Gabe Kidd Defeats HENARE In Hard-Hitting G1 Climax Night 11 Main Event

The 11th night of New Japan’s G1 Climax took place on Sunday from the Fukuoka Convention Center in Fukuoka, Japan. The show once again featured B Block tournament matches, including several with major implications for the standings.

The first G1 match of the night saw rookie wunderkind Aaron Wolf take on Drilla Moloney. Wolf needed to win because a loss would’ve put him on the elimination bubble, while Moloney was attempting to become the first man in his block, and the second in the entire competition, to reach 10 points. Moloney played it safe to start, which forced Wolf to wrestle more aggressively. Moloney landed a few spine-tingling chops and a Spinebuster. Wolf, for his part, answered with some of his own throws and tackles, attempting to take the match into deep waters. While Wolf had his moments of impactful offense, Moloney proved to be just a step faster with his own. Nevertheless, Wolf dipped back into his deep judo knowledge to throw Moloney off balance and locked in his Triangle Choke. Moloney managed to escape and hit another powerful Spinebuster before missing a Gore attempt. Wolf countered with a Powerslam for a near fall before following up with a Rolling Lariat and an Angle Slam for the three-count at 13:57.

The next match had even more potentially seismic ramifications, as Zack Sabre Jr. looked to keep his G1 hopes alive against the giant OSKAR. The German utilised his immense height and strength to take the early advantage, which must’ve had ZSJ concerned for a while. Sabre began trying to chop the giant down with heavy attacks to OSKAR’s arm and chest. However, the former tag team champion was able to absorb most of the punishment and regain his momentum, albeit with less power behind his offence due to the damage Sabre had inflicted.

Sabre trapped OSKAR in a triangle of his own, but OSKAR answered with a punishing powerbomb for a near fall. Sensing the end was near, Sabre locked in a brutal Ankle Lock. OSKAR managed to escape, but after a failed strike, he was caught in a full-body, pretzel-like knot, forcing the referee to call the match at 15:58. Sabre lives to fight another day, moving up to four points. I would’ve liked to see a little more intensity from ZSJ with his facials, but I do think his in-ring work did a good job of showing how important this match was.

The evening’s semi-final match saw Yuya Uemura and Ren Narita battle it out in a race to reach eight points. Narita arrived with his House of Torture allies, Dick Togo and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, while Uemura arrived with only the scepticism that Narita would play by the rules at all. Surprisingly, Narita wrestled a relatively clean match in the early going, only really resorting to his usual gamesmanship once the action spilt to the outside. At one point, both Togo and Kanemaru entered the ring to torment Uemura. Somehow, Uemura was able to mostly fend off the three dastardly men, although they still managed to do some damage. Narita then locked in a Sleeper Hold on the outside, only letting go so he could re-enter the ring in time to win by count-out.

Somehow, Uemura was able to recover and slide back into the ring just before the count of 20, keeping the match alive. Uemura still had some strength left in the tank, which he used to mount a dramatic comeback with a German Suplex, Hurricanrana, and Dragon Suplex. However, the damage he had already taken, combined with Togo and Kanemaru’s continued interference, made it incredibly difficult for him to hang on much longer. Narita eventually secured the win with a Kneebar at 20:00, aided by a referee distraction from Kanemaru and a subsequent senton from Togo. This was mostly a slog to get through, as most House of Torture matches tend to be, but Narita definitely showed that he is still a very capable worker.

The show’s main event was easily the least anticipated main event match during this year’s G1 so far. Gabe Kidd, who’s been oddly bad for most of this tournament, took on HENARE, who is capable of having a great match but rarely reaches that level. Both men entered the match at eight points. This was exactly the kind of match you’d expect from both of these men, for good and for ill. The match featured battles to the outside, some overdramatic moments from both men, and some pretty awesome moments that almost helped you forget you were watching a Gabe Kidd match in 2026. Honestly this match was kind of exhausting because it felt like both me were just doing everything but without any of the intensity that you’d want in a main event on a show midway through your massive summer tournament. This was aggressively adequate. Gabe Kidd would nail HENARE with two piledrivers to clinch the win at 20:35. The Death Rider is now the second wrestler to reach 10 points in the entire competition following Konosuke Takeshita. It’s interesting that the men leading each block happen to be AEW wrestlers.

The next show on the G1 schedule will take place on Thursday, August 6, from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. The card will feature another five tournament matches, including Yuto-Ice vs. SANADA, Konosuke Takeshita vs. Shingo Takagi, and Boltin Oleg vs. Yota Tsuji in a main event many see as a potential Match of the Tournament contender.

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:

Gabe Kidd – 10 points (5-2)

Callum Newman – 8 points (4-2)

Drilla Moloney – 8 points (4-3)

HENARE – 8 points (4-2)

OSKAR – 8 points (4-3)

Ren Narita – 8 points (4-2)

Aaron Wolf – 6 points (3-3)

Yuya Uemura – 6 points (3-3)

Zack Sabre Jr. – 4 points (2-4)

Shota Umino – 0 points (0-9)

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