Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 1 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 1

July 20^th, 2024 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 4,177

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.

Man, I had no idea that this was even starting today. I have been HEAVILY disappointed by the past few G1s to the point where I was going to skip this tournament entirely but with the smaller field and some intriguing names out there, I’m giving it a shot.

Also, this review is late because I was at the Guardians/Padres game and spent some of the day with family ahead of it.

B Block: Boltin Oleg [0] vs. Ren Narita [0]

The “Snow Leopard” Boltin Oleg has graduated from Young Lion status as he now has new gear featuring the colors of Kazakhstan and a fresh look. Ren Narita is one of those guys who should be a big star but they’re wasting his potential in the House of Torture. Ren attacked quickly and held serve throughout this. That was probably a smart way to go on paper but it was an issue here because this version of Ren’s offense is too dull to make for a compelling heat segment. Things picked up when Boltin rallied with a sweet dropkick and his gutwrench suplex spots. His power spots looked awesome and the way he set up the F5 was sick. He finished Ren off with Kamikaze in 7:37. I do think the F5 should be finish, not the Kamikaze. Anyway, this was solid though as noted, the Ren heat segment missed the mark. Boltin is a lot of fun though. [**¾]

A Block: Callum Newman [0] vs. Shota Umino [0]

Short hair Shooter isn’t it for me. Like Boltin, Callum earned a spot in the G1 by winning a tournament. Early on, they did a rope running spot where Shota stumbled and managed to keep going. It’s one of those things that was a mistake but I liked it because it felt real. Not everything in wrestling should look crisp. The back and forth here was pretty strong, with neither guy gaining a real upper hand. I really liked when Callum went for the Oscutter (I appreciate the nod to his mentor but he does it too often and needs to be his own man) only for Shooter to catch him with a cutter of his own. A few moments late looked sloppy in a bad way, like Shota catching Callum in what looked like a bearhug to set up a DDT. It was just awkward. Callum eventually connected on the Oscutter to give us a good old G1 upset in 9:46. Potential here though those sloppy moments held it back. [**½]

B Block: El Phantasmo [0] vs. HENARE [0]

Another first time meeting here (technically Callum & Shota had a match in 2021 but that was eons ago given where they are now). ELP is somber as he seems to be really going through something. I haven’t followed New Japan consistently enough to know the full story. This is a good old clash of styles. That played into things, with ELP flying all over the place to gain the advantage. At one point, he hit a tope suicida, tope con hilo, and springboard moonsault all in a row to keep HENARE grounded. HENARE came back with his stiff power offense but ELP had some of his own. He flipped HENARE over with a lariat that I did not think he had in him. In the end, a Fisherman Buster put down ELP after 9:26. The different styles worked well here. [***]

A Block: The Great-O-Khan [0] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [0]

They’ve faced off in the G1 2021 (***½) and New Japan Cup 2022 (***¾).On paper, this is the first thing that could be great on the card. ZSJ should win the tournament and title but Gedo remains the booker so I don’t have high hopes. Looking at these two you might think they were totally different but that’s not the case here. O-Khan busted out the shooter shorts and was willing to go hold for hold with ZSJ. I appreciate that even with that, they took the fight outside, which allowed this to stand out from similar technical-based bouts. The style of the match was intense enough that both guys looked exhausted despite this barely lasting more than 10 minutes. That said, I do think this was a bit too slow paced at points to truly shine but I really like the idea of it all. ZSJ survived a submission with the Claw attached by turning it into a DDT. He held on with a guillotine grip and rolled into the Zack Driver to win in 11:11. Like I said, I really liked a lot of that though it was missing something to fully click. [***¾]

B Block: Hirooki Goto [0] vs. Jeff Cobb [0]

There’s significant history here with matches at the G1 Special in SF 2018 (***¼), Honor Rising 2019 (***½), the G1 29 (***), the G1 31 (***¼), and G1 33 (***). Basically, it’s always solid, never spectacular. This format should suit them as they could do the hard hitting 10 or so minute bout that fits their styles. Thankfully, that’s just what we got. They wailed on each other, kept up an entertaining enough pace, and it was solid. Nothing about this stood out or was even remotely something I’d call great or even very good but it worked well enough. They had the typical New Japan closing stretch with counters and such until Cobb won by delivering Tour of the Islands at the 7:24 mark. Nothing really needed to talk about here. Just solid wrestling and nothing more. [***]

A Block: Jake Lee [0] vs. SANADA [0]

NOAH’s Jake Lee is one of the most intriguing additions to the tournament. So in typical Gedo fashion, he killed that interest by putting him in the Bullet Club. Jake was cocky throughout, stopping to taunt and selling how in control he was. SANADA turned the tide and started in with his offense, even stealing Jake’s gun point taunt ahead of a corner charge. Then, from out of nowhere, Jake hit a running boot in the corner to score a major upset in 4:57. Beating a former IWGP World Champion in about five minutes is wild. Love the idea from a booking standpoint, though I wish this was more of a sprint with bigger action. [**½]

B Block: David Finlay [0] vs. Yuya Uemura [0]

The only past meeting here was on a small show in 2021. I have been very critical of Finlay as a heel because I think his tough guy act just isn’t clicking. That said, I think he did better than usual here. He wasn’t great but his worked well enough and I think that what made it so well was Yuya. He’s so good as the underdog face, getting the crowd to buy into his hope spots and gasp on every near fall he survives. Him fighting from beneath could be a huge part of this G1 and it helped lead to one of the better Finlay performances since his heel turn. The closing stretch featured the classic New Japan jump in quality but again, it felt like something a bit more because of Yuya’s energy. It looked like Finlay had when he hit the Buckle Bomb but as he went for a second powerbomb, Yuya countered into a rana to steal this in 16:23. A better than expected match and Yuya feels like he could have a breakout run this year. [***½]

A Block: EVIL [0] vs. Gabe Kidd [0]

Gabe opened this by diving out onto EVIL and Dick Togo, setting the stage for an unexpected babyface run by him. It’s easy to do that against EVIL but doing it well is a different story and Gabe delivered. The two had a spirited brawl around ringside and into the crowd before the bell even ran, with EVIL hitting the ring first and nearly getting an easy countout. Chris Charlton on commentary: “Dick is lying limp on the outside.” You know what you did, buddy. Gabe brought the fight and seemed to hate the House of Torture for their antics, which resonated with the live crowd. He put on a strong showing and basically had EVIL on the ropes but due to his intensity, shoved the official aside. That allowed Togo to get involved by choking Gabe. A low blow and Everything is EVIL later and EVIL won at the 10:21 mark. A good, intense match. I can’t wait to see more from Gave in this tournament. [***]

B Block: Konosuke Takeshita [0] vs. Yota Tsuji [0]

Easily the most interesting and exciting match of the tournament. There was a big fight feel from the start and these guys went right at it. They threw the expected forearms and strikes but quickly moved onto bigger moves and a fight on the floor. This really felt like a case of two guys who were evenly matched as neither gained clear control with this going back and forth. When Yota got the upper hand with a Boston Crab, Konosuke responded with a huge running knee that got the crowd on its feet. The Spanish Fly off the top by Yota marked a turning point as this went from really good to great. Down the stretch, these two survived everything the other threw at them from Falcon Arrows to Yota’s double stomp off the top and it ruled. The fans ate out of the palms of their hands. Konosuke pulled off the win with a flurry of moves capped by a spinning inverted Brainbuster in 17:12. Exactly what it needed to be. An intense, hard hitting sprint that showcased two of the best guys in the tournament and played to their strengths. When the G1 is at its best, we get 1-2 absolute bangers on night one and this was our first. [****¼]

A Block: Shingo Takagi [0] vs. Tetsuya Naito [0]

These LIJ teammates have only ever faced off in the G1 29 (****¼), which Naito won. I’ve discussed Naito being broken down for a while now and it really showed at Forbidden Door. That’s still the case but thankfully, he only has to be pretty good when he’s in there with one of the best in the world. Shingo did more than enough to carry this and it got boosted by the crowd since this also had a big fight feel. Shingo didn’t do the LIJ fist bump before the match, showing that his focus was on the win. This was a case of two stablemates trying to prove who was better. It told the story it had to and it was strong on paper but again, Naito looks rough out there at times and even simple connections between moves don’t work the way it should or that it would have a few years ago. The closing stretch was the highlight, which is typically the case with New Japan main events. I appreciate them not spamming finishers and giving us a smart ending that didn’t overdo anything. Shingo used a flurry of moves capped by Last of the Dragon to beat the champion in 23:14. A monster carry job by Shingo to deliver a really good main event. [***¾]

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

A very good start for this tournament. I already like the old format being back as there’s far less filler and we got a show where nothing was bad. That’s rare for New Japan. Past G1 opening nights had higher highs but I respect this one now having major lows.