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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 36: NIGHT 10 REPORT
AUGUST 1, 2026
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN AT HIROSHIMA SUN PLAZA
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentator: Walker Stewart, Oskar
UNDERCARD TAGS
(1) TORU YANO & TATSUYA MATSUMOTO vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Callum Newman & Zane Jay)
Newman blocked a Boston Crab with a pinning combination and a spiked Matsumoto with the Prince’s Cuse.
WINNERS: United Empire at 4:56
(2) AARON WOLF & TAISEI NAKAHARA vs. UNBOUND CO (Drilla Moloney & Daiki Nagai)
Nagai put Nakahara down with a spinebuster and a bodyslam, setting him up for a diving headbutt and the three count.
WINNERS: Unbound Co at 7:56
(3) YUYA UEMURA & MASATORA YASUDA vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Dick Togo)
Yasuda put Narita in a Boston Crab, until Togo kicked his knee. Narita and Togo smashed Yasuda’s knees on the mat, setting him up for a knee bar and the submission win.
WINNERS: House of Torture at 4:45
(4) UNBOUND CO (Oskar & Gedo) vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr & Hartley Jackson)
Gedo surprised Jackson with a Gedo Clutch, only for Jackson to knock him out wiht a clothesline and a senton.
WINNERS: TMDK at 5:13
A BLOCK MATCHES
(5) BOLTIN OLEG (6) vs. SANADA (4) – A Block Match
Sanada immediately nailed Oleg with a dropkick to the knee and a Shining Wizard. Oleg avoided a moonsault, but Sanada quickly took him down with a hurracarrana. Sanada blasted Oleg with another Shining Wizard, setting him up for a moonsault and a two count. Oleg caught a moonsault and put Sanada in the Boltin Shake before knocking him out with a series of powerbombs and the Kamikaze.
WINNER: Boltin Oleg (8 pts) at 1:30 (**)
(Pomares’ Analysis: A shocking squash match to really emphasize how hot Boltin is right now. Sanada seems to be going through something since returning and this could be a turning point for him. Meanwhile, Boltin is on an incredibly strong run and is starting to build a legitimate case for a playoffs run in the coming weeks.)
– Oskar joined the commentary table for the rest of the show.
(6) YUTO-ICE (4) vs. JAKE LEE (4) – A Block Match
Lee attacked Yuto during his entrance and started a brawl in the crowd area. Yuto managed to knock Lee down, making him drop a pair of handcuffs. Once the match started, Lee evaded a big boot and rolled out of the ring. Lee tripped Yuto into the edge of the guardrail and grabbed his handcuffs, but the referee stopped him from using them. Lee pulled out another pair of handcuffs and locked one of Yuto’s wrists with them. Yuto rammed Lee into the referee and blasted him with a Penalty kick. Yuto stomped lee down while trying to take off the handcuffs. A Young Lion showed up to help Yuto with the handcuffs while Yuto nailed Lee with a thrust kick.
Yuto used the other side of the handcuffs to tie himself to Lee and pummel him down with a barrage of forearm strikes. Lee shocked Yuto with a low blow and pulled out of the keys to free himself. Lee handcuffed Yuto’s other hand and poured a bottle of water on him before pummeling him with forearm strikes. Yuto tried to put Lee in a sleeper, until Lee kicked him away and knocked the referee down. Lee blasted Yuto with a chop to the chest and bit his chest. Yuto drove the referee’s body into Lee and hit him with a low blow, setting him up for Cruella and the win.
WINNER: Yuto-Ice (6 pts) at 10:37 (**1/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: This one had a couple of decent moments and a hot crowd behind Yuto, but was very flawed. The match came to a screeching halt after the handcuffs were incorporated and it never truly picked up. I appreciate a bit of variety, but this one didn’t really work for me.)
(7) SHINGO TAKAGI (4) vs. THE GREAT-O-KHAN (4) – A Block Match
O-Khan attacked Takagi during his entrance and clobbered him with a chair shot to the back. O-Khan rammed Takagi into the guardrail and sat on a chair on top of his neck. Before Takagi could react, O-Khan dragged Takagi into the backrooms of the arena. O-Khan put Takagi’s head inside a toilet and posed for the cameras.
O-Khan dragged Takagi back to the ring to officially start the match and nail him with a pump kick. Takagi tried to fire up, only for O-Khan to trip him. Takagi crushed O-Khan with a corner clothesline and dropped him with a snap suplex. O-Khan attacked Takagi with Mongolian chops, until Takagi knocked him down with chops of his own and a senton. Takagi attacked O-Khan with jabs and put him down with a suplex. Takagi Irish-whipped O-Khan into the guardrail, only for O-Khan to kick the rope into his crotch. O-Khan drove Takagi into the guardrail and grabbed another chair. The referee stopped O-Khan from using a chair, allowing Takagi to hurl a chair into O-Khan’s face. O-Khan pulled Takagi’s hair and dropped him with a TTD on the floor.
Takagi managed to return to the ring in time, only for O-Khan to Irish-whip him into the exposed turnbuckle for a two count. Takagi blocked the Eliminator and clocked O-Khan with a headbutt and a lariat. O-Khan grabbed the referee’s shirt to avoid a German suplex. Takagi evaded a low blow and kicked O-Khan’s hamstring, setting him up for a lariat and a two count. O-Khan ducked out of a Pumping Bomber and drove Takagi into the exposed turnbuckle. Takagi tripped O-Khan face-first into the exposed turnbuckle and laid him out with a Pumping Bomber, setting him up for the Last of the Dragon and the three count.
WINNER: Shingo Takagi (6 pts) at 9:56 (**3/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: This one got much better by the end, but it took way too long to get there. That final time doesn’t do justice to how long O-Khan’s heat segment lasted, especially with the pre-match brawl. O-Khan has his moments playing the cocky and loud heel, but as a whole it has made his matches in this G1 my least favorite.)
(8) YOTA TSUJI (6) vs. RYOHEI OIWA (6) – A Block Match
Oiwa put Tsuji in a headlock and stomped his elbow before ramming him into the corner. Tsuji caught Oiwa with a gutbuster for a one count. Tsuji attacked Oiwa with a barrage of knees to the abdomen and a bodyscissors lock. Oiwa picked Tsuji’s damaged shoulder and pulled it to break the hold. Oiwa blocked a hurracarrana and put Tsuji in a headlock before taking him down with shoulder tackles. Before Tsuji could react, Oiwa crushed him with a senton for a two count. Tsuji countered a headlock with a back suplex on Oiwa before putting him down with a German suplex. Tsuji cracked Oiwa with a jumping knee and sat him atop the turnbuckle. Oiwa put Tsuji in a headlock to avoid a superplex, only for Tsuji to shut him down with an avalanche hurracarrana.
Tsuji put Oiwa in a Boston Crab in the middle of the ring, until Oiwa managed to crawl and grab the ropes. They exchanged elbow strikes, until Oiwa pulled Tsuji’s arm numerous times. Tsuji clobbered Oiwa’s chest with a chop, only for Oiwa to grab his damaged arm and hit it with bridging dragon screws. Oiwa put Tsuji in a headlock and nailed him with a DDT for a two count. Tsuji caught Oiwa with a pump knee and a forearm strike. Oiwa countered the Gene Blaster for a close two count. Oiwa planted Tsuji with a German suplex two times in a row and connected the Chaos Theory German suplex for a nearfall. Tsuji surprised Oiwa with a pinning combination, only for Oiwa to immediately trap him in a crossface.
Tsuji managed to break the hold by launching Oiwa’s body over the rope, setting him up for a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Tsuji crushed Oiwa with a diving double stomp to the abdomen, but he kicked out at two. Oiwa blocked a power move and dropped Tsuji with a Tenzan suplex for a two count. Oiwa put Tsuji in a headlock and tried to go for The Grip, only for Tsuji to shock him with a short Gene Blaster. Tsuji flattened Oiwa with the Silver Lining for a close two count. Oiwa blocked the Gene Blaster with a headlock, but Tsuji evaded The Grip and got a two count with a modified backslide. Oiwa trapped Tsuji in a headlock, until Tsuji broke the hold with an inverted Fine Blaster. Tsuji immediately hit Oiwa with another Fire Blaster for the victory.
WINNER: Yota Tsuji (8 pts) at 19:37 (****1/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: A top-notch match with a stellar performance from Oiwa who looked incredibly dominant for the majority of this one. Tsuji is quite good at fighting from underneath and Oiwa feels like he’s having a breakout tournament so far. Oiwa actively using the headlock for so much of the match without taking anything from it has been impressive to see. Despite being a great match with a clean ending, this definitely left room for a much bigger rematch down the line once Oiwa starts reaching the upper echelon of New Japan.)
(9) HIROOKI GOTO (4) vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (8) – A Block Match
They hit each other with shoulder tackles, until Takeshita clobbered Goto with the Takeshita Line. Takeshita put Goto in a sleeper hold, until he was able to reach the ropes. Goto caught Takeshtia with a boot to the face and caught him off-guard with a hanging neckbreaker using the top turnbuckle. Goto nailed Takeshita with a back elbow and put him in a headlock, until he was able to reach the ropes. Takeshita tried to fight back with a forearm, only for Goto to overpower him with a flurry of forearms. Goto blasted Takeshita with Muramasa and dropped him with a back suplex for a two count. Takeshita countered a lariat with a Xploder and crushed Goto with a Tope con Hilo.
Back in the ring, they hit each other with corner clotheslines, until Takeshita cracked Goto with a jumping knee. Goto countered another knee strike with Ushigoroshi, leaving both men down. They traded forearm strikes, until Takeshita took Goto down with a Blue Thunderbomb. Takeshita landed on his feet off GTW and clocked Goto with a running knee strike. Goto avoided a spinning forearm shot and hit him with an inverted GTR. Goto smacked Takeshita with a lariat, but Takeshita retaliated with one of his own for a nearfall.
They exchanged forearm strikes atop the turnbuckle, until Goto shocked him with a headbutt and planted him with the Kaiten powerbomb for a nearfall. Goto cracked Takeshita with a headbutt and put him down with a strike to the back of the neck. Takeshita shoved Goto away with a Hadoken, but Goto blocked the Power Drive Knee. Takeshita pummeled Goto with a barrage of forearm shots, until Goto shut him down with a single strike. Before Goto could react, Takeshita took him down with a spinning elbow strike for a close two count. Takeshita blasted Goto with a Power Drive Knee, but Goto countered Raging Fire with Shoten Kai, leaving both men down. Goto kicked Takeshita’s chest and floored him with GTW for a nearfall.
Takeshita avoided GTR and tried to go for a backslide before catching Goto off-guard with GTR for a nearfall. Goto blocked the Power Drive Knee with a lariat, turning Takeshita inside out. They ran into each other with headbutts, only Goto collapsed, allowing Takeshita to get the win with Raging Fire.
WINNER: Konosuke Takeshita (10 pts) at 18:04 (****)
(Pomares’ Analysis: A great back-and-forth between two excellent workers to fully establish Takeshita as the top of the group. Loads of great exchanges and brutal strikes were elevated by a molten hot crowd. A worthwhile main event after a bit of a messy first run of tournament matches.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Pretty much a two-match show. Goto/Takeshita and Tsuji/Oiwa were great matches worth watching. Everything else was much less stellar than we’ve seen from the G1 this year. Lee’s and O-Khan’s nonsense bogged down the show and risked making this one of the weakest shows in this year’s G1. I was slightly surprised by the Takeshita win since they have been keeping the standings very even. I don’t think he’s winning, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he makes it to the playoffs. However, I like how both Oiwa and Oleg are truly starting to rise up and show how close they truly are to the top of the card. I wouldn’t rule out at least one of them making it to the playoffs.
You can contact me at mauriciopomares@gmail.com, on Twitter @PomiWrestling or on BlueSky @pomiwrestling.bsky.social
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