It’s almost time to crown a G1 Climax 33 champion. But the men who will compete for that honor on Sunday will definitely have to earn it on Saturday.
The G1 Climax semifinals are the big matches on the card tonight in Tokyo, and both of them could serve as a main event on any show. Alas, only one can be the true main event (ahem, take notes WWE), and in this case, it will be Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay.
NJPW has cleverly framed the tournament as a bit of a trap game for Ospreay after his two instant classic matches with Kenny Omega earlier this year. Might he ease up just a little bit or take his eye off the ball?
As it turns out … no, and here he is in the semifinal, almost expected to make the final. Yet playing the underdog with his back against the wall suits Naito just fine, and he should pull out all the stops in what is being sold as his last real chance to win a Wrestle Kingdom main event spot.
The other semifinal is no joke either. EVIL has been calling himself Mr. G1, even as he’s had plenty of help from his House of Torture running mates so far. The problem for him is that Kazuchika Okada really is the man who owns this tourney, having won the last two in a row. Even worse for his opponents, the Rainmaker seems more businesslike than usual, so EVIL will need to conjure something truly special to send him to defeat.
This is a true late night affair for American fans, but it’s time to be “Born in the Ring” for the penultimate time.
G1 Climax 33 semifinal results from Tokyo:
Hayata and Kaito Kiyomiya def. Master Wato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan by pinfall as Kiyomiya pins Tenzan
Plenty of discussion among the English commentary team about how Kiyomiya might be feeling after a disappointing G1, as well as how Hayata hasn’t been pinned or submitted in forever.
The matchup that gets the crowd into it the most is actually Hayata vs. Tenzan, believe it or not. Tenzan calls his brainbuster out like he’s an anime character, but that doesn’t win it for him. He does have Kiyomya in trouble, however, which is something.
It doesn’t last long, alas, and a Kiyomiya Shining Wizard secures a NOAH victory.
Ren Narita and Minoru Suzuki def. Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino by submission as Narita taps out Honma
Umino and Narita get a chance to go right after each other, as they’ve been doing often during the G1 tag matches. Suzuki gets a strong reaction once he tags in, with Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton noting that he’s still looking to hurt people despite being something of a fan favorite now.
Of course, the crowd also loves when Honma hits his falling headbutt after some double team offense with Umino, but the veteran then gets isolated against Narita, and that goes poorly for him once he’s in the abdominal stretch.
Bullet Club (Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Chase Owens, Kenta and David Finlay) def. Yoh, Toru Yano, Togi Makabe, Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto by pinfall as Finlay pins Makabe
Kelly says he sees big things for Yoh coming this fall, but for the time being, he’s getting worn down by Bullet Club. Also his shirt gets a elbow drop from Kidd. Owens heads over and talks with Kelly during the match as well.
Finally, Chaos gets some momentum and is able to bring some numbers to bear against Coughlin. But that doesn’t last long, with Finlay sending Makabe to Oblivion. Coughlin and Kidd pose with the IWGP Tag Team Championship belts afterward, which of course belong to Bishamon, not them.
United Empire (Henare, Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Yota Tsuji and Shingo Takagi) by submission as Henare taps out Bushi
There’s weirdly a lot going on early between Khan (in short trunks tonight!) and Tsuji, who both look to one-up each other in terms of making the other look silly. Cobb and Takagi match power, as do Henare and Takagi.
Henare looks like he’s going to ride a wave to a pin of Bushi, but Shingo makes the save. The masked man is still in some trouble though, and Henare is able to make him tap out.
Ryusuke Taguchi, Eddie Kingston, Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi def. TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls and Zack Sabre Jr.) by pinfall as Kingston pins Fujita
Sabre certainly doesn’t look like his enthusiastic self after coming close to the G1 semis but crashing out just short. Taguchi is quite the opposite, though Ishii doesn’t seem amused by his playcalling.
There’s a fun spot where Tanahashi thinks he’s taken out someone with his butt, turns to realize all of TMDK is standing behind him and his teammates have been cleared out. He looks sheepish for a second then bravely says he’ll take them all on, even though he fares poorly in that quest.
Kingston gets to work against Fujita, and despite some of the others intervening, Eddie is able to get the pin.
Henare returns and lays out Kingston, hitting him with Streets of Rage. Looks like he’s gunning for Eddie’s gold, and he pummels the Mad King with more right hands.
Jado, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga def. Just 5 Guys (Taka Michinoku, Douki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi and Sanada) as Jado scores the pinfall (with a lot of help)
Face El Phantasmo continues to be a delight. Also the fans are urging on Douki to take on Hikuleo despite the massive size difference. Poor Douki ends up taking corner punches from just about everyone on the other team as they keep tagging out just before the 10th punch.
Sanada vs. Hikuleo is a much better matchup, though the world champ sells his injured left arm here too. Sanada notably switches arms for Skull End, though ELP makes the save anyway.
Jado and Take both want and get tags in. Jado beats his fellow veteran to a crossface but ends up getting stomped by all of Just 5 Guys. Douki delivers the double stomp, and a Michinoku Driver nearly wins it before Jado is saved.
Here comes the inevitable sequence of signature moves from everyone, which ends with Jado getting dragged over Taka to get the three count.
After the match, Finlay and Bullet Club War Dogs return to ringside for a confrontation with ELP, Tonga and Hikuleo. Finlay tells Tonga he got lucky before leaving.
Kazuchika Okada def. EVIL by pinfall in a G1 Climax 33 semifinal match
True to form, EVIL gets in his first shots before the bell rings. He uses a mic cord to choke the Rainmaker on the outside while telling his foe to give up. There’s a count from the ref and a cover once Okada returns to the ring, but you know he’s not going down that easily.
Okada is hurled into the barricade, and EVIL uses a chair to press down on his chest. The Rainmaker has to kick out several times, and EVIL steps on his head while planning his next move.
A big boot finally gets Okada into it. There’s a DDT as well, and a cover for two.
EVIL decides to roll to the outside, but this time it’s him tasting the steel and taking a DDT on the floor. A dropkick to EVIL while he’s seated on the top turnbuckle sends him right back outside.
Dick Togo tries to get in Okada’s face and takes a forearm shot. But the ref takes a bump, and here come EVIL’s House of Torture teammates. Sho and Yujiro Takahashi do a double fisherman’s buster, and Togo comes off the top with a chop to Okada’s groin. With the ref revived, EVIL covers but can get only two.
EVIL hits Darkness Falls but it’s still not enough to win it, and the fans are urging Okada to rally. Everything is Evil is reversed into the Money Clip, so EVIL shoves his foe into the corner, and suddenly House of Torture goons are getting dropped left and right.
Okada reapplies the Money Clip and drops to the mat. Togo tries to intervene again, so Sho attacks from behind and the ref takes another bump. Togo chokes the Rainmaker, who somehow battles the odds and starts dishing out dropkicks to Sho, Yujiro and Togo.
The ref takes a third bump, and now he and the two combatants are down. Okada recovers quickest for a German suplex but EVIL wilts to the mat to escape a Rainmaker.
A Falcon Arrow has Okada looking good, but he has to dig down deep to kick out of Everything is Evil. He finally hits the Rainmaker, slams Evil and hits a second Rainmaker to advance to the final.
Tetsuya Naito def. Will Ospreay by pinfall in a G1 Climax 33 semifinal match
Naito has never beaten Ospreay one-on-one, losing both singles matches against him last year. He would dearly like to change that here, even though if anything, Ospreay is even better now. The fans sound like they are very much behind him, though there are cheers for Ospreay too.
Neither man is in a hurry to rush in once the bell rings, and Naito backs off even more when his foe leans in. They work an exchange of standing holds, then more on the mat. Red Shoes calls for a break along the ropes, but Ospreay hammers his foe on the break.
Both men evade each other in a quick flurry, giving Naito a chance to strike his pose before he heads outside and circles the ring. Ospreay gives him space to roll back in.
Now some strikes crash home, with Naito staggered a bit before he’s sent all the way to the floor. Ospreay wants to fly and does so with a plancha.
Ospreay comes off the barricade to hit a flying forearm shot. Back in the ring they go, with Naito kicking out quickly.
Naito is getting kicked and chopped around and has to kick out again after a backbreaker. He rallies to hit the Combinacion Cabron, and Ospreay sells the pain he’s in as he gets tortured a bit on the mat.
Ospreay roars back with his springboard handspring head kick, getting his fans into it. A springboard forearm follows, with Naito kicking out at two.
After getting clotheslined over the top rope, Naito looks like he’s a target for something spectacular, so he hustles to join Ospreay on the apron. Will wants an Oscutter, but Naito catches him first with a neckbreaker on the apron and another on the floor.
Red Shoes makes his count, and Ospreay is barely back in at 19. Naito is right on him with Gloria for two, then switches to the Pluma Blanca, pressuring his opponent’s neck. Naito tries a poison rana off the top, but Ospreay lands on his feet. Wow.
With Naito strung over the top rope, Ospreay launches into a shooting star press, and he follows with a Liger Bomb that gets a close near fall. Will wants the Hidden Blade, but Naito evades that and an Oscutter and early gets a three. Ospreay responds with a running forearm shot and a near fall again.
Now Ospreay wants Stormbreaker, but Naito counters with a huge DDT and both men are down. Naito hits an enzuigiri and a DDT, then Valentia for his own narrow near fall.
The fans respond as Naito hits a body slam, but he crashes and burns off the top turnbuckle. Ospray connects on a Hidden Blade but can’t cover. Red Shoes tells the men he’s going to count if they don’t get moving, so they crawl toward each other, forehead to forehead.
Forearm shots land both ways, with Naito flashing a bit of a grin. Naito hammers Ospreay down with elbow strikes as the 25-minute mark passes by. The announcers note that Ospreay has taken tons of abuse to the neck, and not just tonight.
A fired up Ospreay hammers home hook kicks, three in a row. Red Shoes pulls Ospreay back and makes a standing count. There’s the Hidden Blade again, and Naito somehow kicks out. Same after an Oscutter.
Ospreay uses a body slam to set up a move off the top rope but even that isn’t enough. “Are you freaking kidding me?” yells Kelly.
Naito dodges the Hidden Blade but looks spent. He stumbles down again but manages to reverse a Stormbreaker into a DDT, then hits the Destino that gets ever so close but doesn’t win it. A second Destino is on target, and that’s finally a wrap.
Hiromu Takahashi rushes in from the announce table to check on his teammate. Naito still has enough left to get on the mic, telling the fans it was a hell of a ride and he hopes they enjoyed it.
Tomorrow is the final. Will it be Okada or will it be Naito? The answer, of course: tranquilo. Naito says he’ll see everyone right here tomorrow, then laughs as he gets the LIJ roll call wrong the first time.