[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: the first half of the tournament 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.
The ninth night of tournament action means that only three matches remain for those in the A and B Blocks. The main event, arguably one of the biggest matches NJPW could put on, will see the currently undefeated Kazuchika Okada put that on the line against old rival Will Ospreay in an absolute cannot miss affair. IWPG World Champion SANADA also continues his undefeated run through the tournament when he battles Ren Narita in the semi main event in a must-win for Narita, and El Phantasmo and KENTA will meet to keep their tournament hopes alive. HIKULEO and Yota Tsuji will also each be seeking to remain in contention when they fight it out, as will Tanga Loa and Great-O-Khan in their contest. Kaito Kiyomiya and Gabe Kidd, surprisingly both still in with a chance of ending their block in contention, will fight it out, and Taichi and YOSHI-HASHI seek to determine a winner of their 2-2 overall records with each other. Finally, Shota Umino and Chase Owens will meet in the opening contest.
As we enter this home stretch, some competitors can become mathematically eliminated based on their own results, and the results of other matches. With only three matches remaining, only a maximum of six points remain to be earned. Therefore, anybody only on 4 or fewer points at the end of this show will be effectively eliminated, if SANADA and Kazuchika Okada win their respective matches. There is always the chance a referee might throw a match out entirely, in which case no points are awarded, but that is unlikely.
+ Kazuchika Okada [8 points] vs Will Ospreay [6 points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): to the surprise of no wrestling fan in the world, this was fantastic. It was always a tough task for either guy to beat the other in 20 minutes, and that drama is arguably the best part of this particular match. Ospreay is really good, Okada is really good, and my thoughts on both guys personally added to what was already a great match to make is something even more
+ SANADA [8 points] vs Ren Narita [2 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): this was really good. If I’m not mistaken, SANADA has had great matches with all three of the NJPW former young lions and Kaito Kiyomiya, which means two things: one, SANADA is really good at carrying less-experienced guys when he needs to be, and; two, those four youngsters are going to be huge stars one day. This was a great match, once again with that added intrigue of ‘What if’ that those aforementioned younger guys all have against SANADA
+ HIKULEO [2 points] vs Yota Tsuji [2 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): much better than I expected it to be. Yota Tsuji is going to be a huge, massive star in this wrestling business and I get the feeling it is going to be sooner rather than later. As always, that backbreaker-lariat-stomp combo he does is a thing of beauty
+ Gabe Kidd [4 Points] vs Kaito Kiyomiya [5 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): everything about this entire segment was incredible. Gabe Kidd has made a real name and face for himself in this tournament, and Kaito Kiyomiya has proven himself in a different kind of way, especially that absolute banger against SANADA. I really enjoyed this, especially when something later tried to do it again, and did it worse
+ YOSHI-HASHI [4 points] vs Taichi [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): dammit, I loved this. I wasn’t particularly excited when seeing this on paper, but YOSHI-HASHI’s recent string of matches and Taichi’s performance of late should both have clued me into where this was going. What a fun and exciting match this ended up being
– El Phantasmo [2 points] vs KENTA [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): I feel bad saying this, because of just how hard these two were going, but this went on significantly too long for what it was trying to accomplish
– Tanga Loa [2 points] vs Great-O-Khan [2 Points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): this was an interesting match, but not a good match. I have said several times that Loa works best against the meat men (Ishii, Shingo, etc.) and I would usually consider O-Khan one of those. Alas, that was not the match O-Khan wanted to wrestle on this occasion
– Shota Umino [4 points] vs Chase Owens [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): this battle of survival, essentially, for both men was just uneventful and flat
> I know I always lose steam in this latter half of the tournament every year, but that just means the matches I recommend will be sure to be *must see*
Should you watch this event: This was one of the better shows start to finish we’ve had, for my money. Ospreay/Okada, SANADA/Narita and Kidd/Kiyomiya were all well worth watching.
MoshFish Reviews 