[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.
This fifth night of wrestling action means the A and B Blocks are once again in action, including the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA facing new rival Yota Tsuji in the main event, in a rematch from Dominion back in June. In the semi main, Kazuchika Okada battles Taichi, and Kaito Kiyomiya from Pro Wrestling NOAH will battle Shota Umino in a match between future top prospects. KENTA and Will Ospreay find themselves in a must win situation int heir match, and Chase Owens must face the imposing HIKULEO, a former friend when the latter was part of Bullet Club. Great-O-Khan and El Phantasmo will meet as each look to finally get their tournament run into action, and Ren Narita meets the unpredictable wild man Gabe Kidd. Finally, kicking off the show, YOSHI-HASHI and Tanga Loa will meet for only the second ever time in singles competition.
+ SANADA vs Yota Tsuji (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): straight up, this was not as good as their PPV main event but really was it ever going to be? Tsuji has such good offence, and that backbreaker-lariat-stomp combo is a thing of absolute beauty. SANADA looked good as the underdog, much like he was in that title defence, and I think that is the best position for him to be. This was a good main event that was unfortunately overshadowed by some top bangers before it
+ Kazuchika Okada vs Taichi (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): the crowd, Okada’s status and Taichi’s undeniable babyface fire made this one an absolute banger. It’s funny that I never really gave Taichi much notice nor considered him a wrestler of the style I enjoy so much until his series with Ishii a few years back, and now I look forward to every big match he’s in. I don’t know if that’s a ‘me problem’ or a ‘him evolution’, but either way I’m all for it. Okada is Okada, and though these days I find myself less interested in him as a character, there is no denying he is one of the best wrestlers in the world, especially in these matches with a shorter time limit
+ Kaito Kiyomiya vs Shota Umino (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): I’m honestly a bit surprised to say this was really good and exciting. With Kaito being from the other company, along with the interesting story they are telling with the Three Musketeers, there was no telling how this match would go and I wasn’t sure what to expect all the way up until it actually ended. The crowd was losing their mind for both guys, Shota in particular, but the final few minutes of this one were some nail-biting stuff
+ KENTA vs Will Ospreay (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): absolutely fantastic. This is the KENTA I have been complaining about not seeing in this tournament so far, and I am all to thrilled to be proven wrong when he has an opponent like Will Ospreay to play with. Ospreay too is on another level, and only elevates the people he is with, so melding two top level guys in one match is what I love
+ Ren Narita vs Gabe Kidd (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): I was not really expecting much from this, but in the end this was a really good, hard hitting, and lots of fun match. These two chopped the chest off of each other, and the crowd was really into it towards the end
– HIKULEO vs Chase Owens (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): did nothing for me. HIKULEO is not good enough to be in this top wrestling tournament in the world, and Chase is not at the level to carry someone like HIKULEO to a match in this top wrestling tournament int he world. HIKULEO is big, and I am sure he will be good one day. But not today
– Great-O-Khan vs El Phantasmo (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): there was a lot to like from this one, and I’m a fan of both these guys in particular, but when it as done it just felt so forgettable. ELP had that absolute war with Okada just recently, so I can forgive him for not repeating that against O-Khan. I kind of just wanted to like this more than I did, and I hope I’m not being dragged in to their records at the start of the match and falling for the booking side of things
– Tanga Loa vs YOSHI-HASHI (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): this was overall okay, but with a strange ending that I hope is not leading to the story it might be. YOSHI-HASHI is coming off a match of the tournament contender with Ospreay, but Tanga Loa is not Ospreay, so it’s no surprise this wasn’t quite as good as that. This felt like a means to a result, rather than putting on a good match
> once again, Kevin Kelly flies solo on English commentary and he’s still better than most commentary teams
> it’s only day five and I’m already three days behind. I don’t deserve your sympathy
Should you watch this event: Sell your soul to see KENTA/Ospreay, and both Okada/Taichi and Tsuji/SANADA are great as well. This was a good night of G1 action.
MoshFish Reviews 