G1 Climax 36 in Takamatsu: points, styles and four key B Block clashes
New Japan Pro-Wrestling arrives at Takamatsu City Gymnasium with one of the most competitively important nights of the G1 Climax 36 tour. The event begins on July 31, 2026, at 18:30, while the doors open at 17:00. The matches will take place in the First Stadium, at 4-36-1 Fukuokacho, Takamatsu.
This is not a standalone show consisting only of attractive matchups. Takamatsu is one of the stops on a multi-day tournament in which every result changes the standings within the group. Four B Block singles matches award points, and they are preceded by four tag team clashes featuring numerous A Block participants, their partners and members of rival factions.
The main event brings together Yuya Uemura and Aaron Wolf, two completely different interpretations of physically powerful wrestling. Uemura relies on precise technique, bridges, suplexes and positional control, while Wolf brings the experience of an Olympic judo champion into the ring. Before them, Zack Sabre Jr. and Ren Narita, Callum Newman and Gabe Kidd, and Drilla Moloney and OSKAR will compete.
Tickets for this event are in demand.
Why Takamatsu could change the entire B Block
G1 Climax 36 brings together 20 wrestlers divided into A and B Blocks. Each participant goes through the league portion of the competition, and singles matches are limited to 30 minutes. A victory earns 2 points, a defeat earns no points, and a draw awards 1 point to each wrestler.
The top two finishers from each block advance to the semifinals. The winner of A Block faces the runner-up from B Block, while the runner-up from A Block meets the winner of B Block. That is why the event in Takamatsu is not only locally important within a single evening. One defeat can close the path to the final stage, while a victory over a direct rival can be decisive even when wrestlers finish level on points.
Takamatsu is the ninth stop of the tour. By that point, the wrestlers have already gone through a demanding schedule, travel and a series of very different opponents. Technicians must respond to strikers, fast wrestlers to heavyweights, and faction members often first meet in preliminary tag team matches before important singles encounters.
Shota Umino will not compete in Takamatsu. After experiencing concussion symptoms in his match against Zack Sabre Jr. on July 11, he was withdrawn from the remainder of the tournament. His remaining opponents each receive 2 points without a match, so HENARE will be credited with a victory in Takamatsu, but his previously scheduled singles match against Umino will not take place. Because of that change, the evening contains four rather than five B Block matches.
Announced card at Takamatsu City Gymnasium
The card combines tag team matches limited to 20 minutes and B Block league singles matches limited to 30 minutes.
- Masatora Yasuda and Boltin Oleg against Yoshinobu Kanemaru and SANADA - tag team match, 20 minutes
- Tatsuya Matsumoto and Hirooki Goto against Toru Yano and Konosuke Takeshita - tag team match, 20 minutes
- Gedo, Yuto-Ice and Shingo Takagi against Jakob Austin Young, Great-O-Khan and Jake Lee - six-man tag team match, 20 minutes
- Daiki Nagai and Yota Tsuji against Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa - tag team match, 20 minutes
- Drilla Moloney against OSKAR - B Block, 30 minutes
- Zack Sabre Jr. against Ren Narita - B Block, 30 minutes
- Callum Newman against Gabe Kidd - B Block, 30 minutes
- Yuya Uemura against Aaron Wolf - B Block, 30 minutes
The order is important. The opening tag team matches offer faster exchanges, more interruptions and the possibility of conflict between several factions. After them, the arena shifts into a league rhythm in which every singles match has its own story, time limit and consequences in the standings.
Yuya Uemura against Aaron Wolf: suplex technique against judo
The main event of the evening is particularly interesting because both competitors come from disciplines in which balance, hip positioning and control of an opponent's center of gravity are crucial.
Yuya Uemura went through the NJPW Young Lion system before refining his skills outside Japan. His approach appears classical, but it is not simple. The Deadbolt Suplex requires a proper grip and an explosive transfer of weight, while the Storm Clutch demonstrates how quickly he can turn a defensive position into a match-winning pin attempt. Uemura often builds a match gradually, working on body positioning before the final attack.
Aaron Wolf enters professional wrestling with a different kind of authority. The Olympic judo champion joined the Noge Dojo in 2025 and wrestled his first match at Wrestle Kingdom 20. In his debut, he immediately won the NEVER Openweight Championship from EVIL. After losing the title to Ren Narita, he regained it at Dominion, entering his first G1 as the reigning champion.
Wolf's advantage is not only strength. Judo allows him to turn ordinary clinch contact into a throw, takedown or immediate positional change. Uemura will therefore have to choose his moments to enter a hold instead of relying on prolonged chest-to-chest fighting.
On the other hand, the professional ring introduces elements that a judoka does not encounter in the same form: ropes, rebounds, strikes, pin attempts and continuous combinations of techniques. Uemura's experience with that rhythm could be just as important as Wolf's combat-sports foundation.
The audience can expect a match in which even small adjustments of the feet will matter. One poor placement of the hips can create an opening for a throw, while one overly aggressive entry can end in a suplex or a quick pin.
Zack Sabre Jr. against Ren Narita: joint control and control of chaos
Zack Sabre Jr. is one of the most recognizable technicians of his generation. His British style is based on uninterrupted transitions between holds, pressure on the arms and legs, and punishment of poor positioning. The Zack Driver and Clarky Cat are among his finishing options, but the greatest threat often comes before them. Sabre can change holds several times within a few seconds and force an opponent to defend multiple parts of the body at once.
His status in the G1 Climax is not theoretical. He won the tournament in 2024 and later became IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. He already has significant championship history against Narita because, during his second reign, he defended the world title against him.
Ren Narita trained under Katsuyori Shibata, but his later alignment with HOUSE OF TORTURE completely changed the public image of his career. His foundation remains solid and technical, while the Double Cross is a direct finisher capable of ending a match quickly. Nevertheless, Narita's performances often include provocation, disruption of the rhythm and the use of chaos that suits his faction.
The key question will not only be whether Narita can withstand Sabre's holds. It will also matter whether he can force Sabre to abandon his methodical plan. Sabre is most dangerous when the match resembles a technical puzzle that only he understands. Narita will try to break that structure and turn the contest into a disorderly battle of nerves.
Callum Newman against Gabe Kidd: speed against pressure
Callum Newman carries the nickname Prince of Pace for good reason. He moves with the speed of a lighter wrestler, but competes in the heavyweight division and can combine bursts of acceleration with strikes and powerful finishers such as the OsCutter 2.0 and Firebolt. In 2026, he became the youngest winner of the New Japan Cup and then the youngest IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
His youth is no longer merely potential for the future. Newman has already gone through main events, matches for the top championship and the pressure of leading United Empire. However, Gabe Kidd represents an opponent who does not allow a neat, sporting rhythm.
Kidd competes directly, loudly and aggressively. His style combines heavy strikes, close-range fighting and a willingness to endure a long physical battle. He arrives in Takamatsu as IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion after winning the title from Shota Umino before the start of the tournament.
Newman will try to remain in motion, change angles and attack before Kidd establishes pressure. Kidd will seek contact, slow the pace and force exchanges of strikes. Their all-British clash is not a duel between similar styles, but a collision between two wrestlers who transform youth into completely different kinds of danger.
Drilla Moloney against OSKAR: can explosiveness stop the giant
Drilla Moloney spent years moving between the junior heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. He is 178 centimeters tall and weighs 100 kilograms, but competes with an explosiveness that makes him dangerous even against larger opponents. The Drilla Killa, Gore and his ability to accelerate suddenly allow him to finish a match without lengthy preparation.
OSKAR is 201 centimeters tall and weighs 115 kilograms. His reach changes the geometry of the ring: an opponent must cover a greater distance before attacking, and every miscalculation can end in a powerful takedown. Together with Yuto-Ice, as part of the Knockout Brothers, he held the IWGP Tag Team Championship before United Empire ended their reign at Dominion.
In Takamatsu, there is no partner to break up a pin or create space for a rest. Moloney must find a way around OSKAR's reach and attack the body before the giant slows him down. OSKAR, on the other hand, must not allow the match to turn into a short sequence of explosive bursts.
This is the most pronounced physical contrast among the tournament matches of the evening. It does not require a complicated story to be understood: one wrestler wants to create room to accelerate, while the other wants to close that space completely.
Preliminary matches as a glimpse toward the continuation of the tournament
The four opening tag team matches are not merely filler before the league portion. They connect A Block, faction alliances and future singles encounters.
Masatora Yasuda and Boltin Oleg will face Yoshinobu Kanemaru and SANADA. Oleg's physical strength stands opposite the experience and unpredictability of two opponents who make effective use of distractions and their rivals' mistakes. For Yasuda, such a match is an opportunity to work alongside an established heavyweight, but also a test of discipline against opponents who will attempt to exploit every moment of carelessness.
Tatsuya Matsumoto and Hirooki Goto meet Toru Yano and Konosuke Takeshita. Goto and Takeshita bring main-event weight, while Yano can change the tone of a match with an unusual pace, quick pins and distractions. Matsumoto will find himself among three experienced opponents and partners with very different approaches.
The match pitting Gedo, Yuto-Ice and Shingo Takagi against Jakob Austin Young, Great-O-Khan and Jake Lee brings together six wrestlers and several parallel conflicts. Quick tags allow strikes, takedowns and shorter personal confrontations to alternate without waiting for the slow development of a singles match.
Daiki Nagai and Yota Tsuji against Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa offers a direct meeting of power and faction unity. Jackson and Oiwa represent TMDK, while Tsuji continues his own journey through A Block. Matches of this kind often reveal strategy ahead of later singles contests, but without points at stake and without requiring a wrestler to show their entire repertoire.
Singles, tag team and championship matches are not the same kind of contest
A visitor watching NJPW live for the first time will notice a clear change after the fourth match.
In tag team matches, a partner can interrupt a pin attempt, enter the contest through a tag or briefly protect an injured part of a teammate's body. A six-man match further increases the number of possible combinations and conflicts.
In singles G1 matches, there is no such assistance. A wrestler must manage the time, fatigue and consequences of every hold alone. The 30-minute limit also creates a strategic decision: whether to attack immediately or conserve energy for the closing stage.
The announced tournament matches in Takamatsu are not championship contests. Gabe Kidd and Aaron Wolf may enter with title belts, but those belts are not being defended. The stakes are G1 Climax 36 points and position in B Block. A victory over a champion still carries additional weight because it may later serve as an argument for a future title challenge.
No special stipulation such as a no-disqualification match, cage match or ladder match has been announced. The G1 league rules emphasize individual performance, the time limit and the result.
Arena atmosphere: from entrance music to the final minutes
NJPW builds the evening gradually. The opening matches allow the audience to become familiar with the factions and rivalries, while the tournament portion changes the way every walk toward the ring is perceived. A wrestler's theme, posture during the entrance and the audience's reaction become part of the introduction to the style that follows.
Sabre's entrance signals technical wrestling and methodical action. Kidd's arrival brings unrest and confrontation with his surroundings. Newman immediately raises the pace through his movement, while Wolf's reputation as a judoka gives weight to every early clinch. In OSKAR's case, his height alone creates a visual contrast that is difficult to experience on a broadcast in the same way as from a seat in the arena.
The audience does not have to react with the same volume throughout the entire match. During technical sequences, attention is often focused on small changes in holds, after which the reaction suddenly rises during an escape, throw or finishing attempt. The closing minutes of a G1 match are further intensified by awareness of the 30-minute limit.
Seats are disappearing quickly.
Takamatsu City Gymnasium and getting to the event
Takamatsu City Gymnasium is located in the Fukuokacho district, east of the narrower city center. The event will be held in the First Stadium, a venue otherwise used for basketball, volleyball, tennis, badminton, table tennis and other sporting or public programs.
The nearest railway station is Okimatsushima on the Kotoden network. The walk from the station to the arena takes approximately 5 minutes. The Shiritsu Taiikukan-mae bus stop is even closer, around a 3-minute walk from the facility.
Two parking lots beside the arena are available to drivers. The first has 134 spaces and the second has 90. Parking is subject to a fee. The number of spaces is limited in relation to the attendance a wrestling event can attract, so public transportation is a reasonable option for avoiding the search for an available space immediately before the start.
- Address: 4-36-1 Fukuokacho, Takamatsu, Kagawa
- Doors open: 17:00
- Event begins: 18:30
- Nearest railway station: Okimatsushima
- Nearest bus stop: Shiritsu Taiikukan-mae
- Parking lots beside the arena: 134 and 90 spaces, subject to a fee
The finishing time has not been announced in advance. The duration depends on the length of the individual matches, possible intervals and the flow of the production. Visitors returning by train or bus should check the current evening timetables before arriving.
Takamatsu as a base for visitors from outside Kagawa
Takamatsu is located on the northern coast of Shikoku, beside the Seto Inland Sea. The city is a transportation hub for arrivals by rail, air and ferry, as well as a starting point for other parts of Kagawa and the islands of the inland sea.
For rail travel from much of Honshu, the usual connection runs through Okayama and the Marine Liner train to JR Takamatsu Station. Bus services operate from Takamatsu Airport to the main station. Travelers from outside Japan can connect the city with larger international hubs or available direct regional flights, but schedules should be checked for the specific travel date.
Takamatsu is also known as a practical base for exploring the Setouchi area. A visit to the wrestling event can be combined with local cuisine, city gardens or a ferry excursion, but the schedule should not be overloaded on the day of the event itself. Summer heat, the journey to the arena and a program lasting several hours require enough time for rest and an unhurried arrival.
How to organize the evening without unnecessary stress
The safest plan is to arrive in the area of the arena before the doors open. This leaves enough time to find the First Stadium, check the entrance and take a seat before the opening match. Visitors arriving by car should account for the limited capacity of the two parking lots and possible congestion after the event.
During summer, it is useful to bring water as far as the arena area, but rules regarding bringing in drinks, food, bags and other items should be checked in the visitor information published before the event. It should not be assumed that photography, video recording or the use of professional equipment is permitted without restrictions.
The card is worth following from the first match. The preliminary contests introduce A Block participants and the factions shaping the current season, while the final four singles matches carry direct consequences in the standings. It will be particularly important to follow how the audience reacts to Wolf in his first G1 appearance, whether Newman can maintain his speed against Kidd and whether Narita can disrupt Sabre's technical control.
Ticket sales for this event are underway. It is worth securing tickets in good time.
Sources:
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling - date, time, location, address, match order and match time limits
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling - G1 Climax 36 rules, block lineups, scoring and semifinal format
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling - card change following Shota Umino's withdrawal from the tournament
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling - biographies, factions, styles and finishing moves of the participants
- Takamatsu Sports Association - First Stadium facilities and the number and status of parking spaces
- Takamatsu Convention and Visitors Bureau and Experience Takamatsu - transportation context and options for reaching the city
- NAVITIME - distance from the arena to Okimatsushima Station and the Shiritsu Taiikukan-mae stop