wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 10 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 10
August 4th, 2024 | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi | Attendance: 3,205
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.
Don’t really have a lot of time for this today with SummerSlam and such this weekend but with three shows coming up in three days, I have to get this done even if it is a shorter review.
B Block: Boltin Oleg [4] vs. David Finlay [6]
I kind of like this on paper because Finlay is unable to bully a big boy like Boltin. Since three people make the playoffs from each block, everyone is still alive on this side. Boltin took it to Finlay early, overpowering him and doing just what I was hoping he would. He used a fair amount of elbows and Finlay responded with some smart heel stuff to level the playing field. He’s much more of a smart bastard than Jake Lee. Finlay couldn’t allow Boltin to control for too long though since he’s much higher on the card. Finlay hit the Finlay Roll, which is basically the Kamikaze, kind of killing Boltin’s already lame finisher. Finlay avoided Boltin’s attempt at his finisher, nailed a powerbomb, and finished with the Overkill in 12:46. That was some solid wrestling. [**¾]
B Block: El Phantasmo [2] vs. Yuya Uemura [6]
Yuya is on the verge of being one of those typical Gedo booking cases where they start the G1 hot and then fall to the bottom. They shook hands before the bell like some good boys. Then they went out and had a very smooth match. You’d think these two had a ton of matches over the years because they worked pretty seamlessly together. I don’t think any of what they did was great of in contention for MOTN but it was all consistently good and entertaining. Gedo at least seems to know where Yuya works best, allowing him to be the underdog fighting from beneath even in a case where ELP wasn’t overly dominant. ELP kept throwing himself into big moves including a huge dive outside despite the protests of Jado. Yuya worked the arm and ELP did pretty well selling it. In the end, they battled over flash pins until ELP got the three count on one after 14:24. Ah, classic Gedo booking. Good match though. [***¼]
B Block: HENARE [6] vs. Jeff Cobb [6]
A first time meeting between stablemates and it’s two guys who hit hard. You know I wanted a BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPING MEAT 12-15 minute NEVER Openweight style match and that’s mostly what I got. This only went 12:45 which was ideal and they did hit each other with stiff strikes. It just never really sniffed hitting that next gear. The stuff they did was solid, yet unspectacular and that’s hugely disappointing given who was involved. Cobb avoided a running knee a few times but when HENARE finally hit it, that set up the closing few minutes. They threw out German Suplexes, Berserker Bombs, tackles, and then Cobb busted out a version of the F5. Boltin Oleg is getting all of his signature moves taken. Cobb added Tour of the Islands to win, capping a good but underwhelming match that I wanted so much more out of. [***¼]
B Block: Hirooki Goto [4] vs. Konosuke Takeshita [6]
For most of the year, Hirooki Goto is a dude who is just there and I couldn’t care less about him. But once or twice a year, he turns back the clock and puts on a show. This was one of those nights. With the crowd completely behind him, Goto became the veteran you rooted for against the cocky youngster and it made for one hell of a compelling bout. Takeshita was able to get the upper hand throughout by being explosive, using his speed, and taking to the skies. Yet Goto never backed down and kept coming back for more with lariats, veteran knowhow, and some of his classic offense. Like, Goto decided to do a Code Red variation from the top which I don’t think I’ve seen him pull off since the mid-2010s. Takeshita’s offense looked great but then he’d get turned inside out by a Goto lariat and you knew you were watching a VINTAGE Goto performance. Goto survived things like a Brainbuster before delivering GTR to secure an upset in 14:20. One of the better matches of the tournament. Takeshita has easily been the MVP so far and Goto was on his game more than he has been in a long time. [****¼]
B Block: Ren Narita [6] vs. Yota Tsuji [4]
They went to a draw in last year’s G1 (***¼) and Yota won in the New Japan Cup this year (**). They should be two future stars but Ren has been SHO’d. Interestingly, they didn’t do the usual House of Torture match here. There wasn’t a ton of run-ins, interference, shenanigans, or anything like that. Honestly though, it might’ve needed that. We instead got a slow, plodding, and dull affair with a lot of submission attempts and no sense of urgency. Even when Ren had his long control segment, it never felt like Yota was in trouble even if he did a decent job of selling. I don’t know if it’s just a chemistry thing or what but this was a mess at times, alright at others, and a snoozefest mostly. Yota shook off the work done to his leg and survived a low blow before winning with the poorly named Gene Blaster in 20:13. That felt longer than it was and was wildly mediocre throughout. [**]
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| EVIL | 10 (5-1) | David Finlay | 8 (4-2) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 8 (4-2) | Jeff Cobb | 8 (4-2) |
| Gabe Kidd | 6 (3-3) | HENARE | 6 (3-3) |
| Shota Umino | 6 (3-3) | Ren Narita | 6 (3-3) |
| Shingo Takagi | 6 (3-3) | Konosuke Takeshita | 6 (3-3) |
| Tetsuya Naito | 6 (3-3) | Yuya Uemura | 6 (3-2) |
| SANADA | 6 (3-3) | Hirooki Goto | 6 (3-3) |
| Callum Newman | 4 (2-4) | Yota Tsuji | 6 (3-3) |
| The Great O-Khan | 4 (2-4) | Boltin Oleg | 4 (2-4) |
| Jake Lee | 4 (2-4) | El Phantasmo | 4 (2-4) |
