RADICAN’S TAKE: NJPW G1 Climax 36 viewers guide to the top matches for nights 8-15

Here is my look at the top matches from NJPW’s G1 Climax 36: Nights 8-15. These are what I consider to be the essential matches you should watch from each night of the tournament.

Note: My commentary on each match may contain some very minor spoilers, but no results are spoiled.

NIGHT 8 (7/29)

(9) Yuto-Ice vs. Yota Tsuji (****½): The main event of night 9 was Ice’s time to shine against the IWGP Hvt. Champion. The match was worked around Tsuji chopping Ice’s chest over and over and Ice refused to fold from the punishment. This was uncomfortable to watch at times, as you could see Ice’s chest turning red and purple. Tsuji also did real damage to his hand chopping Ice over and over. The finish to this was a fitting end to the war these two had in the ring. 

NIGHT 9 (7/31)

(This wasn’t one of the better nights of the tournament. If you have extra time check out Gabe Kidd vs. Callum Newman)

NIGHT 10 (8/1)

(8) Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yota Tsuji (****¼): Oiwa has been really good in the tournament and on this night he began to lay the groundwork for future stories, as he worked over Tsuji’s arm early, but then began working a vicious headlock as the match went on. Tsuji’s counters to the headlock were great and set up a fantastic finishing sequence. 

(9) Hirooki Goto vs. Konosuke Takeshita (****¼) The main event of night 10 was really good with Goto looking to avoid dropping out of contention and Takeshita looking to firmly plant himself on the top of the leader board. They teased Goto working the head and neck early before settling into a traditional hard-hitting back and forth match. 

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NIGHT 11 (8/2)

(6) Oskar vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (****¼): Much like Goto in the A block, Sabre has struggled out of the gates in the B block. This was a fun encounter with a nice built in story with Oskar having grown up in Europe following Sabre’s career and eventually following him all the way to NJPW. Sabre showed off some great submission work, but it became a question of whether or not he could overcome Oskar’s ability to use his power to escape submissions down the stretch.

(8) Henare vs. Gabe Kidd (****): Both men came into this match looking to climb towards the top of the board. They had a really good brawling style of match. Kidd has been really good as the NJPW antagonist to the point where fans have started to cheer other heels against him. Kidd has treated his Global Hvt. Championship like a piece of garbage while throwing it around before and after his matches. Henare has really been good since coming back from injury this year. 

NIGHT 12 (8/6)

(8) Konosuke Takeshita vs. Shingo Takagi (****½): This was one of the matches I was looking forward to when the matches and dates were announced for the tournament. This was a must-see in my opinion and it did not disappoint. These two set Korakuen Hall on fire in what is my top match of G1 so far until I saw the next match. 

(9) Boltin Oleg vs. Yota Tsuji (****¾): Oleg has shown a great deal of promise as a future singles star for ROH and this match represented a big opportunity for him to capitalize on his strong performance in the tournament to date. Oleg had put on some really good performances during the tournament, but his ability to hold down a main event spot and deliver to this level showed remarkable progress for him as a performer. This was the best match of the tournament up until this point. 

NIGHT 13 (8/8)

(This was the worst show of the tournament overall. There’s some good matches on the show, but nothing worth going out of your way to see. 

NIGHT 14 (8/9)

(9) Yuto-Ice vs. Shingo Takagi (****¼): Ice stepped up in another main event opportunity against Takagi. This is another match I had circled on my calendar before the tournament started and it delivered. Ice has had some uneven performances at times, but this hard-hitting match delivered exactly what I wanted to see out of these two. The finishing sequence ended the match with a bang. 

NIGHT 15 (8/11)

(9) Yuya Uemura vs. Gabe Kidd (****½): Uemura had the chance to stand up for NJPW against Kidd, who’s been playing the antagonist to the company throughout the tournament. This led to a great story for the match with Uemura representing NJPW against Kidd. The match worked because it was smartly worked with Uemura not getting sucked into Kidd’s games during the early going, which made for a great clash between Uemura wanting to go more technical and Kidd wanting to brawl. This was one of the better matches of the tournament. 

(Sean Radican has been Pro Wrestling Torch for over 23 years. He has covered the independents, ROH, and NJPW in-depth over the years in addition to also watching all the major promotions in the U.S. PWTorch VIP members get access to his weekly Radican Worldwide podcast looking at a variety of news topics from the past week and then an in-depth Go-Home segment with a guest on a big topic of the week. You can contact him at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. You can follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.)