wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 15 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 15
August 8th, 2023 | Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Kanagawa | Attendance: 2,360
Time to wrap up C Block which hasn’t been my favorite by a long shot.
C Block: Mikey Nicholls [4] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [2]
Tomohiro Ishii does not wrestle like a guy who is eliminated from a tournament. He was the same dude here that you’d see in a G1 final. He slapped Mikey around and dared him to bring the fight. Mikey was more than game to do so, showing off the hard hitting style that has been a staple of his G1 so far. He actually gained control using it and hit a series of suplexes, a tornado DDT, and a Death Valley Driver for a close near fall. I actually believed Ishii might finish with just two points at that moment. As this got to the 10 minute mark, they started throwing lariats at each other and they really picked up the intensity there. Ishii ultimately won with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster in 13:01, capping one of the best C Block matches of the whole tournament. [***½]
C Block: HENARE [4] vs. Tama Tonga [7]
I think HENARE has proven that he works best in 12-15 minute hard hitting fights. Basically the old NEVER Title stuff. When he’s not doing those hoss fights, it hasn’t clicked as well for me. This wasn’t a hoss fight, so I didn’t love it. Tama was again a solid babyface when fighting from beneath but the main issue here was that HENARE’s heat segment was kind of dull and bland. When he was in control, the match kind of suffered. Tama’s rally helped bring this back up and of course, the closing stretch was strong. My other gripe is that this didn’t feel like it had the sense of urgency you want. Tama was technically still alive with a win (he’d need a Shingo win and a play-in match but still) yet this felt like two dudes just having a match. Tama hit the Superman Punch and Jay Driller to remain alive in 14:30. It was solid enough from start to finish and nothing more. [**¾]
C Block: David Finlay [8] vs. Eddie Kingston [8]
The winner of this advances no matter what. The Bullet Club “tough guy” against the guy who has made career out of being tough. Although Finlay is a Bullet Club heel who isn’t totally working for me, what he’s doing is miles better than House of Torture BS. This was a solid back and forth match where Eddie didn’t back down at all regardless of how much the violent BC leader dished out. Especially since Finlay’s offense isn’t the most imposing. Eddie was a fiery babyface but not one who was overmatch or on his heels the entire time. The crowd has also taken to him, which helped here. As usual, things picked up in the closing stretch even if both looked tired by the time the 15 minute mark arrived. Finlay avoided the backfist and hit some elbows before winning with Oblivion in 16:34. A good match but nothing great. Finlay wins C Block. [***¼]
C Block: EVIL [8] vs. Shingo Takagi [7]
If EVIL wins or this ends in a draw, he’s in. If Shingo wins, he will face Tama in a tiebreaker immediately afterward (their match ended in a draw). You already know that I’ve said I’m beyond done with this House of Torture stuff and it was as bad as ever here. Yujiro, Dick Togo, and SHO got involved and Shingo had to fight them off. The biggest problem here is that it made all the faces look stupid. Why didn’t LIJ come out to help sooner? They arrived way too late and by then, Shingo had taken a fair amount of damage. Hell, where was Tama Tonga? He should’ve been ringside or by the curtain (as commentary said) to do whatever he could to make sure Shingo won here. Instead, the babyfaces looked dumber than WWE faces, which is saying something. It all led to EVIL winning anyway with Everything is Evil in 17:40 and advancing to the playoffs. [*½]
Gedo booking this as the playoffs is legitimately hilarious.
