New Japan Pro Wrestling returns to Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan for Day 18 of the G1 Climax 26 tournament, featuring the final night of action for the B-Block.
Hot off the heels of the A-Block finals early Friday morning, an event that featured a Match of the Year front runner, Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin will go to war as the final competitors left in the running. One man will advance to the G1 Finals this Sunday morning to challenge Hirooki Goto for the right to be called the best pro wrestler in the world, earning a spot in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom.
Here are this morning’s tournament matches:
- Nagata (6) vs. Honma (4)
- Yano (8) vs. Yoshi-Hashi (6)
- Shibata (10) vs. EVIL (6)
- Elgin (10) vs. Nakajima (8)
- Omega (10) vs. Naito (12)
Wrestlezone will have live coverage of this event right here on this page, kicking off at 5:30 a.m. EST. Live English commentary will be provided by Ring of Honor announcers Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino via New Japan World.
NJPW G1 Climax 26
Day 18 Results: B Block Finals
August 13, 2016
– Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. David Finlay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Captain New Japan & Yoshitatsu
– Naomichi Marufuji & Tomohiro Ishii def. Juice Robinson & Togi Makabe
– Jay Lethal, Bushi & Sanada def. Kushida, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroshi Tanahashi
– The Bullet Club (Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page, Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa) def. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo & Hirooki Gedo) & The Briscoe
YUJI NAGATA (6) vs. TOMOAKI HONMA (4)
Hard-hitting back and forth match. Nagata was showing signs of wear and tear way early in this tournament and commentary put over that Honma was working with a broken rib, and they still went out there and threw everything at each other. Near the end the traded dozens of slaps before Nagata lit him up with a suplex, but Honma came back with a piledriver and the top rope headbutt for the pin. Winner: Honma (6).
TORU YANO (8) vs. YOSHI HASHI (6)
Yano with his usual comedy spots early, getting Hashi to trust him and then trying to roll him up a few times, taking the turnbuckle off, etc. He did the old Eddie Guerrero spot with the turnbuckle pad to try and get Hashi DQ’d. At one point they both had turnbuckle pads and were beating each other with them. Yano hit him with a low blow and rolled him up another win. Winner: Toru Yano (10).
KATSUYORI SHIBATA (10) vs. EVIL (6)
This was a bit shorter than expected, with an entirely unexpected ending, but they packed a lot of good storytelling and set a great pace in a short amount of time. Shibata fired up early with a sleeper hold and a missed Penalty Kick, and Evil dumped him to the floor. He targeted the injured and wrapped up shoulder with some viscous spots on the floor, hammering away with a steel chair and throwing arm, wrapped up in a chair, into the ring post. Evil continued to work the shoulder until Shibata got in his face and asked for more, then hit him with the injured arm just to prove a point. Big dropkicks from the champ. They traded big moves back and forth until Evil went back to the shoulder, stomping away at him and hitting Shibata with move after move straight to the shoulder until the referee got in there to check on him. Shibata just refused to quit. Evil hit him with a powerbomb and the STO for the pin to play a huge spoiler. Winner: EVIL (8).
MICHAEL ELGIN (10) vs. KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA (8)
Incredible match that the main event is going to have a hard time following. It started at a fast pace but took the crowd a long time to get into. I don’t know if it was because they weren’t sure who to cheer for, or Elgin winning was problematic for Omega, but it wasn’t the fired up crowd the Sumo Hall has been with these shows until the last few minutes, which were incredible. Nakajima lit him up with dozens of kicks from the start, working over the wrapped up pectoral. He threw him into the barricade and then went right back into another 12 kicks to the chest and shoulder. Elgin with a German suplex into the turnbuckle out of nowhere to mount his comeback. Lots of power moves from the big man. Nakajima with a running dropkick to the knees, and right back into the kicks. Elgin with a stiff kick to the head, Nakajima with a step-up kick to the head in the corner, as the two go back and forth. Elgin folded him up with a release German suplex, had a lariat with the good arm blocked, so he lit him up with the bad arm instead. Nakajima with a PK but Elgin goes into rage mode and hits him with suplex after suplex, then catches him off the top rope with a powerbomb for two-and-a-half. He missed a splash off the top rope, and the two crawled to their knees to trade stiff elbow shots. Nakajima with kicks but Elgin is screaming for more, and the Noah star looks at him like he’s crazy. Elgin knocks him out with a painful looking elbow, then a stiff lariat to turn him inside-out. Deadlift superplex out of the corner into a Falcon Arrow for a close nearfall. Buckle Bomb connects, but Nakajima rolls through the Elgin Bomb with a sunset flip for two. Superkicks from Nakajima. Rolling elbows from Elgin. Kicking combination into a brainbuster for the pin. Winner: Nakajima (10).
Huge show of respect from both men after that incredible match. Nakajima actually bowed to Elgin, and the champion raised the young Noah’s arm in victory.
KENNY OMEGA (10) vs. TETSUYA NAITO (12)
The bell rings and Sumo Hall erupts into a massive “Naito” chant. They go at it and Naito does the Tranquilo, and Omega is just all kinds of worked up now. He spits in Naito’s face, who spits right back at him and then dropkicks him in the knee to create an injury he works over for several minutes. Naito with a wicked dropkick on the floor to the knees, and he’s just toying with the Bullet Club leader now. Kenny with a suplex on the apron to get a measure of control back, but he hits a kneebreaker and just folds on the injury. They trade stiff shots and Kenny goes to work with elbows and hits the rolling senton spot, but his knee gives out on the moonsault and Naito dropkicks him. It’s all Naito for several minutes, working submissions including a Figure Four he refuses to break in the ropes. Omega with a leaping bulldog (was supposed to be the Fameasser but he didn’t get all of it) out of nowhere, and a dropkick off the apron into the barricade. He gets him up for a powerbomb, the crowd reacts as he teases going into the barricade, but instead he throws him over the barricade and through a table! Kenny heads back into the ring but won’t take the count-out, hitting a huge springboard over the barricade into Naito! Both guys down. After awhile they fight back into the ring and Kenny turns him out with two Dragon suplexes. Both go for their finishers but Naito plants him with a DDT. They trade stiff shots and Kenny hits a huge knee strike, but Naito with a crazy tilt-a-whirl DDT off the ropes! The fight to the top and Naito connects with a hurricanrana but Omega rolls it through into a pin for two. Huge trades from both guys; Kenny counters a suplex but his knee gives out yet again and Naito rolls him into a modified knee bar. Kenny crawls to the ropes, but Naito takes him back to the center of the ring; Kenny motions like he’s gonna tap, the referee goes to call it, but Omega leaps out and barely grabs the bottom rope. Naito with a kneebreaker and he just smiles as Kenny is crying in pain on the mat. He looks to put it away but Omega counters into the Dr. Wily Bomb for two-and-a-half. He hits a stiff knee strike in the ropes and sets up for the One-Winged Angel but Naito counters into Destino! Five minutes remaining. Naito with a super reverse-rana and he sets up for Destino, but Omega counters and hits the Aou Shoudou for a nearfall! Kenny tries for the OWA again but his knee gives out. Time is running out as they slap each other back and forth. Naito comes off the ropes but Omega nails him with a massive knee strike! OWA is countered but Omega hits a German and another knee strike for two-and-a-half! One-Winged Angel connects! One…two…THREE! Winner: Kenny Omega (12).
Kenny Omega grabs a microphone and says the longer that match went on he could feel the crowd changing. He says when he needed their support all he could hear was them chanting Naito’s name, but it wasn’t until he won that they all chanted “Kenny, Kenny”. The crowd tries to chant for him now, but he yells at them to stop, and says he gave them everything. He gave them his heart, his soul, his blood, and his knee, and he stayed in Japan and didn’t leave like “those other guys”, and he was the MVP of the entire tournament. He tells them they can cheer for Goto for all he cares, but if he was a betting man, he wouldn’t bet against Kenny Omega. Goodbye and good night, bang!
After Tanahashi and Okada worked possibly the best match of 2016 yesterday during the A Block finals, it would have been impossible for nearly anyone in the world to follow up with something equally as satisfying just one day later. Leave it to Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito to go out and work what many on social media are calling an even better match.
The blocks are over, and we head into the G1 Finals tomorrow to see Goto vs. Omega in the main event, Jay Lethal defend the ROH World Championship, the Briscoes defend the IWGP tag team titles and a whole lot more, with English commentary from Ring of Honor’s Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino. I think we can easily say this year’s tournament was better than the 2015 G1, but not as good as 2013 or 2014, which are considered two of the greatest tournaments in professional wrestling history.
Final B Block Standings:
Omega – 12 (Winner)
Naito – 12
Nakajima – 10
Elgin – 10
Yano – 10
Shibata – 10
Evil – 8
Hashi – 6
Nagata – 6
Honma – 6
