Takeshita & Goto Go To War In G1 Climax Night 10 Main Event

New Japan descended upon Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Hiroshima, Japan for the 10th night of the G1 Climax. The event featured five tournament matches from A Block.

After the traditional early-show tag matches, the tournament proper began once again with a clash pitting SANADA, who came into the match sporting a 2-3 record, against Boltin Oleg, who was 3-2. SANADA wasted no time once the bell rang. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion walloped the Kazakh with a thunderous Shining Wizard before heading to the top rope to try and end the match early with a Moonsault.

Unfortunately for SANADA, Boltin was able to stop the Moonsault attempt, got back to his feet, and trapped SANADA in a Shake. He then picked up his opponent like a sack of potatoes, powerbombed him twice with no regard for human life, and ended the match with a Kamikaze in 1:30. As a squash, this was simply sublime. Definitely worth a watch, especially because it’s only 90 seconds long. Boltin now sits at 4-2 with eight points and is in a great position to make the playoffs at this rate.

The next match saw Yuto-Ice, fresh off his incredible match with Yota Tsuji earlier this week, taking on Jake Lee, who’s mostly coasted through the tournament with middling-to-okay clashes. Yuto-Ice revealed that his left pec was bruised purple and badly swollen just before the match began, indicating that it had been injured. That injury became the key to the match, as Lee targeted it relentlessly, chopping and even biting at the pec. Lee used a lot of shenanigans throughout the contest, all of which were eye-rolling, to be honest, but Ice got the last laugh after hitting a low blow before putting Lee away with a Cruella at 10:37. Far from necessary viewing.

Unfortunately, the show wouldn’t get much better in the short-term because the next match featured Great-O-Khan. This time, the United Empire wrestler took on Shingo Takagi, who’s been a joy to watch throughout the G1. Takagi came into this match desperate for points, as he was sitting on just four. Just like Jake Lee before him, GOK attacked Takagi before the match officially began. There was a lot of brawling on the outside, including an admittedly entertaining stop in the bathroom, before the action finally made its way back to the ring.

Takagi absolutely took it to GOK with suplexes on the floor and his patented hard lariats, but GOK was right there at every turn with a new trick to try and trip up the Dragon. Fortunately, Takagi was able to turn those tricks into treats, putting GOK away with Last of the Dragon for the win at 9:56.

Luckily, the show picked up considerably after those last two terrible matches. The next match featured Ryohei Oiwa and Yota Tsuji. Both men were sitting on six points, so a win was crucial with Boltin Oleg and Konosuke Takeshita both on eight. They both seemed to know that all too well because they wrestled with so much precision and emotion here.

As has been his goal throughout the tournament, Oiwa went into this match trying to force Tsuji to tap out. He attempted a few pins, including one after a hellacious Doctor Bomb, but he was clearly targeting Tsuji’s head in an effort to make him submit to the Sleeper Hold.

For his part, Tsuji was also wrestling with an injured right arm, which he suffered during his now-legendary clash with Yuto-Ice. Fans could tell he was struggling to throw most of his strikes with full power. However, Tsuji was able to utilise his lucha offence to weaken Oiwa.

The climax of the match came after Oiwa rocked Tsuji with a Tenzan Suplex before locking in a Sleeper Hold. However, just as it seemed Oiwa might clinch the victory, he transitioned to The Grip for a pin. Tsuji slipped out and hit a crazy Gene Blaster to seal the come-from-behind win at 19:37. Some fans have already said this topped Tsuji’s match with Yuto-Ice. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but this was a fantastic match and well worth a watch. Tsuji now sits on eight points.

Finally, we arrived at the main event, which saw Hirooki Goto take on Konosuke Takeshita. Goto was attempting to join Shingo Takagi on six points, while Takeshita was looking to become the first wrestler to reach 10 points in the competition. These two men had an excellent G1 match in 2024, one that was rated 4.5 stars by Dave Meltzer at the time, with Goto emerging victorious.

Takeshita took the early advantage with his educated strikes. However, he was perhaps a bit overzealous, as Goto was able to catch him on the top rope and hit an inverted Tower of London, which will always pop me. Takeshita regained some momentum after hitting a dive to the outside, and the two then started trading hellacious strikes, including an Akiyama knee strike. Goto eventually wrestled control back with a neck-rocking Ushigoroshi.

“The Alpha” answered later with a Blue Thunder Bomb, a move he took from El Generico many years ago in DDT, before following up with a Busaiku Knee. Goto responded with a pair of GTRs but couldn’t put Takeshita away with either. After some more awesome action, Goto hit a GTW, but Takeshita somehow kicked out once again. Goto attempted another GTR, but Takeshita countered with one of his own for a near fall. After trading some final big blows, including headbutts, Takeshita walloped Goto with a Raging Fire for the three-count. This was an awesome match that is well worth your time. Goto and Takeshita have incredible chemistry!

New Japan will return tomorrow for Night 11 of the G1 Climax at the Fukuoka Convention Center, as B Block action continues.

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:

Konosuke Takeshita – 10 points (5-1)

Boltin Oleg – 8 points (4-2)

Yota Tsuji – 8 points (4-2)

Ryohei Oiwa – 6 points (3-2)

Shingo Takagi – 6 points (3-3)

Yuto-Ice – 6 points (3-3)

Great-O-Khan – 4 points (2-4)

Hirooki Goto – 4 points (2-4)

Jake Lee – 4 points (2-4)

SANADA – 4 points (2-4)

B Block:

Callum Newman – 8 points (4-2)

Drilla Moloney – 8 points (4-2)

Gabe Kidd – 8 points (4-2)

HENARE – 8 points (4-1)

OSKAR – 8 points (4-2)

Ren Narita – 6 points (3-2)

Yuya Uemura – 6 points (3-2)

Aaron Wolf – 4 points (2-3)

Zack Sabre Jr. – 2 points (1-4)

Shota Umino – 0 points (0-9)

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