Sambus’ NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 14 Review

Location: Miyagi, Japan

Venue: Xebio Arena Sendai

English Commentary: Walker Stewart & Callum Newman

 

[B Block] Boltin Oleg [4] vs Konosuke Takeshita [8]

Time for Oleg to have his first banger? Takeshita fires off a huge forearm in the ropes, and Oleg tosses him all the way outside with a release suplex. Takeshita delivers a big boot on the apron and hits a tope con hilo to take out Oleg on the floor. Back to the apron, Takeshita flattens Oleg with a DDT, and nails a flying forearm back in the ring. They trade strikes until Oleg reels him in for a judo takedown. Big chop in the corner from Oleg, running corner splash and a shoulder tackle followed by the flying body sausage for 2. Gutwrench applied, no Takeshita elbows out of it. Powerdrive knee caught, counters with a uranage. Boltin Bomb countered, Takeshita spins him out of the corner into a Blue Thunder Bomb! Lovely! Oleg tries to rally but Takeshita hooks him into a brainbuster! But Oleg is right back up for the gutwrench shake/suplex combination. Boltin Bomb connects, 1, 2, no.

Stereo lariats, Oleg takes Takeshita down with another, gets him on his shoulders and hits the Kamikaze! 1, 2, NO. Another Kamikaze attempt but Takeshita counters with a German. Oleg responds with one of his own, and here comes one more from Takeshita. Another from Oleg! It’s a German Suplex War! FUCKING HUGE ELBOW SHOT TO OLEG! GERMAN TO TAKESHITA AND HE LANDS ON HIS HEAD! Shotgun dropkick, 1 count kickout. Kamikaze, no Takeshita with a rollup for 2. Powerdrive Knee caught again, Takeshita looks for the flying forearm but Oleg catches him on his shoulders and delivers the Verdict! Kamikaze delivered again! 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Boltin Oleg

Time: 12:10

Rating: ***3/4 – Bloody hell we’re not messing around tonight! Tremendous showing from Oleg, I genuinely think he’s improving with every match. I love Takeshita’s creativity in the ring, evident in spots like that beautiful counter of the Boltin Bomb into the Blue Thunder – that man has a high wrestling IQ indeed!

 

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[B Block] HENARE [6] vs Ren Narita [8]

Narita attacks HENARE as he makes his entrance. Narita rakes the eyes in the ring, but HENARE comes back out of the corner with a shoulder block. Stomps to Narita and a flurry of blows in the corner. Native Knee misses and Narita shoves him to the outside. HENARE gets sent shoulder-first into the ringpost, and whipped into the railings, leg trapped and kicked in the process. Chairshot to the knee, drawing boos from the crowd. HENARE makes it back into the ring but he’s limping, creating an obvious target for Narita, who smells blood. He twists the knee, modified Figure Four applied and mocks Maori traditions while HENARE is grounded.

Big boot by Narita gets 2. Berserker Bomb turns the tables for HENARE. Corner lariat, he gets Narita on the shoulders and dumps him, following up with the senton. Kick to the chest, 1, 2, no. Big time lariat connects and Narita falls to his knees. HENARE lifts him for another, again Narita crumples. Narita up with a choke but HENARE with a shot to the gut, comes running in for a lariat but Narita catches him with an exploder. Running combo offense from Narita, bridging suplex gets a 2 count. Guillotine kneestrike caught, but he rolls into a kneebar and HENARE is struggling but eventually makes the ropes. Another lariat takes Narita off his feet. Native Knee connects this time, and he tries for the Full Nelson, but Narita shoves the referee into HENARE. Narita grabs the reinforced push up bar, but HENARE kicks it away and hits the Maori Drop for the visual pinfall but the ref is down. While distracted, Narita uses the push up bar to smack HENARE in the injured knee! Kneebar applied again, HENARE rolls through and manages to get Narita up for the Full Nelson. Double Cross misses, Rampage! 1, 2, NO. Fisherman’s attempt, Narita tries to roll through but can’t. Low blow by Narita with the ref distracted, knee to the face and the Double Cross connects, 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Ren Narita

Time: 13:16

Rating: ***1/4 – Ren Narita is now currently at the top of B Block, with a win over fellow 10-pointer Jeff Cobb… what is this world we live in?! This was actually much better than other recent Narita affairs, although still plagued by the BS finishes. I’m a HENARE convert though, he was once again on top form here and I’ve surprised myself at how much I’ve been enjoying his matches.

 

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[B Block] Hirooki Goto [8] vs El Phantasmo [4]

ELP could be playing spoiler here, as Goto is still in Playoffs contention. They shake hands as the bell rings and lockup. Clean break, lockup again, ELP gives a clean break now. Dropkick takes Goto down and ELP kips up. Knee drop to the face gets a 2. More knee drops, another 2 count. Goto clotheslines ELP to the floor and follows him out there, bringing him back into the ring, just to get a 1 count. Low bridge by ELP, Goto spills to the floor and a springboard plancha by ELP takes his opponent out. ELP heads up top, diving moonsault off the top turnbuckle connects. Springboard senton and the lionsault get him a 2 count. Superkick is caught, ELP walks into a misdirection lariat.

Spinning wheelkick in the corner followed by the Saito suplex, 1, 2, no. They trade elbow strikes, inverted GTR connects as well as a lariat for 2. GTR countered, ELP looks for the CR2 but that’s countered too. More strikes exchanged, enziguri to Goto, misdirection lariat misses and ELP follows up with a lariat of his own! They trade lariats in the corner now, Goto positions ELP in the corner for a one-man Shoto but ELP avoids, hitting a one-man Shoto of his own! 1, 2, no. Brainbuster, 1, 2, no. ELP looks for the Burning Hammer, hits it!! He heads up top, Thunder Kiss 86! 1, 2, NO. Phantasmo tunes up the band in the corner for the Sudden Death but Goto is still dow. ELP goes to revive him, reminding him this is the G1. Ushigoroshi! Goto lines up a kick to the chest, GTW! 1, 2, no, ELP kicks out. GTR countered into a backslide for 2. Sudden Death! CR2 avoided, jackknife pin 1, 2, no. ELP with the crucifix pin! 1, 2, 3!

Winner: El Phantasmo

Time: 13:06

Rating: ***1/2 – Goto has a difficult road ahead of him if he wants to stay in contention for that playoffs spot. This was great, and while Goto is still riding this wave of momentum, we have to give props to ELP as he can’t have been feeling too good after that grim table spot just 2 nights ago, yet he still gave 100% here.

 

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[B Block] Jeff Cobb [10] vs David Finlay [8]

Cobb tries a belly-to-belly suplex early on, but Finlay clobbers the ears. Dropkick by Cobb takes him off his feet. Finlay hangs him out to dry on the ropes and then grounds him for some mounted punches. Finlay does the surfboard pose on Cobb’s back! 1 count, and Cobb tosses him to the side. Northern Irish Curse out of nowhere gets a 2 for Finlay. Cobb tries a capture suplex, Finlay avoids it, but an SOS slam connects. Shoulder blocks by Cobb, flying shoulder tackle and an uppercut in the corner. He tosses Finlay halfway across the ring and gets a 2 count. Cobb hits the Spin Cycle, and they spill to the floor, where Cobb gets shoved into the ringpost. Spear through the closed gate into the crowd, but that aggravates Finlay’s shoulder issues. Finlay brings Cobb back into the ring and hits some clubbing forearms to the face. Sliding lariat from behind, just a 1 count.

Running uppercut from Finlay, Cobb goes for a suplex, can’t get it but pounces Finlay across the ring instead. Finlay to the apron, Cobb goes for the deadlift suplex, Finlay drops behind him and chops the leg from behind. Dominator! 1, 2, no. They trade big right hands, Cobb capitalizes with the Hammer & Sickle combination, which gets a 2, followed by the standing moonsault for another 2. Wrist clutch, looking for the Aloha-maker, but Finlay counters with an Acid Drop! 1, 2, no. Back body drop by Cobb, lariat, and the Tour of the Islands is countered into a backslide attempt. No, Cobb gets it, but Finlay counters that into a powerbomb! 1, 2, no. Another powerbomb connects, and he gets Cobb up for the Overkill! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: David Finlay

Time: 11:43

Rating: *** – Early on, this felt like the two of them were just trading moves with no rhyme or reason. It picked up, and Finlay’s barrage of offense towards the end was cool, especially with those feats of strength on a guy the size of Cobb, but this was mildly underwhelming. Finlay now grabs the top spot of B Block with this win, and as one of the favorites for this block, it’ll be interesting to see if he maintains a clear lead over the coming days.

 

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[B Block] Yota Tsuji [8] vs Yuya Uemura [6]

Crazy that Uemura had that early B Block lead and is now in danger of elimination. Uemura looks for early arm control, receives a forearm for his troubles. Judo takedown and an arm wrench, followed by a dropkick to Tsuji’s arm gets a 1 count as Uemura tries to soften up the arms. Hammerlock into a wrist clutch submission as Uemura maintains the pressure. Tsuji elbows out but runs into one of those beautiful arm drags from Uemura. Uemura holds onto the arm as they fall through the ropes to the outside! Tsuji yanks the hair, and Uemura drives him backwards into the railings, before working their way back into the ring. Tsuji tries to elbow out of the hold, drives him into the buckles to break it eventually. Chops to the chest (with the other hand), but Uemura switches and delivers some of his own. Another arm drag, headscissor evasion from Tsuji, who delivers a kitchen sink to catch Uemura running the ropes.

Shot to the gut from Tsuji, double knee gutbuster and a running splash gets 2. Boston Crab attempt, Uemura smacks the arms though…runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker! And now Tsuji applies the Boston Crab…nope, the arm gives out, so he just holds on with a Single Leg Crab, nicely done. Tsuji is thinking DDT but Uemura immediately whips into an armbar, which Tsuji breaks. STO backbreaker/flatliner combo followed by a dropkick… Uemura right back up with a dropkick of his own!

Body slam, Uemura heads to the top rope, High Fly Flow but Tsuji gets the knees up! Tsuji boots him to the floor, takes a run up, suicide dive! He rolls him right back inside the ring for a superkick and an Alabama Slam, 1, 2, no but he turns him into a Boston Crab, and manages to hold it this time. Tsuji can’t hold it long term so he traps both legs with one arm instead, although that allows Uemura space to grab the ropes. Red Shoes sends Tsuji away, checking on Uemura, as something is not right with his arm and he seems to be in a bad way. Uemura can barely get to his feet…but launches up with a headbutt. Uemura may have injured his arm here, it’s dangling at his side. Uemura is clutching the arm as Tsuji chops him in the chest, following up with forearms. Marlowe Crash! 1, 2, NO.

Tsuji is looking for the Gene Blaster, but Uemura grabs the arm and cradles into a crucifix pin! 1, 2, but his arm can’t keep the pressure and the shoulders slip up from the canvas. Headbutt from Uemura, forearm by Tsuji. Tsuji lifts him for a suplex, tight schoolboy rollup by Uemura! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Yuya Uemura

Time: 16:15

Rating: ***3/4 – Tremendous arm work from Uemura again, and Tsuji sold it like a champ. In a twist of fate, it’s Uemura who seems to have legit injured his own arm, and while we got some great last-minute drama from it, it did slightly dampen the finishing stretch. Here’s hoping it’s nothing serious, as it would be a huge shame if Uemura wasn’t able to continue this run.

 

A Block Standings:

Zack Sabre Jr – 12

EVIL – 10

Tetsuya Naito – 10

SANADA – 8

Jake Lee – 8

Shingo Takagi – 8

Great-O-Khan – 8

Shota Umino – 6

Gabe Kidd – 6

Callum Newman – 4 (Eliminated)

 

B Block Standings:

David Finlay – 10

Ren Narita – 10

Jeff Cobb – 10

Konosuke Takeshita – 8

Hirooki Goto – 8

Yota Tsuji – 8

Yuya Uemura – 8

HENARE – 6 (Eliminated)

El Phantasmo – 6 (Eliminated)

Boltin Oleg – 6 (Eliminated)

 

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Another show book-ended by some great contests, plus added drama with the B Block top spot changing multiple times as the night went on. Even the House of Torture stuff wasn't the usual low-point, as we were treated to a better-than-your-average Narita match, and while the Cobb/Finlay encounter underwhelmed, there was nothing bad on display here. Takeshita vs Oleg and Uemura vs Tsuji both ROCKED in their respective ways, once again highlighting the bright stars of NJPW's future - even more so if Takeshita is planning more NJPW dates down the line!