New Japan Pro Wrestling 7/28/2024 G1 Climax 34 Day 6

New Japan Pro Wrestling 7/28/2024 G1 Climax 34 Day 6

Day 5 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/07/new-japan-pro-wrestling-7272024-g1.html

Be-Bop Tag Team (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano) vs. Just 5 Guys (SANADA & TAKA Michinoku)

Tana and Sanada go at it. They waistlock each other. Tana armdrags him off the wristlock and they stand off. Tana side headlocks him. Sanada boots him. Tana 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him.

Yano gets in and takes off a turnbuckle pad. Sanada puts Yano in a paradise lock. Tana comes in and gets put in it too. Sanada dropkicks both in the butt to break it. Taka eye pokes him and rubs his knuckles into his eyes. Yano pulls Sanada down by the hair then Tana gets in.

Tana flying forearms Sanada then hits a strike combo on him. Tana slams Sanada then 2nd rope flipping swantons him. Sanada dragon screws Tana. Taka gets in and step up knees Tana in the corner. He then running knees him and puts him in just facelock.

Tana dragon screws Taka then slingblades him. Tana texas cloverleafs Taka and Taka taps.

Thoughts: It was too short of an opener and didn't really accomplish much here. 

United Empire (Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan) vs. House Of Torture (Dick Togo & EVIL)

HoT attack before the bell like usual. Evil back rakes CN. CN runs the ropes fast and facekicks him. Evil eye rakes CN then sends him into the exposed buckle. CN is foot choked in the corner and Togo hits shots on CN. Togo and CN trade wristlocks.

Togo punches him off the side headlock. CN is thrown out and Evil chairs CN outside. Evil taunts Khan then footslaps CN. CN hits forearms then 2nd rope springboard dropkicks him.

Khan gets in and monkey flips Evil. Khan sends Evil into Togo then shoulder throws Evil. Khan head and arm chokes Evil and Evil ropebreaks. Togo hits Khan with a turnbuckle pad from the outside. Khan takes corner attacks and a fist drop from Togo. Togo chokes Khan with a weapon and CN superkicks Togo. CN buzzsaw kicks Evil and blocks his low blow.

Togo rolls Khan for 2 then Khan claw slams him to win.

Thoughts: It was a quick one and it was your usual HoT match. 

Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. TMDK (Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Honma and Kosei lock up. Kosei chops Honma then Honma chops him back. Honma shoulders him over then misses a falling headbutt. Shota and Zack go at it. Shota arm throws him and Zack upkicks him. Shota wristlocks him.

Zack tries a shoulder on Shota but Shota doesn't move. They trade euros. Shota dropkicks him. Zack takes corner attcks. Shota exploders him then Honma falling headbutts him. Honma flying shoulders Zack for 2.

Honma sliding headbutts Zack but Zack triangles him out of it. Kosei springboard dropkicks Shota to stop him from breaking it up. Honma headbutts Zack then Zack michinoku drivers him for 2.

Thoughts: They teased Zack/Shota here and gave me some hope for that. But this ended too early and was not what it could have been at all.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Gabe Kidd, Gedo & Jake Lee)

The heels attack before it starts. Gabe stomps on Shingo outside and Jake stomps Naito in the ring. Naito armdrags Jake, atomic drops him and baseball slides him. Jake powerslams Naito then Gabe sends Naito into the rails outside. Naito is eye raked by Gedo and Jake in the corner. Gabe does Naito's taunt.

Naio back elbows him then Gabe takes a sunset flip into a basement dropkick from Bushi. Shingo shoulders Gabe over when he gets in. Shingo hits forearms on him then dragon screws Jake. Shingo suplexes Gabe.

Shingo goes to do his taunt and Gabe nails him from behind. Gabe suplexes him then does Shingo's taunt. They trade forearms and hit headbutts. They lariat each other down.

Bushi and Gedo get in. Bushi dropkicks him off the buckles then Gedo eye rakes him. Bushi rewind kicks him then codebreakers him for 2. Gedo does his gedo clutch to Bushi for 2. Naito baseball slides Gedo and Gedo is pinned.

Thoughts: The finish was real weak here. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone go down to a baseball slide. The Gabe vs Shingo section was good here but it was just a midcard match.

Shingo and Jake fight outside then Gabe beats up Shingo. 

G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match - El Phantasmo vs. Oleg Boltin

Oleg shoves him back off the lockup. Oleg waistlock takedowns him then cravates him. ELP hammerlocks him and they shoulderblock battle. ELP dropkicks Oleg then Oleg shoulders him over. Oleg hits corner spears then throws him hard into the corner.

Oleg hits chops then ELP is thrown chest first into the corner. Oleg armbars him. ELP hits chops then twists his nipples. ELP moonsaults over him. ELP springboard twisting crossbodies him into an asai moonsault. Oleg rolls him on the pin attempt and hits karelin's lift.

Oleg goes over the top and ELP topes him over the rails. ELP superkicks him outside. They go back in. ELP springboard swantons into an asai moonsault for 2. They trade forearms. ELP hits pump kicks then step up enzugiri's him.

ELP hits a cut throat burning hammer then top rope splashes him for 2. Oleg F-5's him to the outside and it seems like ELP hit his knee somewhere. Oleg splashes ELP's back and chest. ELP is caught on a flying ddt attempt. ELP cradles him for 2 then rolls him up for 2.

Oleg backslides him for 2. Oleg does a nice shotgun dropkick. Oleg finlay rolls him and gets the surprise win.

Thoughts: They never really found the right pacing to this and the crowd wasn't that into it. It was probably the most we ever got to see Oleg do in a match. I was surprised to see Oleg get the win on this one. I guess it is excused some but NJPW just never really seems to favor ELP much for some reason. I thought it was okay but it was definitely missing something.

G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match - Jeff Cobb vs. Yuya Uemura

They lock up and Cobb clean breaks him. Yuya is pushed over. Cobb waistlock throws him then Yuya hammerlocks him on the mat. Cobb blocks an armdrag then Yuya dropkicks him. Cobb dropkicks him back.

Cobb throws him on a slam. Cobb surfs on his back then bearhugs him. Yuya flying forearms him then knocks him off the apron. Yuya is caught on a plancha then Cobb is sent into the post. Yuya top rope crossbodies him, Cobb catches him and slams him. Cobb misses a standing moonsault and Yuya elbow drops him. Cobb standing moonsaults him. Yuya goes up and over, armdrags him and dropkicks him. Yuya then plancha's him outside.

Yuya top rope crossbodies him for 2. Yuya germans and dragon suplexes him for 2. Yuya top rope splashes him for 2. Cobb uranages him then hits an h-bomb style lariat. Cobb lariats him and goes for a tour of the islands slam but Yuya rolls him up. Yuya crucifixes him for 2.

Cobb F-5's him then hits a tour of the islands slam. Cobb gets the win.

Thoughts: It was good but not great. Cobb needed to rough him up a little more before Yuya made his comeback. Yuya was the best wrestler in this match though. I'd really like to see them go at it again and be able to go all out as I think this could be a classic on another day.

G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match - Konosuke Takeshita vs. HENARE

They lock up. KT takes him down, gets headscissored and they lock up again. They repeat the spot. They shoulder battle and Henare knocks him over after kicks. KT hits a big forearm while Henare is seated. KT eye rakes him then flying clotheslines him.

KT sends him into the post and pulls him into it. KT ddt's him on the apron. KT hits corner punches then bites his head. KT ddt's him then chinlocks him. Henare drops him with a chest kick then Henare is pulled into the buckles. KT goes for a backdrop and Henare knees him. Henare hits a berzerker bomb.

Henare flurries on him in the corner then headbutts him. Henare samoan drops him for 2. Henare spinning heel kicks him. Henare step up knees him. Henare hurricanrana's him and flying knees him.

Henare corner lariats KT then KT flying knees him. KT wheelbarrow germans him then poisonrana's him. Henare no sells it and hits a big spinebuster/spear. KT hits a big forearm. Henare enzugiri's him off the ropes then KT flips him with a lariat. KT blue thunders him for 2. 

Henare spinning high kicks him and is dropped with a big forearm. KT hits flying knees then Henare flying headbutts him for 2. KT fisherman's suplexes him then brainbusters him. KT spinning falcon arrows him and wins.

Thoughts: The logic was really bad in this one. Henare really should have been the heel and KT should have been the face. Instead they reversed the roles. That hurt things as KT is actually bigger than Henare is when Henare is supposed to be this big tough guy. I thought Henare should have protected himself here and treated himself like a hoss. Sure, the action was good and they matched up well, but the logic was bad. I wouldn't have booked this due to concerns about exposing Henare's size. 

G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match - David Finlay vs. Ren Narita

Ren goes after DF on the ramp. They trade shots and Ren is sent into the rails. DF drops a rail on him then Ren throws him into the chairs. Kanemaru beats up on DF but they use the logic of the match not officially starting to try to explain it.

Ren boots DF off the apron then sends him into the rails. Ren boots him over the rails. Ren neckbreakers him over the rails. Ren hits DF with a chair. DF's neck is catapulted into the bottom rope and Kanemaru gets some shots in on DF.

Ren facerakes DF. DF standing blue thunders him. DF lariats him over the top and goes with him. Ren is on DF's shoulders and thrown into the post head first. DF throws Ren on a suplex. Ren exploders DF.

Ren underhook suplexes him then guillotine chokes him. DF spinning F-5's him. DF hits a dominator for 2. Ren sleepers DF and sends him into the exposed buckles. Ren cobra twists him. Kanemaru spits whiskey into DF's eyes and Ren backrolls him for 2.

Ren low blows DF after DF fights off Kanemaru. DF hits Ren with the shillelagh then buckle bombs him. DF powerbombs him and wins.

Thoughts: It had lots of shenanigans before and during the match. The actual match wasn't that bad but the shenanigans ruined this before it even started.

G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match - Hirooki Goto vs. Yota Tsuji

Goto wristlocks him then Yota side headlocks him. Goto hiptosses him. Goto lariats him in the corner. Yota blocks a hiptoss then knees him in the gut. Yota chops him then hits corner spears. Yota bodyscissors him and hooks the arm. Goto ropebreaks.

Yota corner splashes him then Goto gets behind him and lariats him off the ropes. Goto spinning heel kicks him then backdrops him. Yota drives Goto's head into the mat with his feet. Yota slams and splashes him. Goto hits an ushigoroshi.

They trade forearms. Goto hits a lariat to the back and front of his neck. Yota curbstomps him twice. Yota pumping knees him then does a sitout bomb for 2. Yota misses a spear and is rolled up. Yota superkicks him. Goto hits a GTW for 2. Yota flips him with a lariat and Goto does his side pendulum sit-out bomb. Goto then wins with a GTR.

Thoughts: It was a decent match but they didn't let them go all out here. This needed more kickouts and stuff to really turn this into a great one. It was maybe on the path but just got cut off. You can make the case that they shouldn't go crazy because this is a multi-day tournament and they need to wrestle the next day. I'd agree with you to some extent, just who doesn't want to see the best match possible?

Overall thoughts: The mid and lower card matches were a waste of time. Oleg/ELP didn't really find the right pacing and it was missing something. Cobb/Yuya was good but they maybe had a classic in them. Takeshita/Henare matched up well together but the roles were all wrong here. KT should have been the underdog and Henare should have been the hoss. DF/Ren might have been okay without the shenanigans. The main was good but like Yuya/Cobb, they didn't get to go all out and have a classic. I'd give this an above average rating.