Pantojas NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 15 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 15

12 August^th2024 | Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata | Attendance: 3,022

NOTE: For those of you who follow all of my reviews, my WrestleMania streak is still ongoing. I do it in my spare time though, so reviews from 2024 (like this one) take precedence. Also, I’m on the Manias, which are about 7 hours long, so it takes a while.

I’m getting behind schedule. I have to cover this show and THREE events in the 5STAR Grand Prix. However, this is not going to be a long review. A word of warning.

A-Block: Callum Newman (4) vs. Gabe Kidd (6)

This was an intense start, as is typical with Gabe Kidd. Callum was right there to get even, showing off a pretty explosive dive in the opening minutes. Both men were eliminated, so this was more about pride, and that honestly fits Gabe’s style. They kept a fast pace throughout the match, which made sense considering it only lasted 6:52. In the final minute or so, Gabe just went off, destroying Callum with two piledrivers to win, and adding a third on a chair after the bell. A good sprint. (***)

A-Block: SANADA (8) vs. Zack Saber Jr. (12)

Not enough time to get into their history. It’s hilarious to hear the commentators touting SANADA as the longest reigning IWGP World Champion. ZSJ has cemented his place in the playoffs and could easily accept a submission loss if he wanted to. Instead, he chose to fight and basically demanded the best version of SANADA and almost forced him to give his best. He got that for the most part, as this was the former champion’s best performance in a long time. He was smooth, everything looked good, and he had the crowd fully behind him. ZSJ never let up and even worked a long submission spot where he constantly changed his hold. That’s why ZSJ is awesome. Instead of sitting in one position and boring the crowd, he does stuff like this. SANADA made it to the ropes for one final push, only to fall to Zack Driver at 15:44. ZSJ is on an insane run, SANADA is out and that was pretty cool. (***¾)

A-Block: Jake Lee (8) against Shingo Takagi (8)

Both men have eight points, but Jake doesn’t have the tiebreaker wins needed to have a chance. Shingo does. Jake looked sad. I think my issue with this match was the pacing. I’m used to New Japan matches starting slow, but this one felt extra long, to the point where it felt like 10 minutes of the 13:50 was spent on it. Once it picked up later, the time flew by, but I didn’t like what came before. In the closing stages, they traded big moves like Pumping Bombers, a Death Valley Driver, and more. Surprisingly, though, it was a cradle that gave Shingo the win. Good, but far from great. (***)

A-Block: EVIL (10) against Shota Umino (6)

EVIL needs to win to advance, so Shooter can play spoilsport. EVIL and Dick Togo bullied the ring announcer before the bell, trying to force a walkover by saying Shota wasn’t there. It wasn’t like he jumped backstage or anything. He just showed up, so the whole thing was pointless. Once the whole thing got going, you could see what New Japan was up to. They wanted to hype up the idea of ​​Shooter having to fight an entire faction like a badass. The problem is that the House of Torture is a boring stable to do that with. That meant a match full of their usual garbage cliches, gimmicks, and more. I have no time for them. Shooter survived it all and won with Death Rider in an absurdly long 19:45.

A-Block: The Great Khan (8) vs. Tetsuya Naito (10) O-Khan started 0-4 but has managed four in a row. As usual, this is a win and in scenario in the final block match for a G1. Naito would have 12 points and join Shingo in the playoffs, while O-Khan would get to 10 but would hold the tiebreakers over Naito and EVIL, putting him in the game. Those two guys usually make for slow starts, and that was the case here, but it was more interesting than the start I complained about earlier. Unfortunately, it still dragged on and it felt more like a case of 2024 Naito than anything else. He just can’t hang on like he used to. After that long stretch, things picked up (I have to say that in about 90% of New Japan matches) and Naito was thrown on his head in a German Suplex. When O-Khan rolled him into a submission fight, it looked like Naito physically couldn’t take a push. It was uncomfortable. O-Khan basically had to do a Destino himself and after kicking out, he blocked a second attempt. From there, an eliminator and a pin at 18:58 put him in the playoffs. Another solid match, but nowhere near what we usually get at the end of block nights.

(***)