NJPW G1 Climax 26 night seven results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
It keeps rollin’ on as we enter the seventh night of G1 competition. Will Hiroshi Tanahashi score that big win he needs? Let’s find out on the results of today’s show, which took place in Saitama:
Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated David Finlay & Ryusuke Taguchi when Tiger Mask pinned Finlay after a butterfly suplex from the top rope.
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, & Manabu Nakanishi defeated YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Katsuhiko Nakajima, & Gedo when Kojima pinned Gedo with the lariat.
Yujiro Takahashi & Kenny Omega defeated Michael Elgin & Captain New Japan when, as usual, Yujiro pinned Captain New Japan with his new DDT finish.
EVIL, BUSHI, & Tetsuya Naito defeated Katsuyori Shibata, KUSHIDA, & Juice Robinson when EVIL pinned Juice Robinson with the STO. Like with Elgin the other day, Naito put Shibata in a leglock after the match since they’re due to wrestle down the line.
Togi Makabe defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan
This started off with your usual back and forth, though it did get stiff in spots. Tenzan had the Anaconda Vise in for a good while but Makabe escaped to the ropes. Pretty good, solid match with Makabe getting the win with a Samoan drop and the King Kong knee drop off the top rope.
SANADA defeated Hirooki Goto
Good, solid action to start. Crowd didn’t seem to be interested, though it started to pick up once action kept rolling.
SANADA locked in the Skull End submission. Goto came back, but SANADA cut him off and applied the Skull End again. Goto refused to tap out, so SANADA let him go, went to the top rope, and hit the moonsault for the win. Another solid match.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Naomichi Marufuji
The match started off pretty smoothly, then went towards a more stiff style that’s more Ishii’s fare with chops and other hard hitting moves.
Crowd got really into this as time went on. Marufuji laid him out with kicks, but Ishii came back with a headbutt and a lariat. Ishii then hit a brainbuster and got the win. Wish it went a bit longer, but was good for what it was.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Tama Tonga
This didn’t have a lot of heat going for it, except for when Okada was in control. Tama Tonga just doesn’t seem to be over even though he’s gotten a couple of big wins on this tour.
The action was pretty solid. After a few initial rusty days, Tonga has proven he can hang with anyone. Tonga tried the gun stun but Okada dodged. Tonga missed a charge, ate a German suplex, then was pinned with the Rainmaker. Solid match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Bad Luck Fale
The storyline for Tanahashi so far in this tournament is that he’s suffered a number of losses and really needs to get back on track at this point with a win tonight.
This went to the outside early, and Fale just flung a barricade right on top of Tanahashi. That seems so dangerous given his injury. He came back and worked on his shoulder, which wasn’t very interesting. Tanahashi went to the top rope, but Fale slapped him right out of the ring.
Tanahashi made his comeback with a hurricanrana then hit a slingblade. He tried for another but Fale got his feet up. Tanahashi kicked out after Fale hit the Grenade. Fale grabbed him and went for the Bad Luck Fall, but Tanahashi escaped and rolled him up for the win.
Great finish as it continues the storyline that Tanahashi is still recovering from injury while also giving him the much needed win at the same time.
Tanahashi closed the show with a few air guitar solos.
A decent show overall. These shows don’t feel like the G1 shows of the past. Seems like the goal is to have decent to good matches on the undercard and at least deliver in the main event. It conserves bodies for sure, and that is a positive, but is also a bit disappointing considering previous years.