By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 35 – Night 13”
August 7, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary. Charlton said this show has been sold out for weeks.
* 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 eighth tournament match. Anyone who falls to 3-5 will be eliminated. NO one has been eliminated yet, as everyone is either 4-3 or 3-4 entering this show, but due to the matchups, we will see at least two eliminated tonight.
1. Yoshi-Hashi and Shoma Kato vs. El Phantasmo and Jado. Shoma and Jado opened. Shoma hit several forearm strikes on ELP, then a dropkick at 2:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a superkick on ELP, and Kato hit a bodyslam for a nearfall. Phantasmo hit a CR2 (modified Styles Clash) to pin Shoma Kato.
El Phantasmo and Jado defeated Shoma Kato and Yoshi-Hashi at 5:39.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson vs. “Bullet Club” Drilla Moloney and Taiji Ishimori. Sabre opened and immediately targeted Drilla’s left arm. Stewart said this will be a first-time-ever singles matchup. Moloney couldn’t hit the Drilla Killa, but he hit a dropkick at 2:00. Ishimori got in to battle Hartley. What a size difference! Ishimori tried a shoulder block but just ricocheted off him, and Hartley immediately hit his massive senton, and that earned a pop. Hartley hit a suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Moloney got in and hit a bodyslam on Hartley, earning a big pop. Hartley hit his crossbody block, and he tagged Sabre back in, who immediately snapped Drilla’s neck between his ankles. Sabre tied up Ishimori, leaned back for added leverage, and got the pin! That wrapped up out of nowhere!
Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson defeated Drilla Moloney and Taiji Ishimori at 7:33.
3. Shingo Takagi and Daiki Nagai vs. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The HoT attacked before the bell, and they all immediately brawled to the floor. Shingo and Narita fought up onto the landing halfway up the risers at Korakuen Hall. They got back in the ring at 2:00, where Shingo beat up Kanemaru. Ren put Daiki in a Boston Crab, but Daiki reached the ropes at 4:30. Daiki hit a Spinebuster on Kanemaru, and he applied a Boston Crab. Kanemaru escaped and applied his own Boston Crab, and Nagai tapped out. Narita struck Shingo in the head with his push-up bar after the match ended.
Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Shingo Takagi and Daiki Nagai at 6:45.
4. Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero. I think this is just the second time we’ve seen Honma on the G1 tour, and he opened against Romero. He wanted to hit a Kokeshi, but Takeshita kicked him in the back. Honma suplexed Rocky. Shota tagged in at 2:00 and battled Takeshita. They traded shoulder blocks with neither man going down, so they switched to forearm strikes. Shota hit a tornado DDT. Honma hit a bulldog on Takeshita, but he missed the Kokeshi (falling headbutt) at 4:00. Moments later, Honma finally hit the Kokeshi for a nearfall. Honma hit a headbutt. He went for a second one, but Takeshita caught him with a forearm strike. Takeshita applied a rear-naked choke, fell to the mat with it locked in, and Honma tapped out.
Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero defeated Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino at 5:37.
5. Taichi (6) vs. Callum Newman (6) in an A Block tournament match. The loser will be eliminated. They immediately traded forearm strikes, then pump kicks, then roundhouse kicks to the chest, and Callum collapsed at 3:30. Taichi hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Newman hit a running knee to the ribs, then a top-rope doublestomp to the chest at 8:00 for a nearfall, and Taichi sold the pain in his ribs. Charlton noted that Taichi has never had a winning record in any G1 he’s competed in. Newman hit a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall.
Taichi hit an Axe Bomber lariat at 10:00, then a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Callum hit a basement dropkick to the ribs and a running knee against the ropes, then he snapped off a Poison Rana. He hit the Prince’s Curse (double-arm DDT) but couldn’t make the cover! Newman hit a Kota Ibushi-style Kamigoye kneestrike, then a second Prince’s Curse for the clean pin. Good match, and Taichi is the first man officially eliminated from the A Block.
Callum Newman (8) defeated Taichi (6) at 12:50.
6. Boltin Oleg (8) vs. EVIL (w/Don Fale and Dick Togo) (8) in an A Block tournament match. EVIL came out first; as Oleg approached the ring, he was attacked from behind by Dick Togo. They got in the ring, but Don Fale also helped beat up Oleg, so it was a three-on-one beatdown. I started the stopwatch at first contact; we got a bell at 1:05 to officially begin, and EVIL immediately applied a Sharpshooter, but Oleg reached the ropes. They went to the floor, where EVIL whipped him into the guardrail, then face-first against a table leaning against the ring post at 3:00. In the ring, EVIL hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Charlton and Stewart agreed that the loser will still have a chance at reaching the playoffs.
Oleg hit a bodyslam at 4:30, but Fale tripped Oleg, and EVIL was right back in charge. They left the ring and fought up onto the landing halfway up the seating section. They got back in the ring, and Oleg hit a Vader Bomb for a nearfall at 7:00. He hit a belly-to-belly suplex and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. He set up for Kamikaze, but EVIL escaped. Oleg again put EVIL on his shoulders and this time, he hit an F5. Oleg accidentally splashed into the ref! Fale hopped in the ring at 9:00 and traded punches with Oleg. Fale hit the Grenada (pop-up heart punch). Fale and Togo set up a table in the ring and put Oleg on it, and Fale hit a frogsplash onto Oleg through the table. A new ref got in. EVIL hit an Everything is Evil (uranage) for the tainted pin.
EVIL (10) defeated Boltin Oleg (8) at 10:50/official time of 9:45.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6) vs. Sanada (6) in an A Block tournament match. Again, this is also an elimination match. Tanahashi immediately targeted the left arm. Sanada missed a moonsault. Tanahashi went to the top rope, but Sanada pushed the ref into the ropes, and Tanahashi crashed awkwardly in the corner at 2:00. Sanada immediately smashed a guitar over Tanahashi’s head. “I can’t believe it ends this way,” Charlton said. Sanada got the ref and went for a rollup, but Tanahashi reached up, grabbed Sanada, rolled him up, and got the pin! Sanada was shocked that it ended just like that.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (8) defeated Sanada (6) at 2:47.
8. Ryohei Oiwa (8) vs. Yuya Uemura (8) in an A Block tournament match. The crowd was hot and split at the bell. They tied up each other’s left arms, and they traded armdrags. They kept it on the mat early on, and I sense they are planning to go long (especially with the prior match so short!) Oiwa dropped him with a shoulder tackle at 6:30 and went back to a Crossface move on the mat. Oiwa applied a leg lock around the neck. Yuya hit a second-rope crossbody block at 10:00, and they were both down. Yuya tied up the left arm on the mat as they were still keeping this in second gear.
Oiwa hit a hard clothesline, then a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 14:00. He hit a bodyslam and a top-rope splash for a nearfall. Yuya hit a back suplex, and they were both down. Oiwa hit a Chaos Theory (rolling German Suplex). He went for his discus clothesline, but Yuya caught his arm, dragged him to the mat, and applied a cross-armbreaker. Nice! Oiwa hit a standing powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall at 18:00, and this has picked up nicely. Oiwa clocked him with a clothesline. However, Yuya caught him and he hit the Deadbolt (double-underhook suplex with a high bridge) for the pin. “A sensational showcase of the future,” Walker said.
Yuya Uemura (10) defeated Ryohei Oiwa (8) at 18:22.
* We already have two eliminations tonight (Sanada, Taichi). Walker just said that if Tsuji wins, it not only eliminates Finlay, it eliminates three others due to tiebreakers (so only four people would be left, fighting for three playoff spots.) Well, all the more reason to believe Finlay is winning here!
9. Yota Tsuji (8) vs. David Finlay (6) in an A Block tournament match. An intense lockup to open. They opened it up and traded forearm strikes. Yota dove through the ropes onto Finlay at 6:00. In the ring, he hit a Stinger Splash, but Finlay suplexed Yota into the corner. Finlay stood behind Tsuji and hit some clubbing crossface blows. Tsuji hit a backbreaker over his knee, a Stomp to the head, and a flipping powerbomb for a nearfall at 9:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Finlay nailed a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Tsuji hit a superkick and a Gene Blaster (spear) for a nearfall at 11:00.
Yota went for the Marlowe Crash (top-rope Stomp), but Finlay sidestepped it and David hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 13:00. Finlay went for Overkill, but Yota blocked it, and Yota hit a Buckle Bomb. David hit his own Buckle Bomb and a stunner. Finlay hit the Oblivion (neckbreaker over the knee) for a nearfall at 14:30. He hit his own Marlowe Crash for a nearfall! Yota went for a spear, but Finlay caught him with a jumping knee! Finlay then nailed the Overkill (pop-up knee strike to the sternum) for the pin. A hot, hot match, but I felt the winner was too obvious, based on the tiebreaker scenario I laid out above.
David Finlay (8) defeated Yota Tsuji (8) at 15:20.
* Finlay got on the mic and said that Yota always pushes him to the limit, but he came out on top tonight. “You are witnessing the greatest comeback in G1 Climax history,” he said. He vowed to win the G1.
Final Thoughts: Two strong matches to top the show. The main event was better, even though I felt it was hampered by having zero mystery over the winner, as Gedo’s 50-50 booking is to keep everyone alive in the tournament as long as possible. While Oiwa-Yuya started at a slower pace, they built nicely, and the crowd was hot for the finish; I assumed Yuya was winning, but the outcome of that one was more up in the air.
The B Block is back in action on Friday with Shota Umino vs. Konosuke Takeshita. After a day off, the A Block has its final tournament matches on Sunday.
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