NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 11 Results (8/3): Okada Vs. Makabe, Tanahashi Vs. Ishii, Sanada Vs. Marufuji

NJPW G1 CLIMAX 26

AUGUST 3RD, 2016- KAGOSHIMA ARENA

AIRING ON NJPWWorld.com

This is the 11th of 19 overall G1 events. We have passed the halfway point of this tournament. All 20 G1 participants have 4 matches left each. Every competitor is mathematically alive but some are hanging on by a thread and another loss could take them out of contention. This is the point of the tournament where the wrestlers are trying to get themselves in position for the last few days. So that they can have a shot at winning their respective blocks and getting to the G1 final. Tonight's tournament matches are from the A block.

THE UNDERCARD

JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER & TIGER MASK IV DEFEATED DAVID FINLAY & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI IN 5:51

Liger and Mask win when Jushin gets the ground cobra twist on Finlay.

MICHAEL ELGIN, YUJI NAGATA, SATOSHI KOJIMA & MANABU NAKANISHI DEFEATED KATSUHIKO NAKAJMIMA, YOSHI-HASHI, TORU YANO & GEDO IN 7:36

Satoshi Kojima gets the victory for his team with the Lariat on Gedo. The unsung hero on these undercards and in the G1 as a supporting character to his partner Nagata is Kojima. He gave up his spot to Nagata in the G1 and has accompanied him to ringside for his matches and his presence has helped enhance Nagata's story and matches. Satoshi Kojima will be facing Jay Lethal for the ROH world title at the final G1 event on August 14th.

KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED KATSUYORI SHIBATA & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN IN 6:45

Another Bullet Club undercard victory...Check... Captain New Japan takes the fall... Check. Once again, It's the modified DDT known as the "Pimp Juice" by Yujiro that does the Captain in. At some point on these G1 events, You'd figure The Captain would shock everyone and get a win. There's still time left.

TESTSUYA NAITO, EVIL & BUSHI DEFEATED TOMOAKI HONMA, KUSHIDA & JUICE ROBINSON IN 8:05

Los Ingobernables are victorious when Naito gets the knee-bar on Juice. Post match. A frustrated Evil takes out Tomoaki Honma with a steel chair setting up their next G1 match in the B block.

G1 CLIMAX 26 TOURNAMENT

A BLOCK MATCHES

BAD LUCK FALE DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN IN 8:22

Fale gets the win with the Grenade. The "Under Boss" was in full control for the majority of this match. Physical match between these two. The monster vs the loved old veteran warrior. The crowd was fully behind Tenzan in this one and the story was basically Tenzan's last ditch effort to keep his comeback dream alive. It was like he was emptying out the gas tank and all he had to try and defeat Fale but he couldn't. The wear and tear is really starting to show on a lot of the G1 competitors and Tenzan is clear evidence of that. This is his 21st G1 tournament and there have only been 26 of these. Many observers have noticed wrestlers with odd markings on their backs. Tenzan and a few others have undergone heat treatments to help with their back injuries. It's not pretty but they are doing what they have to do to survive the long tournament. With this loss by Tenzan, The odds are now heavily against him. He has 4 points and trails the 1st place leader by 6 overall with only 3 matches left. Much like his body, Tenzan's chances are hanging on by a thread. With the 2 points obtained in this victory, Fale keeps himself alive with 3 final matches left.

HIROOKI GOTO DEFEATED TAMA TONGA IN 12:29

Goto gets the win and 2 points with the GTR. This is Tonga's 1st G1 and he has had a very good showing in this tournament. Living up to his lineage. Tonga used a lot of heel tactics and played to the crowd a lot in this match and it worked because they rallied hard behind Goto. The majority of the match was both men blocking each other's finishers. This led to a frantic finish when Goto blocked three straight Gun Stun attempts by Tonga that led into the GTR. There was good back and forth action between these two. Goto keeps hope alive by getting to 6 points while Tonga despite the good showing falls to the bottom of the pack with just 4 points and realistically, He is going to be playing the spoiler role going forward.

NAOMUCHI MARUFUJI DEFEATED SANADA IN 10:39

Naomuchi gets the win over Sanada with the Shiranui. Another solid match and impressive showing by Marufuji who has gained respect from the New Japan audiences during this tournament. Sanada and Marufuji had a fast paced, tit for tat 10 minute match. It was fun to watch. Although, This is Marufuji's 2nd G1 appearance. He is considered an outsider in this tournament coming from NOAH. He just put himself in one of the inside positions in the A block going forward with this victory. Sanada who started off well in the G1 is a real long shot now. Needing to win his last 3 and get a lot of help.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED TOMOHIRO ISHII IN 16:10

Hiroshi Tanahashi gets the victory with the High Fly Flow over Ishii in an excellent match. The "Stone Pitbull" Ishii controlled good portions of this match and was in prime position on several occasions to win but he just couldn't put Tanahashi away. There were several near falls in this one where it appeared that Tomohiro was going to win. Arguably, the best match thus far in the entire G1 tournament. This is the third straight win for Tanahashi. Last year's G1 winner, who started off at 0 and 3 in this years tournament. Tanahashi has 3 matches left in the A block to try and get back to the final. He might have to run the table. His next two matches are against Marufuji and Tenzan before facing off with longtime rival Okada on the final day of the G1 A block.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE IN 15:04

The battle for 1st place position in the A block goes to Okada who beats Makabe with The Rainmaker. Another good match here. Okada is in top form right now. There was quite a bit of trash talking and both wrestlers trying to show each other up early on. Makabe taking exception to Okada's over confidence. The action really picked up late and Okada was able to overcome Makabe's physical nature and aggressiveness. Both wrestlers entered this contest at 4 and 1 with 8 points, on top of the leader board. There is only 1 leader now and that's Okada. He controls his own destiny. If he wins out, He will win the A block and clinch a spot in the G1 final.

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 11 – 2016.08.03 – Part 01 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 11 – 2016.08.03 – Part 02 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 11 – 2016.08.03 – Part 03 by NewJapan

UPDATED G1 STANDINGS

A BLOCK

KAZUCHIKA OKADA- 5-1 (10 POINTS)

TOGI MAKABE- 4-2- (8 POINTS)

NAOMICHI MARUFUJI- 4-2 (8 POINTS)

HIROSHI TANAHASHI- 3-3 (6 POINTS)

HIROOKI GOTO-3-3 (6 POINTS)

BAD LUCK FALE- 3-3 (6 POINTS)

HIROYOSHI TENZAN-2-4 (4 POINTS)

SANADA- 2-4 (4 POINTS)

TOMOHIRO ISHII- 2-4 (4 POINTS)

TAMA TONGA- 2-4 (4 POINTS)

B BLOCK

TETUSUYA NAITO- 3-2 (6 POINTS)

KENNY OMEGA- 3-2 (6 POINTS)

MICHAEL ELGIN- 3-2 (6 POINTS)

KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA- 3-2 (6 POINTS)

YUJI NAGATA- 3 -2 (6 POINTS)

YOSHI-HASHI- 3 -2 (6 POINTS)

TOMOAKI HONMA- 2 -3 (4 POINTS)

KATSUYORI SHIBATA- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

TORU YANO- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

EVIL- 1 -4 (2 POINTS)

Event #12 of the G1 Climax tournament continues tomorrow and features these B block matches.

Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Tetsuya Naito
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kenny Omega
Michael Elgin vs YOSHI-HASHI