The G1 Climax Tournament 34

 

A Retrospective on the 2024 G1 Climax Tournament

By Ethan Brennan

    This was essentially my first G1.  Though I've long been aware of the G1 Climax Tournament, the thirty-fourth edition this summer was the first time I made the time, sat down, and watched every show (including preview tag matches and post-match comments).  I've long admired the G1: what it stands for and the opportunities it provides for wrestlers, but I've always been "too busy."  Earlier this year, watching the Best of the Super Juniors 31, I was enjoying the matches, but having a hard time keeping up with the standings as block competition progressed.  The graphics that would briefly flash on the screen at the end of each show, in Japanese, would break it down, but I wasn't able to keep up.  I decided to make my own spreadsheet for G1, which I was planning to watch in the summer.  Once I had drawn up the spreadsheet, I wanted a way to share it, in the event other international viewers, like me interested but having trouble keeping up, might like a simple numerical breakdown.  I created this blog as a platform to share my chart, and eventually other thoughts I have about pro wrestling in general.  Thanks for reading, and let's talk wrestling!

    This was an important year for New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual heavyweight tournament.  With many stars entering the twilight of their in-ring careers, or seeking opportunities with other promotions, it was essential to use the summer of '24 to establish some new talent.  With breakout performances from newcomers like Callum Newman and Boltin Oleg, they were on the right track.  Yuya Uemura had a stellar run in his first G1 so far, racking up points, having great matches, and repping strong style until tragically suffering an injury to his arm in his penultimate block match (which he still won) against eventual finalist Yota Tsuji.  Vets like Jeff Cobb, Henare, and David Finlay, elevated themselves in a hungry B Block that remained competitive up to the final nights of action.  Ren Narita, relying heavily on his reinforced dojo push-up bar and House of Torture stable mates, just narrowly missed out on quarterfinal qualification.  Over in A Block, Sanada picked up some big wins and we saw some interesting character work, but he was unable to pick up enough points to make the playoffs.  EVIL won a lot of matches.  Shota Umino entered the tournament with an injured back and hip, made an admirable go of it, but eventually fell behind as the ruthless schedule, and even more ruthless opponents' targeting of his injuries got the better of him.

    Tetsuya Naito entered the G1 as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, but immediately went on a losing streak.  Naito's longstanding injuries are no secret, and at times he seemed a diminished version of the ungovernable one we know and love.  His difficulty hitting his own Destino finisher became woven into the story of his matches as he attempted to mount a comeback from the underdog position his early losses had placed him in.  Crafty vet that he is, Naito seemed poised to do just that, with a solid run through the middle of block competition, until a tiebreaker loss to Great-O-Khan, himself on the rebound from a devastating four-match losing streak, ended the LIJ leader's summer on the last night of block action.  Naito's stablemate Shingo Takagi fared better, with a tiebreaker win over Naito early in the tournament helping to catapult him to the playoffs.  Once there, he avenged Naito, besting Great-O-Khan to earn the right to face overall points leader Zack Sabre Jr in the semi-final for A Block.  Sabre had been claiming all summer that it was his tournament to lose, and that if he didn't win G1 2024, regardless if he went on to win in a later year, his Japanese career was for nought.  Winning a staggering seven of nine of his block matches, Sabre would prove his claims were more than just bluster.  When Sabre and Takagi faced off in the A Block semi, Sabre's momentum would prove insurmountable for the Rampage Dragon.

Meanwhile in B Block Bullet Club War Dogs leader David Finlay narrowly pulled ahead of the pack at twelve points.  A four way tie at ten points each saw tiebreakers elevate Yota Tsuji and Konosuke Takeshita to the quarterfinal.  This summer had seen Tsuji main-event as often as not when in block competition and Takeshita pulled out all the stops, operating on a level US fans had not yet had the privilege to witness.  The English announce team echoed my own thoughts that AEW had thus-far only showcased a fraction of Big Take's true abilities (which they seem poised to correct, given his recent International title win over Will Ospreay and Ricochet).  Despite an epic run through B Block, consisting of a string of can't-miss matches Takeshita eventually fell to Yota Tsuji, giving Tsuji a measure of revenge for his early loss to Takeshita in block competition and access to his first G1 final!

    The gorgeous Ryogoku Sumo Hall saw Zack Sabre Jr "seize the means of production," from a game Tsuji, hoisting the trophy high and shocking the crowd by claiming his title shot, not for Tokyo Dome in January, but at King of Pro Wrestling 2024, October 14 at the same venue of the crowning achievement he'd just accomplished.  Sabre seems ready to carry the mantle into a new era, with a hot roster in waiting to bolster his efforts.  For the first G1 I was able to see more than highlights of, this was a spectacular tournament, coming at a fundamental time for New Japan Pro Wrestling.  The Grade 1 Climax tournament lived up to its name, and fulfilled its promise, delivering seamless puroresu storytelling, while developing the talent by pushing them to their ultimate limits.  In the record books, G1 34 is bound to be remembered as one of the greatest instalments of pro wrestling's greatest tournament.