It is the most wonderful time of the year. It is NJPW G1 Climax 34 B Block time! The G1 Climax is arguably the world’s most prestigious pro wrestling tournament. The 34th edition of the G1 remains in its traditional summer slot.
This particular tournament returns to the G1’s traditional format of two ten-wrestler blocks. We even have a competitor from All Elite Wrestling in this year’s tournament. We have the makings of another truly memorable G1 Climax tournament.
The G1 Climax tournament will have two ten-wrestler blocks competing in a very grueling round-robin tournament.
The top three wrestlers from each block will compete in the quarterfinals on August 16th, the semifinals on August 17th, and the finals on August 18th. Let us take a closer look at the B Block field, which starts on July 20th.
NJPW G1 Climax 34 B Block:
Yota Tsuji
You can’t say Yota Tsuji lacks confidence. He came back from an excursion and main event, NJPW Dominion, last year. He tried to use that momentum in his G1 Debut in 2023. He fell just one point short of making the quarter-finals.
2024 is off to a great start for Yota Tsuji. He won the prestigious New Japan Cup in his debut. Can he use his tournament success in the New Japan Cup to springboard to success in the G1? After his success in 2024 so far, it seems quite likely.
David Finlay
The leader of the Bullet Club is ready for the G1. At Wrestling Dontaku, David Finlay defeated Nic Nemeth to win the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship. He even defended the title against SANADA just last month.
At G1 Climax 33, David Finlay advanced to the quarter finals for the first time. In his 3rd appearance in the G1 can he improve on last year’s performance? We know he will stop at nothing to win this year.
Hirooki Goto
After the elimination of Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi in the G1 qualifying rounds, Hirooki Goto is truly the elder statesman of the G1 in his 17th appearance. Can he regain the glory of his victory in 2008?
While Goto has focused on tag team wrestling most of the year, he did have an amazing run in the New Japan Cup in 2024. He won three matches on his way to the finals.
While he did lose to Yota Tsuji in the finals, it showed he is ready for tournament wrestling yet again. And he will get another shot at Tsuji in this interesting B Block.
Ren Narita
Ren Narita is back for his second G1 tournament. In last year’s tournament, Narita had mixed results, with six points. Can he improve on his performance in 2024?
At the end of 2023, Narita joined the House of Torture. Will Ren Narita use underhanded ways to win matches in the G1? We know House of Torture is not above doing so to win at any cost.
HENARE
HENARE is back for his third G1 appearance. He hasn’t had much success in this tournament so far, earning just two points in 2022 and four points in 2023.
But HENARE has momentum heading into 2024’s tournament. On June 16, he won the NEVER Openweight Championship for the first time over Shingo Takagi.
Will the confidence of winning his first championship lead to great results in 2024? It seems likely for this talented New Zealander.
Jeff Cobb
It is the 6th straight appearance for Jeff Cobb in the G1. He has won a lot of matches over the last five years but he had never advanced out of the Block in his previous tries. Can he finally do so in 2024?
Cobb, like many B Block, is riding some momentum into the G1. He won the NJPW World Television Championship over Zack Sabre Jr. just two months ago. As a Television Champion, he is used to time-limit matches. Will this help him in the G1?
Boltin Oleg
It is Boltin Oleg’s time to shine. You cannot say he didn’t earn his spot in his first G1. He won three matches in the qualifying tournament. He even defeated Toru Yano, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Taichi to make the prestigious tournament.
It was a shocking rise for Oleg. He is a former freestyle wrestler who has only been a part of New Japan Pro Wrestling for a little over a year. What will happen when the imposing wrestler is finally unleashed on the G1?
Konosuke Takeshita
Konosuke Takeshita has been staging classic matches in AEW and DDT for over twelve years now, which is impressive considering he is only 29 years old.
Takeshita has put on some classic matches against Minoru Suzuki, Chris Jericho and Will Ospreay in 2024. It seems the G1 is certainly the next step for “The Alpha”.
This is Takeshita’s first G1 Climax. However, he is an experienced tournament competitor. He has won DDT’s D-Oh Grand Prix twice in his career. Can he make the next leap in his already impressive career?
Yuya Uemura
Yuya Uemura will be making his G1 debut in this year’s tournament. He returned from his excursion last October and quickly feuded with Yota Tsuji.
He defeated Tsuji at Wrestle Kingdom 18. That is pretty impressive for any wrestler to pick up a huge victory in the Tokyo Dome.
Uemura has kept himself busy in singles action in 2024. He won the Provisional KOPW and even fought for the NEVER Openweight Championship. He seems poised for a run in the G1 this year.
El Phantasmo
This is El Phantasmo’s third appearance in the G1. He hasn’t had a lot of success in the G1 up to this point. In both of his previous appearances, he has earned six points.
El Phantasmo enters the G1 again at a crossroads. Before last year’s tournament, he was kicked out of the Bullet Club.
As he entered this year’s tournament, he lost the rest of his Guerrillas of Destiny stablemates. They all have recently joined WWE. Can he focus on the G1 as he is a lone wolf yet again?
