Sambus’ NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 12 Review

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Venue: Korakuen Hall

English Commentary: Walker Stewart & Chris Charlton

 

[B Block] Boltin Oleg [4] vs Jeff Cobb [8]

Srappy start as both men look to gain an early advantage but can’t, and they’re forced to break waistlock attempts in the ropes. Amateur wrestling style takedowns, Oleg is the first to muscle up Cobb and slam him to the mat, and Cobb rolls to the floor the regroup. Cobb back in, catches Oleg off-guard with a straight right hand! Oleg with a side slam in retaliation, and he stomps Cobb down in the corner. Cobb gets Oleg down and goes for the surfboard, but Oleg pushes up with his back to knock Cobb off.

Body slam by Cobb, misses the standing moonsault as Oleg had it scouted. Back elbow, diving shoulder block off the middle rope sends Cobb down. Corner splash misses, Cobb nails a standing dropkick….Oleg comes back with one of his own. Back splash caught by Oleg and he looks for the German, Cobb fights out but he can’t escape the Belly to Back suplex. Corner splash connects this time, shoulder tackle and flying body sausage hits for 2. Oleg looks for a deadlift gutwrench, Cobb fights it and gets one of his own, gutwrench suplex delivered to Oleg! He screams “that’s my fuckin move!” Oleg up, go behind and a German suplex connects. Oleg gets the gutwrench spin now into the gutwrench suplex, and he kips up, Boltin Bomb connects, 1, 2, no. Kamikaze attempt, Cobb grabs the ropes….F5000 attempt by Oleg but no, Cobb avoids it. Amateur takedown and the Hammer & Sickle connects. Moonsault, 1, 2, no. Cobb gives the Rainmaker pose, looks for the Aloha Maker, Oleg reverses into the Kamikaze though! 1, 2, no. Lariat from Oleg, both men deliver lariats now, superkick by Cobb, and another takes Oleg’s head off. Tour of the Islands! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Jeff Cobb

Time: 10:17

Rating: ***1/4 – Really enjoyed the spots of them stealing each other’s moves, and this was a much better big man portrayal from Oleg, who doesn’t always play into his size. Oleg is now mathematically eliminated, but with a spate of decent showings I’d say he’s used the added visibility offered by the G1 to increase his stock.

 

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[B Block] El Phantasmo [4] vs Konosuke Takeshita [6]

Takeshita extends the hand at the bell and ELP shakes. Dropkick takes Takeshita down and ELP kips up to his feet. Takeshita with a flying forearm and now its his turn to kip up. Takeshita looks for the Blue Thunder early, can’t get it, ELP thinks CR2 but can’t get it either. Powerdrive Knee avoided, both men looking to finish this one quickly.

Hard forearm shots from both men, DDT on the crown of ELP’s head. ELP is whipped into the buckles and drops hard to the mat. Whipped in once more, misses the knee to the face though and falls to the outside. ELP follows up immediately with the tope suicida! ELP with a springboard moonsault all the way out to Takeshita in the crowd! Springboard senton and the lionsault gets 2 back in the ring. ELP tries another springboard, Takeshita catches him and spins right into a Blue Thunder Bomb!! Smooth as butter. 1, 2, no. Takeshita pulls out a table and sets it up at ringside, pulling Phantasmo to the apron. Roundhouse kick counters, ELP goes for CR2! NO, Takeshita with a big right hand and a knee to the face…Blue Thunder reversed, Takeshita heads up to the top rope, ELP joins him. They trade forearms, until ELP hits an avalanche hurracanrana back into the ring. Thunderkiss 86 connects, cover, 1, 2, no.

Another CR2 attempt, Takeshita fights it, but gets caught with an enziguri. Poisonrana avoided by ELP and gets one of his own! Lariat, CR2 and he gets it this time. 1, 2, NO. ELP tunes up the band, but Takeshita drops and rolls to the floor before ELP can hit the superkick. Takeshita is draped over the table…ELP up top, Jado tries to talk him down and he hesitates. Takeshita up to the apron with him… Takeshita WITH AN F’N BASTARD DRIVER OFF THE APRON THROUGH THE TABLE! ELP’s back is split open on that, blood oozing down his back, but somehow he makes it back into the ring at 19.

Big right hand connects, Takeshita lifts him but ELP gets a flash cradle for 2. Sudden Death, 1, 2, NO! Both men are spent, but they trade forearms on their knees. ELP isn’t done, spits at Takeshita, rolls him up into a tight cover for 2! Takeshita spins him into another Bastard Driver attempt, victory roll through by ELP…into Takeshita’s wheelbarrow German and the lariat! ONE COUNT KICKOUT BY ELP! Powerdrive Knee, 1, 2, no. Raging Fire connects and it’s finally enough for the 1, 2, 3! ELP even tries to kick out after the 3, desperate to stay in this one, but it was just too late.

Winner: Konosuke Takeshita

Time: 17:23

Rating: **** – Wild match with a gutsy performance from El Phantasmo, who managed to fight for a good few minutes after that gnarly table spot. That table spot in question is going to be the GIF-able moment of the night, but this match was so much more than that, with ELP showing a will to keep fighting, perhaps finally gaining confidence in his abilities. I hate one count kickouts as I find them massively overused in general, but here it was played perfectly and made sense.

 

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[B Block] Yota Tsuji [6] vs HENARE [6]

They charge in for stereo shoulder blocks and devolve into a flurry of strikes. HENARE knocks Tsuji down first but misses a kick, and Tsuji comes back with a shoulder block of his own. Test of strength which HENARE gets the better of, and he goes for a headbutt but Tsuji grabs a front chancery grip, and they jostle for position on a suplex attempt. HENARE lifts Tsuji but the suplex is avoided. Disaster kick out of the corner from HENARE. More strikes connect and a corner lariat allows HENARE to hit the fireman front slam and follow up with the senton. Kicks to the spine now, headbutts, but Tsuji comes back with the combination STO/Flatliner.

Running headscissors connects on HENARE, tope tornillo to the floor! Single arm gutbuster over the knee in the ring gets a 2 count for Tsuji. HENARE deadlifts Tsuji up, muscles him over into a delayed suplex. Tsuji traps the head of HENARE in the corner and hits the double stomp, then sits him on the top rope. Tsuji gets HENARE on his shoulders, Maori Drop off the middle rope! HENARE is pissed as he gets to his feet, Tsuji tries to connect with some forearms but it hurts his own arms more. Superkicks from both men. Lariat to the HEAD of Tsuji, Berserker Bomb gets 2 for HENARE. Knee to the face by Tsuji, HENARE with a kick to the chest, and again. One more knocks Tsuji to the mat. Back elbow and lariat combination, Tsuji fires back with a lariat of his own for 2. Suplex slam gets a 2 count for Tsuji and he sets up for Marlowe Crash but HENARE avoids it and hits a lariat and both men are down.

Shoulder blocks from both men again, rising knee to the face by Tsuji. Another knee to the head but HENARE hulks up, walks into a flurry of slaps to no effect, and tees off on Tsuji. Native Knee misses, but he comes right back with the Rampage, 1, 2, no. Fisherman’s busted attempt denied, he gets the Native Knee though. Tsuji with a headbutt, HENARE with one of his own. Tsuji avoids the Rampage and hits the Gene Blaster! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Yota Tsuji

Time: 15:38

Rating: *** – Good hard-hitting stuff, but it dragged a little and probably would have worked better with a few minutes shaved off. 10-12 minutes of this would have been ideal.

 

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[B Block] Yuya Uemura [6] vs Ren Narita [6]

These two came up as Young Lions together, and commentary present this as a Nakamura/Tanahashi-like rivalry. Narita attacks as Uemura enters the ring, sweeps the legs and wraps the leg around the ringpost, whipping it a few times into the post. Narita focuses on the leg, driving him knee-first into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Uemura fires off some chops in the corner, but Narita rakes the eyes to regain control. Uemura tries to flip evade in the corner but jars the knee on the landing. Armdrag and a dropkick connects for him though. Back suplex gets a 2, Uemura climbs the ropes but here comes Kanemaru to shove him off. Narita locks in a kneebar and Uemura is in trouble. Narita slams the knee into the canvas and locks the kneebar in again.

Narita to the top, misses a dive, and Uemura hits a running lariat to send Narita to the outside. He takes out Kanemaru on the apron too…and then hits a running plancha over the top rope to take out both men on the floor. Diving crossbody back in the ring gets a 2 for Uemura, and he looks for the Dragon Suplex, can’t hook the arms but instead delivers a German suplex for 2. Uemura is thinking Dead Bolt, Narita grabs the ref and in comes Kanemaru. Reinforced pushup bar is kicked away by Uemura, and he gets the dragon suplex for 1, 2, NO.

Dead Bolt attempt and again Narita shoves the ref and low blows Uemura. Double Cross, 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Ren Narita

Time: 11:42

Rating: *** – As competitors, they’ve got a decent rivalry, and the early leg work was good, but of course the usual House of Torture interference comes into play to rapidly sour things. And we’ve seen that exact same finishing sequence a number of times already this tournament.

 

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[B Block] Hirooki Goto [6] vs David Finlay [8]

Goto comes into this hot off the back of that glorious encounter with Takeshita at the weekend – can he keep that goodwill and momentum going? Of note, Finlay’s left shoulder is heavily taped, so that may come into play here.

Lockup, Goto backs Finlay into the ropes, clean break. Finlay gets dumped to the floor and tries to protect the arm, but takes a hard bump on his legs. Side Russian legsweep by Finlay back in the ring, Goto rolls to the outside and he follows him. Finlay bites the forehead of Goto after spearing him into the railings. Uppercuts from Finlay in the ring now, and he stomps Goto a few times…but a misdirection lariat turns the tide for Goto. Spinning wheelkick and the back suplex connects for a 2 count.

Cactus Jack-style lariat from Finlay takes both men to the floor, and Finlay is clutching the left shoulder. But then he flips off Goto and performs a few pushups to show off. Finlay rips back the protective padding on the floor, powerbomb attempt avoided…Goto hits a back body drop instead. Finlay whips him into the railings again as they work their way back into the ring, and Finlay bites the fingers. Running uppercut in the corner, but Goto runs back in with a lariat of his own. Ushigoroshi connects!

They trade forearm strikes, getting to their feet, but Goto gets a reverse GTR and a lariat to take back control. He looks for the GTR, but Finlay with a snapmare and a pin for 2. Finlay gets hung on the middle rope for a one-man Shoto! 1, 2, no. Finlay right back with an Into Oblivion, 1, 2, no. Buckle bomb connects, followed by a powerbomb in the center of the ring, 1, 2, no. Finlay goes for a suplex, they jockey for position and Goto takes the momentum as the Shouten Kai connects! While Finlay recovers on the mat, Gedo slips him the shillelagh. Gedo distracts Red Shoes, Finlay misses the shillelagh shot though! Goto grabs it and tosses it outside the ring. Kick to the chest, Death Valley Driver! 1, 2, no. GTR attempt, no, Goto blocks Into Oblivion again and delivers a headbutt. Korakuen crowd are fantastic here, massively into the action. GTR connects! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Hirooki Goto

Time: 17:46

Rating: ***3/4 – Goto is on a run! Another great outing from him in a main event spot, and he is having a revitalizing career moment. Finlay’s shoulder injury surprisingly didn’t come into play all that much, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out going forward.

 

A Block Standings:

Zack Sabre Jr – 10

EVIL – 10

Tetsuya Naito – 8

SANADA – 8

Shota Umino – 6

Gabe Kidd – 6

Shingo Takagi – 6

Jake Lee – 6

Great-O-Khan – 6

Callum Newman – 4 (Eliminated)

 

B Block Standings:

Jeff Cobb – 10

David Finlay – 8

Konosuke Takeshita – 8

Ren Narita – 8

Hirooki Goto – 8

Yota Tsuji – 8

Yuya Uemura – 6

HENARE – 6

El Phantasmo – 4 (Eliminated)

Boltin Oleg – 4 (Eliminated)

 

The final Korakuen Hall night rolls on tomorrow, with Umino/Lee, ZSJ/Kidd and Shingo/EVIL some of the notable offerings. Have a great day, everyone!

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

These Korakuen Hall shows have been great so far, and this was even better than yesterday's offering. Takeshita World Order continues to run wild and OF COURSE he had the match of the night, with ELP putting on his best performance of the tournament in a great match with a ton of heart and emotion. The main event between Goto and Finlay equally kept the good times rolling for Goto, who is looking better than he has in years. While some of the undercard matches didn't hit the same level of quality, the competitors themselves are all looking pretty strong, like Oleg getting the rub despite being eliminated. Fair play to Gedo, he's booked a good tournament thus far.