Can Eddie Kingston make the quarterfinals in his first G1 Climax 33? That’s one of the questions that should fascinate North American wrestling fans most on Night 15 of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s big summer tournament.
It’s do or die time for C Block, where the first six nights of round robin competition settled nothing, leaving five men heading to Yokohama with a chance to secure a quarterfinal spot. Kingston is one of them, but he has arguably the toughest test still left as he faces the leader of Bullet Club, David Finlay.
Both men took eight points out of their first six matches, and neither of them lost to the same opponents while going 4-2. With the other “outsider” in the G1, Kaito Kiyomiya of Pro Wrestling Noah, failing to make it out of A Block, it would be an accomplishment indeed if Kingston managed to earn a berth in the quarterfinals.
But Kingston-Finlay isn’t even the night’s main event. That honor belongs to Shingo Takagi vs. Evil, both of whom are also still angling for advancement. It’s a must-win for both of the former LIJ teammates, but especially for the Dragon, who earned seven points in his first six matches.
Unlike the first rounds of the G1 Climax 33, there are tag team bouts ahead of the block matches, so let’s settle in for the long haul and see how things unfold.
G1 Climax 33 night 15 results:
United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) def. Ryohei Oiwa and Kaito Kiyomiya by pinfall
Cobb is rocking pigtails tonight, quite the look for him. Unlike Kiyomiya, his tournament fate is still undecided, as his final D Block match will be against Shane Haste tomorrow night.
Great-O-Khan flips Kiyomiya the bird as Kevin Kelly discusses the Baltimore Orioles announcer who was suspended by the team. The fight goes to the floor with all four men participating, and Oiwa ends up suffering from double team offense when the action returns to the ring.
Kiyomiya fares better once he tags in, though Cobb’s power eventually takes its toll on him too. Oiwa enthusiastically shows his offense against Khan, then kicks out after a Hercules cutter.
The Young Lion dodges one bicycle kick but not a second, and Khan makes sure he stays down this time.
Bullet Club War Dogs (Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin) def. Tomoaki Honma and Toru Yano by pinfall
The War Dogs don’t even let their opponents make their way into the arena before they launch a sneak attack. Coughlin has some athletic tape and uses it to choke Yano on part of the guardrail.
But Yano eventually gets free and tries his usual assault on the corner pads while otherwise befuddling Coughlin. He kicks out of a gutwrench slam as well, and the fans are definitely behind him.
With Honma legal, the veteran ends up fighting off both of the War Dogs at once, nearly pinning Kidd. But he misses his diving headbutt off the turnbuckles, making his fate inevitable. Yano gets a decent stomping from the heels after the bell too.
Strong Style (Ren Narita, El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki) def. Jado, Hikuleo and Shota Umino by submission
Kelly mentions that he was surprised Umino didn’t make the quarterfinals since all the arrows seemed to be pointing up for him. Hikuleo is in the elite eight, but who he faces in the next round is still to be determined by results later tonight.
The fans seem most excited to see Suzuki in this match, though it’s Jado who nearly wins it with a schoolboy on Narita. “Almost” is the operative word, however, as Narita quickly gets Jado to tap out.
Narita and Umino get into it a bit after the bell, slapping each other and exchanging words.
TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste and Zack Sabre Jr.) def. Oskar Leube and Chaos (Yoh and Hirooki Goto) by pinfall
Goto and ZSJ do plenty of pre-match trash talking since they will meet in D Block action tomorrow. Fujita really lets Yoh have it with some nasty chops as they open the proceedings; he’ll be headed out for his excursion soon.
Yoh gets stuck in enemy territory for quite some time, even as Goto is itching to get in. He finally does and makes it count, eventually getting to go one on one with Sabre. They give us a brief preview of tomorrow before giving way to Leube and Haste.
All six men get into it for some fun teamwork as the announcer joke about Oskarmania running wild. The Young Lion’s energy only gets him so far, alas, as Haste plants him and pins him with a Last Ride.
Yoh and Fujita want to keep fighting after the bell, and Sabre and Goto exchange a few pleasantries as well.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Togi Makabe, Yota Tsuji and Tetsuya Naito) def. Master Wato, Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall
This is another bout that features two men who will face each other tomorrow night (funny how that happens) in Tanahashi and Naito. They also conveniently start out for their respective teams, though LIJ tries setting up a multi-man assault on the Ace.
Tsuji gets a chance for some offense on Tanahashi too, earning a near fall with a running splash off the ropes. Wato finally gets in and works over Bushi and Tsuji, trying to get the fans more involved as well.
Some great teamwork between Naito and Bushi has LIJ looking good, but only until Makabe and Tsuji end up isolated against each other. But Makabe misses a knee drop off the top, then nearly gets pinned by a Falcon Arrow. A spear finishes him off right after that, and the camera finds Naito with a submission on Tanahashi on the floor, working over the Ace’s knee.
Tomohiro Ishii def. Mikey Nicholls by pinfall in a C Block match
Neither man can advance to the quarters, but that doesn’t stop them from going right after each other when the bell rings. Ishii needs to be pulled off Nicholls by the ref in the corner, then comes firing out of the opposite corner with a shoulder tackle.
Despite bleeding a bit from his forehead, Nicholls stays right in there exchanging strikes with the Stone Pitbull, who also gets spiked with a DDT for a near fall. A stalling vertical suplex earns Nicholls another two count.
An impressive display of strength sees Nicholls hit a Death Valley Driver before both men end up on the top turnbuckle. Nicholls executes a superplex, but Ishii kicks out again.
Ishii finally no-sells a tornado DDT, then kicks out again after a diving lariat. He’s able to pull off a German suplex, and the fans try to will him back into it.
Lariats are flying now, and Nicholls ends up delivering the Master Blaster and showing real disbelief when that doesn’t win it. Ishii responds with a flurry that leads to the vertical drop brainbuster, and the fans erupt as he gets the three.
Tama Tonga def. Henare by pinfall in a C Block match
Tonga needs a victory and some help to advance, but Henare doesn’t look like he’s in an accommodating mood as he takes a page from Yano’s book and exposes the steel turnbuckles to give Tama some early pain.
Speaking of pain, Tonga is in some more thanks to a submission hold on the mat, and the announcers wonder if he’s reaching to tap before he grabs the bottom rope for a break instead.
Tama fights back with a strong corner attack, springing out with a running clothesline as the fans clap. A corner splash and overhead throw get him a near fall.
Now the two men look content to just stand and trade in the center of the ring, and when Tonga hesitates looking for the right corner to launch a Supreme Flow, Henare hustles with a knee shot to send him to the floor.
Henare’s kicks are answered by another flurry from Tonga, though the Supreme Flow isn’t enough to keep his foe down for three. Henare chops Tama down with body shots and a knee to the face, then a high knee in the corner.
Locked in a full nelson, Tonga is asked several times if he will submit, but he reaches back and hits a Gun Stun. A slow crawl for the cover lets Henare kick out at two.
Henare hits Rampage and looks for Streets of Rage, but Tama hits him with a Superman punch. Tonga follows with a Veleno to keep his G1 hopes alive.
David Finlay def. Eddie Kingston by pinfall in a C Block match
The announcers talk extensively about Kingston’s somewhat unlikely arrival in AEW as he takes things right to the outside. Finlay stops his onslaught with a snap suplex on the floor and Red Shoes makes his count, but the Bullet Club leader heads back out to smash Eddie into the guardrail and pepper him with right hands.
It’s not looking any better for Kingston back between the ropes as Finlay stays on offense. But after surviving a DDT, Kingston is able to back his foe into the corner for some machine gun chops, then hits a suplex to boot.
Another Kingston suplex leads to a cover and a near fall. Finlay responds well with a backbreaker and his own two count. Kingston has to kick out again after a stiff shot to the back of the head.
Finlay calls for Oblivion and gets chopped for his trouble, so he switches gears and sends Kingston to the outside. Eddie is hoisted up and tossed into the post, banging his head off the metal. Red Shoes counts and he barely makes it back inside.
Kingston looks to rally and has to fight hard to suplex his foe. He’s slow to cover, however, which gives Finlay a chance to get his foot on the ropes before the three.
Finlay manages to pull off Oblivion, but he’s also too beaten down to cover, and there are less than five minutes left. Both men slowly rise to exchange strikes, leading to a big Finlay spear that still isn’t enough to end it.
But Oblivion comes for Kingston again, and Finlay not only advances but seals up the No. 1 seed in C Block.
EVIL def. Shingo Takagi by pinfall in a C Block match
EVIL tries to get a quick win by attacking before the bell, and Dick Togo leaves the Japanese announce table to return to his typical spot at ringside. The stakes are high here: an EVIL win or draw sends him through to the quarterfinals, while a victory by Shingo means he’ll have to wrestle Tama Tonga in a play-in match after this.
Despite his efforts to avoid it, Shingo is sent careening into one of the ringside officials, and EVIL tries to cut his hair as well. Red Shoes foils EVIL and Togo’s attempts to cheat by conveniently looking away, and Shingo is firing himself up for a comeback that leads to a DDT.
The Dragon hits a bodyslam and a senton, then suplexes his former teammate for a near fall. He hits Noshigami as well but pauses in dismay as the other House of Torture members are now at ringside too.
Togo loosens a corner pad to ensure Takagi runs in and hits steel in the corner. EVIL hits a vertical suplex but gets only two. All of EVIL’s teammates end up stomping away on Shingo on the floor.
After applying the Scorpion Deathlock, EVIL connects on Darkness Falls but sees Shingo kick out again. With the ref distracted, Togo tries to help with a Magic Killer only to be tricked into helping with one on EVIL instead.
Shingo hits Made in Japan for another close near fall. After some back and forth, he hits a second one, but the House of Torture has taken out the ref and timekeeper.
Takagi is fighting one on four, but Tsuji and Bushi run down to try to lend a hand. It’s not enough as House of Torture has multiple weapons to use o Shingo, along with a Shock Arrow by Sho.
Less than five minutes are left, but Hiromu Takahashi pulls the ref out of the ring, and LIJ is briefly resurgent. Takagi runs over EVIL and Togo, then smashes EVIL with a running clothesline, but there’s still no ref.
Bushi finally rolls Red Shoes back in the ring as there are only three minutes left. But EVIL hits a low blow and follows with Everything is Evil, and Takagi’s heroic struggle goes for naught. At least his teammates manage to prevent him from having his head shaved after the bell.