wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 34 Finals Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW G1 Climax 34 Finals
August 18th, 2024 | Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 8,056
NOTE: For anyone following all of my reviews, my WrestleMania Series is still ongoing. It’s something I’m doing in my free time though so reviews from 2024 (like this one) take precedence. Also, I’m up to the Manias that are like, 7 hours long so it takes a while.
Since I still have the Grand Prix to cover (two nights now), I’ll only be reviewing the finals themselves and not the rest of the card.
G1 Climax Finals: Yota Tsuji vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
It’s rare that the G1 Finals actually comes down to the two best options to win. ZSJ has been one of the company’s best and most underutilized wrestlers for years. He’d be an ideal person to carry the company for a couple of years while the rising stars like Yota Tsuji fully develop. Of course, going with Yota and fully opting for a new era is also a good idea. We got the expected feeling out process here since this was obviously going long and the two don’t have a long history together. This followed a similar layout to Shingo/Zack in that Zack’s larger, stronger opponent kind of kicked his ass for a lot of this. He had to survive a beating and use his technical acumen to get back into things. Yota really took it to him and unlike a lot of other guys in this company, his control segments were actually good and relatively engaging. ZSJ blocked a move up top and then dropped Yota’s arm on the top rope, signaling a turning point. From that point on, his choice to get into striking battles with Yota had much more success. Still, Yota could stop his attack by catching a kick and knock him back with a vicious knee. The two defiantly got to their feet with forearm strikes and European uppercuts. It had been long enough in the match that the shots were almost evenly matched. I loved the spot where ZSJ fired off slaps only to get floored by a Yota headbutt. The closing stretch was the usual greatness in these big matches. ZSJ makes them work extra well because he’s not just kicking out of or hitting finishers. His Gene Blaster counter into a pinning combination ruled and he knows how to do things like that to make his final stretch great. In a perfect Zack ending, he trapped Yota in a ridiculous submission for the big win in 31:04. Probably about on par with the Shingo/ZSJ match in the ring but this had the added boost of an even hotter crowd and the higher stakes. A great ending to a tournament that exceeded my expectations. Now finish the job and give ZSJ the title. [****½]
