New Japan G1 Climax 24: Night One Results & Review (1 of 13)

Satoshi Kojima def. Yuji Nagata

We get a stand-up trade of slaps, chops and forearms to start this one off, which escalates into kicks, then knees, then eventually clotheslines. The combined ages of these two veterans is 89-years-old, and they’re still working stiff as hell. Nagata is the first to lock in a submission – the Figure Four – which he holds for a full minute before Kojima gets to the ropes. He starts kicking a dent into Yiji’s chest, but Nagata comes back with about two dozen short chops and drops an elbow off the top rope for a two-count. Nagata goes back to the Figure Four but again its broken and he works over the legs with more kicks. Good, stiff ending with Nagata hitting several hard suplexes, but Kojima taking his head off with a lariat for the 1-2-3. 

Toru Yano def. Minoru Suzuki 

Minoru was pretty intent on turning this one into a street fight, trying to bring a chair into the ring, but Yano caught him with a roll-up for the surprise win about two minutes in. Suzuki attacks one of the ringside aids and starts destroying chairs and guard rails, before finally leaving. 

Yujiro Takahashi def. Tesuya Naito

 Takahashi controls the first half of the match, not hesitating to rake the eyes or use the ropes frequently. There’s a cringe-worthy spot early on where Naito gets placed in between the ropes, then dropped straight down on his head. Takahashi does some of his older offense, including an Olympic slam. Naito starts his comeback and builds towards hitting the Stardust Press, but comes up empty – seems to be a theme with the babyfaces tonight. Takahashi hits a lariat to the back of the head, but Naito catches him with several quick pinning combinations to almost put the match away. We get the stand-up trade of forearms which Takahashi wins, followed by the Miami Shine for the win. 

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