Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 1 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 1

July 15^th, 2023 | Hokkaido Sports Center in Sapporo, Hokkaido | Attendance: 3,145

So the G1 Climax is upon us and I’ll admit that I’m not excited. While I have been much happier with New Japan in 2023 than any year since 2018, a 32-man field feels like way too much. I looked at the blocks yesterday and cut it down to 20-22 and it looked so much better. There is so much excess fluff in this tournament and that certainly didn’t help the New Japan Cup when it expanded. I do appreciate the 20 minute time limit we now have though.

Anyway, let’s get onto to the show which features the A and B blocks.

B Block: El Phantasmo [0] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]

These two met last year in a better than expected match (***½). When I reorganized the blocks and trimmed them down, neither of these guys made it in though I’d be okay with swapping one out for Kidd or Coughlin, who I kept in. Anyway, this was a pretty basic match. ELP cuts down on some of his antics during the G1 and now because he’s a babyface so without that personality and against a guy like HASHI, it was hard for this to stand out. They still had a solid match, which included HASHI busting out a somersault senton at one point. HASHI survived Thunderkiss ’85 and then we got a series of close calls on flash pin attempts. HASHI then moved to 2-0 against ELP with a Crucifix Bomb in 10:56. That was decidedly alright. There was nothing bad about it but it also in no way stood out and even the crowd was subdued throughout. [**½]

A Block: Chase Owens [0] vs. Gabriel Kidd [0]

Owens is another guy I’d have kept out of the field. Kidd jumped Owens during his entrance because David Finlay’s Bullet Club is ANGRY. They fought down the aisle and into the crowd before he hit a sick somersault dive. They finally made it to the ring where Owens regrouped and won with the Package Piledriver in 2:55. I love how the VIOLENT Bullet Club is still just a bunch of geeks. An extra half star for Kidd’s dive outside. [*½]

B Block: KENTA [0] vs. Tanga Loa [0]

There’s a meeting here from 2021 (**½). Yeah, Tanga wouldn’t have made my G1. I do love me some KENTA though. This match was about as good as you’d expect. KENTA was sure to use underhanded tactics to negate Tanga’s, um, strength. The tide really turned when KENTA did a dragon screw on the apron as KENTA clearly targeted Tanga’s damaged knee. That gave us a story and KENTA attacked it viciously while Tanga did a good job of selling it for the most part. He started a comeback but then we got a ref bump that allowed KENTA to wail on his knee with a chair. Even after all that, KENTA got caught putting his foot on the ropes on a pin and that opened the door for Tanga to beat him after 12:46. That was a good idea but it dragged on longer than it needed to and was a bit overbooked at the end. Putting Tanga in a G1 right after coming back from his injury was a choice. [*¼]

A Block: Ren Narita [0] vs. Shota Umino [0]

This is an interesting one as it’s two of the company’s most promising prospects in their first G1s. These two and Tsuji are being hyped as  the new Three Musketeers of the company. Both men played this like they had something to prove, trading forearms and never wanting to give the any advantage to the other. They did a good job of blending the hard hitting stuff with some smooth transitions. For example, Shota turned a stiff looking missile dropkick right into an STF and it came off so well. I also liked how they brought out moves made famous by their mentors from Shota throwing BCC elbows to Narita doing a few Shibata things. After the 10 minute mark, this really got going with Shooter trying some new things and Narita just flinging him with a suplex to counter Death Rider. Again, the time call at the 15:00 mark seemed to turn this up and when they slapped each other and both fell out, I was legitimately thinking we might get a double KO. They both got up and kept trading shots. The frantic energy as the time limit drew closer was great and they kept surviving the best the other threw at them. Narita turned Death Rider into the Cobra Twist with under a minute left, which he turned into a German for two. They flubbed the final spot a bit as time expired for a draw but this rocked and has single-handedly saved the show to this point. A perfect use of the draw and a great way to put over the new guys. Plus, with a 20 minute draw, you can go pretty hard for the time instead of those 30 minute draws where dudes just sit around wasting time for a third of it. [****]

I stopped the show here to run some errands and pick up some Chinese takeout. They flubbed my order though so now I’m in a bad mood for the second half of the show. On the positive side, I did just pour myself a vodka/soda so it’s not all bad.

B Block: The Great-O-Khan [0] vs. Kazuchika Okada [0]

Surprisingly, they’ve only met at Power Struggle 2020 (**). O-Khan started this with firm control, even nearly making Okada pass out from a submission in the opening few minutes. That was obviously never going to happen but still. That style made it clear what kind of match this would be though as you were just waiting for Okada to make the expected comeback. That said, I do appreciate that it means this wasn’t typical Okada formula. The Okada rally included a DDT on the outside which seemed to just take O-Khan out. There were some portions here that didn’t work for me like the continued prolonged attempts at the Claw but I get what they were going for. As this hit the 15 minute mark it felt a fair bit longer but then Okada hit the Rainmaker to win at the 15:23 mark. That was good, though it never really sniffed great. I liked the story of O-Khan kicking his ass but the fact that Okada can kind of just snatch a win from out of nowhere. [***]

A Block: Kaito Kiyomiya [0] vs. Yota Tsuji [0]

Along with Narita/Umino, this is easily the show’s most intriguing match. Kiyomiya is a NOAH star who notably got under Okada’s skin earlier this year, while Tsuji impressed and felt like a star in his debut main event at Dominion. Tsuji opened this with a tope suicida during Kaito’s entrance and the crowd was immediately engaged. Yota held serve because of that but he almost toyed with Kaito, daring him to hit harder. That gave Kaito the opening for a dragon screw that swung the momentum. I liked their back and forth because both are still new to me so I didn’t know what to expect. Yota’s ability to go from something graceful to something powerful is a combo rarely seen in wrestling. Hell, the way he landed on his feet to counter a Tiger Suplex was impressive. He did make sure to sell the knee though since it was the target. Down the stretch, each man threw out some of their best offensive moves, capped by Kaito hitting a powerbomb and Shining Wizard to win in 14:48. Like Narita/Shooter, this felt like two dudes looking to make a statement and they delivered. Surprised to see Tsuji lose his first two matches. [***¾]

B Block: Taichi [0] vs. Will Ospreay [0]

Five prior meetings here including the 2017 BOSJ (½*), Strong Style Evolved UK 2018 (*¼), 2018 World Tag League (**), G1 30 (***¼), and New Beginning in Sapporo this year (****). Clearly, they have both gotten better (and better at working together) over the years. Also, this is Taichi’s hometown. Fresh off the win over Omega, Ospreay was his arrogant self and he kind of kicked Taichi’s ass from the start. Ospreay even could be heard saying that with a 20 minute time limit, he wanted to use it to make Taichi suffer. Then, in an instant, everything changed. A Taichi kick caught Will on the ear and he was wobbly afterward. It’s not often you see ear selling and that’s part of why it worked here. The idea of a ruptured eardrum or something along those lines is interesting, especially since Will’s equilibrium was way off now. Red Shoes teased throwing the match out but Will stopped him. From that point on, Will would hit something but then have to stop and couldn’t capitalize because of the injury. Taichi finally got going and hit a super backdrop driver to kick off a flurry of moves. He LAID OUT Will with a Superkick and then hit Black Mephisto to score the upset in 17:43. They told a really intriguing story here. As a match, I prefer the April meeting but I am in on this story. There’s always a guy who has to sell an injury throughout the tourney but I’ve never seen it with the ear and this equilibrium issue could make for some different Ospreay matches which I’m all about. [***¾]

A Block: Hikuleo [0] vs. SANADA [0]

I didn’t see their only previous match in 2019. I know SANADA is the champ but this REALLY shouldn’t be the main event. Hikuelo is another guy I wouldn’t have included but they’re high on him and put him over Jay so whatever. This was basically Hikuleo kind of going through the motions because that’s how it feel like most of his matches are and the problem is that SANADA isn’t a Tanahashi or someone like that who can make it work. Hikuleo avoided SANADA’s finisher and hit a powerslam as the crowd gave him a mild hand. SANADA survived a powerbomb and won with Deadfall in 10:16. That was a match that happened and that’s about all I can say. [**¼]

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Basically what I expect from this G1. A few matches that stood out, mostly from the people know will deliver, and a handful of things that really missed the mark. All the proof needed that this tournament is too big is the first three matches and the main event. Mostly uninteresting fluff from people who don’t need to be involved. That said, Ospreay/Taichi, Kaito/Tsuji, and Narita/Umino were all standout matches.