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From Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan:
Yuya Uemura was injured in the main event of the last show and is out of the G1 Climax. Boltin Oleg will earn an automatic two points as he was to face Uemura on 8/14/24. Both Oleg and Uemura finish the G1 Climax 34 with 8 points each and are eliminated from the tournament.
1 - Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto vs. BUSHI and Yota Tsuji
Goto pins BUSHI after a GTR.
2 - Jado and El Phantasmo vs. Gedo and David Finlay
ELP pins Gedo after Sudden Death.
3 - Francesco Akira, Jeff Cobb, HENARE and Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Ren Narita, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi
Kanemaru sprays Akira in the face with a Suntory Surprise. Kanemaru rolls up Akira for the pin.
G1 Climax 34 Matches:
4 - Callum Newman vs. Gabe Kidd
Newman dazzled with some flying moves which looked impressive. Kidd hit two piledrivers on Newman.
Kidd pins Newman.
Gabe Kidd finishes with 8 points.
Callum Newman finishes with 4 points.
Kidd attacks Newman after the match and piledrives him a third time on a chair. Kidd looks strong despite both he and Newman being eliminated from the G1.
5 - SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
HENARE on commentary called Zack Sabre Jr. the greatest technical wrestler in the world.
Good match. Whenever SANADA and ZSJ face off in a singles match, they put on a wrestling show for the fans. ZSJ attacked the neck and arms. He trapped SANADA in a double arm lock and kept moving and switching the position of the submission every few seconds. SANADA rolled to the ropes. They trade strikes. They trade near falls. Good stuff. Crowd is cheering for both men. SANADA hits a Shining Wizard. They exchange reversals. ZSJ hits the Zack Driver.
ZSJ pins SANADA.
Zack Sabre Jr. has 14 points and confirms the lead in A Block. He will get a bye into the semi-finals.
SANADA has 8 points and is eliminated.
6 - Shingo Takagi vs. Jake Lee
Lee used his size and knee strikes to beat down Takagi. Hard hitting match. Takagi fought back with elbows and lariats. Lee hits kicks and and a high back suplex. Takagi avoids the Face Break Kick and hits a Death Valley Driver on Lee. Takagi with a big superplex off the rope. They traded hard stiff strikes. Takagi hits a Pumping Bomber and cradles Lee.
Takagi pins Lee.
Shingo Takagi gets to 10 points.
Jake Lee has 8 points.
Jake Lee got pissed and went after the referee, saying it was a two count. He attacked Takagi and the young lions rushed to protect Takagi and separate Lee.
7 - Shota Umino vs. EVIL
EVIL came to the ring with Dick Togo. He made the ring announcer read a statement from Shota Umino that he was afraid of losing to EVIL so he declared that that EVIL would be the winner.
No one believes this.
EVIL goes to leave but Shota Unimo's music plays. Umino attacks EVIL and Togo. They brawl into the crowd and EVIL chokes Umino with a chair. Umino gets back to the ring to avoid the count out. Umno fights back. The referee takes a bump. Kanemaru comes to the ring. They triple team Umino. EVIL hits a Magic Killer. EVIL pins Umino. Kanemaru counts the fall and Togo rings the bell. House of Torture celebrates while the crowd boos. The referee comes back in the ring and waves off the silliness. Umino hits a Tornado DDT on EVIL and knocks Togo and Kanemaru off the ring apron. Umino applies the STF. SHO comes to the ring and Yujiro Takahashi throws Umino into the referee who takes another bump. They all beat down Umino. Togo hits a low blow on Umino. EVIL goes for the pin. Two count. Yujiro hits Pimp Juice on Umino. EVIL goes for the pin. Umino kicks out. They continue to beat down Umino.
Hiroshi Tanahashi makes the save. He beats all members of House of Torture out of the ring by himself. EVIL hits a low blow on Tanahashi. EVIL goes for a lariat on Umino but Umino hits a Cutter. Umino hits a Trident on EVIL and gets a two count. Umino hits an Ignition, but EVIL avoids a Death Rider and hits a Lariat. EVIL gets a two count. EVIL is frustrated. EVIL goes for his finisher but Umino hits him with strikes. Umino hits a Blaze Blade. EVIL avoids a Death Rider and low blows Umino. EVIL hits his own Death Rider on Umino. Two count.
EVIL goes for his finisher but Umino hits the STO. Umino hits an Emerald Flosion and a Death Rider.
Umino pins EVIL.
Shota Umino has 8 points and is eliminated. However, he prevents EVIL from entering the quarterfinals, and pushes Shingo Takagi into 3rd place.
EVIL has 10 points.
8 - Tetsuya Naito vs. Great O-Khan
Good match. O-Khan attacked Naito's legs with submissions. Naito worked over O-Khan's neck with neckbreakers and strikes. O-Khan went for a knee bar. Naito gets to the ropes. Naito hits a Tornado DDT. Naito follows with Esperanza. O-Khan with a German suplex and went for a knee bar. O-Khan traps Naito's legs in a submission. Naito refuses to quit and grabs the ropes. O-Khan kicks Naito in the knee. Naito fights back with elbows. O-Khan throws Naito with a back suplex. Naito with a Victory Roll. Two count. O-Khan goes for an Eliminator, but Naito reverses into a Destino. O-Khan kicks out at two. O-Khan applies a Sheep Killer, then hits a Flatliner. O-Khan hits the Eliminator.
O-Khan pins Naito.
Great O-Khan has 10 points.
Tetsuya Naito has 10 points.
Based on the victories in the G1, Zack Sabre Jr. is in first place, Shingo Takagi is in second place and Great O-Khan third place.
This means that Shingo Takagi will face each other in quarter-finals on August 15.
A Block Standings:
|
|
Points |
|
Shota Umino
|
8 |
|
Tetsuya Naito |
10 |
|
Shingo Takagi (2nd Place) |
10 |
|
SANADA |
8 |
|
Great O-Khan (3rd Place) |
10 |
|
Callum Newman
|
4 |
|
Zack Sabre Jr. (1st place) |
14 |
|
Gabe Kidd |
8 |
|
Jake Lee |
8 |
|
EVIL |
10 |
B Block Standings:
|
|
Points |
|
Boltin Oleg (eliminated) |
8 |
|
El Phantasmo (eliminated) |
6 |
|
Hirooki Goto |
8 |
|
Yota Tsuji |
8 |
|
Yuya Uemura (injured and eliminated) |
8 |
|
Jeff Cobb |
10 |
|
HENARE (eliminated) |
6 |
|
David Finlay |
10 |
|
Ren Narita |
10 |
|
Konosuke Takeshita |
8 |
To review the standings in A Block:
Zack Sabre Jr. looked strong all tournament long. He should be the favorite to win it all and headline Wrestle Kingdom.
Shingo Takagi has been working hard in both New Japan and AEW. Great O-Khan told good stories in the ring during the G1. He tried to change up his style in every match. I do not see either in main event Wrestle Kingdom, but both men need rest after this tournament.
Shota Umino and EVIL will continue their rivalry. Umino's win tonight should make EVIL want to get revenge Now with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the mix, perhaps a Hontai vs. House of Torture feud will happen.
Tetsuya Naito is the IWGP World Champion. Naito will probably defend the title once or twice between August and January. However, he needs to rest and heal to be at his best for Wrestle Kingdom.
Gabe Kidd and Jake Lee were good in preview tags. It will be good to see them as a tag team in World Tag League later this year.
SANADA was a workhorse but I am not sure where he will fit in the near future. He could team with Taichi for World Tag League, but we shall see how his story plays out.
Callum Newman had a good first G1. He can only get better in the years to come.
Thank you for reading.
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