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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 36: NIGHT 12 REPORT
AUGUST 6, 2026
TOKYO, JAPAN AT KORAKUEN HALL
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentator: Chris Charlton, Walker Stewart
-There was an acknowledgement of the death of Dory Funk, Jr. with babyfaces surrounding the ring, and President Tanahashi holding up a large photo of the man as the ring announcer talked about some of his accomplishments with the company and elsewhere.
UNDERCARD TAGS
(1) YUYA UEMURA & MASATORA YASUDA vs. UNITED EMPIRE (HENARE & Jakob Austin Young)
Young finished Yasuda after Jacob’s Ladder (Sliced Bread).
WINNERS: United Empire at 6:52.
(2) AARON WOLF & TATSUYA MATSUMOTO vs. THE HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Dick Togo)
Narita finished Matsumoto with a kneebar after Togo interfered to break up Matsumoto’s kneebar on Narita.
WINNERS: House of Torture at 6:02.
(3) UNBOUND COMPANY (OSKAR & Gedo) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Callum Newman & Zane Jay)
Oskar & Newman brawled into the landing in the seats ahead of their main event match in a couple of days; Oskar was legal so Zane Jay got the victory via countout despite being knocked out in the ring.
WINNERS: United Empire (countout) at 8:25.
(4) UNBOUND COMPANY (Drilla Moloney & Daiki Nagai) vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson)
Jackson hit a powerbomb on Nagai to finish as Sabre and Moloney tangled outside.
WINNERS: TMDK at 10:23.
G-1 CLIMAX A BLOCK MATCHES
(5) YUTO-ICE (6 points) vs. SANADA (4 points) – A Block match
Clean break by Sanada early, surprsingly. Sanada was wearing throwback gear from when he was a babyface. Rope run and a dropkick by Sanada. Ice hit a couple of knee lifts and stomped Sanada in a corner before a running knee there and a two count. Basement dropkick by Sanada and a draping neckbreaker. Ice broke free of Skull End and hit some combo shots and a running PK. They exchanged strikes and Ice staggered Sanada before a vertical drop brainbuster for two. Sanada hit another basement dropkick and a shining wizard. Moonsault by Sanada for two. Referee kenta Sato got bumped and Ice hit some strikes, but Yoshinobu Kanemaru spit some whiskey in Ice’s eye. Sanada used his guitar on Ice and then flat-backed like Eddie Guerrero. Not sure why he didn’t just cover, but he elected to hop up at the count of eight as Ice was counted down.
WINNER: Sanada by KO at 8:12. (*1/2)
(Wells’s Analysis: They went to early-match stuff as if settling in for a long one before Sanada did some Sanada things to stay alive in the tournament)
(6) JAKE LEE (4) vs. GREAT-O-KHAN (4) – A Block match
The stablemates brawled early on the outside. A chair got involved and Lee tossed it to Khan and flat-backed. Two matches in a row?! This time, Sato disqualified Khan when he saw the chair in his hands. Khan threatened to use the chair on Lee afterward but Zane Jay calmed him down, perhaps teasing that Khan will leave United Empire, but these teases in the tournament happen a lot and rarely go anywhere.
WINNER: Jake Lee by disqualification at 1:48 (no rating)
(Wells’s Analysis: I can’t believe they did the Guerrero spot in consecutive matches)
(7) HIROOKI GOTO (4) vs. RYOHEI OIWA (6) – A Block match
They went to haymakers right away, then exchanged headbutts. Goto grounded Oiwa, then battered him in a corner. Running tackle by Oiwa, who then grounded Goto with the side headlock he’s been using liberally throughout the tournament. He held on as Goto tried to power out, and then run himself free. Rope run and another tackle by Oiwa, and then a senton for two. Oiwa snapped the headlock on again, and Goto reached a rope with his foot to break. Oiwa rained down a few elbows, then hit a Tenzan suplex for two. Reverse GTR from Goto, who hit a lariat. Both guys sold on the mat. Goto hit a spinning heel kick in the corner and then broke free from another headlock to hit an ushigoroshi. Goto measured Oiwa and hit a PK and the GTW. Victory roll by Oiwa got two. Oiwa again went to the headlock and wrenched, and went back to it after Goto briefly broke it up. He put maximum torque on it and Goto tapped. That’s three straight G-1 matches without a pinfall, which is an extreme rarity.
WINNER: Oiwa at 8:54. (**1/4)
(Wells’s Analysis: Goto, of all people, is officially eliminated from the tournament after tapping to a headlock as Oiwa reeducates the fans that it can be a devastating hold (as said outright by Charlton). As the world’s biggest Goto fan this was tough to swallow, but I’m on board with the plan to bring back the headlock)
(8) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (10) vs. SHINGO TAKAGI (6) – A Block match
They got into it slowly with a feeling-out process, and then a collar and elbow. They went to a corner and Takagi hit a chop and couple of knees. Corner lariat by Takagi. They reset and went to an exchange of forearms. Headscissor takedown by Takeshita. Action spilled outside where Takagi charged Takeshita to a barricade. They briefly went out to the audience before Takagi charged Takeshita to the post, then rolled him inside for a two count.
Takagi hit a dropkick, then some knees against a rope. Takeshita hit a suplex, then took Takagi outside, charged him to a barricade, and hita running boot. Takeshita suplexed Takagi on the floor and rolled him back inside and hit some back elbows in a corner. Headbutts by Takeshita. He went for a submission but Takagi was right by a rope.
They went to strikes and Takeshita staggered Takagi, but Takagi caught a running PK and turned it into a dragon screw. Takagi hit a draping DDT in a corner and brainbuster for two. Takagi did his taunt into the camera and went for Made in Japan but it was blocked. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.
They got to their feet and went to headbutts and forearms. Takeshita hit a pair of exploders, and then a German suplex. Takagi hit a suplex of his own and they both sold on the mat. They both went for lariats and finally staggered on the third and went to the mat and sold there again. Twist and shout by Takagi. Brainbuster by Takeshita. They sold on the mat again.
Action went to the apron where they exchanged a few strikes. Running knee by Takeshita. Takagi hit a driver on the apron, then brought Takeshita inside and hit Made in Japan for two. He went for Last of the Dragons but Takeshita fought it off and hit a hard lariat, and then a poison rana. Poison rana by Takagi. Running lariat and a fighting spirit kickout by Takagi. Takeshita hit Takagi’s Made in Japan move for two. Both guys hit big moves and got two counts. Takeshita hit Takagi’s move Last of the Dragons and both guys collapsed and sold on the mat.
They slowly fought to their feet and exchanged flurries of offense. Takagi hit a lariat and Takeshita made the fighting spirit kickout. Pumping bomber and Made in Japan for two. Last of the Dragons finished.
WINNER: Shingo Takagi at 19:45. (****)
(Wells’s Analysis: A much-needed banger after a trio of weaker affairs to get the tournament matches running. Takagi picks up his first win over Takeshita in quite some time and keeps Takeshita close enough for the field to still possibly catch him)
(9) BOLTIN OLEG (8) vs. YOTA TSUJI (8) – A Block match
The crowd chanted “Boltin” early. He’s really not landing as a possible main eventer for me, but the crowd is starting to eat him up. Tsuji got a couple of early rollups for near-falls. Oleg hit a suplex. Tsuji ducked a chop and rolled to the outside to reset. He walked right into a chop, and then a couple more. Oleg hit a big release slam and the flying body sausage for two. Oleg fought off a curb stomp and Tsuji hit a knee instead. Tsuji leaned on Oleg and stomped on him, working subtly heelish for the purposes of this match as Oleg is a pure babyface. Tsuji kept up the boots and leaned up for a breather.
Tsuji hit some body shots in the corner as he continued to work the midsection. He went for the Marlowe Crash but Oleg caught and suplexed him for a bit of separation. Boltin Shake and a suplex. Boltin Bomb for two. Tsuji broke free of a powerbomb attempt and hit a backbreaker. Tsuji fired up the crowd and spun around the sizable Oleg like Castagnoli does. Marlowe Crash and a two count by Tsuji. A victory roll got two, and Tsuji transitioned immediately into a headlock. Oleg crawled up the corner while still in it, so Tsuji released and quickly hit a powerbomb for two.
Oleg rolled under a corner and rested on the apron, but Tsuji met him there. They went to an exchange of strikes and reversals, and Tsuji hit a Gene Blaster that charged both of them to the floor and got an “ooooohhhh” from the crowd. Referee Red Shoes Unno made the count and Oleg made it back inside at the last possible moment. Tsuji hit Silver Lining for two. Tsuji set up a Gene Blaster but Oleg caught him and hit a powerbomb. Both men fell to the mat to sell. The crowd chanted “Boltin” again.
They fought to their feet, met skulls, and went to an exchange of hard rights. Tsuji ducked a lariat and hit a shot to the gut. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly for two. Oleg rolled into, and hit, the Kamikaze for two. Tsuji hit a crucifix for two, and then hit the curb stomp. They went to impact shots on their feet. Oleg fired up but Tsuji hit a Gene Blaster for two. Kamikaze for two by Tsuji. He went for another spear but Oleg stopped him with a lariat. The Verdict got two for Oleg. Oleg hit a powerbomb and held on for two. Tsuji trapped Oleg for two. Oleg hit another two powerbombs and then fired up. Oleg took Tsuji up to the second rope and hit a Kamikaze from there to finish.
WINNER: Boltin Oleg at 24:35. (****1/2)
Oleg, who speaks multiple languages, spoke in Japanese after the match. He told Tsuji to wait and said Tsuji is awesome and a great representative for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He said he’ll follow Tsuji to the ends of the earth and never lose to him, and continue to target him as the best. He said Tsuji helped make a monster of him tonight, as did the fans in Korakuen Hall. He said he’d end with a word in Kazakh, then went back to Japanese and said he’d win the G-1 Climax.
(Wells’s Analysis: A fantastic match – one of the best of the tournament – and the best of Oleg’s career. Oleg speaks Japanese with the confidence of a native, which is just one more thing that endears him to the crowd in Tokyo. This show was in need of something special after the first seven matches, and the last two delivered in a very big way)
FINAL THOUGHTS: A two-match show, but WOW, those two. Seek them out if you haven’t already; I went into this main event still with some doubt about Oleg’s ability to rise to the highest of occasions, but I think he’s finally dashed that away here. Korakuen, as always, got a fantastic main event. Sean Radican will cover the next B Block show on Saturday, and I’ve got the final A Block show next week.
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