Callum Newman & Zack Sabre Jr. Clash On Night 5 Of NJPW’s G1 Climax 36

New Japan Pro-Wrestling returned to the Aore Nagaoka for the first time in just over four months for the fifth night of this summer’s G1 Climax tournament. The show featured four B Block matches and saw the tournament’s final undefeated competitor suffer their first loss, another notable upset, and an exciting all-British main event between Zack Sabre Jr. and Callum Newman.

Following the customary opening tag team matches featuring A Block competitors and wrestlers not involved in the tournament, the G1 action began with NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf taking on IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Gabe Kidd. Wolf entered the contest with a perfect 2-0 record, while Kidd was looking to build on his July 19 victory over OSKAR. After nearly 10 minutes of hard-hitting, physical action, Kidd secured the win with his trademark Drill a Hole piledriver, improving to 2-1 in the tournament and handing Wolf the first loss of his G1 debut.

The second tournament match saw United Empire’s HENARE face Knock Out Brother OSKAR, with both men aiming to reach six points in the standings. Continuing the evening’s hard-hitting theme, the two powerhouses relied on their size and strength in an effort to overpower one another. After more than 11 minutes of physical action, HENARE ultimately prevailed, putting OSKAR away with the HENARE Bomb to earn a decisive victory over the younger German.

The evening’s semi final saw the rapidly rising Yuya Uemura look to build on the momentum generated by his victory over Zack Sabre Jr. just a few days earlier as he faced Drilla Moloney, who had already turned heads by defeating Gabe Kidd on Night 2. The two fan favourites displayed mutual respect throughout the contest while maintaining a high level of intensity from start to finish. After just over 17 minutes of action, Moloney connected with the Drilla Killa, the same move that earned him victory over Kidd, to hand Uemura the defeat.

The main event featured two former IWGP Heavyweight Champions, Callum Newman and Zack Sabre Jr., going head-to-head in what became a tremendous encounter. Both men brought a high level of intensity, but it was ZSJ who displayed an especially rare level of aggression early in the contest. The approach was understandable, given the TMDK leader entered the match sitting closer to the bottom of the block than the top. Despite throwing everything he had at Newman, Sabre Jr. ultimately fell victim to a simple Schoolboy, handing Newman a major victory.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling will return for night six of the G1 Climax on July 25 from the Ota City General Gymnasium, also known as EBARA WAVE Arena Ota. The event will feature five A Block matches, including Konosuke Takeshita vs. Oleg Boltin, Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto-Ice, and Shingo Takagi vs. Yota Tsuji.

For more coverage from the tournament and everything surrounding New Japan Pro-Wrestling, WrestlePurists will keep you updated.

G1 Climax 2026 – Current Standings:

A Block:

Hirooki Goto – 2-1 (4 points)

Jake Lee – 2-1 (4 points)

Konosuke Takeshita – 2-1 (4 points)

Oleg Boltin – 2-1 (4 points)

Ryohei Oiwa – 2-1 (4 points)

Great-O-Khan – 1-2 (2 points)

SANADA – 1-2 (2 points)

Shingo Takagi – 1-2 (2 points)

Yota Tsuji – 1-2 (2 points)

Yuto-Ice – 1-2 (2 points)

B Block:

Callum Newman – 3-1 (6 points)

Drilla Moloney – 3-1 (6 points)

Gabe Kidd – 3-1 (6 points)

HENARE – 3-1 (6 points)

Aaron Wolf – 2-1 (4 points)

OSKAR – 2-2 (4 points)

Ren Narita – 2-1 (4 points)

Yuya Uemura – 2-2 (4 points)

Zack Sabre Jr. – 1-2 (2 points)

Shota Umino – 0-9 (0 points)

NOTE – Shota Umino withdrew from the competition after suffering a concussion and forfeited his remaining tournament matches.