wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 8 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 8
July 30th, 2025 | Yamato Arena in Suita, Osaka | Attendance: 1,390
After a few nights off, we’re back with B Block action. As noted, Gabe Kidd is out and YOSHI-HASHI gets a forfeit win over him today. We have the most exciting main event of the entire tournament on tap too. I’ve upped everyone’s point totals in the table to reflect the wins over Gabe.
B Block: El Phantasmo [4] vs. The Great-O-Khan [6]
If I remember right, these two had a handful of matches involving the Television Title and I don’t think any of them stood out. These guys know each other well, which they played into here. That meant this featured decent back and forth with a handful of counters due to that knowledge of each other. ELP had a cool spot where he jumped off a short balcony early on and when they got back to the ring, O-Khan took over to hit some of his signature spots, including the one where he sits on a dude in the corner. I do think that this suffered from a common problem when someone is out of the G1. Since there are fewer matches, Gedo insists on booking the others to go longer, meaning they drag a bit at times. This had points in the middle that were pretty dull and I never got into the drama they tried to build late. O-Khan delivered Super Eliminator to win in 14:50. Solid match but like I said, it did drag a bit. [**¾]
B Block: Drilla Moloney [6] vs. Ren Narita [6]
Yoshinobu Kanemaru attacked Drilla during his entrance because of course he did. That led to some brawling outside with Kanemaru getting involved a bit again. When they got to the ring and bell rang, Drilla was clearly ahead of Ren in terms of offense but Ren found ways to negate that with heel antics. Cheap shots, help from Kanemaru, etc. You know, the usual House of Torture nonsense. Actually, the lack of House of Torture in B Block is probably why they’ve been the superior block. Drilla cut off Kanemaru using the whiskey with a Spear and then leveled Ren when he tried using the push-up bar. Drilla then used a low blow and the Drilla Killa to win in 9:52. Not as bad as most House of Torture matches. Drilla has been very good in this G1. [**¼]
B Block: Shingo Takagi [2] vs. Shota Umino [6]
Shingo, like David Finlay in the A Block, is off to a slow start. His only points are from a forfeit win over Gabe Kidd. Both guys are people I could see making the playoffs in this block. These two went through a feeling out process in the early stages, clearly building to something and clearly setting up to go pretty long. When they got past that and started throwing big bombs, this really took off. Obviously, Shingo had the power advantage and threw Shota around but Shota was not to be deterred, firing back with Exploders and lariats of his own. They were just trading shots and strikes as this developed into something of a war. When Shota hit the running knee strike for two, it felt like he was on the verge of pulling out a big win. Then, Shingo rallied and hit Last of the Dragon, yet that wasn’t enough as they kept battling. Shingo kept up the pressure though, hitting a Pumping Bomber and Burning Dragon to win in 22:45. Maybe Shota would be better off staying in the NEVER Title picture instead of forcing him into main events. He looked way more comfortable in that kind of environment here than in longer main events. Hell of a match. [***¾]
B Block: Konosuke Takeshita [6] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [4]
Two of the best in the world. Like the previous match, this opened with the two of them going through a feeling out process. The grappling stuff was good, as is often the case with ZSJ. The champion targeted the arm early, looking to negate Takeshita’s strikes and power. The fight moved outside where Takeshita delivered a Brainbuster that turned the tide right around the 10 minute mark. Back in the ring, they were dishing out big moves, giving us the action fitting of a main event. The fans were on their feet, especially when both men were down following an impressive Zack Driver. ZSJ had to muster all his strength to match what Takeshita was bringing to the table. From there, it was an exchange of strikes where ZSJ seemed to bite off more than he could chew, only to rock Takeshita with an uppercut. ZSJ countered Raging Fire into a rear naked choke in a cool spot. Takeshita fell on his back but ZSJ refused to let go. Takeshita climbed the ropes with ZSJ on his back and took another back bump but ZSJ again didn’t let go. After all that fighting, Takeshita had no choice but to tap out in 22:37. A great main event and it’s telling of how these two are that it was somehow a bit disappointing. They went out there and had a fantastic match though, with one of my favorite finishes in recent memory. [****¼]
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Yota Tsuji | 8 (4-1) | Drilla Moloney | 8 (4-1) |
| Yuya Uemura | 6 (3-2) | YOSHI-HASHI | 8 (4-1) |
| Boltin Oleg | 6 (3-2) | The Great-O-Khan | 8 (4-2) |
| Ryohei Oiwa | 6 (3-2) | Ren Narita | 8 (4-2) |
| EVIL | 6 (3-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-2) |
| Taichi | 4 (2-3) | Konosuke Takeshita | 6 (3-2) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 (2-3) | Shota Umino | 6 (3-3) |
| SANADA | 4 (2-3) | Shingo Takagi | 4 (2-4) |
| Callum Newman | 4 (2-3) | El Phantasmo | 4 (2-4) |
| David Finlay | 2 (1-4) | Gabe Kidd | 0 (0-5) |
