[Please note: there are full incidental spoilers for all other nights of G1 Climax 33 action so far. You can start the journey of non-spoiler reviews of each night here.]
[Please note: this year, all 19 nights will be entirely G1 Climax 33 Block matches, without the opening preliminary tags or young lions matches, with A/B and C/D across alternating nights. I am reviewing every tournament match, but this year I am being brutal: if a match is only ‘good’, it doesn’t get the positive check mark next to it. It’s hard to have a ‘bad’ match in the G1, so you can unofficially use the +/- marks as ‘must see’/’can be missed’. That said, damn I love G1 season.]
Nineteen nights of action across the next three weeks can only mean one thing: it’s time for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) G1 Climax 33, a round robin tournament where the winner earns the chance to main event the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom next year. In the G1 Climax, a win earns a competitor 1 point with the loser getting 0 points, while a time limit draw or double countout earns 1 each. For the first time, all matches will have a 20 minute time limit. At the end of the round robin format, top two of each of the four groups advance into an elimination phase, before the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals to crown the overall winner.
Night three means the A and B Block competitors are back in action, including El Phantasmo and Kazuchika Okada in the main event. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA will face Shota Umino, and YOSHI-HASHI and Will Ospreay will be at their best when they meet in the ring as well. Despite previously having fought for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Yota Tsuji has never beaten fellow dojo classmate Ren Narita and the two will fight tonight for tournament glory, and Tanga Loa returns to the ring to battle Taichi as one man looks to earn their second win of the G1. Gabe Kidd will continue his warpath when he battles another Bullet Club partner in HIKULEO, and KENTA and Great-O-Khan will face off in tournament action. Kicking off the show, Chase Owens looks to win his first ever back-to-back G1 matches when he battles Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya.
+ El Phantasmo vs Kazuchika Okada (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): really good and really exciting. I love El Phantasmo, and that paired with my diminishing love for Okada meant I was once again fully invested in the match for the hope ELP would win. Maybe Vince McMahon was onto something all those years with John Cena and Roman Reigns on top as the ‘heroes’ we were meant to love? That sounds harsh, but this match was great, and equally showing from ELP and Okada with a fired up crowd
+ Shota Umino vs SANADA (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): really good. I’m a big fan of Umino, and SANADA looked like his old ‘great wrestler, bland personality’ self which is better than the ‘bland both’ he has sometimes been. I do also concede that maybe Shota is a better wrestler than HIKUELO, especially for SANADA to pair with
+ YOSHI-HASHI vs Will Ospreay (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): really hard hitting, with a great finishing stretch, this is all you need to prove that YOSHI-HASHI isn’t the joke he is still sometimes considered. Ospreay is of course Ospreay, and therefore one of the best wrestlers in the world when he wants to be, but this showed that it takes two to tango. And what a beautiful dance it was
+ Yota Tsuji vs Ren Narita (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): another banger between the no-longer-young-lions. I’ve been a big fan of ‘Big Tsuj’ for a long time now, and it’s clear NJPW feels the same way. If Narita is to become the second coming of Shibata he has a few ways to go, but both of these two are so much fun to watch, it feels like you’re witnessing history. I know that’s the plan, but it’s working, so I can’t complain
– Tanga Loa vs Taichi (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): this never did anything for me, and by the time it was over I had forgotten almost everything that happened. Both these guys work so well with someone like Ishii, so I can’t believe they didn’t do anything that exciting together
– HIKULEO vs Gabe Kidd (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): this was fine, but I am struggling to care about Gabe Kidd in this tournament, because I don’t believe for a single second he will win the thing or beat the big names. HIKULEO, too, is ‘fine’, but I will not make even a one dollar bet that he will win this block, let alone the tournament
– KENTA vs Great-O-Khan (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): this was just ‘okay’, and frankly that disappointed me. KENTA has felt off in both of his matches so far, and hopefully that is because he’s priming himself for a run of absolute bangers at tournament’s end. O-Khan too has felt a step behind what I want and expect from him
– Chase Owens vs Kaito Kiyomiya (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): this one was okay, but never a standout or must-see. There was one guy in the crowd who was well behind Kiyomiya though, which made for a cute few moments. Both guys eventually got the crowd on their side. I flip-flop on Owens a lot, but when he is the veteran in a block of rookies (and SANADA), he can really pace things well
Should you watch this event: An even split of 4:4 matches to see versus those to miss means things are officially heating up in the G1. Ospreay/YOSHI-HASHI was probably my favourite of the show, which is something I can’t believe I’m saying.
MoshFish Reviews 