NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 12 Results (8/4): Naito Vs. Nakajima, Omega Vs. Shibata, Nagata Vs. Yano

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING G1 CLIMAX 26

AUGUST 4TH 2016- Fukuoka Civic Gymnasium

AIRING ON NJPWworld.com

This is the 12th of 19 overall G1 events. Today's event features five B block matches. Unlike, The A block where there is a clear leader at the moment in Kazuchika Okada. Six of the ten overall B block competitors are in a six-way tie for 1st place. A log jam at the top but that separation starts now. Each B block participant has only 4 matches left to try and make their final push to the G1 final on August 14th. Here are the results from today's action.

https://youtu.be/PAFMd9EP_Hg?t=126

THE UNDERCARD

RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER, TIGER MASK & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN IN 5:30

All 6 of these wrestlers are non G1 tournament participants and have been featured in some form or fashion on every G1 undercard. Of course, The team with the Captain on it, has been on the losing side of things every time. Nothing different here. Juice Robinson hits the pulp fiction on the Captain for the win.

BAD LUCK FALE, TAMA TONGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE, SATOSHI KOJIMA & MANABU NAKANISHI IN 6:20

The Bullet Club wins yet another 6 man tag. Tonga gets the deciding fall following a Gun Stun on Nakanishi.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI, HIROYOSHI TENZAN & KUSHIDA DEFEATED NAOMUCHI MARUFUJI, HIROOKI GOTO & GEDO IN 9:56

The super popular trio of Tanahasi, Tenzan and Kushida get the win when Kushida gets Gedo to submit to the Hoverboard lock. Tanahashi will attempt to continue his rise from the bottom of the standings when he faces the surging Marufuji in his next G1 match.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA & TOMOHIRO ISHII DEFEATED SANADA & BUSHI IN 8:53

Okada and Ishii beat Los Ingobernables in this standard tag match when Tomohiro pins Bushi after a vertical brainbuster. Okada and Ishii are scheduled to face each other in the A block on saturday. I doubt we will see a finger poke of doom New Japan style where Ishii lays down for Okada so that he can get the easy 2 points.

G1 CLIMAX 26 TOURNAMENT

B BLOCK MATCHES

TORU YANO DEFEATED YUJI NAGATA IN 4:22

The unpredictability of the entire B block continues. What isn't unpredictable at this point is the fashion in which Yano wins his matches. Short but certainly far from sweet. Yano up to his old bag of tricks again. This time getting the win via countout. A first in this year's tournament. Yano tied Nagata's feet together on the outside with wrist tape. This prevented Nagata from getting back in the ring before the count of 20. Yano out smarts the wily veteran Nagata. After upsetting Shibata, Yano doubles that up by beating a huge sentimental favorite in Nagata. Both men have identical records now at 3 and 3 with 6 points a piece with each having only 3 matches left.

MICHAEL ELGIN DEFEATED YOSHI-HASHI IN 9:49

Eligin continues his hot streak in the G1 beating Yoshi-Hashi with the Elgin Bomb. Elgin controlled this match and Yoshi made multiple comeback attempts only to fall short. These two competitors have had impressive showings thus far in this tournament. This is a huge win for Elgin. After starting off winless, He promised to not lose again and he's living up to that promise. He is now at the top of the standings in the B block with a 4 and 2 record and 8 points.

'KING OF DARKNESS' EVIL DEFEATED TOMOAKI HONMA IN 9:49

Evil gets the win with the STO which he redundantly calls "The Evil". Demoralizing loss for Honma. The perennial underdog had high hopes after winning his first two G1 matches but has since lost 4 straight. Demoralizing Honma is exactly what Evil set out to do and he started that by attacking Honma with a steel chair yesterday on the undercard and then crushing his hopes by beating him here one on one. Both men are tied for last place in the B block with 4 points. With both participants virtually eliminated mathematically. Honma will be wrestling for pride down the stretch while Evil revels in playing the spoiler.

KATSUYORI SHIBATA DEFEATED KENNY OMEGA IN 12:28

Excellent 12 minute match. Fast paced, back and forth and physical. This match had the feel of being a G1 final. This is one of the matches that people should go out of their way to see. Omega was in the ring with the right opponent. No goofing around here. Shibata is as serious as a heart attack. One of the best of many great spots in the entire tournament took place when Shibata turned a one winged angel attempt by Omega into a triangle choke submission. The great action ends when Shibata gets the victory with the penalty kick on Omega. Big win for Shibata. After a frustrating loss at the hands of the clearly inferior but crafty Toru Yano. Katsuyori needed this victory to keep his hopes of winning the B block alive. This was one of the better matches thus far in the entire G1. There have been some really good ones just like yesterday's Tanahasi-Ishii match but this one ranks right up there. That should continue with the stakes getting higher now with each day of matches.

TETSUYA NAITO DEFEATED KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA IN 19:08

Another must see match. Long grueling match for both competitors. Good thing, They have a day off tomorrow. Nakajima brought his A game in this one. This is the highest level of competition and he proved that he deserves to be competing at this level. Nakajima's first G1 tournament. There is a reason he is nicknamed "The Aggression". Nakajima was very physical in this match. There were so many counter exchanges between these two and they were physically exhausted by the end. Naito gets the victory in the end over Nakajima with the Destino. He is now tied at the top of The B block standings with Michael Elgin. The former IWGP champion and B block favorite has a clear path to potentially winning this block after this key win.

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 12 – 2016.08.04 – Part 01 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 12 – 2016.08.04 – Part 02 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 12 – 2016.08.04 – 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

MICHAEL ELGIN- 4-2 (8 POINTS)

TETUSUYA NAITO- 4-2 (8 POINTS)

KENNY OMEGA- 3-3 (6 POINTS)

KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA- 3-3 (6 POINTS)

YUJI NAGATA- 3 -3 (6 POINTS)

YOSHI-HASHI- 3 -3 (6 POINTS)

KATSUYORI SHIBATA- 3-3 (6 POINTS)

TORU YANO- 3-3 (6 POINTS)

TOMOAKI HONMA- 2 -4 (4 POINTS)

EVIL- 2 -4 (4 POINTS)

After a day off, The G1 returns this saturday and will feature this set of crucial A block matches.

SANADA (4 pts) vs. Tama Tonga (4 pts)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4pts) vs. Hirooki Goto (6 pts)
Togi Makabe (8 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (6 pts)
Kazuchika Okada (10 pts) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (4 pts)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (6 pts) vs. Naomichi Marufuji (8 pts)