Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 7 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 7

July 29^th, 2024 | Fukuoka Convention Center in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka | Attendance: 1,757

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.

I thought that after the weekend there would be a day off for the G1. Nope, we’re back at it with A Block action.

A Block: Callum Newman [4] vs. EVIL [8]

EVIL came out alone but that was a ruse as Dick Togo jumped Callum during his entrance. That set the tone for yet another shenanigans-filled House of Torture match. I can’t do it anymore. I watched the bout yet I can’t bring myself to put the effort into a review if they won’t put the effort in the ring. EVIL blocked the Oscutter, sent Callum into the exposed turnbuckle and won with Everything is EVIL after 9:08. Not the worst House of Torture BS match yet also nothing I ever care to see/think about again. [**]

A Block: The Great-O-Khan [0] vs. Jake Lee [2]

Jake Lee is like the anti-Yota Tsuji in that he has zero presence out there. The Great-O-Khan is good but he was nowhere near good enough to combat that. Jake held serve in the early goings and kind of dominated both inside and out of the ring. O-Khan turned the tide and worked the legs, which was the next phase of this match. It was all fine yet completely uninspiring. Then, they got into a random battle of attempting to chokeslam one another, which O-Khan got to first, earning his first win of this year’s G1 at the 11:19 mark. A ho-hum, average match that was about what I expected. [**½]

A Block: Shota Umino [4] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [8]

A surprising amount of history here. They’ve met at Honor Rising 2019 (***¾), the 2023 New Japan Cup (***¾), and Sakura Genesis 2023 (***½). Things were level to start this until ZSJ found an opening by kicking Shota’s leg after a missed DDT outside. That gave Zack a target and as always, he was precise and lethal with his assault. When a lot of people do leg work, it’s dull but ZSJ always nails it. He and Mina Shirakawa are probably my favorites at it right now. Shota sold things well enough, only getting short bursts of offense. ZSJ could cut him down with a dropkick to the knee or something similar that quickly swung the momentum back his way. One great thing about how ZSJ has been booked is that fans bite on his submissions every single time because he win with any of them. They rallied behind Shota when he was trapped in one and the rising star made it to the ropes. That survival seemed to breathe new life into Shota, who looked more determined than ever as he traded blows with Zack. He popped up after a German and hit the running forearm to the back of the head for a good near fall. That triggered a furious flurry capped by Death Rider to give Shota the victory in 19:59. One of Shota’s better performances and a very good outing, though his selling was too inconsistent for this to be truly great. [***¾]

A Block: Gabe Kidd [4] vs. Shingo Takagi [4]

This is their third meeting of 2024 with the first coming in the New Japan Cup (****) and the second at Wrestling Dontaku, which I skipped. They may not have a long history but you know their styles so you knew this was going to be hard hitting right out of the gate. I love that Gabe speaks English because it really hits when I can understand him as he shouts “FUCK YOU” to Shingo. There’s not a lot for me to go into detail with because this was just a war. Two guys beating the shit out of each other for 13:50 and it was glorious. This was one of those cases where it felt like the best the NEVER Openweight Title used to offer. Gabe kept daring Shingo to hit him harder and he’d randomly pop up to give it right back to him. His rebound lariat variation came off so well. Gabe stopped Shingo’s momentum with a headbutt before winning with a piledriver, capping one of the best matches of the tournament. If you don’t care for strong style, this won’t be for you. It’s one of the best uses of that style in recent memory. After the match, Gabe offered a handshake and got it, only to low blow Shingo. [****¼]

A Block: SANADA [4] vs. Tetsuya Naito [2]

Past matches include the G1 28 (****), the G1 30 (***¾), New Japan Cup 2023 (**¾), Wrestle Kingdom this year (***¾), and New Beginning in Sapporo 2024 (**¾). The Olympics have made me pressed for time so this will be short. A lot of this was kind of what they’ve done in every meeting or at least a version of it. I liked little things like SANADA interrupting Naito’s signature taunt with a dropkick because he’s seen it up close so many times. SANADA held serve for a lot of this while Naito worked the neck when he was in control. You know, the usual stuff. SANADA failed with the moonsault and Naito countered another move into Destino for two before adding another to win in 17:45. Pretty much exactly what you’d expect from these two. [***¼]

 

A BLOCK	POINTS	B BLOCK	POINTS
EVIL	10 (5-0)	Yuya Uemura	6 (3-1)
Zack Sabre Jr.	8 (4-1)	Konosuke Takeshita	6 (3-1)
Gabe Kidd	6 (3-2)	David Finlay	4 (2-2)
Shota Umino	6 (3-2)	HENARE	4 (2-2)
Shingo Takagi	4 (2-3)	Ren Narita	4 (2-2)
Tetsuya Naito	4 (2-3)	Jeff Cobb	4 (2-2)
SANADA	4 (2-3)	Hirooki Goto	4 (2-2)
Callum Newman	4 (2-3)	Boltin Oleg	4 (2-2)
Jake Lee	2 (1-4)	El Phantasmo	2 (1-3)
The Great O-Khan	2 (1-4)	Yota Tsuji	2 (1-3)

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

The main event was pretty good while the first two matches were pretty skippable. Those two in the middle were strong enough to boost things though, especially given how great Shingo/Gabe was.