wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 13 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 13
August 7th, 2025 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,509
Korakuen Hall is usually a setting for notable G1 shows so let’s see what A Block has to offer.
A Block: Callum Newman [6] vs. Taichi [6]
Commentary noted that the loser was to be eliminated. It’s a guy who has underwhelmed in this tournament against someone who has been one of the highlights. Together, they made for something good but not great. Taichi brought the bigger offense like a back suplex and Axe Bomber, while Callum brought the quick bursts of offense with running kicks and a double stomp off the top. Callum’s most impressive move of the night was his Poison Rana, a move I always pop for. He got going from there with a stiff knee strike and two double arm DDTs to win in 12:50. Taichi has never had a winning record in any G1 but he out performs a LOT of people who win, including in this case. Good opener though. [***]
A Block: Boltin Oleg [8] vs. EVIL [8]
Look, I’m going to give this a quick writeup because you all know that I’m over House of Torture stuff and this was about as bad as it gets. There was all sorts of interference, Don Fale, Dick Togo, boring shenanigans and more. I hate all of this and it’s a big part of Gedo being the worst booker in wrestling. EVIL won with Everything is EVIL in 9:44, capping the worst match of the G1. [DUD]
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [6] vs. SANADA [6]
These two have had good matches together in the past but that was prime Tanahashi and a much better SANADA. So, I wasn’t looking forward to this but I was treated here because they kept it short. SANADA used the guitar to Jeff Jarrett Tanahashi. He went to get the referee for the cover but Tanahashi pulled him into a rollup and won in 2:48. Hell yeah. [NR]
A Block: Ryohei Oiwa [8] vs. Yuya Uemura [8]
These are two of the most promising prospects in New Japan, so I was excited to see them go at it here. The crowd, like me, was pretty split on this. With the last match being so short, this was given a fair amount of time and they made good use of it. They worked the mat in the early stages, trading arm drags and holds. Ryohei was the first one to really showcase something outside of technical work, using a shoulder block to take Yuya down, but he went right back to a crossface on the mat. Things really got going after Ryohei busted out a Doctor Bomb and a splash off the top. Yuya responded with big moves of his own, including a back suplex. The spot where Ryohei hit Chaos Theory (a move I love) and went for the discus lariat, only for Yuya to catch it and turn it into an armbreaker was tremendous. From there, we got the big closing stretch with close calls on both sides and I was totally in, unsure of who was going to win. Ryohei hit a big lariat but Yuya caught him soon after the Deadbolt to win after an awesome 18:22. I think that’s my favorite match of the tournament. THIS is what this company needs to focus on if they want any chance of being good again. [****½]
A Block: David Finlay [6] vs. Yota Tsuji [8]
If Yota wins, Finlay is eliminated. So that took out some of the drama because I never believed Finlay would be out at this point. I thought their Wrestle Kingdom match was very good and better than I expected. This was along those lines as things were intense early but slowed a bit for the first third or so before picking up. It was hard hitting after that, whether it was trading clotheslines and forearms or bigger moves like superkicks and a Buckle Bomb. The back half and especially final third were strong, bringing the big moves and close calls like a typical New Japan main event. Finlay hit a Stunner and Oblivion for near falls and looked like he was on the verge of getting as frustrated as he did in the early tourney stages. However, he managed to get a knee up when Yota went for the Gene Blaster. He then added Overkill to win in 15:21. A very good main event that lacked drama. [***¾]
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Yuya Uemura | 10 (5-3) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 10 (5-2) |
| EVIL | 10(5-3) | Konosuke Takeshita | 10 (5-2) |
| Yota Tsuji | 8 (4-4) | Ren Narita | 10 (5-2) |
| Ryohei Oiwa | 8 (4-4) | YOSHI-HASHI | 8 (4-3) |
| Boltin Oleg | 8 (4-4) | Drilla Moloney | 8 (4-3) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 8 (4-4) | The Great-O-Khan | 8 (4-4) |
| David Finlay | 8 (4-4) | Shota Umino | 8 (4-3) |
| Callum Newman | 8 (4-4) | Shingo Takagi | 6 (3-4) |
| Taichi | 6 (3-5) | El Phantasmo | 6 (3-5) |
| SANADA | 6 (3-5) | Gabe Kidd | 0 (0-7) |
