SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NJPW G1 CLIMAX 36 NIGHT 18 REPORT
AUGUST 15, 2026
RYOGOKU SUMO HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY SEAN RADICAN, PWTORCH COLUMNIST
Announcers: Chris Charlton, Walker Stewart
(1) UNITED EMPIRE (Henare & Great-O-Khan & Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young) vs. HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI & MASATORA YASUDA & TAISEI NAKAHARA
Akria beat Nakahara with a Fireball.
WINNERS: United Empire at 7:54.
(2) HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Sanada & Douki & Sho vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Taichi & EL Desperado & Ryusuke Taguchi
Narita pinned Taughi after hitting the Double Cross.
WINNERS: House of Torture at 9:17.
After the match, Narita tossed Takeshita back into the ring and HOT put the boots to him. They then stopped and waved towards the back. Shun Skywalker from Dragon Gate made his way down to the ring. He took off one mask to reveal another mask. He got on the mic and the fans applauded. He said Takeshita keeps telling people how strong he is, but this is the landscape in front of him. Taichi and El Desperado ended up running into the ring with chairs to make the save.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(3) THE DEATH RIDERS (Gabe Kidd & Wheeler Yuta) vs. DRILLA MALONEY & DAIKI NAGAI
Nagai took a piledriver from Kidd and a running knee from Yuta. Yuta then made the cover for the win.
WINNERS: The Death Riders at 11:33.
(4) TOGI MAKABE & TORU YANO & YUJI NAGATA & YOH & MASTER WATO vs. UNBOUND CO. (Shingo Takagi & Yuto-Ice & Oskar & Taiji Ishimori & Gedo)
Yano rolled up Oskar for the win.
After the match, Makabe and Ice brawled around the venue and eventually went backstage.
WINNERS: Makabe & Yano & Nagata & Yoh & Wato at 6:26.
(5) TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita) vs. AARON WOLF & BOLTIN OLEG & TATSUYA MATSUMOTO
Fujita submitted Matsumoto with an arm bar.
WINNERS: TMDK at 9:42.
After the match, Fujita challenged Wolf for the NEVER Openweight Championship.
-An AI video of Antonio Inoki aired announcing Wrestle Kingdom on Jan. 4 at The Tokyo Dome in 2026 and 2027. 2027 will be NJPW’s 55 Anniversary. This was creepy and not well-done.
(6) RYOHEI OIWA (w/TMDK) vs. CALLUM NEWMAN (w/Zane Jay) – G1 Climax 36 Semi-Final Round match
Oiwa came out wearing Tenzan’s head gear. He had all of TMDK in his corner. Oiwa went right after Newman’s shoulder. Newman hit a drive by on the floor to the apron, but hurt his back in the process. He set up Oiwa on a row of chairs and hit him with a running dropkick landing on his back again in the process. Oiwa crawled back towards the ring and Newman hit Excalibur from the apron to the floor.
Oiwa took control once they got back into the ring and Newman favored his shoulder. Oiwa no/sold a German and eventually dumped Newman on his back with a Tenzan suplex. Newman went for an Os-cutter, but Oiwa swatted him out of the air and hit a German for a near fall. Oiwa countered make way and snapped Newman’s arm backwards. Newman escaped a head/arm submission, but Oiwa crushed him with a clothesline for a near fall.
Newman shoved the ref and hit a low blow and got a small package for a near fall. The fans fired up with a big Oiwa chant. Newman hit a big knee strike and Prince’s Curse for a two count. He went for a powerbomb, but Oiwa slipped out and grabbed a headlock. Oiwa went for a discus lariat, but Newman cut him off with a lariat of his own for a near fall. WOW! They traded clotheslines and Oiwa caught Newman with The Grip for the win.
WINNER: Ryohei Oiwa at 18:44. (****1/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a very good match. It went as I expected it to with Oiwa going after Newman’s arm throughout the match, but he also went after his back as well. I thought Oiwa was going to wear Newman down and win with the side headlock or a cross arm breaker, bud he ended up hitting him with The Grip.)
(7) YUYA UEMURA vs. YOTA TSUJI – G1 Climax 36 Semi-Final Round match
Uemura snapped Tsuji to the ground and went after his arm during the early going. Uemura hit a dropkick and posed for the fans. Tsuji fired back and hit Marlowe to Uemura’s lower back. He then applied a Boston Crab. Uemura got the ropes and a short time later he got a hammerlock, but Tsuji got the ropes.
Tsuji took control and hit a big punch. He then hit a Gene Blaster to Uemura’s back. He then applied the Boston Crab again to show him he was the better man when they were Young Lion and he’s better than he is now. Uemura struggled but seemed stuck. Just when he went towards the rope, Tsuji turned it into a high angle Boston Crab. Tsuji let go and hit a big knee to his back and then a back breaker.
Uemura kicked Tsuji’s arm and then caught him charging at him. He applied a Boston crab of his own on Tsuji. Uemura let go and applied a leg/arm combination submission. Tsuji struggled, but managed to get to the ropes. Uemura hit a HFF. He went up top again for a Lion Shiner, but Tsuji countered it into a Gene Blaster for a near fall. Tsuji hit a Guerrero Special off the top and a Gene Blaster, but Uemura kicked out!
Uemura caught Tsuji going for a Gene Blaster, but Uemura’s turned it into a Deadbolt! WOW!! He hit a sliding elbow and then a Lion’s Shiner. He then hit the Deadbolt with a bridge for the win. Amazing.
WINNER: Yota Tsuji at 25:10. (****3/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was an incredible match between two men that came up through NJPW’s system together. They told a good story with Tsuji trying to beat Uemura with his Young Lion era Boston Crab submission and going after his back throughout the match. Uemura went after Tsuji’s arm to set up his Deadbolt finisher. In the end Uemura had Tsuji’s number.
It’s a bit of a surprise to see the IWGP Hvt. Champion drop four matches during a G1, so it will be interesting to see how NJPW handles the title situation.)
Oiwa came out after the match. Uemura got to his feet and went head to head with Oiwa.
Masahiro Chono joined the Japanese commentary booth for the main event.
A video package aired on the career of Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
(9) HIROYOSHI TENZAN vs. SATOSHI KOJIMA
Tenzan asked for no time limit for his retirement match. The fans started a big Tenzan chant. This was Tenzan’s first singles match in five years. Tenzan didn’t look great, but the crowd went nuts for everything he did. Kojima hit a lariat, but Tenzan kicked out at the last second. Kojima hit another lariat, but Tenzan kicked out at one. Kojima hit another lariat and it was good for the win.
WINNER: Satoshi Kojima at 9:22.
(Radican’s Analysis: A fitting way to go out for Tenzan. He can’t move like he used to, but he had a good hard-hitting match against Kojima to close out his career.)
Tenzan was about to give a speech when Takashi Iizuka made his way down to the ring through the crowd. Kojima made the save. Tenzan didn’t want a Kojima to do anymore damage to him. Tenzan told Iizuka he wanted to shake hands. Both men shook hands and hugged to a pop from the crowd.
The locker room came out and the retirement ceremony began. Nagata handed Tenzan his flowers. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jun Akiyama, Keiji Muto, Riki Chosu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Masahiro Chono and others greeted him in the ring and sat down. Tenzan got on the mic and gave thanks to everyone that had been there for him during his career.
They did a ten bell salute for Tenzan, who stood alone in the ring. Tenzan looked to be a little uneasy on his feet and teary-eyed during the ten-bell salute. Tenzan fell over while waving to the crowd, but smiled and got back to his feet. The wrestlers got back into the ring and tossed Tenzan up into the air multiple times.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.