Pantojas NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 13 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 13

8 August^th2024 | Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Kanagawa | Attendance: 2,906

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.

Just as the 5STAR Grand Prix is ​​getting underway, we’re nearing the end of the G1 Climax. And I still have to cover this and one more STARDOM show before the tournament starts, so I’ve got a busy few days ahead of me. Plus, it’s Friday and I’ve already had a few vodka sodas, so let’s get started.

A-Block: Callum Newman (4) vs. Tetsuya Naito (8)

The opening match against Naito is a strange sight. Callum jumped Naito before it started, desperately trying to stay alive, even though I think the chance of that is slim. Naito weathered that storm and took the lead, starting one of the shortest matches of the entire G1. This allowed Naito to look good as he didn’t have to expend too much energy. They packed quite a bit of action into the short run time before Naito landed a decent looking Destino and won in 5:55. That’s all, and mostly a bad night for the champion. (**½)

A-Block: The Big-O-Khan (6) vs. SANADA (8)

New Japan is wild because I do NOT remember the two having a Wrestle Kingdom match in 2022 (**½). They also met in the G1 that year and got the same result. After an 0-4 start, O-Khan came in with a chance to even his record and stay alive. This was ultimately one of those matches you get so often in the G1. We’ve seen so many one-on-one matches that it’s hard to stand out for better or worse. Most matches just exist and are solid and that’s exactly what this one was. They did the offense you’d expect from them and while it was fine, it felt kind of lifeless. O-Khan worked the leg and SANADA sold well for the most part. The crowd wasn’t excited at first, but they ended up going pretty crazy when O-Khan countered Deadfall and landed the Eliminator for the surprise win in 11:11. Nothing special, but their best match together. SANADA is basically out due to tiebreakers and the like, while O-Khan is still in the running with a match against Naito on the final night. (***)

A-Block: Jake Lee (6) against Shota Umino (6)

I didn’t go into this match with high expectations. Jake Lee was painfully unimpressive in this tournament while Shota was in a weird spot. He was supposed to be a big star soon but he never really stood out or had any great performances. This was one of his better ones as he exceeded my expectations. They went out there like two guys desperately trying to stay in the tournament and that’s the kind of vibe I need in a G1. Matches need to feel like they matter and not like it’s just two guys doing their duty and screwing up. Lee’s heel tactics like using a chair and being an asshole worked well against Shota’s babyface fire. He’s not quite Yuya in that regard but in cases like this it works. There were some cool sequences in the home stretch like when both men sold various suplexes only to have a Blaze Blade take them both out cold. The ending was well done as Lee caught Shota with his best face break shot yet and won in 16:01. Better than expected and a surprising result as many had assumed Shota would make the playoffs or even win the whole match. (***½)

A-Block: Gabe Kidd (6) vs. Zack Saber Jr. (10)

Aside from Shingo/ZSJ and some of Takeshita’s matches, this is the most interesting match of the tour. They gave me what I wanted from the start: Gabe went at it aggressively and ZSJ tried to counteract it by goading him into submissions and the like. ZSJ’s chest was red within about a minute, showing just how hard Gabe was dishing it out. As expected, ZSJ was ready to get back at him, leading to a classic Shibata/Ishii moment where they sat cross-legged in front of each other and exchanged slaps. Gabe even looked at the camera and told Shibata to watch. I loved that Gabe decided to bite ZSJ in the middle and gave the middle finger to what came before him. He’s a disrespectful little shit and I mean that in the best way. ZSJ silenced the punk in Gabe with some punches hard enough to knock him down. When Gabe hit the tombstone I thought he pulled off the upset and showed how well they had done this fight because it made me believe in a result I didn’t think could happen at first. That ended up being just another point to up the ante as they just kept building and delivering. By the time they hit the 15 minute mark they were exhausted but got up for more slapping. Sabre finally pinned him with a submission kick and Gabe got up and screamed that he would never give up. So Sabre turned it into another brutal submission kick and Gabe was knocked out at 16:20. That was awesome and I can’t believe there have been so many great G1 fights. Just an outstanding, tough fight with one of my favorite finishes of the year. (****½)

A-Block: EVIL (10) vs. Shingo Takagi (6)

They’ve met at the 2021 New Japan Cup (**¾), 2021 Wrestle Grand Slam (***), 2023 G1 (*½), 2024 New Japan Cup (**), and 2024 Sakura Genesis (**¼). This should be a great match, but that’s not because EVIL hasn’t been good since before the pandemic. And after we got a better than expected match and a cracker in the previous two bouts, they dragged this show way down with this main event. As usual when they were just brawlers, they did well, but then there was a lot of interference. However, I like that Shingo helped LIJ even the playing field. The most notable thing about this match was BUSHI jumping on Shingo and revealing that it was Kanemaru in his mask. That should tell you something about the quality of this match. Shingo won with Last of the Dragon in 16:57 and the House of Torture continues to be a black mark on New Japan. (*¾)

Zack Sabre Jr. has secured A Block, so he’s in the playoffs either way. He’ll be joined by a combination of EVIL, Naito, O-Khan, and I believe Shingo. SANADA is basically out, and I don’t think Jake Lee has any hopes of the tiebreaker either.