[Please note: by the time you read this, the G1 Climax 33 will have concluded and a winner determined. I have avoided all spoilers, and am watching this with fresh eyes. 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: For these final four nights of tournament action, I am reviewing only the tournament matches unless a particular tag match tickles my fancy. And 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 final night of C Block action has arrived, as night 15 will determine which of the five remaining competitors will advance to the final two. In the main event, Shingo Takagi will do all he can to defeat his former stablemate EVIL, while Eddie Kingston and David Finlay will also each battle it out in a winner-takes-all contest. Tama Tonga will keep his very slim chances alive when he meets HENARE, and though both are eliminated already, Tomohiro Ishii and Mikey Nicholls will face off in what is sure to be a war.
In the final four matches for the D Block on night 16, Tetsuya Naito will meet old rival Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event where all Naito must do is win to advance, though Tanahashi will need to win and have some other matches go his way. Hirooki Goto and Zack Sabre Jr. will each be looking for a win to keep their chances of victory alive, but again both will also rely on the results from other matches as well. Shane Haste will do what he can to give his stablemate Zack Sabre Jr. the advantage when Haste faces Jeff Cobb, and kicking off the show, Toru Yano has the unenviable task of battling Alex Coughlin.
On this final night of C Block action, five competitors are still in with a chance to fill the two open positions:
– Tama Tonga will advance (in a tie break situation) if he wins, and the match between Eddie Kingston and David Finlay is thrown out and Shingo Takagi defeats EVIL;
– Eddie Kingston will advance if he defeats David Finlay;
– David Finlay will advance if he defeats Eddie Kingston;
– Shingo Takagi will advance if he defeats EVIL;
– EVIL will advance if he defeats or draws with Shingo Takagi.
In a similar position, there are five competitors still able to advance in the D Block, with several relying on results other than jut their own match:
– Jeff Cobb will advance if he defeats Shane Haste;
– Hirooki Goto will advance if he defeats Zack Sabre Jr., and both Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jeff Cobb lose;
– Zack Sabre Jr. will advance if he defeats Hirooki Goto, and either of Tetsuya Naito or Jeff Cobb lose or draw in their matches;
– Hiroshi Tanahashi will advance if he defeats Tetsuya Naito and both Jeff Cobb and Hirooki Goto win their matches;
– Tetsuya Naito will advance if he defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi.
+ Hiroshi Tanahashi [6 points] vs Tetsuya Naito [8 points] (G1 Climax 33 D Block Match): even despite the physical conditions of these two, this was something special to see. Tanahashi pulled out all the stops, and Naito did some crazy stuff as well. I’m glad nobody died in this match, because I really thought it not just was going to happen, but did happen at the finish
+ Hirooki Goto [6 points] vs Zack Sabre Jr. [8 points] (G1 Climax 33 D Block Match): there was a lot of surprisingly and really well done stuff in this one. Sabre really has carved out that niche for himself in NJPW that not many, if any will be able to fill any time soon. Goto meanwhile is in a strange position where he has the credibility to ‘win the big one’ but I don’t really think anyone expects him to. it’s not a bad place to be, mind you
+ Jeff Cobb [8 points] vs Shane Haste [4 points, eliminated] (G1 Climax 33 D Block Match): in a stark and brutal comparison to Mikey Nicholls in the C block, Shane Haste is just amazing. I absolutely loved everything about this, all the way up to the ending which I imagine may be divisive. Cobb is always a joy to watch, and against someone like Haste it was a surefire hit for me
+ Shingo Takagi [7 points] vs EVIL [8 points] (G1 Climax 33 C Block Match): this was good and I am comfortable giving it a positive mark, but it was so frustratingly and predictably hampered by the same sort of bullshit we’ve all come to expect from EVIL. I just can’t wrap my head around why, even as a bad guy and arguably one of the top bad guys of the company, you would ever willingly kill the interest in one of your characters like EVIL is
+ Tama Tonga [7 points] vs HENARE [4 points, eliminated] (G1 Climax 33 C Block Match): HENARE is just so damn cool. It’s a shame has has done so relatively poorly in his G1s so far, because his matches have more than outshone his overall record. Tama Tonga was in a good position here, and the added intrigue of a potential tie were Tama to win made this overall very exciting to watch
– Toru Yano [4 points, eliminated] vs Alex Coughlin [4 points, eliminated] (G1 Climax 33 D Block Match): Coughlin has single handedly made me a fan of his over this tournament, and Yano is as Yano will more than likely always be. I liked Coughlin, but I did not care for this match
– Eddie Kingston [8 points] vs David Finlay [8 points] (G1 Climax 33 C Block Match): a lot of fun, but too much of the same stuff that we were obviously going to get in the following match anyway. Kingston was overall a success in this tournament, but the idea of not just EVIL but now Finlay having the same bullshit interference stuff that legitimately turned me off NJPW for so long is a daunting ask
– Tomohiro Ishii [2 points, eliminated] vs Mikey Nicholls [4 points, eliminated] (G1 Climax 33 C Block Match): as you all know, I’m a big fan of Ishii, but this was not a match I was excited for and having seen it I can’t say I cared. Mikey Nicholls bombed in this tournament, considering not only did Sabre and Haste outshine him, but even Kosei Fujita did
> Kevin Kelly was joined on commentary for night 16 by Eddie Kingston and he was a great addition. I’m not the biggest Kingston fan, but him on commentary added a huge air of legitimacy to everything that was happening (even if I did get a chuckle out of how often he said ‘folks’)
Should you watch this event: There was more good than bad on this pair of shows, thanks in no small part to the large number of possibilities coming into each show. I can’t say I’m thrilled with every winner and all of those advancing to the quarter finals, but I have faith that at least the matches should be good.
MoshFish Reviews 