Throughout their long and storied careers, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito have faced each other in singles matches more than a dozen times. But except for when a title was on the line, the Ace and the LIJ leader have arguably never battled with stakes as high as they are tonight in Night 16 of G1 Climax 33.
The final night of D Block competition sees five men still mathematically alive for two spots in the quarterfinals. The edge goes to Jeff Cobb, Zack Sabre Jr. and Naito, who all sit on eight points before they hit the ring in Hamamatsu.
But Hirooki Goto, who wrestles Sabre, and Tanahashi are still in the mix at six points apiece. They’ll need wins and results in other matches to go their way, but can get one of the tiebreakers they will need by winning tonight anyway.
If Cobb and ZSJ both win, it’s possible that Tanahashi will know he can’t advance before he even hits the ring. Still, the chances he’ll just roll over and allow Naito to cruise to victory seem essentially nonexistent, and the story that NJPW has been telling with respect to Naito and the G1 Climax feels like it’s a now or never situation. To use a baseball analogy that the man himself would probably appreciate, we’re beyond the bottom of the ninth and into extra innings.
As far as the tag team matches before the block action begins, the most interesting one features Eddie Kingston, whose time in New Japan is not quite over yet even though he was bounced from the tournament the previous night. He’s supposed to join the English commentary team after his match, which should be fun.
Buckle up, here we go.
G1 Climax 33 Night 16 results:
House of Torture (Sho and EVIL) def. Yuto Nakashima and Eddie Kingston by pinfall
Kevin Kelly takes exception to EVIL being announced as ‘Mr. G1,’ and he and Sho waste no time taking the fight well into the crowd on opposite sides of the ring.
The House of Torture forms a human chain to, well, torture the Young Lion in an abdominal stretch, but Kingston is able to make the save. Eddie gets to treat both of his opponents to chops and exploder suplexes when he tags in.
Nakashima, who’s sporting a nifty new haircut, gets to show off some of his stuff against Sho (sorry), who he eventually places in a Boston Crab. Sho steadies the ship by pulling the ref into the way, and he uses a wrench shot the reg doesn’t see to set up the Shock Arrow for the victory.
TMDK (Kosei Fujita and Mikey Nicholls) def. Ryohei Oiwa and Kaito Kiyomiya by pinfall
The Young Lions on each side have some history with each other and start out against each other. The larger Oiwa wins a striking battle, but Fujita hangs with him and goes over to hit Kiyomiya as well.
Nicholls seems to be in a foul mood, biting Oiwa’s forehead at one point while we all wait for Kiyomiya to enter the fray. That finally happens after Oiwa dropkicks both of their opponents, and he and Oiwa are eventually able to isolate Nicholls.
Unfortunately for the Young Lion, Nicholls ends up hitting him with a Death Valley Bomb and a sliding lariat, securing a win for the TMDK duo.
Master Wato, Hikuleo and Shota Umino def. Bullet Club War Dogs (Gedo, Gabe Kidd and David Finlay) by submission
Kelly notes that Finlay broke his share of rules but did win C Block without any interference from other members of Bullet Club. That’s something, one supposes. He has his hands full with Umino early on here, however.
Kidd is able to lend a hand from the outside, mocking the fans as he does so. Also Kidd and Finlay end up biting Umino’s fingers on both hands at the same time.
A tag to Hikuleo turns out to be the cure for what’s ailing Umino, though Kidd is able to trick him into running into Wato in the corner. He almost gets pinned by Gedo, which would be embarrassing, but hits a springboard uppercut before things start to break down.
Wato ends up hitting a nice Russian leg sweep on Gedo, then transitions to Vendaval and gets a verbal submission. The War Dogs re-enter the ring after the bell with weapons, and Kidd makes it clear he wants to prevent Hikuleo from advancing in the tournament, throwing a chair at the big man’s head.
United Empire (Henare and Great-O-Khan) def. Tomoaki Honma and Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall
If you want to see some straightforward slugging, this is the match for you. It starts with Ishii and Henare, and the fans seem to appreciate it. Honma gets himself into even more trouble against Khan until he battles back with a DDT.
Ishii returns with a vengeance, scoring a near fall on Khan after a back suplex. He fights out of a submission hold and tags are made so that Honma and Henare can square off.
Honma hits his trademark diving headbutt but takes a series of kicks and a headbutt in return. Streets of Rage wins it for Henare, while Ishii and Khan need to be pulled apart while scrapping on the outside.
Strong Style (Ren Narita, El Desperado, and Minoru Suzuki) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Shingo Takagi) by submission
Tsuji and Narita, who fought to a draw in their G1 match, start things out. Suzuki smiles as he tags in, and both he and Tsuji laugh it up while smacking each other. Strong style is fun, apparently!
The two masked men get to work against each other until Desperado ends up taking abuse from everyone on the LIJ side. Desperado looks like he’s in trouble in Tsuji’s Boston Crab, but he crawls to the ropes to force a break.
Shingo and Suzuki end up paired off as well, which the fans like. They dig Bushi’s tope suicida as well, and thing start to break down right after that.
Narita and Bushi are the legal men and end up alone in the ring, and Bushi ends up tapping out to the Cobra Twist.
Alex Coughlin def. Toru Yano by pinfall in a D Block match
Eddie Kingston has joined Kelly on commentary for this one, watching as Kidd helps Coughlin attack Yano on the walkway before the match begins. The War Dogs pile sections of the barricade on Yano and choke him with a towel, all before the bell.
Alas, Coughlin overplays his hand and gets a drop toehold into a chair, then several chair shots to boot. Yano hauls Kidd back up the ramp with his neck in a chair, then battles Coughlin well into the crowd. They fight through some of the closer sections and finally into the ring to officially start the match.
Kidd returns to the fray once the ref takes a bump, grabbing a table and setting it up on the floor. Yano escapes being suplexed to the floor but he’s still outnumbered. He powerbombs Kidd through the table, possibly taking care of him for now.
Yano gets a pair of scissors and has to be stopped from using them on Coughlin. But as the ref deals with that, Coughlin uses his title for a belt shot and follows with a jackhammer for the victory.
Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Haste fight to a draw by double countout in a D Block match
Kingston talks about the wear and tear you take competing in the G1. It’s true that it can’t be too fun by the time you get to the final block match. Cobb shows off both his power and his athleticism, getting Eddie to say “it’s not fair.”
Somehow, Haste is able to get Cobb up for a powerbomb on the apron. But all that ends up getting him is a serious series of clotheslines in the corner, then a big running suplex that leads to a near fall.
Haste battles back with a big Falcon Arrow for two. They stand and trade chops and forearm shots until Haste can blast Cobb to the outside with a dropkick.
Up the ramp they go, passing the halfway mark of the time limit. With the ref counting, Cobb tries to return to the ring, but Haste does all he can to prevent it. He holds on for all his might and gets a draw by double countout, keeping things alive for his teammate, Zack Sabre Jr.
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Hirooki Goto by submission
Not sure if Goto is mathematically still alive or not, though with a win and a Naito loss he can end up in a cluster of wrestlers with eight points. ZSJ controls his own destiny: win and he’s into the quarters.
Goto starts out strong, battering Sabre from corner to corner until ZSJ grabs his leg. A backbreaker has Goto sliding out to the floor to try to stop the onslaught.
Sabre keeps working over his opponent’s back, shifting to his right arm as well. A Cobra Twist has Goto in a lot of trouble, especially when he gets dragged to the ground. But he’s able to escape and run through some of his offense to earn a near fall.
Suddenly Goto has plenty of momentum and the fans behind him, but ZSJ catches him coming off the top rope and he needs to get his foot to the bottom rope to make a desperation break of the hold. Goto holds on to stop Sabr from kicking him in the chest, and both men stagger each other until Goto prevails with a huge lariat.
Both men hit each other with suplexes and backbreakers, ending up on the mat at the same time. A Zack Driver connects, but he’s too beaten up to cover as the 10-minute mark arrives.
The fans urge them on as they trade forearm shots again. Sabre kicks at both arms but is dropped by kicks in return. A big slam sees Goto cover, but Sabre kicks out at two.
A series of counters almost has Sabre get the pin. A big headbutt comes back in response, but ZSJ is able to get the octopus hold applied. He rolls back onto the mat, and Sabre is just torturing Goto with a variety of holds. Hirooki fights it but eventually has no choice but to verbally submit. Sabre is into the quarters with 10 points.
Tetsuya Naito def. Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall in a D Block match
This has the proper big fight feel, though Tanahashi nearly wins it in seconds with an inside cradle. He smiles as if to say “I almost got you.”
The Ace stays on offense and is able to play his air guitar before catching Naito with an arm drag. The LIJ frontman pulls his foe down by his hair, then does more of the same to bend Tana over the top rope before a baseball slide sends Tanahashi into the barricade and gives him time to pose.
Naito pulls off a full nelson with his legs on the mat, then hits a neckbreaker for two. He twists Tanahashi’s neck before running into a boot in the corner, and the Ace responds with a jumping forearm shot.
There’s a corner bodyslam and somersault senton that forces Naito to kick out at two. A dropkick to Naito’s left knee sets up the dragon screw, but Naito fires back with another shot to his opponent’s neck as 10 minutes remain.
Naito wants his corner combination but gets a dragon screw instead, and both men are down. Tanahashi heads up top and launches into a huge cross body to the floor.
A Sling Blade sets up another cross body in the ring, but Naito foils the High Fly Flow by getting his knees up. Both men battle to their feet to exchange strikes, with Naito scoring with an atomic drop and elbow shots.
Only five minutes are left, so Naito needs to step on the gas. He finds the mark with Esperanza but gets caught in another inside cradle, then a third. Naito barely kicks out but gets caught in Sling Blade and has to kick out yet again after a straitjacket German suplex.
Naito spits on his foe before pulling off a DDT, and he holds on for the three to advance to the quarterfinals.