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NJPW G1 CLIMAX 33: NIGHT 14 REPORT
AUGUST 06, 2023
OSAKA, JAPAN AT EDION ARENA OSAKA
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton
(1) JUST 5 GUYS (Sanada & Douki) vs. KAITO KIYOMIYA & RYOHEI OIWA
Douki took care of Kiyomiya with a suicide dive while Sanada withstood Oiwa’s pinning combinations and forced him to tap out with the Skull End.
WINNERS: Just 5 Guys at 10:45.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Really liked the interactions between Sanada and Kaito Kiyomiya. Still unsure about his future in New Japan once the G1 is over.)
(2) TOMOHIRO ISHII & HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Kosei Fujita)
Ishii stopped Nicholls from entering the ring while Tanahashi got a submission victory over Fujita with a Cloverleaf.
WINNERS: Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi at 10:12
– After the match, Tomohiro Ishii and Mikey Nicholls continued brawling, forcing Hiroshi Tanahashi and the Young Lions to separate them.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A lot of focus on building Tomohiro Ishii and Mikey Nicholls’ upcoming match on Tuesday.)
(3) HIROYOSHI TENZAN & TAMA TONGA vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Jeff Cobb & Henare)
Cobb and Tenzan exchanged Mongolian chops, until Cobb finished him with the Tour of Islands.
WINNERS: United Empire at 9:53
– After the match, Tama Tonga and Henare faced off in-and-out of the ring.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Just a match to give Cobb a win and hype up Henare and Tama Tonga’s match.)
(4) TOGI MAKABE & EDDIE KINGSTON vs. BULLET CLUB (David FInlay & Chase Owens)
Makabe took Owens out of the ring with a clothesline before being finished with Finlay’s Into Oblivion.
WINNERS: Bullet Club at 10:18
(Pomares’ Analysis: Like what I saw from Eddie Kingston and David Finlay. Their match on Tuesday should be fun.)
(5) LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPÓN (Bushi & Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Evil & Sho & Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo)
Tsuji and Bushi took Yujiro and Sho out of the ring while Takagi stopped Evil from returning to the ring. Naito spiked Togo with Destino to score the win.
WINNERS: Los Ingobernables de Japón at 9:35
– After the match, Evil attacked Shingo Takagi and tried to shave his head with clippers.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Just your typical House of Torture match. Assuming Evil’s shenanigans with the clippers might play a part in his match with Shingo Takagi.)
(6) YOSHI-HASHI (4 pts) vs. KENTA (4 pts) – Block B Match
Kenta attacked Yoshi from behind and stomped him down. Yoshi knocked Kenta off his feet with a shoulder tackle, only for Kenta to drive him into the barricade three times. Kenta blasted Yoshi with a series of kicks to the back and a knee drop to the head. Kenta put Yoshi down with a DDT, following it with a couple of kicks to the chest. Yoshi caught Kenta with a dropkick to the knee, followed by chops and a running blockbuster. Yoshi hung Kenta’s body on the top rope, setting him up for a dropkick to the back.
Kenta blocked a powerbomb and pushed Yoshi away, knocking the referee down in the process. Kenta grabbed a kendo stick and pummeled Yoshi with it. At ringside, Kenta grabbed Yoshi’s staff and tried to use it as a weapon, but missed, making it bounce into his own head. Yoshi planted Kenta with a powerbomb, but he managed to kick out at two. They traded elbow strikes, until Kenta knocked Yoshi off his feet with a series of slaps.
Kenta hit Yoshi with a running knee strike for a close two count. Kenta attacked Yoshi with spinning backfists, only for Yoshi to lay him out with a thrust kick and the Kamigoroshi. Kenta blocked the Karma while Yoshi blocked a low blow behind the referee’s back. Yoshi put Kenta down with a lariat, only for Kenta to counter Karma with an inside cradle.
WINNER: KENTA (6 pts) at 12:17. (***1/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: One of Kenta’s better matches in the whole tournament for whatever that’s worth. Both men were already eliminated, so no major developments came out of this one. Was at least hoping to see Yoshi-Hashi finally pick up a win over him.)
(7) TAICHI (6 pts) vs. THE GREAT-O-KHAN (4 pts) – Block B Match
Early on, Taichi rolled out of the ring and walked around ringside for a few moments. Back in the ring, Taichi nailed O-Khan with a kick to the back, only for O-Khan to dump his body out of the ring. O-Khan drove Taichi into the barricade twice before dropping him ribs-first onto the apron. O-Khan targeted Taichi’s arm by hyper-extending with the barricade.
Back in the ring, Taichi tried to kick O-Khan away, but O-Khan effortlessly knocked him off his feet with a fireman’s carry takedown. Taichi caught O-Khan off-guard with a kick to the head, followed by a series of kicks to the chest. Taichi tore off his pants before trapping him in a hammerlock and headlock combination. O-Khan managed to reach the ropes with his feet, only for Taichi to hastily put him in a Kimura Lock.
Taichi transitioned the hold into a cross armbreaker, nearly getting O-Khan to tap out. O-Khan swept Taichi off his feet before planting him with a belly-to-belly suplex. O-Khan knocked Taichi down with an arm drag, setting him up for a head-and-arm triangle. Taichi blocked a gutwrench move and trapped O-Khan’s legs into a modified Deathlock, until he was able to grab the ropes.
Taichi knocked O-Khan off his feet with a double ankle lock, only for O-Khan to respond with a similar move at the same time. After reaching the ropes, they got into a forearm strikes and kicks to the leg exchange. Taichi cracked O-Khan with an enzuigiri, only for O-Khan to surprise him with an STO into a head-and-arm Triangle choke. After struggling for a few minutes, Taichi was left with no other choice than to tap out.
WINNER: The Great-O-Khan (6 pts) at 17:41. (**3/4)
(Pomares’ Analysis: The work in the match was solid, but I’m definitely not the audience for a match so heavy on grappling. With O-Khan picking up the win, I could definitely see this turning into a KOPW title feud.)
(8) KAZUCHIKA OKADA (10 pts) vs. TANGA LOA (6 pts) – Block B Match
Loa tried to beat Okada with a backslide and an O’Connor Roll before avoiding the Rainmaker. Okada rolled out of the ring where he caught Loa with a DDT into the floor. Okada smashed Loa’s head into the commentary table before hitting with a DDT once he returned to the ring. Loa pummeled Okada down with numerous right hands, setting him up for a Spear.
Loa nailed Okada with a series of strikes to the chest and abdomen, followed by an uppercut and a German suplex. At ringside, Loa planted Okada with a back body drop, following it with a lariat. Okada stopped Loa in the corner and dropped him with a neckbreaker into his knee. Loa sent Okada over the barricade, but couldn’t throw his body into the crowd’s seats.
Loa managed to plant Okada with a swing side slam for a close two count. Okada blocked Loa’s finisher and knocked him down with a clothesline. Loa surprised Okada with a headbutt, only for Okada to immediately retaliate with a dropkick. Loa nailed Okada with a dropkick, only for Okada to knock him out with the Landslide and the Rainmaker.
WINNER: Kazuchika Okada (12 pts) at 12:33. (***)
(Pomares’ Analysis: An okay match that didn’t really manage to hit its stride. Tanga Loa never felt like the threat that would spoil Okada’s chances to get the top spot. Not bad, but not particularly memorable.)
(9) EL PHANTASMO (6 pts) vs. WILL OSPREAY (8 pts) – Block B Match
ELP pushed Ospreay to the ropes before sending him out of the ring with a dropkick and a hurracarrana. Back in the ring, Ospreay knocked ELP with a shoulder tackle, followed by a Pescado. Ospreay planted ELP with a backbreaker, but he managed to kick out at two. ELP tried to make a comeback with a couple of chops, only for Ospreay to shut him down with a single chop. They exchanged a pair of elbow strikes, until ELP caught Ospreay off-guard with a Satellite DDT.
ELP put Ospreay down with a Russian leg sweep, followed by an elbow drop. Ospreay clocked ELP with a handspring enzuigiri, setting him up for a diving forearm strike to the back of the head. ELP shoved Ospreay off the top turnbuckle, only to immediately crush him with a top rope moonsault. Back in the ring, ELP hit Ospreay with a top rope Swanton Bomb and a springboard moonsault for a two count. Ospreay knocked ELP down with elbow strikes and Kawada kicks before receiving a series of kicks and stomps.
Ospreay blasted ELP with chops and a thrust kick, making him collapse into the apron. ELP pulled Ospreay off the top turnbuckle and smashed his shoulder into the ring post. Ospreay blocked the CR2 and dropped ELP with the OsCutter on the apron. ELP was barely able to return to the ring in time and immediately blocked a springboard move with the Sudden Death kick. ELP crushed Ospreay with Thunder Kiss 86, followed by an over-the-shoulders facebuster. Ospreay stopped ELP with a standing Spanish Fly, obtaining a few seconds to recuperate.
Ospreay cracked ELP with a thrust kick, but couldn’t follow it up with Stormbreaker. ELP spiked Ospreay with a poison rana, setting him up for the Sudden Death and a nearfall. ELP nailed Ospreay with a diving Tornado DDT for a two count. Ospreay blocked the CR2 with a pop up forearm strike and a thrust kick, only for ELP to counter the OsCutter with a backslide. Ospreay managed to kick out of the Gedo Clutch, but ELP countered his Hidden Blade with a hurracarrana.
ELP put Ospreay down with an OsCutter, followed by CR2 for a shocking nearfall. ELP blocked the thrust kick in the corner, only for Ospreay to catch a diving move with a cutter. Ospreay nailed ELP with the OsCutter and the Hidden Blade, but ELP managed to kick out at two. Ospreay planted ELP with a Storm Driver 93 to finally pick up the victory.
WINNER: Will Ospreay (10 pts) at 18:52. (****1/2)
(Pomares’ Analysis: In easily the match of the night and arguably the best matches in the entire tournament so far, Will Ospreay and El Phantasmo killed it for nearly 20 minutes. The final five minutes were especially of note with non-stop reversals and nearfalls that had the entire crowd at the edge of their seats. Will Ospreay is definitely the better choice to move on to the quarterfinals, but after that match, everyone would have loved to see El Phantasmo shock the world and make it out of the group phase.)
Overall thoughts: While Taichi vs. O-Khan, Okada vs. Loa & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenta were decent affairs, this was essentially a one-match show. Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo is a must-watch encounter that single-handedly elevated what was ultimately an average show.
Block B was a pretty solid group, mainly carried by Will Ospreay who for the most part had the best match with every single one of his opponents. I would have preferred for most of the matches in the final night of the block to be inconsequential, but I guess that’s what happens when Okada and Ospreay are the only top stars in it. I really hope there’s some kind of push or title match for El Phantasmo down the line after having a good tournament, closed by a match of the tournament candidate.
You can contact at mauriciopomres@gmail.com or on Twitter @PomiWrestling
CATCH UP ON THE PREVIOUS REPORT: NJPW G1 CLIMAX 33 – NIGHT 13 RESULTS (8/5): Kuester’s results & analysis of Sanada vs. Owens, Narita vs. Kiyomiya, Tsuji vs. Kidd
CHECK OUT OUR NEW JAPAN G1 HEADQUARTERS HERE
OR CHECK OUT PROWRESTLING.NET’S REPORT FOR ANOTHER VIEWPOINT: NJPW “G1 Climax 33 Night 14” results (8/6): Vetter’s review of Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo, Kazuchika Okada vs. Tanga Loa, Taichi vs. Great O Khan, Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenta
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