NJPW G1 Climax 36 Night 11 (August 2) Results & Review

New Japan Pro Wrestling
G1 Climax 36 Night 11
August 2nd, 2026
Fukuoka Convention Center
Fukuoka, Japan

The 2026 G1 Climax Tour rolled into Fukuoka, Japan, for the third of three consecutive shows before taking a bit of a break ahead of the new show in Korakuen Hall back in Tokyo. Coming into this B Block card, a number of notable names were teetering on the brink of elimination, and needed wins to keep their hopes alive. Meanwhile, some other names were looking to become the first wrestlers in the B Block to reach ten points, which would get them one step closer to advancing to the semifinals. Who will come out on top in Fukuoka? Time to find out!

As always, here are the results from the undercard:

TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson) def. Hirooki Goto & Tatsuya Matsumoto
House Of Torture (SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Unbound Company (Yuto-Ice & Gedo)
United Empire (Great O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young) def. United Empire (Jake Lee & Zane Jay)
Konosuke Takeshita, Boltin Oleg, & Toru Yano def. Unbound Company (Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, & Daiki Nagai)

G1 Climax 36 – B Block
Aaron Wolf [6] def. Drilla Moloney [8]

Aaron Wolf was one of the guys coming into this show who really needed a win to keep his hopes alive. Well, he managed to do just that, as he managed to put away Drilla Moloney with an Angle Slam in just over thirteen minutes. This was a really good match that was another strong example of the progress Aaron Wolf has shown throughout this tournament. While none of Wolf’s matches have reached notebook levels (at least for me), they’ve all been very solid, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch him go up against fresh opponents. Amazing what this guy can do when he’s not in there with the House Of Torture every night. After the first few minutes of exchanges, Moloney (who’s had a strong tournament in his own right) went on an offensive flurry, which included a piledriver on the floor. Drilla continued the offensive onslaught once they returned to the ring, but Wolf managed to fire back with a series of judo throws. A few minutes later, Wolf finally managed to connect with the Angle Slam, and that was it. Wolf’s win puts him back in the mix, while also preventing Drilla from pulling too far ahead (he’s probably going to be losing a lot on the back end of the tour). If I had to pick which Aaron Wolf match has been my favorite so far, it’s either this one or the Gabe Kidd match. Super enjoyable bout on the whole. ***3/4

G1 Climax 36 – B Block
Zack Sabre Jr. [4] def. OSKAR [8]

Zack Sabre Jr. is the only person in the B Block who actually had their match with Shota Umino (of course, Umino got his tournament-ending concussion in that bout with Sabre in Chicago). It’s also the only victory that Sabre has had up to this point in the tour. If he had any hopes of making it out of the block, he needed to pretty much win out. He finally managed to get back on the right track here after tapping out OSKAR with one of the wackiest submissions you’ll ever see (he had all four of OSKAR’s limbs tied up to the point that he couldn’t even tap out….he had to verbally give up). That concluded what was a really strong contest, and what was….for my money….the best outing in this tournament yet for OSKAR. Obviously it helps that he was in there with a guy like Zack Sabre Jr., but the clash of styles made for a very interesting bout (I always find these matches where Sabre goes against guys much bigger than him to be a lot of fun). OSKAR imposed his will in the early going, using his power to just toss him around the ring. After he managed to survive a Camel Clutch, Sabre managed to find an opening after OSKAR missed a leg drop on the apron. From there, Sabre would target the leg for the rest of the match, and that played a role in the eventual submission victory (also enjoyed the pure joy that Sabre showed after finally getting off this skid he’s been on). The last few minutes featured some really fun exchanges between the two, with Sabre managing to escape two of the biggest moves in OSKAR’s arsenal (the Nightmare Sleeper and the Tombstone Piledriver). Of course, Yuto-Ice has gotten a lot of attention in this tournament, but OSKAR has had a fairly good G1 as well. While the Knockout Brothers team has gotten a lot of praise thanks to their title defenses through the first half of the year, their outings as singles wrestlers in this G1 have shown that they’re more than capable as singles wrestlers as well. Perhaps not quite on the same level as some of the top stars, but for the most part, they both have delivered. ****

G1 Climax 36 – B Block
Ren Narita [8] def. Yuya Uemura [6]

Typically, I don’t watch these G1 Climax matches unspoiled (unless it’s the Final or the last block shows that set the semifinals and finals), so when I checked on cagematch, I got a little scared when I saw that this Ren Narita/Yuya Uemura match when twenty minutes (mainly because of the House Of Torture). When the dust settled, however, my fears were alleviated, as this did end up being a good match on the whole. Now it was still the weakest match on the show by sizable margin, but in terms of House Of Torture matches that involve outside interfence, it probably won’t get much better than this on this particular tour. The biggest positive of this match was the interference was largely kept to a minimum. Yes, it was present, and it did lead to the finish (Yoshinobu Kanemaru distracted the referee so that Dick Togo could land a senton on Uemura while he was locked in Narita’s leg submission, which led to Uemura tapping out), but for the most part, these two just went out there and wrestled. Following the initial exchanges, Narita spent the bulk of the match working over Narita’s leg, while Uemura would target Narita’s arm in response. If anything, the bigger negative in this one was the length, as opposed to the interference. This didn’t really need twenty minutes (could’ve accomplished everything they wanted to in fifteen minutes or less), but to be fair to them, they did manage to keep the crowd invested for the bulk of the bout (and they were pretty hot in the closing stages). This loss also puts Uemura in the danger zone, as even though he does have six points, he can’t afford another loss with so many guys ahead of him on eight and ten points. ***1/4

G1 Climax 36 – B Block
Gabe Kidd [10] def. HENARE [8]

With how everything worked out with Shota Umino’s forfeits, HENARE actually came into this match as the leader in the B Block. Additionally, after the results of the other tournament bouts on this card, the winner of this main event between Gabe Kidd and HENARE would be the first person in the B Block to reach ten points. I had a feeling that this was going to be a fairly good match, but this far exceeded my expectations. Kidd charged the ring to get this one started, and from there, these two proceeded to go back and forth in an all out war. This was an outstanding contest that saw Kidd and HENARE absolutely destroy each other for twenty minutes. From chops, to forearms, to lariats, to just straight up charging at each other at full speed, both guys showed almost no regard for their own wellbeing as they attempted to annihilate each other. It was really a sight to behold. The first two thirds of this match really reminded me of one of those classic NEVER Title matches when the likes of Ishii and Shibata were the dominant forces in that division. Just two tough guys beating the crap out of each until one of them is just too exhausted to continue. If I’m being honest, had this match ended around the thirteen or fourteen minute mark, this would not be my match of the tournament so far, but (in my view) a legitimate match of the year contender. Unfortunately, they introduced a table into the match, and it was at this point that I felt like they missed the peak. Now don’t get me wrong, the visual of HENARE just slamming Kidd’s head into the table repeatedly until it broke was cool, and I did enjoy the closing stretch. However, had they lopped off the last five minutes or so, it would’ve definitely enhanced the match. Part of the reason why these kinds of matches work so well is that they’re not super long. It’s easy to forget that the famous Ishii/Shibata G1 match from 2013 only went like twelve minutes or so. I understand that this was the main event, while Ishii vs. Shibata was in the middle of that particular G1 card, but just because it’s closing the show doesn’t mean it needs to go super long. Again, this was still an excellent match on the whole. An absolute blast to watch from start to finish with both guys going after each other with reckless abandon. That being said, I only wish it was a little shorter. Gabe Kidd ultimately got the win after hitting the Drill-A-Hole piledriver, so he now sits as the sole leader of the B Block with ten points. With only two matches left, Kidd truly controls his own destiny from here on out. ****1/2

Final Thoughts

When even the Ren Narita match is good, you know you’ve got a great show on your hands, and that’s what we got with Night 11 of G1 Climax 36 from Fukuoka. The main event between Gabe Kidd and HENARE kicked all kinds of ass, and it’s a match you need to go out of your war to see as soon as possible. Elsewhere, Aaron Wolf and Zack Sabre Jr. picked up much needed victories over Drilla Moloney and OSKAR respectively in a pair of matches that were really strong as well. The weakest bout of the bunch was Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura, but it was easily one of Narita’s best matches of the tour thus far (not exactly clearing a high bar there). This was definitely one of the strongest shows of the tour, and possibly one of the best overall outings from the B Block up to this point.

As I already mentioned, Gabe Kidd now leads the B Block with Ten Points. There’s a sizable group behind him with Eight Points, though that’s a little deceiving, as some of them have three matches left to go, while others have only two matches left (this is why I prefer awarding the forfeit points as they go instead of giving them to everyone all at once). Aaron Wolf and Yuya Uemura are both on Six Points, while Zack Sabre Jr. sits at four points. If those three have any hopes of advancing out of the block, they really need to win as much as they can from here on out. With that in mind, it’s notable that Aaron Wolf is wrestling Zack Sabre Jr. on the final night of the B Block, so if everything works, that bout could be one with some pretty hefty stakes.