SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
G1 CLIMAX 34: NIGHT 4 REPORT
JULY 25, 2024
KAGAWA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Commentary: Walker Stewart
UNDERCARD MATCHES
(1) JUST 5 GUYS (Sanada & Taka Michinoku) beat TORU YANO & KATSUYA MURASHIMA in 6:45.
Michinoku got the submission win by tapping out Murashima.
(2) UNITED EMPIRE (Francesco Akiran & Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan) beat SHOTA UMINO & TOMOAKI HONMA & SHOMA KAITO in 7:50.
Akira got the pin after a knee strike to the back of Kato’s head.
(3) BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Jake Lee & Gabe Kidd) beat TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita in 7:45.
Kidd got the win after a piledriver on Kosei.
(4) LIJ (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) beat HOUSE OF TORTURE (Evil & Dick Togo) in 8:50.
Shingo beat Togo with a Pumping Bomber.
G1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT MATCHES
Callum Newman joined the commentary team.
(5) BOLTIN OLEG (2) vs. HIROOKI GOTO (0) – B Block match
Oleg won a battle of shoulder tackles during the early going. He took control of the action and grabbed a Boston Crab at one point. Goto went to a misdirection off the ropes and connected with a lariat and both men were down on the mat. Boltin hit a gutwrench suplex and sprung to his feet after cutting Goto off. Goto fired back quickly as Boltin came off the ropes and hit a Ushigoroshi and both men were once again down on the mat.
They went back and forth and both men traded blows until Oleg caught Goto with a big dropkick. Goto grabbed a sleeper a short time later and Oleg faded down to the mat. Goto let go and went for a PK, but Oleg blocked it and hit a Landslide (FU) for a near fall. Goto fired back and blocked a kick before cracking Oleg in the chest with a headbutt. A short time later, Goto hit the GTR for the win.
WINNER: Hirooki Goto (2 pts) in 10:20. (***)
(Radican’s Analysis: Goto picked up his first win in a competitive match against Oleg. This was a solid match with Oleg looking good at times before Goto got on track late and picked up the win.)
(6) REN NARITA (2) vs. JEFF COBB (2) – B Block match
Narita snuck behind Cobb and jumped him as he made his entrance. He dragged Cobb into the crowd and began working him over before the match officially started. Cobb turned the tide on the outside and lead the way back towards the ring. Cobb finally got into the ring and the bell rang. Narita mounted a comeback and went after Cobb’s leg. Nartia dragged Cobb back into the crowd and began working his leg over with a chair.
Narita was in control until Cobb mounted a big comeback while hobbling on one leg. CObb hit a big lariat in the corner and then lifted Narita and launched him up into the air and down to the ground. He made the cover and Nariata kicked out and Cobb immediately hit a standing moonsault for another two count. Narita grabbed an ankle lock with a grapevine and Cobb struggled, but managed to get to the ropes to break the submission.
Cobb took a kick to the leg as they went back and forth, but he fired back and hit a big whirly bird F5 on Narita got another two count. Narita grabbed the ref and eventually shoved Cobb into him. He then went after Cobb’s leg again to take him down to the mat. Cobb blocked a shot from the push up bar and tossed Narita across the ring. Cobb was about to use the bar when Narita dragged the ref in his way. The ref took the bar away, which allowed Narita to hit a low blow and then the Double Cross for the win.
WINNER: Ren Narita (4 pts) in 15:00. (**¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: If you see that Narita won this match, you can pretty much guess how it was. This was actually quite good leading into the usual cheap finish, which has been the pattern in Narita matches for the most part since he joined HOT.)
(7) YOTA TSUJI (2) vs. ELP (0) (w/Jado) – B Block match
Tsuji beat ELP during the NJPW Cup earlier this year. The bell rang and the crowd was split between both men. They had a fast exchange early and traded pinning combinations. ELP nearly got the pin to end the match quickly, but Tsuji managed to kick out. ELP set up for a dive, but Tsuji cut him off with a kick to the head as he came through the ropes. Tsuji controlled the action for a short period of time until ELP caught him with a dropkick as he came off the ropes.
ELP went on a run of offense and hit a nice springboard moonsault, but he couldn’t fully make the cover thanks to the damage to his midsection and arm, so he only got a two count. ELP sent Tsuji to the floor and hit a big splash to the outside, but he ended up selling the effects of the damage to his knee from Narita earlier in the tournament. ELP managed to get up first and he ended up tossing Tsuji back into the ring at the 10 minute mark. Tsuji fired back and hit a dragon screw on ELP out of the corner. He then grabbed a high angle cloverleaf on ELP, but he eventually crawled to the ropes to free himself.
They began trading blows. ELP sent Tsuji down to a knee with a big elbow after taking down his elbow pad. Tsuji finally ended the exchange with a combination of moves capped by a stomp for a two count. They went to another sequence and Tsuji caught ELP with a curb stomp. Tsuji hit a sit-out slam a short time later for a two count. ELP jumped over Tsuji to avoid a Gene Blast. He then hit a CR2, but he couldn’t make a cover quickly because of his leg and could only get a two count.
The fans fired up as ELP went up top. Tsuji pooped up and cut him off with a leaping enzuguri up top. ELP shoved Tsuji down to the mat and went for Thunder Kiss, but Tsuji got his knees up. They battled for position in a double pinning combination and ELP managed to get the pinfall. It was impossible to tell who had their shoulders down, but the ref gave the win to ELP.
WINNER: El Phantasmo (2 pts) in 18:00. (***½)
(Radican’s Analysis: The bulk of the action was very good and I would say this was a much needed win for ELP to give him credibility in the tournament moving forward, but the dubious nature of the finish erased that.
A more credible win would have given ELP some credible history against Tsuji moving forward as well, as he lost to Tsuji in the NJPW Cup earlier this year. )
(8) HENARE (4) vs. DAVID FINLAY (0) (w/Gedo) – B Block match
They talked about these two having history in the Cage match in Okaka earlier this year between United Empire and Bullet Club War Dogs where Henare split his head open and nearly lost his career during the match. They went to the floor and Finlay got Henare up on his shoulders and tossed him into the ringpost. They ended up back inside the ring where Finlay continued to control the action.
Finlay hit a big Irish Curse backbreaker at one point for a 2 count. He then worked a half crab, but Henare eventually got to the ropes. Henare finally hit a Samoan Drop to cut Finlay off. Finlay came off the ropes and Henare ducked a clothesline and hit a shot to the liver and Finlay crumpled down to the mat. Henare caught Finlay with a pair of big clotheslines for a two count. Henare waited for Finlay in the corner and went for a spear, but Finlay turned it into a DDT.
Walker said this is a main event in any arena. They began to trade blows on their knees. They got to their feet and continued to trade. Finlay hit a series of rolling elbows and a lariat, but he only got a one count. Finlay then hit a Dominator for a nearfall. WOW! Tremendous sequence and the crowd didn’t react strongly to it.
Henare fired back with a knee. He took his knee pad down and charged at Finlay in the corner with a knee, but Finlay caught him and hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. They traded counters and Henare hit a Rock Bottom. Henare then hit a second Rock Bottom for a nearfall. The fans fired up as Henare stood over Finlay. Henare charged at Finlay, but ran right into Overkill and that was good for the win.
WINNER: David Finlay (2 pts) in 16:00. (***½)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was very good after a bit of a slow start. The crowd didn’t engage in the match until the end, which took things down a notch as well as I was enjoying the match more than the crowd before they finally got going late.
This was a nice match that touched on the history between these two, especially as it relates to the rivalry between Bullet Club War Dogs and The United Empire. This could set up a match between Finlay and Henare after the tournament for the NEVER Openweight Championship currently held by Henare.)
(9) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (4) vs. YUYA UEMURA (4) – B Block match
They had a feeling out sequence during the early going. Uemura sent Takeshita to the outside and went for a dive, but Takeshita plastered him with a forearm to knock him out of the air. Takeshita then followed up with a big brainbuster on the ramp. Uemura tried to fire back with some hard chops, but Takeshita ran him over with a knee strike to the head as he came off the ropes.
Uemura mounted a comeback after catching Takeshita with a big forearm. Uemura went up top a short time later, but Takeshita cut him off with a punch. He climbed all the way up top and hit a stalling superplex where he lifted Uemura right off the turnbuckles over his head and down to the mat. WOW! Both men were down after that exchange. The fans took a second to digest what they saw before firing up with some claps. Takeshit sent Uemura to the floor and hit a flip dive that wiped out Uemura, but he ended up hurting his arm that Uemura had targeted earlier in the match in the process.
Takeshita tried to punch Uemura on the outside after ducking a charge, but he ended up missing and hit the ringpost instead to further damage his weakened arm. Uemura went after Takeshita’s arm right away on the floor. He draped it over the barricade and nailed it with a running dropkick. Uemura fought for a cross-arm breaker and eventually switched arms to get one, but Takeshita got to the ropes.
Takeshita hit a poison rana, but Takeshita got right up and hit a lariat. Uemura then got right back up and hit a dropkick and staggered before going down and the crowd fired up. That was an incredible exchange. It wasn’t long before both men went at it again and Takeshita hit a blue thunder powerbomb for a two count. Uemura ducked a shot from Takashita and hit a dragon suplex with a bridge for a nearfall.
Uemura tried to life Takeshita, but he leveraged his way out of his grip and nailed him with a big punch. Takeshita stood over Uemura and hit a big headbutt, but Uemura surprised him with a dragonrana for a nearfall. The announcers mentioned that’s how he beat Finlay. Uemura went for another armbar. Takeshita tried to fight it and eventually he managed to roll into the ropes to break the submission. Uemura went up top for a splash and connected for a two count this time.
Both men battled for position and Takeshita hit a wheelbarrow suplex. He charged at Uemura, but he got a backslide for anearfall. Uemura grabbed Takeshita’s arms again. Takeshita tried to free himself with headbutts, but Uemura held and hit the Deadbolt for the win. WOW!
WINNER: Yuya Uemura (6 pts) in 23:15. (****½)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a tremendous match. Easily the best Uemura match I’ve seen to date, as he brought the thunder to Takeshita from start to finish. This has to be considered a mild upset at the very least. The crowd got into this match more than any of the others on the card.
It will be interesting to see which way Uemura goes after such a strong and unexpected 3-0 start to the tournament. Will he stack up wins and challenge to make the semi-finals or will he fall back from the pack. I don’t see Takeshita losing too many matches, so this should mean something for Uemura going forward. What a performance by both men!)
Uemura cut a promo in Japanese after the match to end the show.
Contact Sean at pwtorochsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.