By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
NJPW “G1 Climax 33 Night Five”
July 21, 2023 in Niigata, Japan at Ao-re Nagaoka
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 appears to be a small arena, and while the lights are low, I can see the top rows of the second tier have fans, so I’ll guess this is 2,000-3,000 people.
1. Yoshi-Hashi (4) defeated Tanga Loa (2) in a B Block tournament match at 12:35. They traded chops early on. Y-H hit a standing neckbreaker at 4:00 then a top-rope Blockbuster for a nearfall. Loa hit a Jackhammer for a nearfall at 6:30. They traded forearm shots while on their knees, then while standing. Yoshi-Hashi hit his Headhunter flipping faceplant, then a Dragon Suplex and a hard clothesline at 9:30, but Loa hopped back to his feet. Loa nailed a spear. Yoshi-Hashi applied a sleeper. Loa hit a clothesline and they were both down at 11:30. Loa hit a top-rope flying headbutt for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Crucifix Bomb takedown for the pin out of nowhere. Good opener.
2. Gabe Kidd (4) defeated Ren Narita (2) in an A Block tournament match at 11:02. Ren came out first but they fought on the ramp, and I start my stopwatch at first contact. They got in the ring and immediately traded punches. They each hit a back suplex, and they did the suplex spot where both went over the top rope to the floor at 2:00. In the ring, Kidd rammed Narita head-first into an exposed turnbuckle, and the referee refused to make the pinfall count. They traded more forearm shots. Ren hit a Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 7:00, and he switched to a leg lariat, then a Texas Cloverleaf, but Kidd reached the ropes.
Narita hit a German Suplex. Kidd hit a clothesline at 10:00. Ren hit a flying knee to the chest for a nearfall, then a Northern Lights Suplex. He applied a mid-ring Octopus; however, Kidd pulled on the referee while he also hit a low blow mule kick with the ref out of positin. Kidd immediately hit a piledriver for the tainted pin. Official time is technically about 10:20, as the pre-match brawl on the floor was fairly short.
3. Great-O-Khan (2) defeated El Phantasmo (0) in a B Block tournament match at 12:45. The loser will essentially be the first person eliminated from the tournament. They brawled to the floor early on. In the ring, ELP missed a springboard moonsault. O-Khan hit a series of Mongolian Chops at 5:00 and he was in charge. They took turns twisting each other’s nipples and GOK bit him. Phantasmo dove through the ropes and barreled onto Great-O-Khan at 7:00. ELP then leapt off the top rope, over the guardrail, and crashed onto O-Khan as he was standing in the crowd. “You’re a maniac!” Kelly shouted.
In the ring, Phantasmo hit a Lionsault for a nearfall at 8:30. O-Khan hit a Flatliner, and he applied a Koji Clutch, but Phantasmo reached the ropes. O-Khan hit a Dragon Suplex and a hard clothesline at 11:30, but ELP rolled to the floor before he could be pinned. O-Khan hit a piledriver onto the thin mat on the floor. He rolled Phantasmo back in the ring and again applied a Koji Clutch on the mat, and Phantasmo tapped out. As I noted, at 0-3, Phantasmo is all but eliminated.
4. Chase Owens (4) defeated Hikuleo (w/Jado) (0) in an A Block tournament match at 11:19. Chase hit a chop that had no effect. Hikuleo threw him shoulder-first into the corner at 2:00 and hit a Mafia Kick, with Owens rolling to the floor to regroup. Owens went under the ring; Hikuleo followed and we heard a loud ‘clang!’ Hikuleo rolled back out and was clutching his head. Owens rolled back into the ring and demanded the ref begin counting out Hikuleo. Owens went back to the floor and twisted Hikuleo’s wrist in the guardrail. In the ring, Owens was fully in charge.
Hikuleo hit a side slam at 7:00, then a Stinger Splash, and he hit a snake-eyes drop on the top turnbuckle, then a twisting suplex for a nearfall. Owens hit a C-Trigger kneestrike to the side of the head. Hikuleo hit a powerslam, but he couldn’t hit the chokeslam. Owens collapsed and pretended to have a right knee injury. He removed a hard knee pad and he struck Hikuleo in the head with it and got a nearfall. Owens hit one more kneestrike to the head for the pin. Surprising to see Hikuleo lose here. Owens ran on the ramp, showing that his knee was just fine.
5) Will Ospreay (4) defeated Kenta (2) in a B Block tournament match at 14:06. Kenta attacked Ospreay from behind; he put on Ospreay’s jacket and posed with it and was booed. They brawled to the floor with Kenta in charge, and he rammed Ospreay head-first into the ring post at 3:30. Back in the ring, Kenta hit a series of kicks. Ospreay hit a handspring-back-maneuver at 5:30 and he was fired up. Kena placed Ospreay’s feet on the ring apron and he hit a DDT to the floor at 8:00. In the ring, Kenta hit a top-rope doublestomp for a nearfall.
Kenta hit several hard openhand strikes to the face. Ospreay set up for Stormbreaker, but Kenta pushed Ospreay into the corner, striking the referee. Kenta hit a DDT at 10:00; he went under the ring and got a kendo stick and he struck Ospreay across the back and stomach with it, then he hit a low blow. Kenta got his Defy Westling title belt and struck Ospreay in the head with it, then he woke up the ref, but only got a nearfall at 12:00. Ospreay missed the OsCutter, and Kenta applied a modified crossface, trapping Ospreay’s left arm behind his back. Ospreay escaped and hit a sit-out powerbomb. Ospreay missed the top-rope corkscrew splash, and Kenta immediately hit a running kneestrike for a believable nearfall. Ospreay nailed a Hidden Blade to the jaw, then the Stormbreaker slam off his shoulders for the pin. Good match.
6. Kaito Kiyomiya (5) vs. Shota Umino (2) ended in a time-limit draw in an A Block tournament match at 20:00. Basic reversals early on with neither man getting much of an advantage. Kaito hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Shota hit a dropkick and they were both down. Shota hit a top-rope missile dropkick to the back, then a sideslam, for a nearfall. Shota applied an STF, but Kaito reached the ropes at 12:00. Shota hit a slingshot DDT and he was fired up. He set up for the Death Rider, but Kaito avoided it and Kaito hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. They fought in the corner, where Kaito hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip and Shota was limping.
Kaito hit a top-rope missile dropkick on the knee at 14:30 and he was in charge. He applied a Figure Four Leglock in the center of the ring; the 15-minute warning was right-on. Shota still hadn’t reached the ropes at the 17:00 mark and Kelly wondered if he could hold on; Kaito released the hold but immediately hit a Tiger Suplex for a nearfall. Kaito hit a running knee to the jaw, then a twisting sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall as we hit 19:00!
The crowd really came alive with the one-minute warning. Shota hit the DDT on top of Kaito’s head and they were both down; Shota got a believable nearfall at 19:57 but Kaito kicked out, and the bell sounded. (I really thought this was going to be a case where the bell sounded in the middle of the count, but no, Kaito kicked out before the bell.) A really good second half of that match. So, both of Shota’s points have come from time-limit draws. “Maybe our expectations are too high?” Kelly wondered.
7. Kazuchika Okada (6) defeated Taichi (4) in a B Block tournament match at 16:20. An intense lockup to start, and Okada hit a spinning tombstone piledriver and a Rainmaker in the first minute! Taichi hit an enzuigiri and they were both down. “How many times did people buy a Mike Tyson fight, knowing he was going to knock his opponent out in 90 seconds? We almost saw that here,” Kelly said. Taichi regrouped on the floor. Back in the ring, Okada grounded Taichi with the Money Clip sleeperhold, but Taichi reached the ropes at 4:00. Taichi hit another enzuigiri, then a Helluva Kick at 6:30.
Okada nailed a neckbreaker over his knee, and they were both down. Taichi sat on the top turnbuckle; Okada hit a leaping dropkick that sent Taichi to the floor at 9:00. Okada hit a DDT onto the ramp. Back in the ring, Okada again applied the Money Clip, and he nailed a forearm that dropped Taichi at 11:00. Taichi hit another enzuigiri. Okada went for a top-rope missile dropkick, but Taichi turned it into a powerbomb. Okada set up for Rainmaker, but Taichi hit a Saito Suplex at 13:30. Taichi hit a second Saito Suplex and was fired up. Taichi hit a German Suplex (all four shoulders were down!) for a nearfall.
Okada missed a dropkick; Taichi got a Gedo Clutch rollup for a believable nearfall. “You can’t get any closer!” Kelly said. Okada hit an enzuigiri; Taichi hit an enzuigiri. Okada got a rollup out of nowhere for the pin. The crowd was fully behind underdog Taichi and was deflated. “You can’t wrestle a better match than Taichi did there, and he still can’t win!” Kelly shouted, adding that Okada is now 5-0 lifetime against Taichi. A really good match.
8. Sanada (6) defeated Yota Tsuji (1) in an A Block tournament match at 18:35. Sanada just beat Tsuji a month ago so I’m mildly surprised they wound up in the same Block. An intense lockup on the mat and this has a big fight feel. They sped it up but blocked each other’s big moves and had a standoff at 4:30. Tsuji hit a headscissors takedown, sending Sanada to the floor to regroup. They fought on the entrance ramp, far from ringside, and Yota hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee at 7:00 on the stage. In the ring, Yota hit “Mount Tsuji” flying splash for a nearfall at 9:00, and he was in charge. Sanada hit a planchas to the floor and he got the crowd going.
Yota dove through the ropes to the floor at 12:00. In the ring, he hit a Stinger Splash. Sanada placed Yota’s feet on the top rope and hit a spinning neckbreaker, then a TKO stunner for a nearfall at 14:00. Yota applied the Skull End (Sanada’s move!) in the center of the ring, then he hit a top-rope moonsault (another Sanada staple!) for a nearfall. He hit a flipping powerbomb for a nearfall at 17:00. Sanada hit a Poison Rana, then a Shining Wizard. Sanada went for Deadfall, but Tsuji somehow blocked it, and Tsuji hit a Rollins-style Stomp to the head for a believable nearfall at 18:00. Sanada hit a stunner, then the top-rope moonsault for a believable nearfall. Sanada then nailed Deadfall (Jay White’s Blade Runner) spinning faceplant for the pin. A really good match to conclude the show.
* Sanada spoke on the mic as Tsuji was helped to the back.
Final Thoughts: Once again, a so-so undercard but a strong top of the show. I will go with Okada-Taichi for best match, as I felt there were a few more believable nearfalls for Taichi, and the crowd wanted to see him win SO BADLY. Sanada-Tsuji was strong for second-place, and the Kaito-Umino draw earns third place.
The tournament returns on Sunday with the C and D Blocks back in action. I know I’m repetitive here, but I really like that half of the competitors are off every other show, so with these days off, it is giving a real break between matches. I think it will mean we have less fatigued, less beat-up competitors in the final stretch.
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