By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “G1 Climax 36 – Night 8”
July 29, 2026, in Osaka, Japan, at Yamato University Yamato Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided solo English commentary. The venue appears to be a small arena; perhaps the size of a community hockey arena. The crowd is 2,000.
* 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.
* Everyone has completed four tournament matches. Konosuke Takeshita is 3-1, Shingo Takagi is 1-3, and everyone else is 2-2.
1. Toru Yano and Taisei Nakahara vs. “United Empire” Henare and Jakob Austin Young. For my own sanity, I try to limit the number of Yano matches I watch. Thus, I skipped this one. Young beat Nakahara after hitting “Brainrot.” (I believe that is what he calls his LA Knight-style Snapmare Driver.)
“United Empire” Henare and Jakob Austin Young defeated Toru Yano and Taisei Nakahara at 5:26, according to the NJPW website.
2. Yuya Uemura and Masatora Yasuda vs. Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto. Yuya and Wolf opened with basic standing switches. Yuya dropkicked him to the floor. The Young Lions locked up at 3:00. Wolf got back in and hit a bodyslam on Yasuda. Wolf hit a release Death Valley Driver, then locked in a Boston Crab and sat down on Yasuda’s lower back until the kid tapped out. Basic.
Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto defeated Yuya Uemura and Masatora Yasuda at 5:47.
3. “Unbound Co.” Oskar and Gedo vs. “Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai. Faction teammates collide! Gedo and Nagai opened. Nagai hit a basement dropkick in the corner. Moloney and Oskar got in at 2:30 and traded shoulder blocks. Drilla hit a dropkick, but Oskar hit a Mafia Kick, and they were both down. Nagai got back in and hit some dropkicks on Oskar. Oskar locked in a sleeper hold, and Nagai tapped out.
“Unbound Co.” Oskar and Gedo defeated “Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai at 5:22.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson vs. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Dick Togo. Hartley and Togo opened. Togo tried some shoulder blocks, but he just bounced off the big man, falling all the way to the floor, causing Walker to chuckle. Ren and Sabre got in and traded standing switches. Sabre tied a leg lock around the neck. Walker said these two are 2-2 against each other in prior singles matches. Sabre hit a running penalty kick to the chest at 5:00, and they were both down.
Togo got back in and tried a dropkick on Hartley, who didn’t budge. Hartley missed a senton, but Togo hit a senton. The ref got bumped, and Togo immediately hit a low-blow headbutt. He tried choking Hartley. Hartley hit a running crossbody block, then a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall, but Ren made the save. Hartley hit the Jagged Edge (DVD) to pin Togo. Basic.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Hartley Jackson defeated “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Dick Togo at 6:56.
5. Boltin Oleg (4) vs. Jake Lee (4) in an A Block tournament match. No makeup again for Lee. They traded shoulder blocks, as Walker noted this is a first-ever singles match. Boltin finally knocked him down with a shoulder tackle, and he hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 1:30. They fought to the floor, and Lee took control. He shoved Oleg shoulder-first into the ring post, shoved him into the ring, and got a nearfall at 3:30. He tied up the left arm and kept Boltin on the mat. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex at 6:00, and they were both down.
Boltin hit his gutwrench suplex, and he was fired up. He nailed a Vader Bomb for a nearfall, but Lee went back to working the arm. Lee applied the front guillotine choke (he’s won with that!), but Oleg escaped. Lee again tied up the arm, but Oleg got his feet on the ropes at 8:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Lee hit a roundhouse kick to the ear; Oleg hit a clothesline, and they were both down. Oleg ducked the Helluva Kick! He immediately hit a powerbomb, then another one, for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Oleg nailed the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for the clean pin!
Boltin Oleg (6) defeated Jake Lee (4) at 10:18.
* Drilla Moloney joined Walker Stewart!
6. Ryohei Oiwa (4) vs. Sanada (4) in an A Block tournament match. An intense lockup to open and a clean break. Sanada almost immediately went for Deadfall (the Jay White-style Blade Runner swinging faceplant). Oiwa applied a headlock on the mat. Drilla noted that it’s really warm in Japan right now and the heat can impact anyone if a match goes past the 10-minute mark. Sanada tied up the left leg. Sanada hit a dropkick at 4:30. They fought to the floor, where Oiwa hit a Divorce Court armbreaker. (Walker said it was a DDT, but it was clearly a move on the shoulder, not the head.)
Sanada slammed Oiwa’s knee against the guardrail. As they got back into the ring, Sanada hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip in the ropes at 7:00. He nailed a Shining Wizard. He hit one to the back of the head at 10:00. He hit a huracanrana. Oiwa went back to a headlock and cranked on Sanada’s neck. Sanada finally tapped out! A surprising finish. Bluntly, an underwhelming match.
Ryohei Oiwa (6) defeated Sanada (4) at 11:52.
7. Konosuke Takeshita (6) vs. Great-O-Khan (4) in an A Block tournament match. O-Khan dragged Takeshita out of the back and threw him into the ring. The ref backed O-Khan away and called for the bell! O-Khan hit a running kick and went for the cover, but the ref pulled him off! (Why? The bell rang!) O-Khan threw him to the floor and whipped Takeshita into the guardrail. O-Khan whipped him into rows of chairs at 2:30. Back in the ring, O-Khan whipped him shoulder-first into the ring post at 5:00.
From the floor, O-Khan struck a shoulder with a chair. (If he was standing in the ring, that likely would have been a DQ!) In the ring, Takeshita hit a huracanrana at 7:00, then a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, O-Khan again threw Takeshita into the turnbuckles. Takeshita hit a German Suplex, then a clothesline, and he was fired up. Takeshita went for a suplex, but O-Khan’s legs accidentally struck the ref! O-Khan immediately hit a low-blow uppercut, and everyone (including the ref!) was down at 10:00. O-Khan set up a chair in the ring and slammed Takeshita’s head on it.
Takeshita threw a chair at him and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a visual pin, but we had no ref! O-Khan hit a scoop piledriver onto a folded chair for a believable nearfall at 12:00. Takeshita hit a jumping knee to the sternum. He hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex. O-Khan again threw Takeshita into the turnbuckles, then he applied a Claw over Takeshita’s face. Takeshita blocked a second low blow attempt. He hit a Power Drive running knee, then the Raging Fire for the pin. Blah. An ugly match but at least Takeshita won.
Konosuke Takeshita (8) defeated Great-O-Khan (4) at 14:36.
8. Hirooki Goto (4) vs. Shingo Takagi (2) in an A Block tournament match. Shingo has to win, right? He can’t possibly fall to 1-4, right? An intense lockup to open. Some basic back-and-forth action early on. Goto hit a back suplex at 4:30. Shingo clotheslined him to the floor. Shingo hit a suplex onto the thin mat at ringside at 7:00. In the ring, Shingo hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee, and they were both down at 10:00.
They got up and traded forearm strikes, and the crowd woke up for these repeated blows. They hit stereo clotheslines several times; both were staggering but didn’t go down. Shingo hit his own neckbreaker over the knee, then a Pumping Bomber clothesline for a nearfall at 12:00. He hit the Last of the Dragon (modified DVD) for a nearfall. Goto hit a swinging sideslam, and they were both down at 14:00.
This crowd was now louder than they’ve been all night (not that anything before this was worth cheering for). Goto hit a GTW slam for a nearfall. Shingo nailed a brainbuster, and they were both down. Takeshita hit a hard clothesline at 16:00, and he was fired up. He hit a Last of the Dragon for the pin! The winner was never in doubt, though, as no way was Shingo dropping to 1-4.
Shingo Takagi (4) defeated Hirooki Goto (4) at 16:38.
9. Yota Tsuji (4) vs. Yuto-Ice (4) in an A Block tournament match. This crowd was hot and split. Yuto-Ice let Tsuji hit some chops. (Kayfabe, why would you do that?) I’m not keeping track of how many, but Tsuji hit dozens of chops. Dozens! Yuto-Ice hit a running knee at 3:00. They went to the floor and brawled, going past the guardrail and into the crowd. Tsuji whipped Yuto-Ice into the rows of empty seats. Tsuji rolled into the ring and stopped the ref from counting them out.
Yota went right back to the floor and unloaded even more chops. “Oh, God!” Walker exclaimed. Drilla added, “His hand has to be hurting!” They brawled onto the entrance ramp, with Tsuji hitting even more chops. Tsuji placed Yuto-Ice on the apron and hit more chops at 8:30. Needless to say, Yuto-Ice’s chest was raw and red now. Tsuji tied him in the ropes as they were on the apron — and hit dozens of chops. Tsuji was exhausted from all these blows! Moloney just laughed. The 10-minute call was spot-on.
They got into the ring, with more chops from Tsuji. Yuto-Ice finally dropped him with a side kick. He hit some knee lifts to the ribs, then his running knee to the face in the corner at 12:00. Tsuji hit more chops. Yota hit a headbutt at 14:30, but Yuto-Ice hit a hard clothesline, and they were both down. Yuto-Ice hit some forearm strikes while on his knees. They got to their feet, and the Tsuji chop-fest continued. Yuto-Ice landed a roundhouse kick to the chest. Yota fell to his knees — he’s exhausted from hitting all those chops!
Yuto-Ice suddenly looked like the fresher man, hitting a series of kicks and getting a nearfall at 19:30. (His chest isn’t bleeding, but it was purple-red and raw). The 20-minute call was spot-on. Tsuji got up and hit a superkick and a running knee in the corner. More chops from Tsuji. Yuto-Ice responded with some forearm strikes and a buzzsaw kick to the head at 23:30. Tsuji hit a Gene Blaster (spear) for a nearfall. He hit a second one, but Yuto-Ice popped to his feet immediately!
Tsuji went for a third Gene Blaster, but Yuto-Ice caught him with a knee strike for a believable nearfall. Tsuji hit his “Fire Blaster” (a spinning Gene Blaster) but was too exhausted to make a cover! The ref began counting them both down. Tsuji got to his feet at the nine-count, but Yuto-Ice didn’t get up! The ref called for the bell. “I’ve never seen a pro wrestling match like that!” Moloney said. That was hard-hitting.
Yota Tsuji (6) defeated Yuto-Ice (4) at 26:08.
Final Thoughts: A highly uneven night. The main event earned best of the night, ahead of Goto-Shingo, and Oleg brought a good fight out of Jake Lee in a match that didn’t overstay its welcome, and that takes third.
Oof, Takeshita vs. O-Khan was an absolute snorefest, and I never thought I’d say that about a Takeshita match. O-Khan dragged him to the ring, kept him grounded, and it was a one-sided beat-down nearly the entire match until Takeshita’s late rally. Likewise, Oiwa kept Sanada in a headlock most of their match, and it felt like they never got out of second gear. I expected to really like both of those matches, and I did not.
There is an off-day on Thursday, then the B Block is back in action on Friday, featuring Yuya Uemura vs. Aaron Wolf as the headliner.
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