NJPW G1 Climax 35 results: B Block’s final night
The G1 Climax 35 playoffs will be set following today’s final night of B Block action in Hamamatsu.
The top three in B Block following today’s show will advance to the playoffs, with the top points total earning a bye into Saturday’s semifinals. Seven competitors remain mathematically alive heading into the show, with only one wrestler having secured their playoff spot in the Block.
In today’s main event, Konosuke Takeshita faces Ren Narita. Both stand at 10 points entering today, and the winner is guaranteed to make the playoffs.
Shota Umino (10 points) faces Great-O-Khan (8 points) in the semi-main event. Umino makes the playoffs with a win, while O-Khan needs a win and help to make the next round.
Zack Sabre Jr. takes on YOSHI-HASHI in tonight’s second tournament bout. Sabre has already secured a playoff spot and will be wrestling for a bye, while YOSHI-HASHI is mathematically eliminated from contention.
Shingo Takagi (8 points) and Drilla Moloney (8 points) square off in tonight’s first tournament bout. Both need to win and need help to have a chance at the playoffs.
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- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima defeated Masatora Yasuda & Taichi
- TMDK defeated United Empire
- Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano defeated House Of Torture
- Daiki Nagai & Yota Tsuji defeated Shoma Kato & Yuya Uemura
- House Of Torture defeated War Dogs
- Shingo Takagi defeated Drilla Moloney
- Zack Sabre Jr. defeated YOSHI-HASHI
- Shota Umino defeated Great-O-Khan
- Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ren Narita
Main Card – Tag Team Matches
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima defeated Masatora Yasuda & Taichi
Taichi spent the early half dominating Murashima. Yasuda continued that offense, but Murashima laid him flat for a hot Tanahashi tag. Taichi kept the Ace occupied at ringside. Meanwhile, Yasuda grounded Murashima with a Lion Tamer. Murashima slammed Yasuda and tapped him out with a Boston Crab.
TMDK (Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa) defeated United Empire (Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young)
(Either it’s temporary frustration or a change in personality for Newman, but I do wonder what’s coming next for him. He needs a shakeup so maybe this disappointment is what’s needed to mix things up.)
Newman’s injuries and exhaustion from the G1 Climax kept him slow against the spry Oiwa. Young attempted to keep Jackson away, resulting only in stunned confusion; Newman kicked him to ringside. Jackson made a hot tag, squashing Newman under his own girth. Young too sustained this damage from Jackson after Oiwa offered a scoop slam. Jackson pinned Young following a Jagged Edge.
Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano defeated House Of Torture (SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
(This finish was the perfect combination of Boltin’s Superman and Yano’s Deadpool. Using their chemistry made this an entertaining short bout.)
House of Torture immediately cut down their opponents. Kanemaru took advantage of Yano’s turnbuckle antics to attack his knee. Elsewhere, SANADA left Boltin in a heap of chairs amid the audience. Boltin double-suplexed SANADA and Kanemaru, swinging the former in his patented Boltin Shake. SANADA attempted a Skull End and an inside cradle, but both failed as Boltin lightly tossed him through a side suplex. Unwisely, Kanemaru sought a flying crossbody, but Boltin caught him and lent him to Yano for a roll-up pinfall.
Daiki Nagai & Yota Tsuji defeated Shoma Kato & Yuya Uemura
(This was the right move, keeping Tsuji on track and giving hope as opposed to sowing doubt. As for Uemura, he sold the dejection of delivering everything to the tournament just to fail, so well.)
Nagai and Tsuji kept Kato isolated, keeping him flat while knocking Uemura from the corner. A spirited comeback for Uemura saw Tsuji bulldogged onto the mat. Kato made a desperate crawl to escape a Boston Crab, but Tsuji transitioned it into a stretch that tapped out the Young Lion.
House Of Torture (Dick Togo & EVIL) defeated War Dogs (David Finlay & Gedo)
(I’m not asking for much, just that we get a Finlay win over EVIL. Or at least a clean finish in their upcoming Block-A match. I know that’s like throwing a wish to a brick wall, but I’m begging.)
House of Torture abused the War Dogs before the bell could ring, with EVIL driving Finlay through the chairs in the crowd. Don Fale joined the affair, battering Finlay on the barricade. EVIL choked Finlay with the tag rope. Finlay swung a comeback with a Northern Irish Curse. EVIL sought to interrupt Gedo’s momentum, but was choked by Finlay instead. Fale hit Gedo with his Grenade, giving Togo the pinfall.
G1 Climax B-Block Matches
Shingo Takagi (10) defeated Drilla Moloney (8)
(The match did well to position Moloney as a next-up guy. Meanwhile, shining Takagi up as a legend who still has a fire burning deep within his soul is the move at this point. Excellent B-Block opener before the playoffs. Moloney was on fire for this year’s tournament.)
Moloney showed glimpses of hope after the bell, but Takagi got the upper hand at ringside, throwing the War Dog into barricades. The men then battled in the sea of chairs hastily abandoned by the crowd. Evenly matched, the seasoned Takagi unsheathed a lariat, returning control to his favor. A wrathful Moloney quelled Takagi’s momentum with a Spinebuster. Takagi struck Moloney with a Made in Japan. Evading a lariat, Takagi struck with a sliding Pumping Bomber to Moloney’s back. He responded to Takagi with a Piledriver. Having dropped Moloney with a Pumping Bomber, Takagi followed with a Last of the Dragon to defeat Moloney.
Zack Sabre Jr. (14) defeated YOSHI-HASHI (8)
(Well done. Very well done. YOSHI-HASHI’s been an underrated part of the G1 Climax, even after being eliminated. Paired with the personal story of avenging Hirooki Goto against the man who won the title back from him, YOSHI-HASHI put on a match of the night contender.)
Right out of the gate, YOSHI-HASHI and Sabre collided. Sabre soon gained control of YOSHI-HASHI’s legs. YOSHI-HASHI agonized during Sabre’s transition to torturing his wrist. YOSHI-HASHI turned the tides, eventually impacting Sabre with a dropkick. They fought across the barricades outside. YOSHI-HASHI returned the match in his favor with a Headhunter.
Sabre worked YOSHI-HASHI’s arm. YOSHI-HASHI landed a stiff lariat that rattled the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. YOSHI-HASHI scored a nearfall with a Kumagoroshi. Sabre wrenched YOSHI-HASHI’s arms back. Ushigoroshi and a superkick rendered Sabre mat-prone, punctuated by Loose Explosion. YOSHI-HASHI snared Sabre’s arm in an extensioned, but the Brit reversed it, ultimately pulling it back until YOSHI-HASHI submitted.
Shota Umino (12) defeated Great-O-Khan (6)
(Fine match. The Hamamatsu, Shizuoka crowd wasn’t as on-fire for this one as the previous two B-Block matches tonight. That said, this match was what it needed to be, a settling between Umino and Khan, not demanding to be some epic.)
Khan overwhelmed Umino quickly, with the latter narrowly escaping an Eliminator. At ringside, Khan delivered Mongolian chops prior to slingshotting Umino to the blue steel guardrails. As though that were not enough, he sent Umino through the chairs before a dispersed crowd. Khan continually slammed Umino, maintaining a lock on his neck. Umino finally rebounded with a Tornado-DDT.
Khan recovered with a Tenzan Tombstone to daze Umino. Though Umino withstood a flying right hook, he escaped Khan’s claw to discharge a powerbomb. Khan turned Umino’s Northern Lights Suplex to a cradle. Umino turned the page to a Second Chapter for the win over Khan.
Main Event G1 Climax B-Block
Konosuke Takeshita (12) defeated Ren Narita (10)
(This may be one of my favorite House of Torture comeuppances. Takeshita was a warrior, through and through. At times, this match left me breathless. By no means was it Omega/Okada or Steamboat/Flair, but it was a thrill. Credit to Walker Stewart as well, for he brought out something akin to Jim Ross. He truly helped elevate the match. Fantastic main event.)
True to House of Torture fashion, Narita found a prompt advantage with his allies battering Konosuke Takeshita and Rocky Romero of The Don Callis Family. Somehow holding a stoic rage, Takeshita charged in, but fell back to Narita’s boot.
Takeshita fired back with repeated knees to Narita’s jaw. Within the sea of the Hamamatsu crowd, Narita tormented Takeshita, tossing him into chairs. He even slammed Takeshita’s knee with a steel chair. Unsatisfied, Narita swung Takeshita’s knee into the ringpost, where his co-horts added to the damage.
Returning to his technical roots, Narita held his opponent in a submission, to which Takeshita countered into a Brainbuster. Sneakily stealing the control of the match, Narita resumed abusing Takeshita’s knee. The Alpha rallied back with a lariat. Aiming for a German suplex, Takeshita instead was sent into the referee. Don Fale struck Takeshita with a chair whereas Dick Togo choked him with a wire. Romero dispatched both men.
Takeshita downed Narita with an elbow. A tope suicida decimated Narita and his legion of horribles. An Exploder Suplex toppled Narita, as did a Powerdrive Knee. Yoshinobu Kanemaru jammed a bottle of whiskey into the back of Takeshita’s knee. Narita once more returned to stretching Takeshita’s leg. Tapping one time for adrenaline, Takeshita broke the hold with a hasty rope grab. Refusing to stay down, Takeshita plummeted Narita with a Last Ride. Showing great ring awareness, Takeshita yanked his arm from a Kanemaru intrusion and ducked a mist of whiskey to choke Narita into unconsciousness with a Crossface Chickenwing for a triumphant victory.
G1 Climax Playoff Update
Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji face off on August 14. The winner of that match will face EVIL on August 16.
Konosuke Takeshita and David Finlay face off on August 14. The winner of that match will face Zack Sabre Jr. on August 16.
(With the exception of Shota Umino versus Great-O-Khan, the B-Block matches tonight were a blast. YOSHI-HASHI’s last stand against Sabre was an emotional thrill, whereas Takeshita overcoming the odds of House of Torture provided a catharsis to end the night. Those are the matches to watch in terms of quality; Shingo Takagi versus Drilla Moloney is just an added bonus.)