By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 36 – Night 14”
August 9, 2026, in Gunma, Japan, at G Messe Gunman
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided English commentary. The announced attendance was 1,615. Lighting is good.
* 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. This is the eighth match for everyone.
1. “The Unbound Co.” Oskar and Gedo vs. Toru Yano and Taisei Nakahara. Yano shouted that he wanted Gedo to start! So, it was Yano vs. Gedo at the bell, but Gedo almost immediately tagged in! Nakahara stepped off the apron, refusing a tag! Oskar stomped and kicked Yano. Gedo now jumped back in and stomped on Yano. Tatsuya entered at 3:00 and hit some dropkicks that Oskar no-sold. Oskar put Nakahara in a Camel Clutch, and Taisei tapped out. Some decent humor.
“The Unbound Co.” Oskar and Gedo defeated Toru Yano and Taisei Nakahara at 4:31.
2. Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay. Wolf and Newman opened. Zane entered and hit a flying elbow on Matsumoto and worked him over. Tatsuya hit a dropkick on Zane at 3:00. Wolf hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Callum. Wolf hit a powerslam on Zane at 4:30. Callum hit a clothesline on Matsumoto, then the Princes Curse brainbuster for the pin. Solid.
“United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay defeated Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto at 5:13.
3. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Dick Togo vs. “The Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai. Ren and Drilla traded standing switches. Drilla hit a back suplex. Moloney and Nagai hit stereo elbow drops on Ren. Nagai hit a basement dropkick in the corner on Ren at 3:00. The HoT worked over Daiki in their corner. Togo hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall! Ren yanked Drilla off the apron, and the HoT continued to beat down Nagai. Ren pinned Nagai.
“House of Torture” Ren Narita and Dick Togo defeated “The Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai at 7:43.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson vs. “United Empire” Henare and Jakob Austin Young. Sabre and Henare opened. Jakob entered and stomped on Sabre in the corner and hit a running Facewash Kick at 2:00. Sabre snapped Young’s neck between his ankles. Hartley entered at 3:30 and traded forearm strikes with Henare. Henare and Sabre took turns trying to put the other in a full nelson. Sabre tied him in an Octopus Stretch, but Henare hit a Samoan Drop. Young hit the Jakob’s Ladder (Sliced Bread out of the corner) on Hartley! However, Hartley hit a sit-out powerbomb on Young for the pin.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson defeated “United Empire” Henare and Jakob Austin Young at 5:52.
* Oskar joined commentary!
5. Jake Lee (6) vs. Ryohei Oiwa (8) in an A Block tournament match. No makeup for Jake today. He immediately worked over Oiwa’s left arm. Oiwa slammed Lee’s knee into the mat. Oskar talked about the importance of going on excursion to improve and learn different styles. Oiwa tied Lee in a Figure Four at 3:00. Oiwa splashed Lee in the corner and hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 5:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Oiwa hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip at 7:30, and Lee rolled to the floor to regroup.
Oiwa followed, and they fought on the floor. Miko stood up, and he had face paint on! They fought past the guardrail and into the crowd. They got back into the ring at 10:00 with Lee in charge. He hit a back suplex. Oiwa hit a third Dragonscrew Legwhip, then a fourth one! He applied an ankle lock at 12:00, but Lee reached the ropes. Oiwa re-applied an ankle lock and pulled the leg backwards, until Lee submitted! I expected Lee to win here, but with the loss, Jake is eliminated!
Ryohei Oiwa (10) defeated Jake Lee (6) at 12:49.
6. Konosuke Takeshita (10) vs. Sanada (6) in an A Block tournament match. Again, these two fought just a few months ago when Sanada made his surprise return after a lengthy absence to recover from a variety of injuries. Standing switches to open. Takeshita twisted and targeted the left arm. They tied up on the mat; they are setting a pace to go long. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb at 6:00. Sanada hit a dropkick. He hit a plancha to the floor.
They got back into the ring and traded forearm strikes. Sanada went for Skull End, but Takeshita escaped. Sanada hit a Shining Wizard at 10:00. He set up for Deadfall, but Takeshita escaped. Takeshita applied his own dragon sleeper, and he hit a running knee. However, Sanada hit a Raging Fire (Takeshita’s twisting Falcon Arrow), and they were both down. Sanada hit a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall. He missed a second one but landed on his feet. Takeshita set up for Sanada’s Deadfall, but Sanada blocked it, and
Sanada applied a Skull End on the mat. Takeshita escaped and hit his modified Tombstone Piledriver, then a deadlift German Suplex at 12:30. Takeshita hit a running knee for a nearfall. Sanada got a rollup for a nearfall, then a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Sanada again set up for Deadfall; Takeshita hit Deadfall, then Raging Fire for the pin! Good action; I enjoyed watching them go for each other’s moves. Oskar noted that Sanada never cheated. I think Takeshita has now locked in a playoff spot.
Konosuke Takeshita (12) defeated Sanada (6) at 14:02.
7. Great-O-Khan (4) vs. Yota Tsuji (8) in an A Block tournament match. At 2-5, O-Khan is already eliminated. He attacked Tsuji from behind, and we’re underway! They brawled to the floor; we still haven’t had a bell. O-Khan grabbed a chair and struck another chair resting against Yota’s arm. They fought in front of Hiroshi Tanahashi, seated in the front row in a suit. They got in the ring, and we got a bell at 1:37. O-Khan remained in charge. Walker said this is their first match against each other in five years, with the last one before Yota left on excursion.
Yota hit a flying headscissors takedown at 4:30. He dove through the ropes onto O-Khan. He hit a moonsault to the floor on O-Khan. Back in the ring, Tsuji was in charge. Yota hit a running knee into the corner at 6:30. O-Khan tossed Yota to the floor, and he got a chair. He struck Yota with it as they fought in the crowd. In the ring, Yota slammed him face-first to the mat and stomped on the back of O-Khan’s head at 10:30. O-Khan bit Yota’s shoulder! He hit a back-body drop and applied a Claw over Yota’s face.
Yota hit a clothesline at 12:30, then a Silver Lining sit-out slam for a nearfall. He hit a double stomp to O-Khan’s gut. O-Khan pushed the ref into Yota’s path, then he hit a low blow on Yota! Yota fired back with a DDT, and they were both down at 14:00. Tsuji charged, but O-Khan hit a punch to the chest. Yota hit three consecutive Gene Blasters (spears) for the pin. Yota improves to 5-3 and remains in the hunt.
Yota Tsuji (10) defeated Great-O-Khan (4) at 14:53/official time of 13:16.
8. Hirooki Goto (4) vs. Boltin Oleg (10) in an A Block tournament match. Goto is a surprising 2-5 and already eliminated. An intense lockup to open; they looked like two bulls with locked horns in the center of the ring. Goto knocked him down with a shoulder tackle at 2:30. Oleg hit a suplex. They began trading chops. Oleg hit a flying splash to the mat for a nearfall. He applied a half-crab, and he kept Goto grounded. He scooped up Goto and ran him back-first into the corner.
Goto hit a spin kick to the jaw in the corner at 7:30, then a back suplex for a nearfall. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Oleg flipped Goto around in his arms and hit his gut-wrench suplex, then a Vader Bomb for a nearfall at 9:00. Goto hit a GTR slam over his knee, and he slowed Oleg in a headlock. Goto hit a running Penalty Kick to the chest at 11:30.
Oleg nailed the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for a nearfall. Goto hopped on Oleg’s back and applied a sleeper. Goto hit a one-man Shoto slam out of the ropes for a nearfall at 14:00. Goto rolled him over and got a believable nearfall. Oleg fired back with a shotgun dropkick. Goto hit a spin kick to the chin, then the GTR neckbreaker for the pin. That wrapped up quite suddenly. They shook hands and bowed to each other.
Hirooki Goto (6) defeated Boltin Oleg (10) at 15:18.
9. Yuto-Ice (6) vs. Shingo Takagi (8) in an A Block tournament match. Because of results earlier in the show, Yuto-Ice is already eliminated, as he can do no better than 5-4. They charged at the bell and immediately traded blows. They traded forearm strikes and the crowd was totally into this. Yuto-Ice dropped him with a running boot at 2:30. Shingo hit a clothesline into the corner. They rolled to the floor and brawled up the entrance ramp. They fought into the rows of chairs.
They got back into the ring, with Shingo hitting an elbow drop and a senton at 6:30. Yuto-Ice hit a series of knee strikes in the corner, then his running knee to the face at 8:30. Shingo hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Yuto-Ice playfully kicked at Shingo, so Shingo got up and hit some chops. Yuto-Ice hit a running penalty kick at 11:00. Shingo hit a twisting neckbreaker. He hit a DDT. Shingo hit a top-rope superplex at 13:00. He hit a clothesline, but Yuto-Ice absorbed it. Shingo tried another one that bent Yuto-Ice backwards, but he stayed on his feet.
Yuto-Ice hit some roundhouse kicks. Shingo hit a back suplex and a clothesline at 15:00 that finally knocked Yuto-Ice down. He hit the Made In Japan pumphandle powerbomb for a nearfall. Yuto-Ice hit a spin kick and got a nearfall at 17:00, then a brainbuster for a believable nearfall. Shingo hit a sliding punch. He hit a Burning Dragon (similar to an Angle Slam), then a Pumping Bomber clothesline for a believable nearfall at 18:30. They got up and traded strikes. Shingo hit some headbutts, so Yuto-Ice hit some. Shingo hit some forearm strikes. He hit another hard headbutt. Yuto-Ice hit a running knee and scored the pin! That was a blast.
Yuto-Ice (8) defeated Shingo Takagi (8) at 20:25.
Final Thoughts: I’m a big fan of everything Shingo and Yuto-Ice are doing right now, and that was a heckuva main event, and easily match of the night. Takeshita-Sanada started a bit slow, but they had a nice build, and I dig them going for each other’s big moves; that takes second. Most people love Goto more than I do — I’ll give Goto-Oleg third.
We’re in the home stretch! After a day off on Monday, the B Block is back in action on Tuesday with Gabe Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura as the headliner. The A Block will have its final night of round-robin competition on Wednesday.
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