One of the great things about the G1 Climax is the way it creates the same kind of urgency so prevalent in unscripted sports with some of its early matchups. Such is the case with the night 4 main event in Sendai, which pits two wrestlers against each other who stumbled out of the gate with losses in Sapporo.
Neither Tomohiro Ishii nor Tama Tonga have anything to hang their head over despite the position they’re in. Ishii dropped his C Block opener to Bullet Club leader David Finlay, who is unquestionably as hot as he’s ever been.
Tonga, meanwhile, lost a hard fought contest with EVIL, who has a history of being a tough out at the G1 — especially when he turned his back on LIJ a few years ago. Just like in, say, the NFL, it’s too early in week 2 of block competition to call tonight’s main event a must win, but it sure won’t be easy for the loser to rally from an 0-2 start to make the knockout portion of the tournament.
Speaking of EVIL, he’ll be trying to hand Eddie Kingston his first ever G1 loss in a battle of winners from the first night of C Block action. And Tetsuya Naito, who always seems to have dreams of propelling himself to Wrestle Kingdom using the G1 as a launchpad, will look to right the ship with a victory over 1-0 Hirooki Goto.
We’re anxious to take it all in from Sendai, so let’s see what’s popping in the second night of C and D Block matches.
G1 Climax 33 night 4 results:
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Toru Yano by pinfall
Kevin Kelly notes that Yano has only one victory ever over Sabre, and it was in a KOPW bout where there were no corner pads. Kosei Fujita comes to the ring instead of ZSJ and is introduced as Zack. Sabre appears on the walkway, much to Yano’s dismay, attacking from behind just as the bell rings.
Sabre has Fujita reinforce the ties on all the corner pads, but Yano turns the tables by taping Zack’s legs together. He has to hop back to the ring that way and barely beats the ref’s 20 count.
While Yano is frustrated seeing all the corner pads taped in place, Fujita slips some scissors to ZSJ, who is free but acting like he’s not. That works to lure Yano in to be pinned.
David Finlay def. Mikey Nicholls by pinfall
Both these men are 1-0 entering the night, though Finlay figures to be a heavy favorite to make it two straight wins. Nicholls is able to weather a fast start by the Bullet Club leader and fire back with some stiff offense of his own.
That’s not enough for him to hang for too long, however, as Finlay wears him down with shots to the back of the head before eventually finding the mark with Oblivion.
Jeff Cobb def. Alex Coughlin by pinfall
Just an opinion, but Coughlin’s crazy guy act comes off like he’s trying a little too hard. These two have met just once before, when Coughlin was still a young lion, and Cobb won.
Coughlin makes a tour of the ringside area and teases using his tag team title belt as a weapon, then hurls a young lion at Cobb as well before hurling his foe into the barricade. He shows off some nice strength back in the ring as well with a gutwrench suplex on the larger Cobb.
A couple of additional suplexes allow Coughlin to continue his eyebrow-raising power display, but the Tour of Islands takes him as a passenger eventually and he isn’t kicking out from that.
EVIL def. Eddie Kingston by pinfall
Eddie tries to bring an equalizer down to the ring with him as some Dick Togo insurance but still ends up getting jumped before the bell by EVIL. Togo trips Kingston at the first opportunity, so this is going right to plan by the House of Torture.
They battle into the crowd, where Kingston is hurled into some empty seats as EVIL attempts to win by countout. Eddie makes it back in time but just gets stomped for his trouble. He’s selling his butt off, for sure.
Kingston eventually gets EVIL lined up for some machine gun corner chops and works his way toward a near fall. But he’s thrown into the barricade again, much to the dismay of the poor ring announcer on the other side. EVIL locks on the Darkness Scorpion on the floor, and Togo almost makes Eddie miss the 20 count.
A ref bump allows Togo to play an even more active role, but Dick ends up taking a kendo stick show intended for Eddie, who goes to town on both of them. Kingston eventually chops down his foe and stacks up his pin, but EVIL kicks out at two.
EVIL manages to use the ref to unwittingly help deliver a Magic Killer, and now both wrestlers and the official are all down. Eddie gets EVIL in a stretch muffler but has to let go when Togo tries to lend a hand, and a low blow sets up Everything Is Evil for the win.
Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Shane Haste by pinfall
Haste does some impromptu guest English commentary while Tanahashi is being introduced. The Ace is holder of many G1 records, but as Kelly notes, is starting to give some wins back at this point in his career.
This is a much different challenge for Tanahashi than the technical showcase against ZSJ a few days ago, but the fans are able to rally him to a near fall after a somersault senton. He takes some shots to the had and back before pulling off a trademark dragon screw, but gets countered by a back suplex while looking for the Sling Blade.
Tanahashi finally hits the Sling Blade after a Twist and Shout, but Haste meets him on the middle rope. The Ace fights his way free and hits Aces High, then High Fly Flow for the dub.
HENARE def. Shingo Takagi by pinfall
These two know each other well, and start out at a deliberate pace before they inevitably start trading bombs. Shingo is able to outsmart his foe a little, however, and takes control on the outside.
A popup Samoan Drop finally puts HENARE on the front foot, and his Berserker Bomb gets a near fall, as does a senton. Shingo rallies behind a powerbomb for two, then tries choking out his foe on the mat.
Takagi calls for the finish but is outstruck by HENARE and hit with the Rampage, which nearly wins it. Shingo also has to get his boot to the ropes to break a submission hold.
HENARE wins a battle of headbutts but gets countered trying for Streets of Rage. He hits it on his second attempt but is too beaten up to cover right away, and Shingo rolls under the bottom rope.
Less than five minutes remain when Takagi connects on Made in Japan, but now it’s his turn to be slow to follow up. His running lariat gets only two as time ticks under three minutes to go.
After more heavy shots each way, the men lean on each other in the center of the ring. HENARE pulls off a second Streets of Rage and covers with less than 30 seconds left, and he just beats the bell with a pin.
Tetsuya Naito def. Hirooki Goto by pinfall
Naito’s early posing doesn’t sit well with Goto, who kicks him in the spine and sends him to the floor. Naito fights back with a neckbreaker on the outside, which takes a bit out of him too — but it’s Goto who is slow to beat the 20-count.
Both men have their moments over the next few minutes, including a springboard DDT by Naito. There’s a top rope hurricanrana as well, but it’s not enough to put Goto away.
An attack on Naito’s knees leaves both men on the canvas. Kelly notes that the last two matches between these two went past 20 minutes, which can’t happen under this year’s rules.
Goto hits the GTW but Naito makes him chase for the cover, and there are now less than five minutes left. A Ushikoroshi gets Goto a two count, but Naito counters his attempt at a GTR.
Naito hits a DDT out of the corner for a two count, and follows with a Destino to seal a win with just a few minutes remaining.
Tama Tonga def. Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall
Kelly passes along a statistical note on how tough Ishii is to beat in Sendai, though it’s Tama who gets out to a strong start. Ishii slugs his way back, as he is wont to do.
Tonga’s forearm shot sends Ishii to the mat and allows him to lead the fans in some clapping, and a powerslam earns him a near fall. Ishii counters a Tongan Twist with a vertical suplex, which works well.
Ishii pounds Tama down to the mat in the corner as Red Shoes checks on Tonga. They go back and forth a bit until Tama tries for Supreme Flow and finds no one home.
A big vertical superplex scores for Ishii and is good for a two count. He stalks Tonga but runs right into a dropkick, which looks to be a momentum changer. The Tongan Twist finds the target right at the 10-minute mark, and now Tama is calling for the finish and the fans are clapping again.
Ishii strikes before the Gun Stun can arrive, then headbutts his foe to the mat. A powerbomb leads to a stacked cover, but Tonga kicks out at two. He has to dig down and kick out again after a diving lariat.
Tama fires off several straight moves and off comes the shirt. He drops Supreme Flow and gets a very close two count of his own.
After shrugging off a dropkick, Tama hits the Veleno for a near fall. But Ishii has an answer in the form of his take on the Gun Stun, then runs the ropes with a big lariat that comes close to winning it.
Tama connects on a Gun Stun out of midair, follows with the Jay Driller, and that’s enough to take it.
Once Ishii clears out of the ring, Tama gets some mic time to say this G1 will be his best ever.