New Japan Pro Wrestling 8/12/2024 G1 Climax 34 Day 15

New Japan Pro Wrestling 8/12/2024 G1 Climax 34 Day 15

Day 14 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/08/new-japan-pro-wrestling-8102024-g1.html

Hirooki Goto & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Yota Tsuji)

Goto and Yota go at it. Yota side headlocks him and Goto shoulders him over. Yota throws Tana out but Tana skins the cat. Tana 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him. Yota shoulders Tana over.

Bushi neckbreakers Tana for 2. Yota pulls on Tana's belly fat then hits corner spears. Tana hits forearms and takes a shot to the gut. Tana dragon screws Yota.

Goto gets in and shoulders over his opponents. He hits a corner spinning heel kick on Yota and backdrops him. Yota hits his backbreaker and curbstomp combo. Bushi dropkicks Goto in the knee then does it to Tana. Bushi topes Goto outside.

Goto lariats Bushi. Bushi avoids a double team reverse ddt then Goto ushigoroshi's Bushi. Tana slingblades Yota. Tana and Goto hit chest kicks on their opponents and Goto hits a GTR on Bushi to win.

Thoughts: It was a short but okay opener. There was nothing that great here or anything but they hid Tana's weaknesses and it was fine.

Tana knocks a light over after on accident.

Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Jado) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay & Gedo)

DF hits Jado from behind and hits ELP on the apron. DF hits mounted shots on ELP outside. Jado chops Gedo. DF eye rakes Jado then stomps on him in the corner. Gedo chokes Jado.

DF chokes Jado. Jado spits at him and gives him the finger. DF backbreakers him for 2. Gedo hits punches on Jado. Jado tells him to bring it on. Jado shoulders him over. ELP and DF trade forearms. ELP corner punches him.

ELP goes up and over. He 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him then asai moonsaults him. ELP dropkicks DF. DF uranage backbreakers ELP. Gedo hits punches on ELP. Jado lariats ELP on accident and Gedo eye rakes jado. DF gordbusters ELP. ELP superkicks DF and Gedo and pins Gedo.

Thoughts: It was a short waste of time with the heels doing basic heel things and ELP picking up the win.

Konosuke Takeshita & United Empire (Francesco Akira, HENARE & Jeff Cobb) vs. House Of Torture (Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

UE goes after HoT. Henare pounds on Ren. Ren eyerakes him and Henare shoulders him over. Henare chest kicks Ren. Ren clips Henare and stomps him. Henare gets his legs split then Kanemaru yanks on Henare's leg.

Sho stands on Henare's leg and foot chokes him. Henare is ganged up on by the heels in the corner. Yujiro splashes Henare's leg. Yujiro stomps Henare's leg and piefaces him.

Henare's head is banged off the buckles but he no sells it. Henare bangs his own head off the buckles. Yujiro eye rakes him. Henare sentons him. KT 2nd rope sentons Yujiro. Cobb picks up Ren. Sho tries to knock him over then Ren is dropped on Sho.

Yujiro bites KT's fingers. Yujiro brainbusters KT then KT forearms him down. Akira flying headscissors Kanemaru then top rope crossbodies him for 2. Kanemaru step up enzugiri's Akira then Akira leg lariats him. Akira sitout gordbusters Kanemaru. Kanemaru spits whiskey at him and rolls him up and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a short waste of time with the heels cheating as usual and everyone trying to get something in during the little time they had.

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Gabe Kidd vs. Callum Newman

CN topes Gabe as he goes to enter the ring. CN walks up the buckles and dives on him. CN dropkicks him then double stomps his back. CN superkicks him and Gabe backdrops him. Gabe spinning lariats him. CN springboard dropkicks him.

CN PK's him then standing moonsaults him for 2. CN hits chest kicks. Gabe hits headbutts and CN punches him. Gabe hits a big forearm. CN handsprings and flips over him into a german. CN hits kicks to the head. CN blind springboards and is hit in the back. Gabe piledrivers him. Gabe then wins it.

Thoughts: It was a short, sprinty match. It was entertaining and kept my interest but they didn't have the time to do anything that great here. They did make the best use of the time they had though.

Gabe brings a chair in after. He chairs the young lions and piledrivers CN on the chair.

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA

Zack bridges out of a straightjacket, gets put back in it and they trade straightjackets. Sanada goes for the bow and arrow and Zack rolls on him for a 1 count. They try pin attempts.

They trade euros. Sanada dropkicks him then plancha's him outside. They get back in. Zack dropkicks him in the back of the neck. Sanada armdrags him. Zack gets some offense in and is dropkicked in the knee. Sanada magic screws him.

Sanada dragon screws him. Sanada top rope moonsaults him and Zack turns it into an armbar. Zack stretches the arms and Sanada ropebreaks. Zack bullies him around.

They trade enzugiri's. Sanada bridge pins him for 2. Sanada tries it again and dropkicks him in the knee. Sanada shining wizards him. Zack michinoku drivers him and gets the win.

Thoughts: They did some nice wrestling here but it was the usual undisciplined Zack match. It seems like it's going somewhere, then the bell rings and there is no bigger picture. I still liked it as a wrestling match but it would have been nice for it to be more.

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Shingo Takagi vs. Jake Lee

Shingo does Jake's bow and Jake knees him. Shingo shoulders him over. Shingo hits elbow drops and a senton. Shingo is laid on the ropes and takes a knee. Jake lets him hang over the apron and he hits knees and elbows. Jake chinlocks him.

They knee each other in the gut. Jake grounded sleepers him. Jake bullies him around with boots and knees. Shingo dragon screws him. Shingo hits a punch and chop combo. Jake knees him in the gut. Shingo suplexes him.

Shingo talks and Jake sleepers him. Shingo throws him over and sliding lariats him. They trade forearms. Shingo hits shots then hits a nice running lariat.

Jake flying kicks him then PK's him for 2. Shingo running death valley drivers him. Shingo superplexes him. Shingo hits lariats. Jake high kicks him then Shingo lariats him for the win.

Thoughts: Like a lot of G1 matches, it ended too soon. Jake bullied him around and it felt like Shingo was finally starting to mount his comeback and we'd get some finisher trades. Then the match just ended. Jake had one of his better showings here as he just stuck to decent looking knees. 

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - EVIL vs. Shota Umino

House of Torture bully the announcer around. I think they make him announce Evil as the winner before it starts. Shota runs out and nails Evil. Evil is sent into the rails.

Shota hits shots on him inside. Shota goes into the exposed buckle when Evil removes the buckle. Shota is sent into the rails and knocks the timekeeper over. Shota is sent into the seats. Evil chokes Shota with a tag rope.

Evil hits chops on Shota. Shota fires up at him. Evil eye rakes him. Shota dropkicks him then hits a running forearm. Shota fisherman suplexes him. Shota slingshot ddt's him over the 2nd rope onto the apron. Shota springboard dropkicks him then exploders him.

Shota dropkicks the ref when Evil moves. Togo comes in and chokes Shota with a weapon. Kanemaru comes out and helps beat up Shota. Shota takes a magic killer and the heels count their own pin. Shota tornado ddt's Evil then STF's him. Sho comes down and distracts the ref. Yujiro then comes down and throws Shota into the ref. Yujiro ddt's Shota and Evil gets a 2 count on him.

Shota is beat up by the heels more. Hiroshi Tanahashi comes out to help Shota. He thwarts the heels and Evil low blows him. Shota jumping cutters Evil. Shota lifting reverse ddt's Evil then hits ignition.

Shota is sent into the exposed buckle and lariated. Evil lariats Shota for 2. Shota step up enzugiri's him. Shota running euros the back of Evil's neck. Evil pushes the ref away, low blows Shota and hits a double underhook ddt. Shota hits everything is evil on Evil. Shota emerald flowsions him and double underhook ddt's him to win.

Thoughts: It had the usual House of Torture nonsense that brought things down. It just doesn't make sense. We know there's a second ref watching things and he never seems to care or notice that the heels are cheating. Tanahashi's the president yet somehow he can't even make a quick ruling or get a ref to DQ someoone. 

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Tetsuya Naito vs. Great-O-Khan

Naito rolls him up for 2 and atomic drops him. Naito is driven into the corner and takes mongolian chops. Khan uppercuts him. Khan is sent into the rails outside.

Naito cravates him and clubs on him. Khan leglocks him. Khan works the legs while going for quick pins. Naito's knee is banged off the mat. Naito hits some shots and gets his leg yanked on. Khan does a surfboard style submission on Naito and Naito ropebreaks.

Naito dropkicks him in the knee. Naito armdrags and baseball slides him. Khan takes a bridging reverse ddt on the knee then Naito neckbreakers him. Khan fireman's carry takeovers him. 

Khan hip and shoulder throws him. Khan then leglocks him. Naito tornado ddt's him. Naito hits a diamond dust. Khan release germans him, Naito no sells it then Khan leglocks him.

Khan leg kicks him then backdrops him. Khan pump kicks him. Naito step up enzugiri's him then hits destino for 2. Khan hits a flatliner then claw slams him. Khan then hits him with an iron claw.

Thoughts: I would have liked a leg submission victory here since so match of the match was based around legwork. These two aren't the most natural of combinations and the match was just not that great once you've seen the whole thing. Naito didn't embarrass himself here though. I don't like Naito taking all of these losses and I'm not sure what the play is here. Naito got his ear busted open here.

Khan talks on the mic after.

Overall thoughts: I liked Zack's and Gabe's matches but nothing was really that good here and I wouldn't recommend it. Naito/Khan was close to maybe going somewhere but didn't work. Evil's match was garbage as usual. Shingo/Jake had potential but got cut off too soon and the undercard had nothing of note.