[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.
Night eleven means that some competitors have been eliminated, and others are on a razor’s edge, including when Kazuchika Okada faces KENTA in the main event, in a match that KENTA must win if he wants any chance in the finals still to come. Meanwhile, Shota Umino will face Yota Tsuji, and Tsuji must win if he wants to earn a chance in the finals, and Tanga Loa must defeat Will Ospreay if Loa wishes to remain in contention, but Ospreay is coming off one of the biggest wins of his career and will be looking to eliminate Loa as he continues that run. SANADA has already advanced to one of the two open spots atop A Block, but Gabe Kidd will be looking to make a name at the IWGP Champion’s expense when they meet, and after a slow start, El Phantasmo has rattled off two wins in a row but, not only must he win when he faces Taichi if he wishes to remain in contention, but Will Ospreay or Kazuchika Okada must lose. Also, though Ren Narita is already eliminated, his opponent Chase Owens is in with a chance but must win, and YOSHI-HASHI must defeat Great-O-Khan to advance, while O-Khan is already eliminated and will seek to play spoiler. Furthermore, along with YOSHI-HASHI winning, both Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay must lose their matches if YOSHI-HASHI is to advance. In the opening contest, HIKULEO will face Kaito Kiyomiya of Pro Wrestling NOAH, in a match that HIKUELO must win to stay mathematically alive in the tournament. However, if Kiyomiya wins, all of HIKULEO, Yota Tsuji and Chase Owens will be eliminated.
As we enter this home stretch, some competitors have become become mathematically eliminated based on their own results, and the results of other matches. With only two matches remaining, only a maximum of 4 points remain to be earned. Tonight, the following competitors are on the chopping block if they do not earn a win:
(A Block)
– HIKULEO will be eliminated if he loses to Kaito Kiyomiya;
– Chase Owens will be eliminated if he loses to Ren Narita, or Kaito Kiyomiya defeats HIKULEO;
– Gabe Kidd will be eliminated if he loses to SANADA;
– Yota Tsuji will be eliminated if he loses to Shota Umino, or Kaito Kiyomiya defeats HIKUELO.
(B Block)
– YOSHI-HASHI will be eliminated if he loses to Great-O-Khan;
– El Phantasmo will be eliminated if he loses to Taichi, or both Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay win
– Tanga Loa will be eliminate if he loses to Will Ospreay;
– KENTA will be eliminated if he loses to Kazuchika Okada.
+ Kazuchika Okada [8 points] vs KENTA [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): along with the Ospreay match, this was easily KENTA’s best match of the tournament so far. He looked dangerous and determined against Okada, where Okada clearly had almost nothing to lose. I liked this overall, but it’s a shame KENTA came in looking so weak or it would have been even better
+ Tanga Loa [4 points] vs Will Ospreay [8 points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): I mean no disrespect when I say this was surprisingly good, and it had one of the best match finishes I’ve seen in some time. Ospreay and Loa have great chemistry, where Loa looks wildly overpowering against Ospreay despite the size difference not being nearly that pronounced. Ospreay looked really good as well, of course, and that made this a reall fun match to get invested in
+ SANADA [10 points, has already won the A Block] vs Gabe Kidd [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): Gabe Kidd is an underappreciated MVP of this entire tournament, coming in as someone who nobody thought would ever win any big matches. With that in mind, it makes this match all the better. SANADA was the clear veteran against the wild newcomer of sorts, but for my money Gabe Kidd was the real standout
– Shota Umino [6 points] vs Yota Tsuji [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): this was good, but aside from the ending stretch I struggled to get into it. These Three Musketeer matches have all gone a certain way so whether this one did or not was almost irrelevant, but at least the added stakes of elimination made it more exciting
– Taichi [6 points] vs El Phantasmo [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): this one was a lot of fun. Even as Kevin Kelly tried to hype up the Phantasmo/KENTA match from previously, I can’t wrap my head around who thought it was a good idea to follow that Gabe Kidd/Kaito Kiyomiya with essentially the same thing but done in reverse. Anyway, this match was good but not quite must see
– Ren Narita [2 points, eliminated] vs Chase Owens [4 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): I’ve enjoyed the three former Young Lions in the A Block, but this was not one of the matches I’ve been jonesing to see. Very little here was important coming on, and very little feels important in the aftermath
– YOSHI-HASHI [4 points] vs Great O-Khan [2 points, eliminated] (G1 Climax 33 B Block Match): not an overall bad match, but a frustrating one in that I’m a fan of O-Khan who is already eliminated. So I find myself wanting to see him win, but that feels unfair on YOSHI-HASHI after the string of great matches YOSHI-HASHI has had. if I was more invested this may have been a recommended match, but as it stands it came too late in the tournament to be one to watch
– HIKULEO [4 points] vs Kaito Kiyomiya [6 points] (G1 Climax 33 A Block Match): despite the high stakes for both competitors, this one did nothing for me. “Blame” might be too strong a word, but I put the reason for that squarely on HIKULEO’s massive shoulders
> I may have jumped the gun on my potential elimination points, but the odds of no contests (where neither person earns any points) are so astronomically low I hate that they are considered a possibility in regards to future results.
Should you watch this event: This wasn’t the best day of G1 action by any means, but Okada/KENTA, SANADA/Gabe Kidd and especially Loa/Ospreay were really good. If you only have time for one, watch Loa/Ospreay.
MoshFish Reviews 