NJPW wraps up a long weekend of G1 action with a B Block show in Fukuoka. Tonight’s show is the first to feature a possible elimination, and it’s got what should be a very hard-hitting, follically challenged main event. Also, it should be noted that tonight’s lucky winner of a night off via Shota Umino’s injury is Callum Newman.

B Block: Aaron Wolf (4 points) vs. Drilla Moloney [Unbound Co.] (8 points)

They start off grappling, but it quickly escalates with some heavy striking – going into this one, Wolf stated that he wanted to avoid Moloney’s chops, and boy, did he fail at that. This is a very physical match that gets the crowd going – both guys are very over, and the match is well executed. Moloney maintains the advantage through most of this one, but Wolf comes back with a series of judo throws and tries for his head-and-arm choke submission, but Moloney battles out of it. Wolf catches a gore attempt and turns it into a powerslam, then hits a new cannonball-style move and the Angle Slam for the pinfall. This was very good, and it’s getting to the point where you’d be hard-pressed to say that Wolf has just over six months of in-ring experience.

What’s next? Wolf (6 points) wrestles Ren Narita on Night 13, which takes place on Saturday in Yokohama, while Moloney (8 points) wrestles Zack Sabre Jr. on the same show.

B Block: OSKAR [Unbound Co.] (8 points) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [TMDK] (2 points)

Sabre will be eliminated from semi-final contention if he loses this match.

OSKAR uses his size to control the match early on, both with offensive maneuvers and by powering out of Sabre’s attempts at controlling the match with his technical wrestling. OSKAR pounds on Sabre for several minutes, but OSKAR misses a legdrop on the apron, allowing Sabre to go to work on OSKAR’s leg. OSKAR battles back, but every time he tries to finish his opponent, Sabre escapes with his unparalleled technical skills. Eventually, Sabre manages to tie up OSKAR like a pretzel, and OSKAR is forced to submit. This was also very good, as the story made perfect sense, OSKAR played his role as a nearly unstoppable giant perfectly, and Sabre did his usual thing the way only he can.

What’s next? Sabre (4 points) wrestles Moloney on Saturday, while OSKAR (8 points) wrestles Callum Newman on the same show.

B Block: Yuta Uemura (6 points) vs. Ren Narita [HOUSE OF TORTURE] (6 points)

Narita has Dick Togo with him, of course, while Uemura is rolling solo, the dummy. As it turns out, Uemura has never beaten Narita – Uemura was 0-11 against him as a Young Lion, was 0-1 against him on excursion (at the infamous Ric Flair’s Last Match show in 2022), and is 0-1 against him since their returns, in a match in G1 Climax 34.

They start out with some grappling, which is nice and reinforces my view that Narita is pretty good, actually, and would be fine without the HOUSE silliness. Narita works over Uemura’s knee, with help from Togo, who wraps Uemura’s knee around the post and hits it with a chair. But, of course, as everyone knows, a Narita match doesn’t truly start until the ref gets bumped, which takes place just after the 10 minute mark. Togo and Yoshinobu Kanemaru attack Uemura, but Uemura takes them both out before they can do anything too nefarious. They go back and forth for a while until Uemura hits the Deadbolt suplex, but Narita ducks the Lion Shiner and applies a kneebar. Uemura won’t tap, but Kanemaru takes ref Marty Asami and Togo hits a senton on Uemura’s knee, after which Narita re-applies the hold and gets the submission. This was good, but the HOUSE silliness takes it down a notch.

What’s next? Narita (8 points) wrestles Wolf on Saturday, while Uemura (6 points) wrestles HENARE on the same show.

B Block: HENARE [United Empire] (8 points) vs. Gabe Kidd (8 points)

Of course, the rivalry between these two goes back to the epic War Dogs/United Empire feud – Kidd was the person who split HENARE’s head open by throwing a table at him, nearly killing him during the legendary Dog Pound match in 2024.

This one starts off with a wild brawl that quickly spills out into the crowd. At one point, Kidd runs halfway across the arena to deliver a clothesline, only to be met by one from HENARE. Kidd gains an advantage, and they finally make their way back to the ring. Kidd controls for a while, but then makes the critical mistake of attempting to headbutt HENARE, which knocks Kidd loopy and fires HENARE up. HENARE can’t put Kidd away, however, and Kidd mounts a comeback of his own. Kidd spits at Gedo, who is at the Japanese commentary table, but this gives HENARE time to recover, and they exchange stiff offense before heading back outside. Kidd throws a table at HENARE (referencing the Dog Pound match) but misses, then hits HENARE in the head with a chair, which only fires HENARE up, as one would expect. HENARE sets up the table, then drives Kidd’s head into it several times. Back in the ring, HENARE gets a near-fall with Rampage, but Kidd cancels out a charge with a punch and then hits two piledrivers for the pinfall. This was a terrific brawl, although I think HENARE may have run out of gas a bit at the end. Still, both guys looked great, and Kidd continues to exude a real star aura.

What’s next? Kidd (10 points) has the night off on Saturday; he wrestles Uemura on Night 15, which takes place on Tuesday, August 11, in Tsu. HENARE (8 points) wrestles Uemura on Saturday.

So, since I outlined where the A Block stands yesterday, here’s a look at the B Block two-thirds of the way through the tournament:

• 10 points: Gabe Kidd
• 8 points: Drilla Moloney, Callum Newman, Ren Narita, HENARE, OSKAR
• 6 points: Yuya Uemura, Aaron Wolf
• 4 points: Zack Sabre Jr.

Now, it’s important to note that Kidd, OSKAR and Moloney only have two matches left, as they were scheduled to face Umino on future shows. As such, Kidd could only possibly get 14 points, while OSKAR and Moloney could only possibly get 12.

Sabre is the only wrestler on the brink of elimination here, though nothing other than a loss to Moloney could take him out on Saturday, since Kidd isn’t wrestling on that show. The way this booking seems to be headed is fairly similar to the booking of the Best of the Super Juniors, where a ton of guys in both blocks were clumped up in giant blobs at the end and tiebreakers played an important role. It seems fairly likely to me that, after Saturday’s show, there will be six guys tied at eight points, two tied at 10, and one at six, with everybody still alive and Uemura appearing to be lined up to make the big comeback at the end, with matches against HENARE, Kidd (with an important tiebreaker on the line) and OSKAR.

Anyway, the next show is a major A Block from Korakuen Hall on Thursday with a hugely significant main event between Boltin Oleg and Yota Tsuji and at least one elimination – whoever loses the Great-O-Khan/Jake Lee match is out, and a few others are on the verge of elimination, as well. See you then!