Callum Newman Earns Critical Victory Over OSKAR In G1 Climax Night 13 Main Event

The 13th night of New Japan’s G1 Climax took place in front of 2,741 fans at the famed Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan. The event featured four B Block matches, with Gabe Kidd being the only wrestler not in action. Kidd would have faced Shota Umino had Umino not suffered a concussion on the opening night of the tournament.

Following some tags you’d come to expect on these G1 events, the first tournament clash saw Drilla Moloney take on Zack Sabre Jr. in a match with massive implications for both men. Moloney was looking to tie Gabe Kidd with 10 points at the top of the block, while ZSJ was attempting to keep his tournament hopes alive and reach six points.

Moloney initially tried to go hold for hold with the defending G1 Climax winner, and while he made some progress early on, ZSJ was eventually able to take complete control. Sabre targeted Moloney’s arm with methodical ground work and early submission grappling, while Moloney eventually shifted his strategy toward his immense power, something he probably should have done from the start.

There was a really fun moment where Moloney stopped ZSJ from hitting a Sunset Flip and immediately followed it with a wild Spinebuster for a near fall. ZSJ responded by catching Moloney with a Go To Hellbow before transitioning into an Armbar and then a Triangle.

Moloney somehow managed to lift ZSJ off the mat while trapped in the submission and powerbombed him into the canvas. It was an incredible sequence and one that perfectly illustrated just how evenly matched these two were for much of the contest.

ZSJ would end up winning the match with a flash pin in 18:29. This was easily the match of the night and another crucial win for the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

The second tournament match of the evening featured a clash between Yuya Uemura and HENARE. Uemura took the early advantage after hitting a snug arm drag on HENARE and trapping him in an early armbar. HENARE would soon regain control after hitting a suplex from the apron back into the ring, followed by a senton from the Māori for a two-count.

The two had a pretty back-and-forth contest, especially as the match continued. Both men were able to keep the other from mounting much sustained offence. However, it seemed like HENARE was in trouble after Uemura hit him with a German suplex and a dragon suplex. He managed to kick out and later escaped a Deadbolt before hitting Uemura with an Island Grip, which Uemura was able to escape.

After some more frantic offence, including some mind-scrambling headbutts from both men, Uemura rocked HENARE with a Deadbolt, followed by a High Fly Flow for a near fall, and finally a Lion Shiner for the full three-count. With the win, Uemura moves up to eight points.

Unfortunately, the show didn’t just end there. The next match was almost grounds to quit watching. Aaron Wolf, who’s been having a pretty fun first G1 Climax, took on Ren Narita, who hasn’t exactly been a favourite with the fans. This was the third singles match of Wolf’s entire career, which began in January, and the previous two matches were not particularly well received. For anyone hoping for something other than a House of Torture special, this wasn’t it.

Dick Togo jumped Wolf to start the match, but Wolf was able to punish Togo for his efforts pretty quickly before turning his attention to Narita. Narita pulled just about every trick in the House of Torture playbook, but Wolf was able to thwart most of them for the most part. That was until Narita was able to take advantage after Wolf followed him out of the ring.

Togo continued to pester Wolf, and given the pace of the match, it seemed like Wolf was struggling to gain any real momentum. However, Wolf was able to make some ground thanks to his ally, Tatsuya Matsumoto. Wolf hit the Landslide, but Narita somehow kicked out at two.

Following that sequence, Togo got back into the ring and helped Narita hit Wolf with a Magic Killer. Narita then locked in a Cross Kneebar to clinch the win at 14:01. The less said about this match the better.

The main event of the show saw Callum Newman take on the giant OSKAR. Both men came into this match with eight points apiece, meaning the winner would join Gabe Kidd and Ren Narita in a share of the lead on 10 points. OSKAR’s strategy was pretty obvious: use his immense size to dominate the much smaller Newman, who in turn was trying to cut the massive German down to size.

OSKAR had the early advantage, as he almost ended the match quickly with an earth-shattering big boot to Newman’s dome. The fact that Newman was able to continue at all was shocking.

The German giant continued to impose his will on Newman for much of the early moments of the match. He rolled Newman through a few rows of chairs on the outside before planting more chairs on the prone Newman. OSKAR walked back into the ring, hoping for a quick count-out victory, but Newman used some of his fighting spirit to somehow inch his way back into the ring at the count of 19. However, he was rewarded for his immense inner strength with a devastating leg drop from OSKAR.

A little later, Newman’s plan to cut down OSKAR started to come to fruition, as it became clear that the German’s midsection was becoming his weakest point. Newman started dissecting him with blows to the ribs, slowing the big man down. He attempted a Kiss the Crown, but OSKAR was somehow able to take the brunt of it and nearly rock Newman with a Berlin Fall before eventually locking in the Alptraum. Newman escaped and, after distracting Red Shoes, low-blowed OSKAR and pinned him at 18:18. A disappointing end to a pretty solid match.

New Japan returned on Sunday night from G Messe Gunma in Takasaki for another round of A Block matches. With each man having two matches left to go, there were some massive implications hanging over these clashes. The main event saw Shingo Takagi take on his faction ally Yuto-Ice in what had the makings of a fantastic match.

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:

Oleg Boltin– 10 points (5-2)

Konosuke Takeshita – 10 points (5-2)

Ryohei Oiwa – 8 points (4-3)

Shingo Takagi – 8 points (4-3)

Yota Tsuji – 8 points (4-3)

Jake Lee – 6 points (3-4)

SANADA – 6 points (3-4)

Yuto-Ice – 6 points (3-4)

Great-O-Khan – 4 points (2-5)

Hirooki Goto – 4 points (2-5)

B Block:

Callum Newman – 10 points (5-2)

Gabe Kidd – 10 points (5-2)

Ren Narita – 10 points (5-2)

Drilla Moloney – 8 points (4-4)

HENARE – 8 points (4-3)

OSKAR – 8 points (4-4)

Yuya Uemura – 8 points (4-3)

Aaron Wolf – 6 points (3-4)

Zack Sabre Jr. – 6 points (3-4)

Shota Umino – 0 points (0-9)

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