wrestling / TV Reports
Sambus’ NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 15 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...Location: Niigata, Japan
Venue: Aore Nagaoka
English Commentary: Walker Stewart & HENARE
Since Saturday’s show, Yuya Uemura’s suspected arm injury has been confirmed, and he’s been forced to withdraw from the rest of the tournament. A huge shame as Uemura has had a handful of fantastic matches in the G1; here’s hoping the injury isn’t serious, and he can ride the momentum garnered here into future high-profile matches. Today, we’re back with the final night of A Block action. Let’s get to it!
[A Block] Callum Newman [4] vs Gabe Kidd [6]
Suicide dive from Newman catches Kidd during his entrance, before hitting a dive from the top rope. Running dropkick in the ring as the bell rings, double stomp to the back and Newman is a house of fire already. Oscutter countered, superkick to Kidd, Kidd catches him on another Oscutter attempt and dumps him with a Saito suplex.
Chops by Kidd, rebound lariat blocked but another lariat takes Newman down. Piledriver attempt blocked and countered with a jackknife for 2. Springboard dropkick takes Kidd to the mat. Enziguri in the corner, running PK and a moonsault gets 2. Newman delivers some kicks to the chest, Kidd wants more. Headbutt by Kidd, right hand catches him off guard. Oscutter caught again, right elbow connects. Newman handsprings over Kidd into a German! 1, 2, no. Thrust kicks, roundhouse kick, one more Oscutter attempt but he gets chopped in the spine. Piledriver! And another! 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Gabe Kidd
Time: 4:52
Rating: *** – Total sprint, but by God they packed a heck of a lot into a sub 5-minute match.
Post-match, Kidd grabs a chair and delivers another piledriver to Newman on top of it. He sits on the chair and puts his feet up on the back of Newman, ha!
[A Block] SANADA [8] vs Zack Sabre Jr [12]
If SANADA wins here, he could still get a place in the playoffs, so it’s all to play for here. Technical start with straitjacket holds countered and reversed by both men. Bow and arrow stretch avoided by ZSJ, a ton of pin attempts ensue as they go 1 count for 1 count. European uppercuts from Zack now, SANADA comes back with his own. They trade uppercuts, the blows getting stiffer each time, picking up the pace too. Volley of uppercuts from SANADA and ZSJ goes down.
Sabre Jr tries an octopus hold, SANADA counters with an arm drag and a dropkick. Springboard plancha to the outside. Back in the ring, SANADA gets him on his shoulders, Zack evades and twists the neck before dropkicking him in the back of the head. Underhook grasp, SANADA rolls out but ZSJ with a Pele kick, SANADA right back with a dropkick to the knees. Magic Screw delivered, SANADA kips up but misses the Shining Wizard. Zack catches the leg on another attempt, slaps him a little, but SANADA delivers a dragon screw. Moonsault press is caught by ZSJ, triangle submission, rolls through into an armbar. He bends back the other arm too! Zack grabs the leg too for added leverage. SANADA rolls, Sabre Jr locks the arms behind SANADA with his legs. Rings of Saturn-esque move now, beautifully transitions to apply it with his legs. And somehow SANADA gets a foot on the ropes.
Zack slaps SANADA a few times on the canvas to bring him to, and kicks him in the arm and chest. Uppercuts from ZSJ, his arm is hurting though. SANADA fires up and delivers some more of his own. Enziguri from ZSJ, one from SANADA! SANADA looks for the prawn hold, ZSJ with a sleeper, SANADA rolls into another prawn hold, 1, 2, no. Zack tries his pinning combos, can’t get it though. Dropkick to the knee on Sabre Jr. Shining Wizard once more, Dead Fall blocked though. Skull End avoided, ZSJ looks for the Zack Driver, SANADA reverses into the Skull End dragon sleeper…they counter each other before ZSJ finally gets the Zack Driver! 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr
Time: 15:43
Rating: ***1/2 – 14 POINTS FOR ZACK! Nicely done, sir. Lovely bit of tekkers from these guys, with some hard-hitting uppercuts thrown in for good measure. The technical stuff is great, but some of SANADA’s offense can kill the drama, especially with the long set up for the Skull End.
[A Block] Shingo Takagi [8] vs Jake Lee [8]
Shingo is technically still in contention for the playoffs, as long as he wins here and Naito or EVIL lose later on. Clean break from Shingo in the ropes, and he even smooths out the hair of Lee. Shingo bows to Lee, and Lee’s response is to kick him in the stomach, rude! Shoulder block and a chop from Shingo, another shoulder block takes Lee down. Elbow drops and a senton connect, knees to the midsection from Shingo too. Lee hangs him up over the top rope and delivers a knee to show him how it’s done. To the floor, Shingo is driven into the railings and draped over the apron, where Lee proceeds to take a run up and drive a knee into the chest and neck of Shingo.
Back in the ring, cravat hold applied and more knees to the gut, followed by a sleeper, forcing Shingo to grab the ropes. Shingo starts to fire back with forearm strikes, avoids a back suplex and hits a dragon screw to Lee. Chops and jabs in the corner, but another knee strike cuts him off. Lee tries a suplex, but Shingo reverses it and gets a suplex of his own for 2. Sleeper by Lee, Shingo shakes him off and hits the sliding bomber. Made in Japan attempt blocked, Lee stares him down. They trade forearm shots, Lee staggers, lariat to the back of the neck from Shingo. Pumping Bomber! Lee comes back with a flying kick, and a PK for 2. Lee picks him right back up for a back suplex, 1, 2, no. Face Break Shot avoided, Takagi ducks it and gets Lee on his shoulders! Death Valley Driver!
Corner bomber, Shingo takes Lee to the top rope, superplex. Pumping bombers delivered but not much force behind them. Headbutts now, head kick by Lee, quickfire Pumping Bomber and Shingo cradles him! 1, 2, 3!
Winner: Shingo Takagi
Time: 13:48
Rating: ***3/4 – More good stuff here with a NEVER Openweight-style match, focused on hard-hitting strikes in a battle of lariats vs knee lifts. 13 minutes flew by in the blink of an eye, and while we’ve come to expect this kind of thing from Shingo, this was one of Lee’s better G1 offerings.
Jake Lee attacks Shingo after the bell! He’s PISSED with that loss.
[A Block] Shota Umino vs EVIL
Before the match, EVIL attacks the ring announcer and has some sort of statement he forces him to read, implying that Shota Umino isn’t here to compete in the match and EVIL should automatically be declared the winner. But nope, here comes Umino so I don’t quite get the point of that.
EVIL begs off, but Umino chokes him with his boot in the corner. EVIL avoids an attack in the corner and pulls away the turnbuckle padding, sending Umino straight into the exposed buckles. On the outside, EVIL drives Umino into the railings, of course knocking over the ring announcer. They spill out into the crowd, EVIL pulls over the railings and nearly smacks a kid in the head with it. The ref delivers the 20 count while Umino rolls back into the ring, but gets distracted by EVIL, allowing Togo to pull him back out.
EVIL chokes Umino with the tag rope, covers for 1. He sends Umino to the floor, where Togo smacks him with the turnbuckle padding and sends him back inside for another pin attempt, just gets a 2. EVIL delivers some chops, Umino works through them, but EVIL goes to the eyes. Umino with a dropkick though to give him a breather. Back elbow strikes and a forearm shot as Umino calls for EVIL to get to his feet. Fisherman’s suplex with the bridging pin gets 2. Umino with a dropkick takes out Togo, and then hits the elevated DDT on the apron to EVIL. Springboard dropkick, exploder suplex for a 2 count. Umino inadvertently dropkicks referee Marty Asami, allowing Togo to enter and choke Umino out with the wire. And here comes Kanemaru too, what fun. Magic Killer delivered, Kanemaru mockingly makes the 3 count and Togo rings the bell to give EVIL the win. Referee Kenta Sato comes out to take over refereeing duties. Umino with a tornado DDT out of nowhere, and he takes out both Togo and Kanemaru. STF applied, drags him back into the center of the ring, but here comes Sho with a wrench, distracting the ref. Umino gets tossed into the referee to take Sato out too. All of House of Torture are out here now to deliver the train of elbows and strikes in the corner, followed by the Wishbone Dick Chop. Ref Sakamoto is here now, 1, 2, no. Yujiro Takahashi delivers a DDT, 1, 2, no. Here comes TANAHASHI! Tanahashi starts clearing house, Togo throws powder into the eyes of Takahashi, whisky spit in the face of Togo. Slingblade to Kanemaru. But EVIL delivers a low blow to Tanahashi and kicks him out of the ring. Umino with a cutter out of nowhere, both men are down. And here comes Red Shoes, the last remaining referee.
Knee to the back by Umino, Trident hits for 2. Ignition delivered, Death Rider attempt but he gets driven into the corner, fires up but walks into a lariat. EVIL pulls off the elbow pad, another lariat connects. 1, 2, no. Everything is EVIL avoided, enziguri from Umino. He’s thinking Blaze Blade, hits it. Death Rider avoided, Red Shoes gets shoved and the low blow followed by a Death Rider from EVIL connects, 1, 2, NO. Everything is EVIL from Umino! Pumphandle into the Emerald Flowsion, Death Rider! 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Shota Umino
Time: 19:46
Rating: *1/2 – It’s an EVIL match, so we all know what we’re getting into here, but this was one of the worst examples. That section with the interference from the entirety of House of Torture and all the refs getting taken out was just painful, and even the surprise Tanahashi appearance couldn’t save it. This narrowly avoids being a DUD purely because the last minute of action was pretty decent, with both guys using the other’s moves and pulling out all the stops. Fortunately, with this win from Umino, EVIL is OUT OF THE G1. There is a God! Shingo has advanced to the playoffs, and the hell of EVIL G1 matches is over for this year.
[A Block] Tetsuya Naito [10] vs Great-O-Khan [8]
Atomic drop from Naito, O-Khan lifts him and drives him into the corner and delivers some Mongolian chop. O-Khan sits on the back of the neck in his signature pose, and Naito rolls to the outside. He reverses a whip and it’s O-Khan that is sent into the railings. Back in the ring, O-Khan locks in a kneebar, and Naito quickly has to grab the ropes. Knee strike to the hips by O-Khan, now to the midsection, and gets a 2 count from it. He focuses on the knee, locking in a reverse Figure Four, hooks the arms behind Naito’s back for added pressure. Surfboard style now, wrenching on the arms, but Naito manages to hook an arm over the ropes to break it.
Big forearm from O-Khan, Naito with a hip toss and a dropkick to the knee. Arm drag and a back elbow by Naito. Hanging DDT across the knee, followed by the stalling neckbreaker for 2. Fireman’s carry takedown from O-Khan, and he maintains wrist control. Monkey flip, hip toss, cover and O-Khan gets a 2 count. Back to the kneebar goes O-Khan, goes for another but Naito rolls out of it. Tornado DDT! He climbs to the second rope, Esparanza delivered to O-Khan! Naito is thinking Destino but O-Khan delivers a German suplex! Naito back up but gets rolled up into another kneebar. Naito is in trouble, Red Shoes wants to call it, but Naito demands he holds on, and eventually he is able to grab the ropes.
Kick to the back of the leg, Naito tries to soften up the neck of GOK with elbow shots. Destino attempt but no, O-Khan with a back suplex counter. Pump kick to the face, and O-Khan looks for the Eliminator now. Nope, victory roll from Naito gets a 2 count. Another Eliminator attempt, enziguri to escape and Naito hits the Destino, 1, 2, no. Destino countered into the leg hook DDT, Eliminator connects! 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Great-O-Khan
Time: 18:58
Rating: **3/4 – That felt loooong. Nice to see O-Khan getting great reactions from the fans, and they were clearly into the action, but this dragged. I was worried they were dragging it out for a time limit draw, so we were spared that at least. Good offense from O-Khan, targeting the knee, which makes sense when going up against Naito. With this victory, O-Khan qualifies for the Playoffs against Shingo Takagi on Thursday, with the winner facing Zack Sabre Jr in the semis on Saturday. Plus, you’d have to believe O-Khan has earned a future IWGP title shot anyway with this pinfall over Naito, so we can expect a rematch in the road to Wrestle Kingdom.
A Block Standings:
Zack Sabre Jr – 14
Shingo Takagi – 10
Great-O-Khan – 10
EVIL – 10 (Eliminated)
Tetsuya Naito – 10 (Eliminated)
SANADA – 8 (Eliminated)
Jake Lee – 8 (Eliminated)
Shota Umino – 8 (Eliminated)
Gabe Kidd – 6 (Eliminated)
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 (Unable to compete – Eliminated)
HENARE – 6 (Eliminated)
El Phantasmo – 6 (Eliminated)
Boltin Oleg – 6 (Eliminated)
