New Japan Pro Wrestling 8/15/2026 G1 Climax 36 Day 18

New Japan Pro Wrestling 8/15/2026 G1 Climax 36 Day 18

Day 17 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/new-japan-pro-wrestling-8132026-g1.html

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI), Masatora Yasuda & Taisei Nakahara vs. United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Jakob Austin Young)

Khan teases fighting Goto but backs out. Goto is trown into the rope and Khan grabs him. Akira takes a double shoulderblock. Jake is group clubbed on. Masa hits chops on Henare then Henare shoulders him over. Henare chops Masa down then sentons him. Jake neckbreakers Masa over the 2nd rope for 2.

Khan ties up Masa's arms and Hen chops Masa. Khan trips Masa. Khan mongolian chops Masa and Masa mongolian chops him back. Khan stomps his foot then Masa dropkicks him. Yoshi comes in and clears off the heels. Khan forearms Yoshi from behind.

Goto lariats Khan. Henare hits a double lariat. Yoshi ddt's Henare. Yoshi dropkicks Khan in the knee. Akira and Taisei get in. Taisei hits forearms and Akira double throat thrusts him. Taisei dropkicks Akira and slams him for 2. Jake chops down Taisei and Akira rolls Masa into a double stomp. Goto and Henare hit lariats and Yoshi superkicks Henare out. 

Taisei blocks Akira's sunset flip and gets a 2 count on him. Akira standing moonsaults him for 2. Akira meteora's Taisei from behind and pins him.

Thoughts: I was surprised to see Taisei kick out of the standing moonsault near the end. It was a throwaway with people coming in and out as they pleased. What we got was acceptable but nothing too special. 

El Desperado, Konosuke Takeshita, Ryusuke Taguchi & Taichi vs. House Of Torture (DOUKI, Ren Narita, SANADA & SHO) 

Sho insults the crowd before the match.

6 of the 8 go out to fight. Sho foot chokes Despy and slaps him around. Sho throws Despy out then Despy gets sent into the rails. Despy is rammed crotch first into the post. Despy has all 4 limbs stretched by the heels.

Despy is thrown into the buckles. Ren back elbows Despy for 2. San comes in and Despy dropkicks San in the knee. KT flying forearms San in the corner then flying lariats him. Ren and Douki are pulled into each other. KT then hits 2 exploders on the heels. KT hurricanrana's Ren down. KT then tope con hilos the heels outside.

Dick Togo kicks KT in the back of the leg and then chokes him with a weapon. Taichi gets him out of there. Douki takes a double boot to the face. KT suplexes Sho. Taichi running faekicks San then chops him in the corner. 

Taichi spin kicks Sanada in the gut and San dropkicks him in the knee. Taichi lariats San. Ren blocks Taguchi's hip attack. Ren then uses the ref to russian legsweep Taguchi. Taguchi ankle locks Ren. Togo double chops Taguchi in the crotch from the 2nd rope. 

Taguchi hip attacks Ren then ankle locks him. Ren eye rakes him. Ren tries to sunset flip him, Taguchi pulls his tights down and tries to drop down on him. Ren low blows Taguchi then facebusters him. Ren pins Taguchi.

Thoughts: It was random. People came in and out as they pleased and if you looked away for a second, someone else would be in. It wasn't that interesting and had HoT shenanigans as usual. 

Takeshita is group stomped after. Shun Skywalker comes out and he seems to join House of Torture. He has some words for Takeshita.

Death Riders (Gabe Kidd & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Unbound Co. (Daiki Nagai & Drilla Moloney)

The two teams push each other before the match. Nagai and Yuta mat wrestle and Yuta gives him the finger. Nagai wrstlocks, Yuta headflips out and eye pokes him. They armdrag each other and Yuta basement dropkicks him. Yuta slams and sentons Nagai for 2.

Nagai is double back body dropped for 2. Yuta comes in and Nagai dropkicks him. Nagai corner dropkicks him for 2. Gabe trips Nagai and sends him into the rails and post. Gabe chops down Nagai and boots him. Nagai hits forearms on Gabe then Gabe forearms him down for 2. Gabe straight punches Nagai and slams him. Gabe stomps Nagai.

Yuta comes in and trades with Nagai. Nagai spinebusters him. Gabe and DM get in. They trade chops. Gabe headbutts and chops him. DM spits at him and forearms him down. Gabe rebound germans him then spinning lariats him for 2. Gabe avoids a drilla killa. 

DM hits a big spear on Gabe. Nagai flying headscissors Yuta out then topes him. Nagai spinning ddt's Yuta for 2. DM dropkicks Gabe. Gabe then short piledrivers DM on the floor. Nagai rolls up Yuta for 2. Nagai takes corner attacks. Gabe piledrivers Nagai and Yuta low flying knees Nagai. Yuta pins Nagai.

Thoughts: It had a lot of people coming and out at their will. Nagai had a decent showing as usual and was in this one for most of it. Yuta showing up was a random one here. It was average.

Gabe holds his title up in DM's face after.

Master Wato, Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, YOH & Yuji Nagata vs. Unbound Co. (Gedo, OSKAR, Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori & Yuto-Ice)

Shingo and Nagata go at it. They trade forearms. Shingo mongolian chops him then Nagata hits one. Wato comes in. Shingo knees him in the gut and shoulders him over. Ice comes in and boots and forearms Wato in the corner. Ice running knees him. 

Ice sends Togi into the rails outside and stomps him. Gedo foot chokes Wato in the corner then boots him. Wato leg lariats Gedo then boots TI out of the corner. Wato mongolian chops TI then zig zag's him.

Yoh comes in and beats up on Gedo and TI. Yoh gedo clutches TI for 2. TI eye rakes Yoh then handspring corkscrew kicks him off the ropes.  Oskar comes in and Yano takes a turnbuckle pad off. Oskar goes into the exposed buckle and is rolled up for 2. Oskar facekicks Yano then legdrops him for 2. 

Togi and Ice trade forearms. Ice chest kicks him down. Yano double low blows Ice and Oskar then Togi double lariats Ice and Oskar. Yano rolls up Oskar and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a short one. Everyone got their little segment in and not much else. Yano pinning Oskar was a surprise.

Ice and Togi forearm each other after and fight in the crowd. 

Aaron Wolf, Oleg Boltin & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Hart and Oleg shoulder battle to start. They chop each other and Hart shoulders him over. Oleg then shoulders him over. Tat dropkicks Kosei from behind and slams him three times. Kosei chops Tat down. Kosei slams Tat for 2. Zack euros Tat in the corner then rolls him into a headscissors. Zack pulls on the leg and the ref breaks it up.

Zack euros Tat down. Tat dropkicks Zack. Wolf comes in and shoulders Zack over. He then throws him and Kosei. Wolf shoulder throws Hart then corner lariats Zack. Wolf slams Zack then elbow drops him for 2. 

Zack does an octopus on Wolf then sleepers him. Wolf throws him over then Zack facekicks him. Wolf hits forearms on Zack. Zack euros him back. Zack twists Wolf's head with his feet. Zack then PK's him. Kosei comes in and chops Wolf.

Kosei springboard dropkicks Wolf for 2. Wolf uranage's Kosei. Tat comes in and hits shots on Kosei.  Kosei slaps and germans Tat. Oleg lifts Kosei and is headscissored into a Hart lariat. Wolf suplexes Hart. Wolf then powerslams Zack. Kosei dropkicks Wolf from behind. Tat flying euros Kosei. Tat water wheel drops him for 2. Kosei armlocks Tat then armbars him. Tat submits.

Thoughts: It didn't get as much time as it could have used. What we got looked fun though with everyone doing what they were supposed to do. Hart and Oleg is always a fun battle, Tat showed some spirit and Wolf did his part.

Wolf and Kosei have words after.

They do a video with some upcoming events and an AI Antonio Inoki. It was weird.

G1 Climax 2026 Semi Final Match - Callum Newman vs. Ryohei Oiwa

Oiwa wears Tenzan style horns out.

CN hits facekicks and is shouldered over. Oiwa armdrags him into an armlock. CN flips out of a hiptoss. Oiwa hits armdrags. Oiwa elbow drops CN's arm then pulls on it with his legs. Oiwa hits short arm shoulderblocks on him. CN enzugiri's him from behind. CN driveby kicks him outside. 

Oiwa forearms him outside and gets chopped. CN sends him into the rails and facekicks him over them. CN flying at him and dropkicks him into the seats. Oiwa gets back into ringside and CN double stomps him from the apron. 

CN pumping knees Oiwa. Oiwa side headlocks CN then shoulders him over. Oiwa sentons CN for 2. Oiwa chops CN then throws him down by the arm. Oiwa chops CN in the corner and pulls him down by the arm. Oiwa wristlocks him. CN hits forearms on Oiwa and Oiwa arm wringers him. Oiwa germans him but CN no sells it. CN germans him then pumping knees him. Oiwa backdrops him.

CN spinning forearms him down. Oiwa headbutts him. CN blind springboards and is swatted down. Oiwa germans him for 2. Oiwa spinning lariats him in the corner and CN cradle shocks him for 2. CN lariats him down. Oiwa takes him down backwards by the arm. Oiwa does a buffalo sleeper on CN (Tenzan did it).

CN superkicks him and Oiwa spinning lariats him for 2. CN pushes the ref into Oiwa then low blows Oiwa for 2. CN running knees him in the face for 2. CN underhook suplexes him for 2. Oiwa side headlocks him. Oiwa spins at him and is lariated down. Oiwa side headlocks him again. They lariat battle. Oiwa spinning lariats him for the win.

Thoughts: Oiwa making the finals isn't something I had on my score card. I would have liked it if the finish had something to do with all the armwork Oiwa did. They also should have cut out some of the outside brawling early on. It was alright enough overall, but could have been better.

G1 Climax 2026 Semi Final Match - Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura

Yota just has trunks on and tassles on his boots.

They do some weak technical wrestling to start. Yota shoulders him over. Yuya armdrags him and hiptosses him. Yuya armdrags him into an armlock. Yuya back elbows him then takes a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Yota backbreakers him again.

Yota snapmares him and camel clutches him. Yota elbow drops his back for 2. Yota stomps Yuya's back. Yuya hits forearms on Yota. Yuya arm throws him then bangs the arm off the mat. Yuya goes up and over, he armdrags him and dropkicks him. Yuya corner splashes him then underhook suplexes him. Yuya armbars him. 

Yota forearms Yuya in the spine. Yota baseball slides him out and topes him into the rails. Yota flying pumping knees him in the corner. Yota double jump curbstomps him for 2. Yota crabs Yuya. Yuya rolls him into an armbar. 

Yuya forearms Yota, gets superkicked then he dropkicks Yota. Yuya corner chops Yota then he backdrops him. Yuya enzugiri's him then germans him for 2. Yuya dropkicks him. Yuya dragon suplexes him for 2. Yota falcon arrows him. 

Yota spears him from behind then crabs him. Yota uranage backbreakers him. Yuya rolls him up for 2. Yuya takes him down and crabs him. Yuya does a high angle texas cloverleaf. Yuya top rope frogsplashes him for 2. Yuya comes off the top and gets speared in mid air.

Yota top rope ultimo guerrero specials him. Yota spears him for 2. Yuya grabs his arm and front suplexes him. Yuya does a shining elbow drop/step up elbow drop on him. Yuya top rope crossbodies him. Yuya front suplexes him and pins him.

Thoughts: It was an okay bout. It was a little slower than it should have been. Yota was very disciplined here and didn't do half the stuff he does against someone like Takeshita. Yuya mostly did some arm related moves here until winning with a suplex that trapped the arm. His shining elbow drop was a new one. Yuya winning was a big upset and him vs Oiwa is another random final that wasn't built up to a single bit all year.

Oiwa comes out. Oiwa and Yuya butt heads and talk after.

Masa Chono comes out to do commentary. 

We get a video on Tenzan's career. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan Retirement Match - Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Tenzan talks on the mic before the match. He says he wants to go more than 5 minutes and doesn't want a time limit.

They lock up and let go. Koji side headlocks him. Koji shoulderblocks him and they chop each other. Koji gets the edge and Tenzan hits mongolian chops. Tenzan shoulders him over. Tenzan boots him in the corner and headbutts him. Tenzan running lariats him then suplexes him. Tenzan puts him in the anaconda vice. 

Tenzan goes up top for a moonsault and Koji thankfully stops him. Koji chops him in the corner. Koji machine gun chops him. Koji flying forearms him in the corner. Koji 2nd rope elbow drops him for 2. 

Tenzan hits mongolian chops. Tenzan backdrops him. Tenzan does a cobra clutch. They cop each other. Tenzan mondolian chops him and falls over.  

Koji hits a cutter on him. Koji running lariats him for 2. Tenzan headbutts him and mongolian chops him. Tenzan lariats him down for 2. Tenzan hits headbutt and Koji lariats him for 1. Koji running lariats him and pins him.

Thoughts: They tried and did the best they could. Tenzan sadly can't really move or do much anymore, but I'm glad he was able to go out on his own terms.

They shake hands and hug after. Takashi Iizuka comes out through the crowd. Tenzan tells Iizuka to come in the ring. Iizuka boots him in the gut then stomps on him. Iizuka then pulls out his iron fingers. Kojima cutters Iizuka. Kojima picks up Iizuka but Tenzan wants to stop there. 

Tenzan tells Iizuka to wake up while he's on the mat and tells him to get up. Tenzan offers a handshake. Iizuka eventually shakes his hand and Tenzan thanks him. They hug.

Iizuka then shakes hands with the ring announcer but throws him over the rail and rips his shirt off. Iizuka then walks off into the stands.

Various NJPW wrestlers come out and give Tenzan gifts. Koji Kanemoto does a video for Tenzan. Hiromitsu Kanehara of UWFi fame comes out. Kendo Ka Shin, Jun Akiyama, Hiroshi Hase, Keiji Mutoh, Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami and Masa Chono all come out.

Chono talks on the mic. Choshu holds Tenzan and Chono slaps Tenzan. Chono and Tenzan talk for a bit. All of Tenzan's buddies he brought out pose with him. Tenzan talks on the mic. He says his active career is over and he retired. He say he fell in love with wrestling as a child and decided to wrestle for NJPW. He says he went through tough times in the dojo and ran away. He thanks everyone who supported him. They then do the 10-count for Tenzan and throw him up in the air. Tenzan shakes hands with everyone, poses and leaves. 

Thoughts: Tenzan was part of the cursed 3rd generation. He, Nagata, Kojima and others had to deal with the prior generation never really stepping away to give them time to shine and them going too far. Tenzan's generation never really passed up their seniors because of it and it took the next generation with Tanahashi and Okada to boost things a bit. I liked Tenzan and didn't really think he got his due. He had a really unique character and look and was a good wrestler.

Overall thoughts: We had a lot of throwaway undercard matches as usual. The TMDK 6-man was going well but got cut short. Newman/Oiwa was alright but could have been better. Yota/Yuya was the match of the night and was an okay bout. Tenzan really struggled in his retirement match but it was nice to see him get his flowers and get to wrestle one last time. I'd give it maybe a low 6 out of 10 just for the 2 G-1 matches being alright and for the nice Tenzan retirement ceremony. I'd say it was okay overall.