NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 9 Results (7/31): Tanahashi Vs. Goto, Okada Vs. Tenzan, Makabe Vs. Marufuji

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING G1 CLIMAX 26

7-31-2016 Gifu Industrial Hall

Airing On NJPWWorld.com

This is the 9th of 19 overall G1 events. We have reached the midway point in the A block with each participant having their fifth match today. This is where separation in the standings can take place. So the wrestlers that are trailing in points and victories must keep pace and try and get back in the race. Just 4 matches remaining for each wrestler in this block after today's action.

The Undercard

YUJI NAGATA & TIGER MASK DEFEATED MICHAEL ELGIN & DAVID FINLAY IN 6:48

Tiger gets the pin on Finlay after a avalanche double armed suplex. This match was used to set up tomorrow's crucial B block match between Nagata and Elgin.

KATSUYORI SHIBATA, SATOSHI KOJIMA, JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER & MANABU NAKANISHI DEFEATED KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA, YOSHI-HASHI, TORU YANO & GEDO IN 7:45

Kojima hits the Lariat on Gedo for the victory. The usual pattern with G1 participants involved in the same match on the undercard. Just a day before they wrestle in the tournament. In this case, Nakajima and Yoshi-Hashi on the same team a night before wrestling in the B block and Shibata and Yano on opposing teams.

KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED RYUSUKE TAGACHI & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN IN 6:10

The Bullet Club gets the win here in essentially a handicap match. Takahashi connects with his "pimp juice" finisher and pins the Captain. At some point, The Captain is going to get heat from Japanese audiences for always being a non factor and ruining the teams he is on. In the states, He'd be a heel by now.

TETSUYA NAITO, "KING OF DARKNESS" EVIL & BUSHI DEFEATED TOMOAKI HONMA, KUSHIDA & JUICE ROBINSON IN 8:20

The Los Ingobernables Japan faction gets the victory when Bushi hits the MX on Kushida and Evil gets the STO on Juice. Another G1 set up match with Naito and Honma opposing each other on Monday. Strange sequence however in this match where the heel Naito and the loved underdog Homna showed respect for one another. Not sure where this is headed perhaps as a setup but Naito is known for disrespecting his opponents and spitting in their faces.

G1 TOURNAMENT

B BLOCK

TAMA TONGA DEFEATED TOMOHIRO ISHII IN 11:00

A must win for Tonga with him at the bottom of the A block standings. He needed to win this match to keep his slim hopes alive with only 4 matches left in the tournament. Conversely, Ishii suffers what could be a crushing blow to his hopes of winning the A block. Tonga gets the big win with the Stun Gun on Ishii.

BAD LUCK FALE DEFEATED SANADA IN 9:06

Back to back Bullet Club wins. Both Fale and Tonga facing the same situation against similar opponents. Physical match between these two that ends with Fale connecting with The Bad Luck Fall and pinning Sanada. Sanada has had an up and down G1 tournament. It appeared that he may be a darkhorse to rise to the head of the field but he has fallen to the middle of the pack.

NAOMUCHI MARUFUJI DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE IN 10:39

This was Togi Makabe's 90th G1 match. He is 5th all time in G1 matches. The A block leader, Makabe finally loses his first match. Togi was leading the pack here at 4 and 0 with 8 points. This was his chance to create some separation in the standings. This is a big win for Marufuji. Not only does he put himself just 2 points behind the leader but now he holds a tie breaker over Makabe if they were to finish with the same record in the standings. This was a good match. Marufuji gets the victory with the Shiranui.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN IN 12:30

Okada wins with the rainmaker on the sentimental favorite, Tenzan. The current IWGP champion, Okada is red hot after winning his 4th G1 match and is now tied at the top of the G1 block with Togi Makabe. Okada was surely happy with the Makabe match result. That and this victory puts him in a first place tie with 8 points. His next opponent in the G1 just happens to be Togi Makabe and that will be for first place in the A block.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO IN 15:47

Excellent match won by Tanahashi with his High Fly Flow. The greatest trait of Tanahashi is his ability to raise the level of his opponent and he's done that in the G1 despite being somewhat limited. The crowd was red hot and fully engaged in this match from start to finish. Goto had a good showing here but came up short. This sends the crowd home happy and keeps Tanahashi on life support in the G1 A Block. He picks up his 2nd straight win and now has 4 overall points. He still trails the leaders by 4 and has only 4 matches left. So any loss at this point can dash his hopes of repeating as G1 champion. Hiroshi has a couple of days of rest before he returns on August 3rd to face Tomohiro Ishii.

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 9 – 2016.07.31 – Part 01 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 9 – 2016.07.31 – Part 02 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 9 – 2016.07.31 – Part 03 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 9 – 2016.07.31 – Part 04 by NewJapan

UPDATED G1 STANDINGS

A BLOCK

TOGI MAKABE- 4-1- (8 POINTS)

KAZUCHIKA OKADA- 4-1 (8 POINTS)

NAOMICHI MARUFUJI- 3-2 (6 POINTS)

HIROYOSHI TENZAN-2-3 (4 POINTS)

HIROOKI GOTO-2-3 (4 POINTS)

SANADA- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

TOMOHIRO ISHII- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

BAD LUCK FALE- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

TAMA TONGA- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

HIROSHI TANAHASHI- 2-3 (4 POINTS)

B BLOCK

KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA- 3-1 (6 POINTS)

YUJI NAGATA- 3 -1 (6 POINTS)

TOMOAKI HONMA- 2 -2 (4 POINTS)

TETUSUYA NAITO- 2-2 (4 POINTS)

KENNY OMEGA- 2-2 (4 POINTS)

YOSHI-HASHI- 2 -2 (4 POINTS)

KATSUYORI SHIBATA- 2-2 (4 POINTS)

MICHAEL ELGIN- 2-2 (4 POINTS)

EVIL- 1 -3 (2 POINTS)

TORU YANO- 1-3 (2 POINTS)

The next G1 event takes place tomorrow and features these 5 block matches.

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