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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 36: NIGHT 9 REPORT
JULY 31, 2026
KAGAWA, JAPAN AT TAKAMATSU CITY GYMNASIUM
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY GREG PARKS, PWTORCH COLUMNIST
Commentator: Walker Stewart
(1) BOLTIN OLEG & MASATORA YASUDA vs. SANADA & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU
Oleg and Sanada did a bit of chain wrestling to start. Neither man was really able to get a sustained advantage. Sanada did a headscissors to counter Oleg’s series of gutwrench spins. Oleg suplexed both Sanada and Kanemaru at the same time. He made the tag 2:45 into the match to Yasuda. Yasuda ran wild on Kanemaru before Kanemaru went to the eyes. Yasuda flipped through into a Boston Crab, but Sanada broke it up. Kanemaru dropkicked the taped-up knee of Yasuda. Figure-four by Kanemaru, and Yasuda tapped.
WINNERS: Sanada and Kanemaru at 4:45.
(Parks’s Analysis: A pretty formula tag match for what you see during the G1: Young Lion gets some offense but ultimately takes the fall for his team.)
(2) HIROOKI GOTO & TATSUYA MATUSMOTO vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & TORU YANO
Shoulder tackles and forearms were exchanged by the two G1 participants in this match. Takeshita missed a running knee and the two clotheslined each other, taking them both down to one knee. Yano and Matsumoto tagged in and of course Yano took the turnbuckle pad off. Yano ended up going into the corner. Suplex by Matsumoto on Yano for two. A hair pull by Yano took Matsumoto down. He covered him and was able to keep his head and shoulders down on the mat for the pin.
WINNERS: Takeshita and Yano at 3:42.
(Parks’s Analysis: Takeshita and Goto both went through pretty grueling matches two nights ago, but the effects never played a part in the match here. Matsumoto certainly has one of the best physiques of any of the Young Lions we’ve seen thus far.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(3) SHINGO TAKAGI & YUTO-ICE & GEDO vs. JAKE LEE & GREAT-O-KHAN & JACOB AUSTIN YOUNG
Yuto-Ice’s left pectoral region was purple from all the chopping by Yota Tsuji on night eight. The teams began to brawl before the bell, with Yuto-Ice and Jake Lee going into the crowd. Khan used a chair on Takagi after the bell rang. Young and Gedo were paired up in the ring. He choked away at Gedo then mouthed off to the ref who admonished him. Lee put on a black glove when he tagged in. Lee seemed to fiddle with Gedo’s beard then discarded the glove. Everybody was back on the apron by this point. A “Great-O-Khan” chant rang out from the fans. Gedo went after Khan, but Khan tripped him and laughed uproariously.
Takagi came in and fired away with rights on Khan in the corner. Takagi fought off all members of the opposing team. Khan came back, stepping on Takagi’s foot and delivering chops to the neck. A double lariat on Lee and Khan was unsuccessful from Takagi. A double DDT worked better. Yuto entered the match and delivered a running knee to a seated Lee in the corner. Young and Gedo tagged in nearly simultaneously and choked Young as revenge for earlier in the match. The match broke down with all getting involved. Young put Gedo down with a DDT for the win.
WINNERS: Lee, Great-O-Khan and Young at 8:40.
(Parks’s Analysis: Lee’s character is a bit confounding, but it makes him more interesting than the last time he was in the G1. I think this did set the table nicely to want to see the upcoming tournament matches that will come out of this six-man.)
After the match, Khan used a chair on Takagi and Lee handcuffed Yuto to the turnbuckle. Lee sprayed Yuto with a squirt gun and then danced.
(4) YOTA TSUJI & DAIKI NAGAI vs. RYOHEI OIWA & HARTLEY JACKSON
Tsuji’s right hand, shoulder and elbow were taped up, no doubt a result of the 280-some chops he delivered to Yuto-Ice two days ago. Oiwa worked over that right side and also utilized a side headlock. Jackson and Oiwa teamed up to deliver a delayed vertical suplex to Tsuji, complete with Oiwa stomping the mat to get the crowd to clap. It worked. Nagai tried to lift Jackson to no avail. After another failed try, Nagai finally did connect on a spinebuster to the much larger Jackson. A cross-body by Jackson into a pin was broken up by Tsuji. Jackson continued to deliver punishment to Nagai, hitting Jagged Edge to end it.
WINNERS: Oiwa and Jackson at 5:38.
(Parks’s Analysis: Just like Bad Luck Fale back in the day, it’s good to have someone the body type of Jackson on the roster just to offer a different look and feel in these matches. Though not as big, Oiwa reminds me of a young Barry Windham with that blond hair flowing as he hits the ropes.)
(5) DRILLA MOLONEY (8 pts) vs. OSKAR (6 pts) – B Block match
Right at the bell, Moloney speared Oskar for two. After Oskar went outside to catch his breath, Moloney came through the ropes with a dropkick. Off the top, an elbow by Moloney for another two-count. A running boot attempt by Oskar missed as Moloney low-bridged him. A high-risk attempt by Moloney ended up with Oskar dropping Moloney throat-first across the ringside barricade. Back in the ring, Oskar whipped Moloney hard into the corner. The pace slowed with Oskar in control. Belly-to-back suplex for two by Oskar, who then immediately applied a camel clutch.
Moloney began favoring the lower back, which was still taped up. He picked Oskar up for a powerbomb and delivered. He couldn’t capitalize, though. Oskar continued to work the lower back and spine of Moloney. The men exchanged chops, though Moloney couldn’t pick Oskar up for a suplex. Moloney took Oskar off his feet with a series of flying kicks. Spear by Moloney. Again, he couldn’t capitalize. Moloney did pick Oskar up a few times but couldn’t deliver as Oskar countered. Oskar took Moloney down and applied a sleeper. The ref called it off as Moloney began to doze.
WINNER: Oskar (8) at 10:43.
(Parks’s Analysis: This ties Oskar with Moloney, Gabe Kidd and Henare atop the B Block. Moloney did look kind of dumb for constantly trying to pick Oskar up despite a back injury. Not varying his offense or adapting to the circumstances did him in here. What effect will that back injury have on the rest of the tournament as Moloney tries to defend his turf at the top of the block?)
(6) ZACK SABRE JR. (2) vs. REN NARITA (4) – B Block match
In the opening moments, Dick Togo came down to ringside. He got on the apron to distract Sabre. That didn’t seem to stall Sabre’s momentum much at all. Jackknife cover by Sabre for two. Narita and Sabre traded kicks to the face. Togo had salt ready to use but Sabre kicked him off the apron. With Togo distracting the ref, Kanemaru went after Sabre with mist. Sabre had Narita in an arm-hold, still trying to clear his eyes, and Narita used that opening to roll Sabre up for the win.
WINNER: Narita (6) at 2:48.
(Parks’s Analysis: A somewhat shocking result, making Sabre’s attempts to work his way back into contention that much more difficult. He’d pretty much have to run the table against Oskar, Moloney, Aaron Wolf and Henare, his remaining four opponents. It’s not impossible. I do like throwing out short matches every once in a while in the G1 just for a change-up.)
(7) CALLUM NEWMAN (6) vs. GABE KIDD (8) – B Block match
The brawl began at ringside as soon as Kidd came down. They fought into the crowd, exchanging forearms. Newman tried to run the length of one side of the arena to dropkick Kidd, who was seated in a chair. Kidd moved, however, and Newman crashed into several seats. Kidd threw a steel chair into the skull of Newman. No bell yet, by the way, to begin the match. Kidd applied an arm bar while on the ground and bent Newman’s fingers. Newman was thrown into the ring, giving Kidd a chance to finish disrobing. Kidd capped the pre-match by dropkicking someone at ringside.
Just as quickly as the match began in the ring, it went back to the outside. Newman tried to leap onto Kidd, but he punched Newman and gave him a brainbuster on the ringside mats. Kidd made an obscene gesture in the ring and posed as Newman convalesced outside the ring. He finally leapt into the ring at the count of 19, only to be met with a Kidd clothesline. Hard whip into the buckle and Newman rolled to ringside again. Newman was wobbly as he reentered the ring and Kidd once again went on the attack, including with a thumb to the eye. Chops and headbutts by Kidd in the corner. Newman felled Kidd with a big clothesline that nearly turned his opponent inside-out.
A couple superkicks by Newman, followed by a suplex for two, just 4:45 into the match proper. Newman put his hands behind his back and invited Kidd to hit him, which Kidd did, with an elbow. The two exchanged hard strikes with Newman going down after a second one. On Newman’s second try, he kicked Kidd in the throat instead. Kidd downed Newman with rebound lariats. Piledriver only got Kidd a two-count. Another series of hard strikes delivered by Kidd. A second piledriver, and again only a near-fall. Newman no-sold two German suplexes and connected on Prince’s Curse, but only for two.
Both men took a beat to catch their breath as the 10-minute mark passed. Kidd seemed poised to take the match, but Newman pulled ref Marty Asami into the way of Kidd. Newman used a low blow and rolled Kidd up to take the bout.
WINNER: Newman (8) at 12:18.
(Parks’s Analysis: This marks a five-way tie now for the lead in the B Block. Newman vs. Kidd was as tight and physical a striking battle as you’ll see. Kidd has really perfected the wild-eyed unpredictable character and plays it to its hilt in New Japan, where there are fewer handcuffs on what he can get away with – like cursing at the crowd and the like.)
(8) YUYA UEMURA (4) vs. AARON WOLF (4) – B Block match
There was a feeling-out process to start. Things began to pick up with a judo throw and an STO delivered by Wolf three minutes into the bout. Wolf missed an elbow, allowing Uemura to take control. Wolf came up holding his left arm and wrist, the area where Uemura had begun to focus. Wolf fired back with ineffective elbow shots, ones that Uemura basically shrugged off. Wolf finally managed to create separation with a uranage. He followed it up with a corner splash, suplex, and elbowdrop. Wolf rolled through a submission attempt by Uemura with a couple of judo take-downs.
Wolf had Uemura on the mat, pulling back on his arm as Uemura struggled to the ropes. He finally got there, barely putting his heel on the bottom rope. Uemura slammed Wolf and both men were down about 13 minutes into the contest. The two traded strikes mid-ring, which Walker Stewart on commentary acknowledge was not Wolf’s strong suit. And Uemura’s certainly looked better. A couple of Wolf clotheslines failed to knock Uemura off his feet. A third finally did. Wolf kept the pressure on with a triangle choke. After trying to reposition, Uemura surprised Wolf with a roll-up for a near-fall.
Uemura landed a dropkick after Wolf tried to Hulk up a bit. To the top went Uemura. Wolf avoided him and ended up hitting a scoop slam. Uemura locked the arms of Wolf and gave him a Deadbolt release suplex. He went back to the top and landed on him with a flying cross-body for the three-count.
WINNER: Uemura (6), at 19:20
(Parks’s Analysis: They worked to Wolf’s strengths in this match and didn’t ask him to go outside his comfort zone. For example, this was one of the only matches across the last two nights not to end up outside the ring. Wolf has gotten better at showing some life and charisma during his matches. That’s something he’ll gain with experience and as he learns how to feel the crowd and react to them.)
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