By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 36 – Night 12”
August 6, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided English commentary. Korakuen Hall is a sellout. I love when NJPW is back in Tokyo, because it means Charlton will be in the booth.
* This year’s field is 20 wrestlers divided into two Blocks. Thus, each wrestler has nine round-robin matches. A win is worth two points, while a (rare!) tie is worth one point to each wrestler. The top two finishers in each Block will advance to a four-man playoff. Today, we have five A Block tournament matches.
* Konosuke Takeshita is on top of the Block at 5-1, while Yota Tsuji and Boltin Oleg are 4-2.
1. Yuya Uemura and Masatora Yasuda vs. “United Empire” Jakob Austin Young and Henare. Yuya and Henare opened and traded forearm strikes. Young entered and hit a running knee to Yasuda’s face in the corner at 2:30. Yuya and Henare got back in, and Yuya hit a back suplex. Henare hit a Samoan Drop at 4:30. Yasuda and Young traded more blows, and they traded rollups. Jakob hit a twisting neckbreaker for a believable nearfall, but Yuya made the save. Young hit the Jakob’s Ladder (sliced break out of the corner) on Yasuda for the pin.
“United Empire” Jakob Austin Young and Henare defeated Yuya Uemura and Masatora Yasuda at 6:51.
2. Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Dick Togo. The HoT entered first, and they attacked as the babyfaces entered the ring. All four immediately brawled on the floor. We got a bell at 00:28 as Togo and Matsumoto entered the ring. The HoT worked over Matsumoto. Wolf entered and brawled with Narita. Ren hit a low blow at 5:00. Ren applied a knee bar on Tatsuya, who tapped out. Meh.
“House of Torture” Ren Narita and Dick Togo defeated Aron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto at 6:32/official time of 6:04.
3. “The Unbound Co.” Gedo and Oskar vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay. Oskar and Callum went to start, but Newman ducked to the floor at the bell. Zane choked Gedo on the mat. Callum knocked Oskar to the floor at 3:30. The UE continued to work over Gedo. Callum ran the ropes, stopped, and spat on Gedo, earning loud boos. He hit a hard Penalty Kick to Gedo’s chest at 5:30. Gedo hit a Flatliner on Zane! Oskar tied Zane in a sleeper, but Callum hit a stiff kick to Oskar’s back to break it up. Callum and Oskar fought to the floor and up to the landing half-way up the long seating tier at Korakuen. The ref was counting! Oskar was the legal man (but Callum was NOT), so Oskar was counted out!
“United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay defeated “The Unbound Co.” Gedo and Oskar via count-out at 8:29.
4. “The Unbound Co.” Daiki Nagai and Drilla Moloney vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Zack Sabre Jr. Sabre and Moloney opened, and they traded standing switches. Sabre applied a front guillotine choke, but Moloney rammed him back-first into the corner to escape. Daiki got in at 3:30 and tried some shoulder tackles on the massive Hartley, but Jackson didn’t budge. Daiki hit a basement dropkick. Hartley hit a bodyslam on Drilla, then a splash in the corner at 6:30, but he missed a senton.
Drilla hit a bodyslam on the big man! Nagai tagged back in, but Sabre immediately went for his ankle. Daiki dove onto Sabre. He slipped on the ropes and fell as he got back in the ring (this was not an intentional slip). They kept going, and Daiki got a spinebuster on Hartley and put him in a Boston Crab, then hit a tornado DDT. Hartley hit a big running crossbody block for a nearfall, then a senton for a nearfall. Sabre tied Drilla in a cross-armbreaker in the ropes. Hartley hit a senton on Nagai, then a powerbomb for the pin.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated “The Unbound Co.” Daiki Nagai and Drilla Moloney at 10:22.
5. Yuto-Ice (6) vs. Sanada (4) in a B Block tournament match. Standing switches to open. Charlton talked about how Sanada is “not the Sanada of 2023.” Sanada hit a dropkick at 1:30. Yuto-Ice hit his running knee in the corner and got a nearfall. They traded open-hand slaps, and Yuto-Ice dropped Sanada with one. He hit a running Penalty Kick at 4:00, but Sanada popped up to his feet, and they traded forearm strikes. Yuto-Ice hit a suplex. Sanada hit a Shining Wizard, then a moonsault for a nearfall at 5:30.
Sanada set up for Deadfall, but Yuto-Ice escaped. The ref got bumped! Yoshinobu Kanemaru appeared at ringside, and he sprayed whiskey in Yuto-Ice’s eyes. Kanemaru slid a guitar into the ring! Sanada cracked it across Yuto-Ice’s head. Sanada did an ‘Eddie spot’ collapse so they were both down. The ref got up and saw two down men (and no guitar debris, as the heels had removed it.) The ref started a double count! Sanada got to his feet before the 10-count, but Yuto-Ice did not!
Sanada (6) defeated Yuto-Ice (6) via knockout at 8:08.
6. Great-O-Khan (4) vs. Jake Lee (4) in a B Block tournament match. The loser of this match will be mathematically eliminated. O-Khan had a chair, but the ref confiscated it. O-Khan rolled to the floor and attacked Lee as he approached the ring, and they brawled at ringside. Lee has the face paint on today. They got in the ring and we got a bell at 00:46 to officially begin. Lee hit a low-blow uppercut. Jake reached into his own pants and removed a ‘cup’ and tossed it aside. (Why would you do that? This will certainly backfire, right?)
Lee tossed a chair to O-Khan’s hands, and Lee collapsed! Two straight matches with an “Eddie spot.” The ref turned around, saw O-Khan with a chair in his hands and Lee down, and he called for the bell! Lee stole a win from O-Khan. Not much of a match, but it wasn’t something I was looking forward to, anyway. O-Khan was going to attack Lee after the match, but Jakob Austin Young stopped him.
Jake Lee (6) defeated Great-O-Khan (4) via DQ at 2:36/official time of 1:50.
7. Hirooki Goto (4) vs. Ryohei Oiwa (6) in a B Block tournament match. Goto is eliminated with a loss, so I expect him to pull this one out. They immediately traded forearm strikes, then they tied up on the mat. Oiwa hit a senton at 3:00. Goto hit a reverse GTR faceplant, then a hard clothesline at 5:00, and they were both down. Goto hit the neckbreaker over his knee. Goto hit the GTW slam for a nearfall. Oiwa slowed him in a headlock. He hit a hard headbutt at 8:30 and went right back to the headlock. Goto tapped out! I am SHOCKED, as Goto is out!
Ryohei Oiwa (8) defeated Hirooki Goto (4) at 8:53.
8. Konosuke Takeshita (10) vs. Shingo Takagi (6) in a B Block tournament match. The crowd was hot and split as they slowly approached each other. Walker said Takeshita is 2-0 against Shingo as they finally locked up 40 seconds in. They traded forearm strikes. Takeshita snapped off a huracanrana. They brawled to the floor at 2:00, and Shingo whipped him into the guardrails. In the ring, Shingo hit an elbow drop, then a senton at 4:00, and he was in charge. Takeshita hit a suplex. They again went to the floor, and Takeshita hit a Mafia Kick.
Takeshita slammed Shingo face-first to the thin mat at ringside at 5:30. They got back into the ring and traded forearm strikes. Takeshita hit a running knee, but Shingo hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and they were both down at 8:00. Shingo hit a DDT, then a brainbuster, for a nearfall. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb at 10:00. Takeshita hit an Exploder Suplex, then a German Suplex, but Takeshita hit a half-nelson suplex, and they were both down. Awesome sequence. Takeshita hit a clothesline, and they were both down.
Shingo hit a twisting neckbreaker, but Takeshita hit a brainbuster, and they were both down at 12:30. They traded forearm strikes on the ring apron. Takeshita hit a running knee to the jaw! Shingo fired back with a headbutt, then a powerbomb on the apron. In the ring, Shingo nailed the Made In Japan pumphandle powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 14:30. Takeshita hit a Poison Rana, so Shingo hit a Poison Rana, then a diving elbow strike! Takeshita hit a running clothesline, and he hit a Made In Japan for a nearfall at 16:00!
They traded clotheslines. Takeshita hit a running knee for a nearfall. Shingo hit a Raging Fire (Takeshita’s twisting Falcon Arrow!), and they were both down. They were on all fours and traded headbutts. They got up and traded forearm strikes. They hit some straight punches, and Shingo hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 19:00. He hit another hard Pumping Bomber clothesline. Shingo hit the Last of the Dragon (modified DVD) for a nearfall. I’m loving this match. Shingo hit a second Last of the Dragon for the pin! That was awesome! Shingo needed that win to get back in the hunt.
Shingo Takagi (8) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (10) at 19:43.
9. Yota Tsuji (8) vs. Boltin Oleg (8) in a B Block tournament match. Oleg set up for Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) in the first minute, but Tsuji escaped and rolled to the floor. In the ring, Oleg hit some loud chops and a running splash to the mat for a nearfall at 3:00. Shingo hit a gutbuster over his knees for a nearfall at 5:00. Yota set up for the Marlowe Crash, but Oleg caught him and slammed him to the mat at 7:00. Oleg flipped Yota around in his arms and hit his gutwrench suplex, then a Vader Bomb for a nearfall. Yota hit a Castagnoli-style Giant Swing at 10:00!
Yota hit a powerbomb move for a nearfall. Oleg slammed him back-first into the corner and again set up for a Kamikaze, but Oleg blocked it and tied him in a leg lock around the neck. Yota hit a top-rope double stomp to the chest (not to the head, as he usually does!) Yota hit a powerbomb at 13:30. Yota hit a spear on the apron, and they both crashed hard to the floor at 15:00! Ouch! Oleg barely got back into the ring before a count-out. Yota hit some running knees, and he slammed Oleg to the mat and got a nearfall at 17:00.
Yota set up for a Gene Blaster (spear), but Oleg caught him and powerbombed him. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Shingo hit a thrust kick, but Oleg grabbed him and hit a belly-to-belly suplex, then a second one, for a nearfall at 19:30. Walker reminded us that the winner will be tied with Takeshita in first place. Oleg hit the Kamikaze for a nearfall. Charlton noted this is now Oleg’s longest-ever G1 match. Yota hit a Stomp. Yota hit some jumping knees.
Oleg hit a shotgun dropkick. He popped up, but Tsuji cut him in half with a Gene Blaster for a believable nearfall. Yota hit his own Kamikaze for a nearfall at 21:30. He set up for a Gene Blaster, but Oleg hit a clubbing clothesline! Oleg nailed an F5 faceplant for a believable nearfall! Oleg hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. He set up for a second one, but Yota hit a huracanrana. Oleg hit another powerbomb, then another! Oleg hit a second-rope Kamikaze for the pin! Wow!
Boltin Oleg (10) defeated Yota Tsuji (8) at 24:34.
Final Thoughts: The last two matches were absolutely fantastic. I loved them both. I generally avoid doing ‘star ratings,’ but I guarantee that some prominent wrestling journalists will rate both matches 4.5 stars or higher. I’ll give the slight edge to Shingo-Takeshita, although I expected the Shingo win to keep him alive in the tournament. The main event felt more wide open on who could win, but I was genuinely shocked Oleg pulled it off.
Gedo has surprised us with some of the recent booking (including Sabre starting 1-4). I always say, don’t bet on pro wrestling, because I would have wagered a lot that Goto was winning today to keep him mathematically alive. But it was absolutely the right call. Ryohei Oiwa is the future and the rising star, and he needed that win. I can’t say that I cared at all for the first two tournaments — and it’s strange to see back-to-back matches use the ‘Eddie spot’ fake collapse — but the final three matches more than made up for those two weaker bouts.
Another day off on Friday. The B Block will be back in action on Saturday for their seventh round-robin matches, headlined by Callum Newman vs. Oskar.
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