By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
NJPW “G1 Climax 33 ”
July 18, 2023 in Yamagata, Japan at Yamagata City General Sports Center
Streamed on New Japan World
The tournament is comprised of 32 wrestlers, spread out in four Blocks, each comprised of eight competitors. This is a round-robin tournament, so each competitor has seven tournament matches. New this year, the top TWO finishers in each Block advance to a single-elimination, eight-man tournament. The winner gets a title shot at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. Time limits are 20 minutes this year, NOT 30 minutes, so we’ll see how that impacts the tournament. Kevin Kelly provided live commentary; no Chris Charlton today. The tournament is spread out over 19 shows in a 29-day span.
This is a large gym, on par with what you’d expect at a small college. The crowd is perhaps 1,200, but it can seat many more in the upper deck. Kelly noted “it doesn’t have quite the buzz of some other places” as the lights are on and people are a bit spread out.
1. Kaito Kyomiya (4) defeated Chase Owens (2) in an A Block tournament match at 8:31. Kelly said these two actually fought once in Canada while Kaito was on excursion. Owens shook his hand, but then he attacked from behind to start the match and he was in charge early on. Kaito hit a springboard forearm at 4:30 and he fired up. He hit a missile dropkick. Kelly said Kaito is 4-2 in singles matches this year, which is mind-blowing how few he’s had. (For Mike Bailey, that’s a slow WrestleMania weekend!) Owens hit a back suplex for a nearfall, and he set up for the package piledriver but Kaito fought it off.
Owens hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 7:00. He again went for a package piledriver but Kaito reversed it and got a rollup for a nearfall. Kaito butterflied the arms and hit a powerbomb, then a Shining Wizard running knee for the pin. Solid opener.
2. Kenta (2) defeated Great-O-Khan (0) in a B Block tournament match at 11:39. Kelly said Kenta won their only prior meeting in the 2021 G1 tournament. Kenta stalled on the floor early on. They brawled on the floor, far away from ringside. Again, this is some type of fieldhouse, with white lines on a green floor. They returned to ringside, where Kenta slammed GOK’s head into the ring post at 4:00, and he hit some Yes Kicks to the chest before finally throwing O-Khan into the ring. O-Khan hit a gut-wrench suplex, with Kenta rolling back to the floor, and O-Khan joining him so they could brawl more amongst the fans. O-Khan whipped him into a row of empty chairs at 6:30. I am unclear on why this isn’t a double count-out, as they brawled outside the ring for several minutes.
Back in the ring, O-Khan hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 8:30; he went to apply the Sheep Killer submission hold, but Kenta grabbed the ref and used him to break up the hold. Kenta hit a DDT and he yelled at the referee. He hit a running knee for a nearfall. The ref got bumped. O-Khan hit several heart punches; that’s new. O-Khan hit a modified tombstone piledriver. He set up for a claw-style chokeslam, but Kenta blocked it, got a rollup, grabbed the ropes for leverage, and scored the cheap pin. Okay match.
3. Gabe Kidd (2) defeated Hikuleo (w/Jado) (0) in an A Block tournament match at 7:47. Hikuleo was out first, but Kidd struck him from behind with his title belt, and they immediately brawled on the floor, going between the rows of chairs and amongst the fans. (I start my stopwatch at first contact or the bell, whichever is first.) Kidd nailed him over the head with a chair; Hikuleo did get his hands up to partially block it but it looked like he caught a lot of it on his head. Hikuleo hit a backbody drop onto a pile of folded chairs at 3:00. They got in the ring, by my watch, at 4:17 the bell rang to officially start, and Kidd got a clothesline for a nearfall.
Hikuleo hit a hard slap to the face to drop Kidd, then a German release suplex. He snake-eyes him in the corner and hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 6:00. Hikuleo hit an awkward-looking powerslam that dropped Kidd high on his head and shoulder, but Gabe seemed okay and Gabe immediately applied a sleeper, then a crossface, but Hikuleo reached the ropes. Gabe pulled Jado into the ring and beat him up. As the ref helped Jado back out of the ring, Gabe hit a low blow punt kick and a piledriver to score the tainted pin. Again, official time is about 3:30.
4. Taichi (4) defeated Tanga Loa (w/Jado) (2) in a B Block tournament match at 12:37. Taichi wore his KOPW title belt. They immediately traded forearm shots and chops. They brawled to the floor at 2:30. Taichi swung Loa’s damaged knee into the ring post. (Keep in mind, these are Loa’s first matches in more than a year after suffering a knee injury.) In the ring, Taichi tied up Loa on the mat and targeted the right knee. Loa hit a swinging powerslam at 7:00 and they were both down. Loa hit a German Suplex and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall.
They traded blows and Taichi hit an enzuigiri at 9:00; he was fired up and ripped off his breakaway pants. Loa hit Taichi’s knee, but Taichi hit a blow on Loa’s knee, and they were both down again. Taichi hit a Saito Suplex at 11:00. Loa hit an enzuigiri and a clothesline, then a spear. Taichi got a Gedo Clutch rollup for the pin. Good match.
* Chase Owens joined Kevin Kelly on commentary.
5. Ren Narita (2) vs. Yota Tsuji (1) ended in a time limit draw in an A Block tournament match at 20:00. Narita is coming off the 20-minute draw with Shota Umino, and I’m sure that will play a factor in the final standings. Intense mat reversals to open; Tsuji is bigger but it’s not as vast of a difference as I expected. Tsuji stalled on the floor; as he tried to climb back in, Ren kicked him in the face at 5:30, sending him back to the ground. Ren took control in the ring. He hit a European Uppercut and a flying leg lariat at 7:30. Tsuji dove through the ropes onto Ren and he took control. In the ring, Tsuji hit a flying splash for a nearfall at 10:00.
Ren hit a Northern Lights Suplex and slowed Yota down on the mat. They traded forearm shots, and Tsuji hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee at 12:30, then he applied a Boston Crab, but Ren eventually reached the ropes. Tsuji hit a Stinger Splash, a shoulder tackle, and a powerslam for a believable nearfall at 15:00; the crowd got noticeably louder at the five-minute warning, too. Ren hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Tsuji hit a flipping sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 17:00, then a Rollins-style Stomp to the head for a nearfall, and he was fired up.
Ren avoided a spear and he hit a kneestrike to the head for a nearfall. Tsuji hit a kneestrike, a superkick and a headbutt, but they both collapsed to the mat and were down at 19:00; the one-minute warning is spot-on. They fought on the ropes in the corner. Ren tried to apply an Octopus but the ref ordered him to let go, and we hit the 20-minute mark exactly with my watch. So, each man gets one point; it’s Narita’s second draw to start the tournament. Good match; a step below Ren-Shota, but still quite good. The young guys are bringing it.
6. Will Ospreay (2) defeated Yoshi-Hashi (2) in a B Block tournament match at 13:04. Standing switches to open. Yoshi-Hashi hit his Headhunter flipping faceplant. Ospreay hit a plancha to the floor at 2:00 and they brawled at ringside. In the ring, Ospreay was in charge, but he has some blood coming from his mouth; it dripped onto his chest. He applied a mid-ring Octopus. Yoshi-Hashi hit a dropkick on the knee and a DDT at 5:00. He hit a Blockbuster for a nearfall. Ospreay hit a handspring-back-spin kick at 6:30 and fired up. He nailed the springboard flying forearm for a nearfall. They traded chops. Ospreay hit some Kawada Kicks. Ospreay hit a roaring forearm, then the Oscutter for a nearfall at 9:00.
Yoshi-Hashi ducked a Hidden Blade forearm to the back of the head and he hit a kneestrike to Ospreay’s back, and they were both down. Ospreay set up for Stormbreaker but Yoshi-Hashi fought free, and YH hit a brainbuster for a nearfall, then a Canadian Destroyer for a believable nearfall at 11:00, and he was fired up. Ospreay hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Ospreay tied YH in the corner and hit a kick to the face. Ospreay nailed a top-rope corkscrew splash for the pin. Good match with some nice hope spots for Yoshi-Hashi. Ospreay celebrated and wiped some of the blood away from his lips.
7. Sanada (4) defeated Shota Umino (1) in an A Block tournament match at 18:46. An intense lockup and this has a big-fight feel to it. Shota hit a basement dropkick. They brawled to the floor. Shota slammed Sanada’s head into the ring post at 3:30, and he was in charge as they got back in the ring. Sanada grabbed at his neck. Sanada hit a dropkick at 6:30, then a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Shota hit a diving forearm at 8:00 and was back in charge. Shota hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Shota hit a running summersault off the ring apron to the floor at 9:30.
In the ring, Shota hit a top-rope missile dropkick. They traded chops and European Uppercuts. Shota hit a swinging neckbreaker. Sanada placed Shota’s feet on the top ropes and hit a swinging neckbreaker, and they were both down at 12:30. Shota hit a suplex and he kipped up. He hit a slingshot DDT. Sanada applied the Skull End but Shota turned it into an inverted DDT for a nearfall at 14:30. Sanada again applied the Skull End dragon sleeper. Shota hit a DDT for a nearfall at 16:30.
Shota hit a pop-up European Uppercut and a dropkick. Sanada hit a pop-up TKO stunner at 18:00 and we have the two-minute warning. Sanada hit a flying knee, then the Deadfall swinging faceplant (Jay White’s Blade Runner) for the clean pin. That finish seemingly came out of nowhere; I felt like we were headed for our second straight draw.
8. Kazuchika Okada (4) defeated El Phantasmo (0) in a B Block tournament match at 16:21. ELP has a tinge of red, almost pink, in his hair; I didn’t notice that two days ago. Standing reversals to open. Okada no-sold some chops, so ELP twisted his nipple instead. They brawled to the floor and Okada hit a DDT onto the thin mat at 4:00; Phantasmo barely got back in before being counted out. Okada hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker for a nearfall and he was in charge. He hit a DDT for a nearfall at 6:00. ELP hit a bodyslam and a second-rope elbowdrop to the head at 8:30. They brawled back to the floor.
In the ring, Okada hit a flapjack faceplant, and they were both down at 10:30. Okada hit a shotgun dropkick into the corner. ELP went for a springboard move, but Okada caught him with a dropkick. Okada hit a German Suplex at 12:30. ELP hit a Lionsault for a nearfall. ELP put Okada on his shoulders and he slammed him stomach-first to the mat for a nearfall. ELP hit a superkick and the CR2/modified Styles Clash for a believable nearfall at 14:00. That fired up the crowd! Phantasmo hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor on Okada! He got great height on that move. In the ring, Okada hit a springboard frogsplash for a nearfall, then a tombstone piledriver! He set up for another CR2, but Okada turned it into a Landslide sideslam. Okada then hit the Rainmaker short-arm clothesline for the pin. A really good match.
* Okada spoke on the mic; no Chris Charlton today to translate for us.
Final Thoughts: A good show but pretty straight forward with few upsets, as Okada, Kaito and Sanada stayed undefeated, while Ospreay got a much-needed first win. I’ll go with the main event for best match, ahead of Ren-Tsuji’s draw for second. I’ll narrowly go with Sanada-Tsuji over Ospreay/Yoshi-Hashi for third.
The C and D Blocks are in action on Wednesday before an off-day on Thursday. I will repeat that I really like the format of this year’s tournament, giving more time off for all wrestlers between tournament matches.
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