New Japan Pro Wrestling 8/8/2024 G1 Climax 34 Day 13

New Japan Pro Wrestling 8/8/2024 G1 Climax 34 Day 13

The last show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/08/new-japan-pro-wrestling-872024-g1.html

Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano vs. Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato

The young lions hit dropkicked to start. Oleg and Yano take stomps from both. Yano pulls KM down then sends both opponents into the exposed buckle. Yano hiptosses Kato then Kato dropkicks Yano. KM hits forearms on Oleg then is shouldered over twice.

Oleg takes forearms from both opponents then takes a double dropkick. KM crabs Oleg and Oleg ropebreaks. Oleg slams KM and crabs him. Oleg finlay rolls KM and wins.

Thoughts: It was a short waste of time. 

HENARE & Konosuke Takeshita vs. House Of Torture (Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Henare and KT are hit before it starts. KT is sent into the rails and Henare has his bandana put over his eyes. Ren boots him and bangs his head off the buckles. Ren then eye rakes him when he gets the bandana off.

Ren leglocks Henare. YK dropkicks Henare in the knee then yanks on the leg. Ren and Henare trade and Henare sentons him. KT gets in and hits forearms on Ren.

KT flying lariats Ren. Ren goes for a flying knee press but KT blocks it. Ren exploders KT then KT hits a huge lariat on him. YK sunset flips Henare. YK pokes him in the eyes then Henare berzerker bombs him for 2.

KT is thrown out. Henare spinning high kicks Ren then YK rolls up Henare. Henare full nelsons YK and submits him.

Thoughts: It was a short waste of time here with the heels making Henare look foolish and Henare eventually getting the win.

Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Jado)

Goto and ELP go at it. Goto clean breaks him and they lock up again. ELP clean breaks him. ELP side headlocks Goto. They shoulder battle and ELP dropkicks him.

Goto takes a double team with kicks from both opponents. Jado throws Goto onto the apron then bridging ddt's him in. Honma and ELP forearm each other. Honma flying shoulders ELP then falling headbutt drops him. Goto then rolls up Jado.

Thoughts: This was a total joke here with Jado just being pinned straight-up, without veen taking a real move. It only got a few minutes and was just filler.

David Finlay and Gedo vs Akira Francesco and Jeff Cobb

Cobb's crew is attacked before it starts. Cobb is sent into the rails then DF stands on him. DF rakes Akira's eyes then backbreakers him. Akira is sent hard into the buckles. Akira hits forearms then DF boot flurries him.

Akira flying headscissors DF then Akira rolls him into a double stomp. Cobb flying shoulders DF then slams him. Cobb standing moonsaults DF for 2. DF backbreaker uranage's Cobb. Akira grabs Gedo by the beard and swats it down. Akira flying leg lariats Gedo.

Akira top rope crossbodies Gedo for 2. Cobb gordbusters Gedo then Akira meteora's Gedo in the back of the head win.

Thoughts: It was a quick one as usual here with Gedo taking the fall like he always does. 

Yuya Uemura and TAKA Michinoku vs Yota Tsuji and BUSHI

Yuya wristlocks Yota then Yota leglocks him. Yuya keylocks him and armlocks him. Yota side headlocks him. Yota shoulders him over then Yuya hiptosses him. They trade side headlock takeovers and headscissors then stand off.

Yota armdrags him then Yuya armdrags him into an armlock. Yuya elbow drops the arm. Yota dropkicks Yuya. Bushi gets in and back elbows Yuya. Yuya slams him. Bushi flying headscissors Taka then Taka puts him in just facelock.

Yuya double chops Yota. Yota superkicks him then Yuya armdrags and dropkicks him. Taka superkicks Bushi then Bushi rewind kicks him. Bushi hits a codebreaker for 2. Bushi 2nd rope dropkicks Taka in the knee then taps him out with a figure four variation.

Thoughts: It was another quick one. The heavies got their section in then the juniors got their section in and it ended. This was absolutely nothing.

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman

Naito is kicked while he's on the apron. CN shotgun dropkicks Naito. CN gets on the ropes and is pushed over to the floor. CN is pushed into the rails outside. Naito hits back elbows and neckbreakers him.

Naito cravates him. CN trips him and double stomps his back. CN step up enzugiri's him in the corner, PK's him and standing moonsaults him. Naito atomic drops him. Naito hurricanrana's him off the buckles. CN is supposed to land on his feet but doesn't and no sells it. CN then hits superkicked.

CN flying dropkicks him then Naito spinebusters him. Naito step up enzugiri's CN then CN drops him into a knee. Naito hits destino for 2. Naito hits another destino and wins.

Thoughts: It was a quick one here at 6:55. It shouldn't have been but Naito is limited now and maybe that's for the best. It wasn't as good as it could have been, though it wasn't as bad as it could have been either. Naito had to get through this one and they got him out of there as quick as they could.

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

They go to the mat and get back up. Khan mongolian chops him. Sanada does leapfrogs, gets caught and takes an over the back spinning claw drop. Naito magic screws him. Sanada holds his knee after a missed top rope moonsault. Khan trips him and pulls on his leg.

Khan ties up Sanada's legs. Khan hits mongolian chops then Sanada russian legsweeps him for 2. Sanada dropkicks Khan in the knee then does a regular dropkick. Sanada plancha's him. Sanada throws him over and Khan back rolls out of skull end. Sanada goes for a shining wizard and Khan kind of throws him by the leg.

Sanada kicks him in the leg. Sanada hits a TKO. Sanada then runs into Khan's punch. Sanada flips out of a german and sells his knee on the landing. Sanada then shining wizards him from behind. Sanada hits a normal shining wizard. Khan sto's him then hits a chokeslam for the win.

Thoughts: I didn't like this. Khan worked the leg and Sanada just did his usual offense anyway. The finish then had nothing to do with the leg, making that a total waste of time.

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Jake Lee vs. Shota Umino

Shota runs at him with a forearm and they trade forearms. Jake goes down and goes out. Jake eye rakes him and throws him into the rails. Shota shotgun dropkicks him. Jake throws Shota into the rails then he chairs him.

Jake clubs on him outside. He boots and kicks him in the ring. Jake crabs him. Jake foot slaps him and then takes a dropkick for it. Shota corner euros him then trips him into the ropes. Shota slingshot ddt's him onto the apron over the middle rope. Shota springboard dropkicks Jake when he gets back into the ring and Shota fisherman suplexes him for 2.

Jake drops him with a chest kick. Jake hits kicks to the chest. Shota drops him with a forearm. Shota then bullies him around with boots and slaps, like Jake had done earlier. They trade forearms. Shota exploders him and no sells it, Jake germans him and Shota no sells it. Shota running euros him.

Shota hits ignition for 2 then spinning forearms him. Shota holds him in the air and ddt's him for 2. Jake backdrops him. Jake torture racks him. Jake ddt's him for 2. Shota hits flying euros. They trade kicks to the head and Jake corner facekicks him for the win.

Thoughts: It was one of Jake's better performances this tournament. They kept this one moving some and Shota got a little more out of Jake than others have. I liked this one but it wasn't great.

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

Zack goes for the armbar early and Gabe hits chops. Gabe double chops him and foot slaps him. Gabe facekicks him then Zack facekicks him back. Zack does a bridge pin for 2 and Gabe hits more chops.

Zack is thrown into the rails. Gabe double chops him outside. Gabe suplexes him on the floor. Gabe hits more chops outside and then hits chops inside. Gabe hits more chops. Zack hits some slaps. Gabe sits down and tells him to sit down with him. Gabe tells Shibata to watch this as they slap each other.

Gabe bites Zack's head and chops him. Zack hits slaps. Gabe germans him then Zack hits a german back. Gabe backdrops him then Zack PK's him. They lariat each other down and Gabe brainbusters him for 2. Zack bridge pin him for 2. Gabe hits more chops then Zack stomps Gabe's arm.

Gabe hits a deadlift german. Zack kicks away Gabe's arm and goes for the octopus. Gabe turns it into a tombstone for 2. They trade pin attempts. Gabe emerald flowsion's Zack.

Gabe 2nd rope moonsaults but is caught in a triangle. Gabe forearms his way out of it. Zack michinoku drivers him. Zack enzugiri's him then Gabe hits a rebound lariat for 2. They slap each other. Zack gets on Gabe's back and sleepers him. Gabe then gets his arms trapped and Zack puts him to sleep for the win.

Thoughts: It was a good, spirited fight. We got lots of slaps and chops here and had lots of aggression. It went about as good as it could have gone and they got past any issues with their styles clashing. Zack's sleeper with the legs hooked looked great here.

G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match - Shingo Takagi vs. EVIL

Togo trips Shingo as he enters and Evil knocks Shingo off the apron. They say this is shades of last year and last year was awful. Shingo is sent into the rails and knocks over the ring announcer. Evil hits a chair around Shongo's neck with a chair.

Shingo gets in and is sent into the exposed buckle. Togo gets a shot in on Shingo outside. Shingo is sent into the exposed buckle again and suplexed. Evil eye rakes him then Shingo dragon screws him. Shingo slams and sentons Evil.

Shingo suplexes him. Shingo corner lariats him then hits punches and chops. Shingo suplexes him for 2. Evil running lariats him. Evil hits a spinning forearm and a lariat for 1. Evil lariats Shingo.

Shingo headbutts him down and sliding lariats him. Evil swings Shingo's leg into the ref, knocking him down. Togo comes in and beats up Shingo. Hiromu comes to help. Evil low blows him. Someone in a busi mask then comes in and beats up Shingo (like Kanemaru). The real Bushi then comes in and is thrown out. 

Evil hits darkness falls for 2. Shingo lariats him. Shingo hits forearms then hits a made in japan for 2. Togo rings the bell to interrupt the count. Kanemaru attacks Shingo and knocks over the ref with it. HoT interfere again. Hiromu tries to help and gets nailed. Bushi comes down and whiskey is spit at people. Shingo running lariats him then hits last of the dragon to win.

Thoughts: Their match last year was so bad that I remembered it and this year's match was no different. It was just a total joke with Shingo being cheated against and being beaten up before it started. We had fake bell ringings, multiple ref bumps and tons of interference. I really had faith in NJPW that they were going to stop doing this stuff, but HoT is back to ruining matches like before again.

Shingo talks on the mic after. 

Overall thoughts: The undercard was a total joke. They had 5 matches on the undercard and none of got any time. There was no point to those matches. Naito/Newman was short but at least Naito didn't come off bad. Khan/Sanada didn't make much sense. Shota/Jake was better than expected and a decent match. Zack/Gabe was really good and it couldn't have gone any better. The main was full of shenanigans, just like it was last year and that makes it extra worse since they should have known. While two matches were good here, I can't put this one over and thought it was a poor offering from NJPW.