Ryohei Oiwa Wins NJPW G1 Climax 2026 Tournament

Sunday’s NJPW G1 Climax 2026 Finals event at the Ryugoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan featured Ryohei Oiwa defeating Yuya Uemura in the Finals to become the winner of this year’s G1 Climax tournament.

The winner of the 2026 G1 Climax Tournament:

“The Grip” Ryohei Oiwa!#G1CLIMAX36 #njpw #G1Final pic.twitter.com/75vXt2HTQ0

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) August 16, 2026

Following the match, Oiwa gave a speech thanking the fans and everyone who has supported him on his journey to becoming the G1 Climax winner. Oiwa then told Hiroyishi Tenzan, who was seated at ringside for guest commentary, that while he was unable to be at ringside for his post-retirement match festivities last night, he did what he said he would do by winning this year’s tournament when he promised to do so in Tenzan’s honor.

Oiwa then announced that as the winner of this year’s tournament, he will be challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight title at this year’s King of Pro Wrestling event on October 12 in Tokyo.

Ryohei Oiwa announced that he will challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at King of Pro-Wrestling on October 12th!#G1FINAL pic.twitter.com/QtV2iSwgfv

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) August 16, 2026

This was Oiwa’s first-ever G1 Climax tournament victory in their NJPW career.