Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 33 Finals Review

NJPW G1 Climax 33 Finals

August 13^th, 2023 | Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: N/A

Since I have STARDOM x STARDOM to review and this tournament was lackluster, I’m only reviewing the finals itself rather than the entire show.

G1 Climax Finals: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

Obviously, there’s a ton of history here from a 2012 match where Naito basically made Dave Meltzer fall in love with Okada to various title matches to two Tokyo Dome main events. This is their first G1 final though. Okada holds a 7-6 edge. Guess what kind of match this was? OKADA FORMULA BABY. That means slow and steady for the first 10 or so minutes outside of a DDT on the apron. Look at our all-time New Japan star, he’s added DDTs outside to try and switch up his formula in this tournament but it isn’t fooling anyone. You all know I’m not a fan of Okada’s formula. What I did like was him being an absolute little shit. I’ve always said that Okada is typically at his best either when working heel or when he’s taken out of his comfort zone. We didn’t get the latter but the former was clear as he was antagonizing Naito at every turn. The man has won two straight G1s and is booked like God, so yeah, he’s a cocky dude. After a mostly dull Act I, we moved into stage two which is when Naito got going and they showed how well they know each other with some counters and things like that. It still wasn’t anything special but it was an improvement. Of course, Act III was the highlight as is the case with all Okada formula matches. That’s when we got the dropkick, the big moves, and the series of counters and finisher reversals, complete with WRIST CONTROL. Rainmaker and Destino attempts all around before Naito hit two Destinos to win it all in 34:18. A good G1 Final but too much typical Okada formula for my taste. [***¾]

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

About what I expected from the finals. If you love Okada matches, you’ll likely think was better than I did and if you’re somewhat over his style, you’ll be more in line with me.