By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 36 – Night 1”
July 11, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, at NOW Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
I made the roughly five-hour drive from western Wisconsin to attend. (Almost no construction going on, and I made it much faster than I anticipated.) This is the fourth time NJPW has held a show in Chicago in five years, and I’ve attended all four. This is their first time at the NOW Arena (I’ve attended four AEW shows here, and I love this venue. It’s easy to get to and there is plenty of parking directly outside the building.)
* The crowd seemed like it was perhaps 4,500 — the lower bowl was 85% full, but the upper deck was empty. WrestleTix listed the venue as being set up for 5,632 with 3,844 tickets distributed.
* We have NINE first-round matches. (Because of visa issues, Gabe Kidd vs. Drilla Moloney has been moved to the next show, back in Japan.) Despite attending all those prior NJPW “Windy City Riot” events, there are a significant number of wrestlers among these 18 wrestlers I’ve never seen live before — including Callum Newman, Yota Tsuji, and possibly Shingo Takagi. (I may have seen Shingo 15+ years ago when he was in ROH.) Okay, on to the show.
* The show opened with a video with pictures of all the prior G1 winners, set to Daughtry’s “Feels Like Tonight.” Really well done. We started right at 7 p.m.!
1. Aaron Wolf vs. Henare in a B Block tournament match. Since his debut, Wolf has worn Young Lion black trunks. So I immediately noticed he wore baby blue trunks with a wolf logo on the butt. They traded lots of chops, and Henare hit his knife-edge Mongolian Chops to the collarbone, which were wildly over. Wolf hit his inverted Angle Slam, dropping Henare stomach-first to the mat for the pin! This was kept to the appropriate length; Wolf needs to keep them short, or he’s going to blow up. Better than my low expectations.
Aaron Wolf (2) defeated Henare at 8:59 (0).
2. Shingo Takagi vs. Jake Lee in an A Block tournament match. Lee’s makeup tonight made him look more like a scary mime than a scary DC Joker. Lee is around 6’4,” and he towers over Shingo. Shingo hit a top-rope superplex at 6:30. They traded plenty of stiff clotheslines. Shingo hit a German Suplex, but Lee popped to his feet, immediately hit a Helluva Kick, and scored the clean pin. Lee never really cheated.
Jake Lee (2) defeated Shingo Takagi at 10:13 (0).
3. Oskar vs. Ren Narita in a B Block tournament match. I loved Oskar’s entrance and video screen — he looks like an awesome German vampire. Ren hit a chop block to the left knee before the bell and lots of boos. NOTABLE, we don’t have any House of Torture guys in the building (well, except for Sanada, who has his own match coming up.) The crowd really got into this; the first two matches had no cheating by the United Empire guys, and Ren gave us a reason to boo! They went to the floor, and Ren struck Oskar’s legs with a chair. In the ring, he kept Oskar grounded and grapevined the legs. Oskar hit a back-body drop where Ren really got some air time high off the mat! Ren tried a Hell’s Guillotine, but that was blocked. He went for a Double Cross (X-Factor), but Oskar blocked that, too. Oskar applied a sleeper, swung Narita around by his head, and they fell to the mat. Ren either tapped out or passed out.
Oskar (2) defeated Ren Narita (0) at 9:47/official time of 9:42.
4. Yuto-Ice vsv. Great-O-Khan in an A Block tournament match. Good brawling early on. O-Khan hit a low blow, spun Yuto-Ice on his back, and slammed him to the mat for a believable nearfall. However, Yuto-Ice hit a running knee to the chest as O-Khan was on his knees for the pin. I didn’t think that was the finisher.
Yuto-Ice (2) defeated Great-O-Khan (0) at 11:11.
5. Shota Umino vs. Zack Sabre Jr. in a B Block tournament match. This was incredible. As expected, Sabre tied up Shota and kept him grounded. He jawed at a fan who berated him early on. In a cool spot, Sabre tied him in an Octopus Stretch on the top turnbuckle at 9:00. He twisted the fingers and wrist, and the crowd was horrified at the way Umino’s body was contorted. Sabre eventually needed two Zack Drivers to score the pin. A really sharp match.
Zack Sabre Jr. (2) defeated Shota Umino (0) at 16:10.
6. Hirooki Goto vs. Sanada in an A Block tournament match. This was a tough spot for these two, coming off that hot finish to the prior match. It’s actually a bit hard to believe both of these guys were IWGP champs in the past two years. Sanada wore a cool metallic gold outfit and a huge gold sombrero. Sanada hit a Magic Screw swinging neckbreaker from the apron to the floor at 4:30, and he hit another one in the ring. He applied a Skull End dragon sleeper at 8:30. They each hit neckbreakers over their knee. Sanada couldn’t hit the Deadfall (swinging faceplant). Goto hit one more GTR neckbreaker for the pin. Solid.
Hirooki Goto (2) defeated Sanada (0) at 12:04.
7. Yuya Uemura vs. Callum Newman in a B Block tournament match. Newman missed a few shows recently with an injured left shoulder, and I see it’s taped up. They brawled past the guardrail and into the crowd at 3:00; this is the first match to leave ringside. Callum hit a running dropkick as Yuya was seated on a chair; Yuya barely made it back into the ring before a count-out. Yuya hit a dropkick at 8:00, and he extensively worked over the left arm. Newman hit his Prince’s Curse modified brainbuster. Uemura hit a top-rope crossbody block. Newman hit a double stomp to the back of the head for a believable nearfall at 13:30. Uemura hit a Dragon Suplex. However, Newman hit a swinging side slam for the pin. Strong match.
Callum Newman (2) defeated Yuya Uemura (0) at 15:42.
8. Boltin Oleg vs. Ryohei Oiwa in an A Block tournament match. Also, a tough spot for these two guys. Oleg is so big, but Oiwa isn’t really that much smaller. Basic brawling early on, and Oleg did his gut-wrench suplex, then his Vader Bomb at 6:30. Oleg hit a release F5 faceplant. Oiwa applied a sleeper and applied a top hammerlock, and Oleg finally tapped out! I consider this the biggest upset of night one.
Ryohei Oiwa (2) defeated Boltin Oleg (0) at 13:27.
9. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji in an A Block tournament match. This crowd was nuts, hot, and split. Early on, Yota dove through the ropes. In the ring, Takeshita hit a running knee to the sternum, then a flip dive to the floor at 7:00. (I really don’t think we had a single dive to the floor all night until these two dives here!) In the ring, Takeshita hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex and a Blue Thunder Bomb. Yota hit a Styles Bomb. Takeshita hit a Poison Rana and another running knee. Yota hit a powerbomb at 15:00. He hit a Gene Blaster (spear) and a running knee, but Takeshita kicked out at one, and the crowd went nuts! Yota hit a second Gene Blaster. The finish came as Yota charged for a spear, but basically hit a flipping tackle and got the flash clean pin. Awesome match.
Yota Tsuji (2) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (0) at 20:51.
Final Thoughts: A thoroughly enjoyable show, and it ended just minutes after 10 p.m. The main event was tremendous and easily match of the night. Sabre-Umino was really good for second, with Newman-Uemura took third. Three great matches. Nothing bad, but the first two matches were a bit cold — I think we needed some cheating from Henare and Jake Lee to get the crowd into the matches. (The crowd really got going in that third match in booing Narita.)
So, we have a week off before the tournament resumes back in Japan with the A Block in action on Saturday, plus that Gabe Kidd-Drilla Moloney match.
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