NJPW G1 Climax 34 night one live results: Naito vs. Shingo
NJPW’s G1 Climax 34 tournament kicks off today with 10 tournament matches in Osaka.
Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemates Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi will square off in the main event in an A Block battle.
The meeting is just the second career singles bout between Naito, the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, and Shingo, a former IWGP World title holder. Naito won their first and only meeting in the G1 back in 2019.
Every match in Saturday’s lineup is a G1 tournament bout.
Saturday’s full card:
- A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi
- B Block: Yota Tsuji vs. Konosuke Takeshita
- A Block: Gabe Kidd vs. EVIL
- B Block: Yuya Uemura vs. David Finlay
- A Block: SANADA vs. Jake Lee
- B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb
- A Block: Great-O-Khan vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- B Block: El Phantasmo vs. HENARE
- A Block: Shota Umino vs. Callum Newman
- B Block: Oleg Boltin vs. Ren Narita
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Oleg Boltin defeated Ren Narita
This match was a blast. The shenanigans from Narita made Oleg look super sympathetic. The structure worked very well. Good stuff.
Oleg came to the ring wearing new gear, showing off Kazak colors. It’s no longer a question; Oleg is no young lion.
The match began with Narita jumping Oleg. Oleg tried his best to fight off Narita but was cut off with a chair attack. From there, Narita started to work the arm, targeting it with objects and general offense.
Oleg eventually fired back with a dropkick. This slowed Narita’s somewhat, but an armbar put Oleg back on the defensive. Oleg powered through the armbar and landed a verdict. He followed up with the kamikaze to win the match.
Oleg is on the board with two points.
Callum Newman defeated Shota Umino
This was a fairly breezy call-and-response match.
This match opened with a striking battle. From there, both men ran at each other before Umino dropped Newman with a kick. Newman fired back with a Boston crab. Once Umino slipped free, he landed another dropkick before locking in a dropkick to slow down this fast start.
After Umino landed another dropkick, Newman responded with a quick kick. From here, both men traded quick strikes until Umino managed to land a cutter. Newman answered with a couple of quick pin attempts before landing a Spanish fly for a nearfall.
A dropkick to the back of Umino left him prone to a stomp to the back. Newman followed up with an OsCutter and pinned Umino to win the match.
In a bit of a surprise, Newman earns his first two points in the opening round.
HENARE defeated El Phantasmo
HENARE forced ELP into the corner after the opening bell. ELP fired back by sending HENARE to the floor, where he landed a tope. Back in the ring, the pair traded strikes, allowing HENARE to establish control for the first time.
HENARE attempted to land a lariat, but ELP reversed into one of his own. When ELP tried to follow up, he was cut off with a knee and a bezerker. The pair then traded strikes again, leading to an intense back and forth.
A sudden Sudden Death from ELP scored him a nearfall. He followed up with a burning hammer and a splash for another.
HENARE fired back a drop and a tackle for a nearfall of his own and a reset in his favor. He then landed Streets of Rage and pinned ELP, winning the match.
HENARE starts off strong with two points.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Great-O-Khan
This was one of the best O-Khan performances in ages. The opening of this match was off the wall, and the rest of it held up quite well. Another solid watch.
A quick scramble opened the match before O-Khan dumped ZSJ to the floor. On the outside, O-Khan challenged ZSJ, which led to some exciting grappling. O-Khan escaped ZSJ’s hold by slamming him into the barricade, leading to a brawl in the crowd as the referee’s count climbed. O-Khan dropped ZSJ with a body shot, nearly forcing the cutout.
Back in the ring, ZSJ managed to reverse momentum with some of his signature offense. O-Khan fired back with a bit of wrestling of his own, utilizing throws to ground ZSJ. A hook to the throat of ZSJ floored him, and the follow-up German only cemented O-Khan’s lead.
ZSJ tried catching O-Khan in a hold, only for O-Khan to reverse into a powerbomb. O-Khan managed to lock in his claw to set up the eliminator. When he attempted the move, ZSJ reversed into the DDT. He then landed the Zack Driver, winning the match in mere moments.
ZSJ’s G1 begins with a win and two points.
Jeff Cobb defeated Hirooki Goto
This was a good big-man sprint.
Both men traded strikes to open the match. A short clothesline from Cobb left him ahead of Goto, which he used to land more substantive offense. Goto fired back by clubbing Cobb with more strikes, eventually dropping Cobb with a clothesline of his own.
Goto landed an ushigoroshi for a two-count. Cobb then blocked the GTR attempt but failed to follow up, leading to a scramble for control filled with quick pins and failed moves. From the chaos, Cobb managed to land Tour of the Islands, winning him the match.
Cobb earns his two points.
Jake Lee defeated SANADA
As an outspoken SANADA skeptic and Jake Lee naysayer, I can’t say I hated this. In fact, I’d say I really liked it. It was bold and left me wanting more.
This match opened up with basic wrestling that Lee ended with a choke slam. SANADA fired back with a magic screw and a rounding body press, effectively taking control of the match.
Lee cut off SANADA’s Shining Wizard attempt and barely escaped the follow-up pin attempt. Lee then hit Face Break Shot, his kick in the corner, and pinned SANADA.
In under five minutes, Jake Lee pinned SANADA to earn two points.
Yuya Uemura defeated David Finlay
Compared to everything else on the card so far, this match felt the most like a classic New Japan match.
Uemura opened the match by taking Finlay to the mat. When he tried standing up, Finlay fired back, throwing Uemura to the floor and slamming him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Finlay maintained his lead, picking apart Uemura with focused offense.
Uemura eventually landed a dropkick to reset the match. He then hit a bulldog before dragging Finlay to the top rope only for Finlay to reverse into a superplex. Finlay then hit a backbreaker running at Uemura, opening the door for a reversal.
Uemura landed a dive to the floor once Finlay attempted to retreat. A chop from the top rope and a follow-up backdrop scored Uemura a two-count. Uemura kept up the pressure with a crossbody and a range before attempting another pin.
Finlay landed a sudden powerbomb for a nearfall. He followed up with a Dominator, which resulted in a convincing nearfall. Uemura responded with a pair of suplex, each scoring a nearfall of his own.
With the end in sight, both men began trading blows. Finlay then hoisted Uemura up and hit him with two turnbuckle powerbombs. When Finlay attempted a third, Uemura reversed into a hurricanrana pin, from which Finlay couldn’t escape.
In another slight surprise, Uemurea wins his first-round match, earning two points.
EVIL defeated Gabe Kidd
This was one of the best EVIL matches in years. It was probably the best match he’d had since joining BULLET CLUB. Fantastic. Even the interference felt intentional and earned. Color me impressed.
Before the match could even begin, Kidd landed a tope con hilo to the floor, taking out Togo and EVIL. He then focused on EVIL, landing andother dive before throwing him into the barricade and grabbing chairs.
EVIL managed to take advantage of Kidd’s chairs, slamming one into Kidd’s face before taking his head off with the other. He then entered the ring, marking the official start of the match.
In the ring, EVIL whipped Kidd into an exposed corner, but Kidd fired back with a head butt and an intense flurry. EVIL answered with a fisherman suplex, keeping Kid on the backfoot.
EVIL landed a massive lariat, only for Kidd to kick out at one. He followed up with a backdrop for a two-count. EVIL tried for a referee assist, but Kidd resisted, landing another lariat for another two-count. A frustrated Kidd threw the referee to the floor, opening the door for HoT interference.
With Kidd in the lead, Togo hit the ring and began to choke him with a wire. EVIL then landed a magic killer with aid from Togo. Once the referee re-entered the ring, EVIL hit Everything is Evil and won the match.
EVIL is on the board with two points.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yota Tsuji
No doubt the world will be raving about this one. It was exactly what you expect from these two: an action-packed sprint.
The match opened with some basic grappling and strikes before Takeshita landed a tope to the floor to establish a lead for the first time. He then slammed Tsuji into the barricade before returning to the ring, where he kept up the pressure with more intense offense.
Tsuji cut off Takesthia’s lead with a rana, which led to a dive of his own. Back in the ring, Tsuji returned the favor, hitting Takeshita with a variety of high-impact offenses.
Once Takesthia had a moment to respond, he caught Tsuji with a brainbuster. The follow-up knee and suplex scored Takeshita, which scored him a convincing nearfall.
The pair eventually worked their way to the top rope. On the top, Takeshita fell to the mat twice. Tsuji then hit Takesthia with a Spanish Fly from the top for a nearfall. Tsuji tried to follow up with the Gene Blast, but Takeshita reversed it into another suplex and a poison-rana. Tsuji answered with a pump kick and a sit-out powerbomb for a match reset.
A striking battle at the fifteen-minute mark ended with a sudden roll-up attempt from Tsuji. Once Takesthia kicked out, he landed a headbutt and a stomp for another nearfall. Tsuji tried to get Gene to blast again but was cut off by a Takesthia knee. Takesthia then hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and Raging Fire before pinning Tsuji to win the match.
Takeshita starts his G1 career off strong with two points.
Shingo Takagi defeated Tetsuya Naito
The opening feeling out process began before the opening bell sounded as Shingo rejected Naito’s LIJ salute. Once the match actually began, the two treaded lightly until Shingo sent Naito to the floor where he whipped him into the barricades, establishing a strong control over the IWGP champion. Back in the ring, Shingo maintained his lead with basic holds and deliberate strikes.
Naito dropped Shingo over his knee for a quick switch in momentum. From here, Naito began to focus on the neck, utilizing all of his typical moves.
After a substantial amount of time on the back foot, Shingo landed a DDT, which he followed with a sliding lariat and a powerbomb. This left Shingo ahead for a moment, but Naito fired back with more neck-based attacks as soon as there was an opening.
Shingo landed a massive STAY DREAM from the top rope after cutting off an overly ambitious Naito. Naito managed to survive, leading to a back-and-forth strike exchange. Shingo won out by dropping Naito with a Pumping Bomber. He followed this with Made and Japan, but Naito managed to kick out.
Shingo hoisted Naito onto his shoulders, only for Naito to slip into a Destino variation. Naito then placed Shingo on the top rope and tried for the Frankensteiner. After hitting it, Naito landed a follow-up tornado DDT before trying another Destino. An awkward back-and-forth followed as both men tried to close the match, ending with a Kawada Driver from Shingo. Naito kicked out. Shingo then hit Last of the Dragon to win the match.
Shingo not only earned two points with this win, but he also pinned the leader of his own faction and the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.