taiji Ishimori defeated El Phantasmo and Jado at 5:56.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson vs. Shingo Takagi and Daiki Nagai. Sabre and Shingo opened with a feeling-out process and tied up in a knuckle lock. Hartley and Nagai got in at 2:00, with Daiki hitting some forearm strikes that didn’t affect Jackson at all. Sabre tied Daiki in a Bow-and-Arrow and stretched the kid on the mat. Daiki threw a dropkick at 4:30. Hartley got back in, but he missed a senton. Daiki actually got a sunset flip on Hartley. Sabre snapped Shingo’s elbow between his ankles. Nagai hit a Spinebuster on Sabre! Hartley hit his flying crossbody block on Nagai, then a senton for a nearfall at 7:00. He immediately hit the Jagged Edge (Death Valley Driver) for the pin. That was a fun preview tag.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson defeated Shingo Takagi and Daiki Nagai at 7:15.
* El Phantasmo joined Walker Stewart on commentary here. I have always liked the humor that ELP brings to calling the action and his off-the-cuff comments.
5. Callum Newman (6) vs. Boltin Oleg (6) in an A Block tournament match. They immediately fought to the floor, where Callum whipped Oleg into a guardrail. In the ring, Boltin hit a belly-to-belly suplex and a backbreaker over his knee. He whipped Callum into a corner, and Newman collapsed to the floor. ELP noted that they have an eight-hour bus ride on Monday. Oleg set up for a Vader Bomb, but Newman kicked him. Callum hit a running dropkick in the corner at 4:30, then another as Oleg was in the ropes. He hit a superkick to the jaw and got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Oleg popped him up and hit a Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) out of nowhere for a believable nearfall!
Oleg again went for a Kamikaze, but Callum escaped, and Callum hit some more kicks and a running knee. He nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the ribs at 7:30, and they were both down. He hit another running knee and a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 9:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Oleg tried a German Suplex, but Callum rotated and landed on his feet. Newman charged, but Oleg caught him, put him across his shoulders, hit a second Kamikaze, and got the pin. That was a really good match.
Boltin Oleg (8) defeated Callum Newman (6) at 10:54.
6. Ryohei Oiwa (6) vs. Taichi (6) in an A Block tournament match. A lockup to open. Walker said Taichi beat Oiwa twice when Ryohei was a Young Lion. They hit stereo clotheslines, and Oiwa hit a dropkick. Taichi hit some stiff kicks to the spine. Oiwa hit a suplex at 3:30 and a senton for a nearfall. Taichi caught him with an enzuigiri, and they were both down at 5:00. Oiwa hit a discus lariat for a nearfall. Taichi set up for Black Mephisto, but Oiwa turned it into a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 7:00. Taichi hit a back suplex, and they were both down.
They traded clotheslines with neither man going down; they then both fell to one knee. They got up, holding each other’s wrist, and hit some more clotheslines. Taichi hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 9:30. They got up and just kept hitting clothesline after clothesline. Taichi caught him with an enzuigiri to the face, but Oiwa hit one more discus clothesline for the pin! “That was f—en awesome!” ELP said.
Ryohei Oiwa (8) defeated Taichi (6) at 11:53.
7. Sanada (4) vs. Yuya Uemura (8) in an A Block tournament match. This is the third time these two have met in singles action this year, with Yuya winning the first two, Stewart said. They twisted each other’s left arms early on. Again, if Sanada loses, he will be eliminated, so I think he pulls this one out. Yuya hit an armdrag at 4:30, and he kept Sanada grounded as he focused on the arm. ELP said Sanada “dyes his hair like a blond ladybug.” Uemura hit a back suplex at 6:30. These two have really set a slow pace early on. Sanada hit a huracanrana, but Yuya applied a cross-armbreaker.
Sanada couldn’t hit Deadfall, so he hit a dropkick to the knee. Sanada whipped Yuya into the ref at 9:00, and he immediately hit a low-blow mule kick and got booed. He rolled to the floor and got a guitar. He swung and missed. Yuya got an inside cradle for a visual pin but we had no ref! Kanemaru jumped in the ring and stomped on Yuya. He sprayed whiskey in Yuya’s eyes. Sanada cracked the guitar over Yuya’s head. Kanemaru revived the ref, who made the three-count. A very WWE-style finish. Sanada avoids elimination for a day.
Sanada (6) defeated Yuya Uemura (8) at 11:40.
8. EVIL (w/Dick Togo and Don Fale) (8) vs. David Finlay (w/Gedo) (4) in an A Block tournament match. Again, Finlay is also on the verge of elimination, but I am expecting him to win out and reach the playoffs. Finlay attacked EVIL on the floor before they got in the ring. FInlay choked EVIL with a dog collar. I started the stopwatch at first contact, but they brawled past the guardrail and into the crowd; this is the first time I am really seeing the venue! They got in the ring and we had a bell to officially begin at 1:25. Finlay hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. They fought right back to the floor, where Fale punched Finlay in the ribs, then he scooped up David and ran him back-first into the ring post.
EVIL shoved Finlay into the guardrail, and he was in control. EVIL got on the mic and shouted profanities. They got back into the ring and traded forearm strikes. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Finlay’s groin for a nearfall at 6:00. Finlay nailed the Irish Curse backbreaker over his knee. Fale got in the ring and flattened the ref in the corner. Walker was livid with all the cheating, as the HoT stomped on Finlay. EVIL put a chair over Finlay’s neck and struck that chair with a chair at 8:30. ELP wondered if another ref was coming out. Fale accidentally struck EVIL!
Fale set up for the Grenade, but Finlay blocked it, and Finlay suplexed Fale, and that got a massive pop! Finlay hit a Buckle Bomb on EVIL, and this crowd was going NUTS for David’s comeback. EVIL wrapped a dog collar around Finlay’s throat and choked him out, and David was down on the mat. David got up and avoided being hit by the chain, and he hit a spear! Gedo handed Finlay his shillelagh! He clocked EVIL over the head with it! A ref got back in and made a two-count, as Finlay pulled EVIL up before the three-count! Finlay hit the Overkill (pop-up knee strike to the sternum) and got the pin! That is easily my favorite EVIL match of the tournament.
David Finlay (6) defeated EVIL (8) at 11:57/official time of 10:32.
9. Yota Tsuji (8) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) in an A Block tournament match. Again, Tanahashi is stuck on 99 career G1 victories. I expect him to lose here and his next one… then get to the milestone 100th win in his final chance against EVIL on the tournament’s final night of Block action. We got the bell, and the crowd was behind Tanahashi as they locked up. Tsuji hit some shoulder thrusts into the corner. Tanahashi hit a guillotine leg drop for a nearfall at 3:00. He twisted Tsuji’s ankle on the mat. Yota hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. ELP talked about the grind of this schedule, as this was the third straight day of matches.
Yota twisted Tanahashi’s knee in the ropes and hit a basement dropkick on it. Tanahashi finally hit his own Dragonscrew Legwhip at 6:30. He hit his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall. Tsuji caught him with a knee strike to the collarbone at 8:30, and they were both down. Tsuji hit a Stinger Splash and a rolling senton, and a splash to the mat for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a Twist-and-Shout neckbreaker. Yota hit a release German Suplex, then a jumping knee into the corner at 11:00. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade, but he missed a High Fly Flow frogsplash.
They got on their knees and traded forearm strikes. They got up and traded chops, and Yota hit a headbutt at 13:30, then a Stomp to the head. Tanahashi hit a Dragon Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall at 15:00. Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow, then a second one onto the back, and he rolled Tsuji onto his back. Hiroshi then hit a third High Fly Flow (this one to the chest) for the pin. A very good match that makes no sense to me, other than to keep nearly everyone at 4-3 or 3-4.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (6) defeated Yota Tsuji (8) at 16:45.
Final Thoughts: Yes, it was a very good main event, and the crowd was into it. But I’m irked that a man in his late 40s, who is set to retire in six months, just cleanly beat the rising star of the promotion. Yes, I liked the plan I laid out at the top of my match review — it just worked better for Tanahashi to be stuck on 99 wins and needing to pull it out in his final opportunity against his rival, EVIL. (And it works even better if Tanahashi’s win on the final night is what keeps EVIL out of the playoffs). But I guess Gedo felt it was better to have a crowded top of the A Block than tell a feel-good story on the tournament’s final night.
I loved EVIL-Finlay… when was the last time someone loved an EVIL match? I loved Finlay’s comeback and his using the shillelagh for the first time in this tournament. Callum-Boltin was really good, too. Oiwa-Taichi was a fun “how many clotheslines can we possibly hit?” match. Meanwhile, Sanada-Yuya worked at a slow pace and never felt like it reached top gear. The tournament takes a day off on Monday before the B Block returns to action on Tuesday with Shingo vs. Sabre. The A Block will resume tournament action on Thursday.
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