Sambus’ NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 4 Review

Location: Kagawa, Japan

Venue: Sunmesse Kagawa

English commentary: Walker Stewart & Callum Newman

 

We turn our attention over to B Block for this morning’s proceedings, where the top of the pile is pretty even, with Takeshita, Uemura, & HENARE all sharing 4 points each.

 

[B Block] Hirooki Goto [0] vs Boltin Oleg [2]

Oleg backs Goto into the ropes but backs off with a clean break. Shoulder block meets Goto, Oleg gets another and Goto goes down. Shoulder thrusts in the corner from Oleg, body slam to follow for our first cover which gets a 2. Oleg locks in a Boston Crab, Goto gets to the ropes. Oleg misses a splash in the corner, gets a boot though but Goto comes firing back with a misdirection lariat. Spinning leg lariat and a back suplex gets 2 for Goto.

Oleg removes the elbow pad, gutwrenches Goto and suplexes him, kip up. Corner splash connects, Goto comes back with the ushigoroshi. They trade forearms on their knees, inverted GTR by Goto, Oleg comes back with a shotgun dropkick! Another corner splash and a body slam, Boltin Bomb connects for 2. Oleg looks for Kamikaze but Goto slips out and locks in a sleeper. Goto tries a PK, Oleg catches him and lifts him onto the shoulders, Landslide drives Goto into the canvas. Rollup by Goto, 1, 2, no. Cradle pin, 1, 2, no. Headbutt takes Oleg down. Kick to the chest, GTR! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Hirooki Goto

Time: 10:17

Rating: *** – Perfectly fine, with a solid effort from Oleg. Some of his offense is starting to look a little basic (he’s pretty reliant on those splashes in the corner) so hopefully he can freshen things up in the next few matches.

 

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[B Block] Jeff Cobb [2] vs Ren Narita [2]

Narita attacks Cobb on the entrance ramp and whips him into the railings before the bell can ring. They head out into the crowd, Narita tosses him into the wall. But Cobb belly-to-belly suplexes Narita into the upright chairs! Cobbs chops Narita on the outside, and they finally make it into the ring for the bell to sound and get this underway officially.

Cobb surfboards on the back of Narita. Narita tries to fight back, lariat takes him down but he avoids a standing moonsault and Narita targets the knee and ankle, driving it into the canvas. Narita wraps the leg around the ringpost, stretching the knee, and whips it into the post. Narita grabs a chair but tosses it on the floor. Narita throws Cobb to the floor too, brings him back out into the crowd and stomps on the knee. Chairshot to the knee! Referee is fine with it, OK then. Cobb hobbles back to the ring but Narita is there to meet him, jumping on the knee across the bottom rope. Cobb headbutts Narita to try and mount a comeback, but Narita rakes the eyes across the ropes. Pump kick from Narita gets a 2 count.

Narita twists the ankle and then wrenches the knee, Cobb gets the ropes and Narita makes full use of the 5 count. Narita again with the chair, but referee Marty Asami grabs it from him. Running crossbody from Cobb levels Narita and both men are down.

Cobb with shoulder blocks, a diving shoulder tackle connects. Corner lariat and a back suplex as Cobb tosses Narita halfway across the ring with it. Standing moonsault connects this time for 2. Guillotine stomp connects for Narita. Narita looks for an exploder, Cobb elbows out of it, but Narita transitions into a kneebar! Cobb struggles and reaches the ropes. Narita off the top and misses, Cobb goes for a German, Narita kicks the knee though. Cobb with the F5! 1, 2, no. Narita shoves Cobb into the ref and then targets the knee again. Narita grabs the reinforced push-up bar, tries to clock Cobb with it but Cobb catches it and tosses Narita. Marty Asami catches him thinking about hitting Narita with the bar and takes it away from him, but Narita low blows Cobb while the ref isn’t looking. Double Cross connects, 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Ren Narita

Time: 12:02

Rating: **3/4 – The focus on the legwork made sense and Narita clearly had a plan, but this felt long and rather slow. The push-up bar stuff gets big ‘go-away heat’ from me too although I appreciated the lack of House of Torture interference at least.

 

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[B Block] El Phantasmo [0] vs Yota Tsuji [2]

ELP grounds Tsuji and tries for a bow and arrow, Tsuji flips into a cover for 2 though. Nice exchange of nearfalls, crucifix cover comes very close for ELP! Chop to the chest of Tsuji, and they take it turns to deliver chops. ELP paintbrushes Tsuji with slaps, gets wrist control and runs up the ropes for the springboard Tijeras. ELP goes for a suicide dive but Tsuji catches him with an enziguri! Tsuji drops him face first on the ring apron and tosses him back inside the ring.

HUGE overhand chop from Tsuji! Shoulders to the midsection in the corner now, and an elevated knee to the gut, body scissors applied. ELP rolls through it to touch the ropes with his feet and break the hold. ELP tries to chop Tsuji but there isn’t much behind them. He delivers a dropkick though and kips up, running forearm in the corner, springboard crossbody and the lionsault connects for 2. Airplane spin into the sitout from ELP, 1, 2, no. Clothesline to the outside, tope suicide and Tsuji is knocked over the railings into the crowd as they begin to disperse. ELP moves some furniture, repositioning the railing. He re-enters the ring, climbs the ropes, diving springboard crossbody out to Tsuji in the crowd!

Flipping senton back in the ring, climbs for another lionsault but Tsuji avoids this one. Tsuji catches him on the middle buckle with a dragon screw and drives the knee into the mat. Modified cloverleaf applied with a full vertical base but ELP gets the ropes. A kick to the knee cuts ELP off again, but ELP rips off the elbow pads and slaps him hard. Hard forearm shot from Tsuji and they trade forearms now. ELP wins the exchange but a knee trembler and an enziguri put a stop to that. Curb stomp from Tsuji, 1, 2, no. Rollup by ELP, 1, 2, no. Backslide, Tsuji rolls through into another curb stomp! Tornado DDT, rolls through, Tsuji with a modified Falcon Arrow for 2. ELP avoids the Gene Blaster. Sudden Death from ELP! CR2 connects as well, but the leg gives out, he can’t make the cover! Finally gets there 1, 2, NO.

ELP climbs the ropes, enziguri cuts him off and Tsuji follows him up there. ELP headbutts him down, Thunder Kiss 86 but Tsuji gets the knees up and cradles him…no, ELP holds on tightly into a cover! 1, 2, 3!

Winner: El Phantasmo

Time: 18:13

Rating: ***1/2 – Great stuff with more good leg work and some decent selling from ELP. I wanted them to get a little more heated and show some urgency towards the end, but the closing minutes were nonetheless pretty damn fun.

 

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[B Block] HENARE [4] vs David Finlay [0]

Quick exchange of forearms and we set a fast pace in the early goings. Snapmare by HENARE, misses a kick, goes for a roundhouse but Finlay ducks it and rolls out of the ring. He grabs the NEVER Openweight championship and spits on it, stomping on it for good measure. HENARE chases him back into the ring, and they trade rapid chops, forearms and headbutts in the corner. Clothesline over the ropes from Finlay takes both men to the floor. Finlay drives HENARE back-first into the railings. Finlay gets HENARE on his shoulders and drives him back into the ringpost too!

Back in the ring, an elbow drop connects right to the spine of HENARE. Side Russian Legsweep, cover for 2. Back elbow catches Finlay on a charge in the corner, but Finlay comes right back with an Irish Curse backbreaker for 2. He locks a Boston Crab in on HENARE, transitions to a single leg crab, then goes back to the Boston, but HENARE grabs the ropes. Finlay tries to bash the head of HENARE into the buckles, but HENARE does it of his own accord, unaffected by it! Lariat in the corner, rapid fire strikes follow up, and HENARE with the front slam and a senton for 2. Running PK, Berserker bomb connects for another 2.

Finlay rallies back with some uppercuts, but one punch to the gut levels Finlay again. Kick to the chest, misdirection lariat, gets another running lariat for 2. HENARE stalks Finlay, willing him to his feet, misses a spear attempt though as Finlay gets a desperation DDT! Forearm shots from both men on their knees, rising up into a further exchange. Roundhouse kick catches Finlay off-guard but a lariat takes HENARE out only for a 1 count. Dominator, 1, 2, NO. HENARE with the step up knee and a rising knee in the corner, no Finlay catches him with a powerbomb out of the corner! Suplex, HENARE knees out of it, uranage connects for HENARE. He plants Finlay with the spear slam, 1, 2, no. Streets of Rage countered into a rollup for 2. Overkill! 1, 2, 3.

Winner: David Finlay

Time: 16:05

Rating: ***1/4 – Crowd were pretty dead which didn’t help in the early portion, but this picked up in the final stretch. HENARE has looked like a very dominant force and isn’t hurt by this loss. Finlay gets some points and now everyone is on the scoreboard in B Block.

 

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[B Block] Yuya Uemura [4] vs Konosuke Takeshita [4]

At 4 points each, the winner here will take the early lead on the B Block side. Takeshita backs Uemura into the ropes, looks like he’ll take a cheap shot but backs off instead. Uemura gets wrist control and wrenches back the arm. He continues the focus on the arm, dropkick to the shoulder too, which gets a 1 count. Takeshita grabs the nose, rebounds off the ropes with a flying forearm. Uemura with a lariat to knock Takeshita to the floor, and he skins the cat back inside. Springboard crossbody but Takeshita elbows him in midair! Takeshita with a brainbuster in the aisle. He heads back inside the ring to let Uemura get counted out, but Uemura is in at 18.

Snapmare, senton off the middle rope, 1, 2, no. Takeshita tries to apply a chinlock but the early arm work gives him bother. Vice applied, Uemura slaps him in the chest but with little impact. Uemura tries to mount a comeback, big Powerdrive knee cuts that off though. More knees to the face in the corner, 1, 2, no.

Knife edge chop from Uemura, Takeshita responds with forearms. Flying forearm from Uemura this time, both men go to opposite corners to recover. Uemura whips Takeshita, Takeshita reverses but Uemura catches him with a dropkick. Back suplex connects, 1, 2, no. Uemura heads up top, Takeshita follows, deadlift superplex! Uemura to the apron, Takeshita boots him down and follows with the tope con hilo. Uemura is whipped into the railings, but he sends Takeshita into the ringpost in response. Takeshita goes for an elbow shot against the ringpost, but Uemura moves and Takeshita smacks the post hard. Both arms are screwed now! Uemura keeps his focus there, wrenching the arm around the railings and nailing a running dropkick to the outstretched arm.

They make it back into the ring, as Uemura delivers chops in the corner, running chop too. Diving crossbody, 1, 2, no, and Uemura rolls straight into a cross armbreaker. Uemura switches sides to the other arm now, nice. Takeshita’s long legs allow him to get the ropes semi-easily however. Uemura hooks both arms for the Dragon, Takeshita hits out of it. Poisonrana! But Uemura right back with a GERMAN, Takeshita comes back with a lariat, Uemura with a dropkick and both men go down for the delayed selling. Crowd is finally getting fired up.

Blue Thunder Bomb, 1, 2, Uemura kicks out. Uemura finally gets the Dragon Suplex! 1, 2, NO. Uemura to the top rope again, frog splash misses! Running boot by Takeshita, Yuya with the Pele kick though! Takeshita is selling the arms, goes for an elbow, Yuya catches both arms with the overhook, looking for the Dead Bolt. Can’t get it though! Takeshita laces the fingers behind Uemura, Yuya breaks that but Takeshita rocks him with a big forearm. More forearm shots but it hurts Takeshita each time. Headbutt! Hurracanrana pin attempt from Uemura, 1, 2, NO. Cross armbreaker again! Center of the ring…but Takeshita manages to roll over and get the ropes with his legs again. Damn this is great.

Body slam from Uemura, he roars and heads to the top rope once more. Frog splash connects this time, 1, 2, no. Uemura hooks the arm, no Takeshita with the wheelbarrow German suplex! Elbow pad off, backslide by Uemura though! Gets a 2. Overarm hold once more, backs Takeshita in to the corner for some leverage, and gets the DEAD BOLT SUPLEX! 1, 2, 3!!

Winner: Yuya Uemura

Time: 23:11

Rating: ****1/4 – Main Event Uemura has arrived! I am so here for it, Uemura is absolutely someone I can get on board with in this position, and this was a coming out party for him. Takeshita continues his streak of bangers too, and his selling of the arms was particularly commendable, playing into his offense the entire way through. Great story with Uemura targeting the arms, trying to soften him up for the Dead Bolt, being denied a few times until he finally landed it for the victory. Simple in-ring storytelling told very effectively and it just worked.

 

A Block Standings:

EVIL – 6

Zack Sabre Jr – 6

Shingo Takagi – 4

Gabe Kidd – 4

SANADA – 2

Callum Newman – 2

Jake Lee – 2

Tetsuya Naito – 2

Shota Umino – 2

Great-O-Khan – 0

 

B Block Standings:

Yuya Uemura – 6

Konosuke Takeshita – 4

HENARE – 4

Ren Narita – 4

Boltin Oleg – 2

Jeff Cobb – 2

Yota Tsuji – 2

El Phantasmo – 2

Hirooki Goto – 2

David Finlay – 2

 

Next, we head back to A Block this Saturday, where we all brace ourselves for Naito vs EVIL. Despite it being an early morning, I may need a stiff drink to get through that one…

7.8

The final score: review Good

The 411

Night 4's undercard was slightly underwhelming, mostly falling into the 'OK' territory, save for the ELP/Tsuji match which was very enjoyable. What bumps this up is that fantastic main event which is surely going to be in the conversation for Match of the Tournament. Takeshita is on an untouchable in-ring run right now, but major props have to go to Yuya Uemura who proved he belongs in the main event scene with this one. Carve out those 23 minutes to watch it because you don't want to miss it.