[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. As I am only reviewing the two tournament matches themselves for this night of the semifinals, 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.]
Here we are for the semi-finals, as the two men who will compete for the trophy of the G1 Climax 33. In the main event, Will Ospreay and Tetsuya Naito compete for one final position, in the third meeting between the two. Tetsuya Naito has never defeated Ospreay in singles competition, but there is no better time for the Ungovernable One to get his first win over the Assassin than right here tonight. In the second semi-final, Kazuchika Okada is the only one left to stand in the way of a potential spot in the finals for EVIL. Kazuchika Okada is always a fan favourite, but there won’t be a single person in the building cheering for EVIL in this contest tonight.
+ Will Ospreay vs Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax 33 Semifinal): first things first, Naito got rocked really badly on at least one occasion and it nearly went disastrously for everyone involved. Thankfully, there was still a proper finish and not a repeat of the horrible Ibushi issue from a couple of years ago, but in a way that just made this even better. The crowd was absolutely losing their mind, and I was getting legitimately emotional at times, especially toward the end. What a fantastic match despite the obvious mishap
+ Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL (G1 Climax 33 Semifinal): even with my distaste for Okada in recent times, there is clearly nobody better to counteract the potential perils of EVIL than Kazuchika Okada. The live crowd was eating this up like you would not believe, and while I personally think the match was very predictable it was still an incredibly atmosphere to see
> Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton on commentary were having a laugh at an exuberant fan in the crowd in the main event, but dammit that fan was right. What a moment
Should you watch this event: It should be no surprise that these were both good matches only aided by an amazing live crowd. I know I’m so far behind, but it was worth the wait.
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