NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 15 Results (8/8): Okada Vs. Fale, Tanahashi Vs. Tenzan, Goto Vs. Makabe

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING G1 CLIMAX 26

AUGUST 8TH, 2016- YOKOHAMA CULTURAL GYMNASIUM-KANAGAWA

AIRING ON NJPWWORLD.COM

All 20 G1 participants have wrestled 7 matches thus far in the tournament. They each have only two matches remaining to make their last push to the G1 final on August 14th. 16 of the competitors still remain in contention to win their respective blocks. This has created a log jam where tie breakers could come into play and could create several different scenarios going into the final day in each block. Today's event features the A block and the results will determine how the pieces of the puzzle will come into play.

THE UNDERCARD

KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA DEFEATED DAVID FINLAY IN 5:05

Rare singles match on the card. Katsuhiko gets the win over 4th generation wrestler David Finlay with a vertical spike brainbuster. Basically a Nakajima showcase before his crucial B block match against Kenny Omega on Wednesday.

KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED SATOSHI KOJIMA & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN IN 6:49

The Bullet Club stay strong on these undercards with yet another win when Takahashi pins the Captain after hitting the "pimp juice".

TETSUYA NAITO, EVIL & BUSHI DEFEATED TORU YANO, GEDO & YOSHI-HASHI IN 6:51

Los Ingobernables de Japan gets the win when Bushi hits the MX on Gedo. Evil and Naito back on the same page after their war yesterday against each other. This match was used as a vehicle to drive towards the next set of B block matches that will feature B block leader, Naito facing Yoshi-Hashi and Evil facing off against Toru Yano.

KATSUYORI SHIBATA, MICHAEL ELGIN, KUSHIDA, JUICE ROBINSON & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI DEFEATED YUJI NAGATA, TOMOAKI HONMA, MANABU NAKANISHI, JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER & TIGER MASK IV IN 8:03

Kushida submits Liger with the hoverboard lock to get the win for his team in this 10 man tag.

G1 CLIMAX 26 TOURNAMENT

A BLOCK

NAOMUCHI MARUFUJI DEFEATED TAMA TONGA IN 10:54

Naomuchi beats Tonga with the Shiranui. Pretty strange opening G1 match that was very fast paced with a lot of unique sequences. Huge victory for Marufuji. It gets him to 10 points and puts him in position on the final day of the A block matches to secure a spot in the G1 final. His win on the opening night of the tournament against the current leader Okada could come into play. It gives Marufuji the tie breaker if he were to finish with the same point total as Okada. Marufuji would have to beat his final opponent Hirooki Goto and get some help on the final day. Strangely enough that help has to come from the man he just beat. By virtue of this loss, Tama Tonga is officially eliminated from G1 final contention. Up next for Tonga in his final G1 match is a battle with his Bullet Club stable mate Bad Luck Fale. Tonga can spoil Fale's chances of winning the G1.

SANADA DEFEATED TOMOHIRO ISHII IN 12:18

Sanada defeats Ishii with the Skull End in what was a hotly contested and entertaining match. Despite coming off two straight excellent performances in the G1. Tomohiro Ishii is officially eliminated with this loss. Sanada plays the spoiler role to perfection. Which will probably lead to future matches and a feud between "Cold Skull" and The "Stone Pitbull". On the final day of A block action on August 12th. Sanada will face Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a match that has no G1 final implications and Ishii will take on Togi Makabe.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN IN 11:17

Tanahashi continues his red hot streak into the final day of A block matches by beating Tenzan with The High Fly Flow. Good match with a lot of respect and honor shown between these two. Hiroshi has won 5 straight matches and is now tied at the top of the leader board with 10 points. His final A block match is against who else but Kazuchika Okada. With wins over Marufuji, Goto and Fale. Hiroshi controls his own destiny. He has all the key tiebreakers in his favor and a victory over Okada will put him right back in the G1 final a year after winning the tournament. He is the only competitor in the A block that is in a win and you are in scenario on the final day.

BAD LUCK FALE DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA IN 11:16

Fale defeats Okada with The Bad Luck Fall in what was the best match of his career against arguably the best wrestler on the planet in Okada. This result changes everything. Things just got more confusing. This creates a now 5 way tie at the top of the leader board with only 1 day left of A block matches. Okada just lost control of his destiny. Even if he wins against Tanahashi on the final day of the A block. That does not guarantee him a spot in the final. Okada would also need Fale and Marufuji to both lose in order to win the block. Going into this tournament, very few people would have predicted that Fale would be in this position. There is a path to winning the A block for Fale but ironically Bad Luck needs a lot of good luck. Fale now needs Okada to beat Tanahashi on 8/12, He also needs Marufuji to beat Goto and then Fale has to defeat his Bullet Club stable mate Tama Tonga. In that scenario at 12 points, He would win the A block and go to the G1 final by virtue of the fact that he owns tie-breakers over Marufuji and Okada. Fale does not own tie breakers over Tanahashi and Goto. He has lost to both of them so he needs them to lose. Got all that?.... I am still wrapping my head around it.

HIROOKI GOTO DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE IN 14:12

This was a war between these two. They were put in the main event position on this card in a somewhat surprising move. They delivered a main event style G1 match though. Very physical battle. Goto gets the victory with the GTR on Makabe. Hirooki joins the 5 way tie at the top of the A block leader board. His path to winning the block is the most difficult however. He needs to beat Marufuji and have Okada and Tanahashi's match finish in a draw. Because Goto has lost to both of them and can not break a tie with either even if he gets to 12 points. Makabe has now been officially eliminated from contention after starting the G1 at 4 and 0. He has since lost 4 straight. As it stands now leading into the final day of A block action. The field of contenders have been cut in half. Hirooki Goto, Naomuchi Marufuji, Kazuchika Okada, Bad Luck Fale and Hiroshi Tanahashi are all tied at the top of the A block with 10 points heading into the final A block event on August 12th.

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 15 – 2016.08.08 – Part 01 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 15 – 2016.08.08 – Part 02 by NewJapan

NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 15 – 2016.08.08 – Part 03 by NewJapan

UPDATED G1 STANDINGS

A BLOCK

KAZUCHIKA OKADA- 5-3 (10 POINTS)

HIROSHI TANAHASHI- 5-3 (10 POINTS)

NAOMICHI MARUFUJI- 5-3 (10 POINTS)

HIROOKI GOTO-5-3 (10 POINTS)

BAD LUCK FALE- 5-3 (10 POINTS)

TOGI MAKABE- 4-4- (8 POINTS)

TOMOHIRO ISHII- 3-5 (6 POINTS)

TAMA TONGA- 3-5 (6 POINTS)

SANADA- 3-5 (6 POINTS)

HIROYOSHI TENZAN-2-6 (4 POINTS)

B BLOCK

TETUSUYA NAITO- 5-2 (10 POINTS)

MICHAEL ELGIN- 4-3 (8 POINTS)

KENNY OMEGA- 4-3 (8 POINTS)

KATSUYORI SHIBATA- 4-3 (8 POINTS)

KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA- 4-3 (8 POINTS)

TORU YANO- 4-3 (8 POINTS)

YUJI NAGATA- 3 -4 (6 POINTS)

YOSHI-HASHI- 3 -4 (6 POINTS)

TOMOAKI HONMA- 2 -5 (4 POINTS)

EVIL- 2 -5 (4 POINTS)

A day off tomorrow for all G1 competitors and then they return on Wednesday for this crucial set of B block matches.

Toru Yano(8 pts) vs. EVIL (4 pts)
YOSHI-HASHI (6pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (10 pts)
Katsuhiko Nakajima (8 pts) vs. Kenny Omega (8 pts)
Katsuyori Shibata (8 pts) vs. Yuji Nagata (6 pts)
Tomoaki Honma (4 pts) vs. Michael Elgin (8 pts)