G1 Climax 33: Night Four | WED JULY 19 2023 | Miyagi

Welcome to night four of the G1 Climax 33 taking place in Xebio Arena Sendai, Miyagi. It’s another exciting night of action from the C Block and D Block seeing Toru Yano causing absolute havoc in the opening match of the night. In the semi-main and main events of the night, it’s a battle of wills between Tama Tonga and Tomohiro Ishii while Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito reignite their G1 Climax feud.

This year is also a little different, we have an even bigger selection of wrestlers than before while continuing the four-block format from the previous year. On top of that, the time limit for each tournament bout has been reduced from 30 minutes to 20, making for an even more fast-paced and frantic set of matches this year. The last three nights will see the top two scoring participants from each block enter the playoff stages, fighting it out to be crowned the winner of the G1 Climax 33 and a guaranteed match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at next year’s Wrestle Kingdom.

D Block: Toru Yano [CHAOS] Vs Zack Sabre Jr [TMDK]

Toru Yano is set to face Zack Sabre Jr. in our opening match tonight, the two have faced off on many occasions but he has only ever beat him once. How will Yano mess with ZSR this year? Ichiban Sweetboy, Kosei Fujita is here representing TMDK and is dressed like Zack Sabre Jr. Yano sees this and grabs one of the Young Lions, Nakashima, and dresses him up as himself.

ZSJ sneaks up behind Yano and chokes him out as the bell rings and heads to the ring, it seems Zack wants to play Yano at his own game. Kosei Fujita tapes up the turnbuckle pads to stop Yano from taking them off. This is wild already. Zack delivers a running pele kick only for Yano to use the wrist tape to tie his feet together. Yano is back in the ring as the count starts giving us a hilarious moment of ZSJ hopping to the ring and just beating the count. This is one to watch as Yano is one of the best and most diabolical rule-breakers of the whole tournament.

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr

Rating: *****

C Block: Mikey Nicholls [TMDK] Vs David Finlay [Bullet Club: War Dogs]

This was a nice little match, a little short but full of hard hits, big power moves and some brawling on the outside. Mikey Nicholls hits a picture-perfect Spine Buster but doesn’t quite get the win. David Finlay is being pushed hard since his return to New Japan and becoming the new leader of the Bullet Club. he is getting the group to go back to basics and he is showing off his heel tactics here.

Winner: David Finlay

Rating: ***

D Block: Jeff Cobb [United Empire] Vs Alex Coughlin [Bullet Club: War Dogs]

These two have only faced off once before, on New Japan Strong, with Jeff Cobb getting the win over Alex Coughlin, who was a young lion at the time. This will be a fight, with Coughlin having the grit and determination to win, he is a War Dog after all. He is also deceptively strong and shows that off by lifting Cobb above his head and slamming him. Cobb doesn’t take this and in soon hits forearms attempting to get Coughlin down. This doesn’t work but the Drop Kick does and a Standing Moonsault nearly gets him the win.

There is a lot of back and forth in this one with neither man getting the upper hand. Just as one hit a big power move the other retaliates in kind. This match is another great one and sees Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands before picking up his second win in D Block.

Winner: Jeff Cobb

Rating: ***.75

C Block: EVIL [Bullet Club: House of Torture] Vs Eddie Kingston [AEW]

I have a feeling this one won’t be a straightforward affair. EVIL is well known for dirty tactics but Eddie Kingston isn’t here for any of that, he comes to the ring with a Kendo Stick, wanting to fight and bring all his tools to the fight. Dick Togo is someone Kingston needs to keep an eye on cause he will try and thwart his efforts, as he does mear minutes into this match. Kingston knows Japanese wrestling, he loves Japanese wrestling and the fan of New Japan seem to love him.

Evil and Dick Togo knock down the referee, Kenta Sato, and try everything to get the upper hand including choking Kingston and using a Kendo Stick. Kingston isn’t having any of these shenanigans and uses it on Evil, but not before EVIL accidentally hits Togo with it. This is a great match with Kingston as the obvious underdog and EVIL looks great here. Yes, his stick is just cheating to win but that’s just House of Torture. EVIL hits Kingston with the low blow and picks up the sneaky win.

Winner: EVIL

Rating: ****.5

D Block: Shane Haste [TMDK] Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

It’s time for the ACE of New Japan to face off against the funny and equally deadly Shane Haste from TMDK. This starts off a bit slow and Tanahashi’s story this year is how to win without the High Fly Flow and coming to terms with his body starting to slow down after over 20 years of high-intensity wrestling. Sahne Haste doesn’t have these problems and is around 10 years younger than the ACE, but that doesn’t mean this won’t be a hard-fought bout.

Haste has the match in the first quarter with Tanahashi beginning to feel the energy of the crowd in the second. This is always what sparks something within him, being able to fight back no matter how hurt he is. Hase has a wonderful drop kick that he shows off by launching Tanahashi outside of the ring and onto the floor. In that same vein, Tanahasi has one of the best Drago Screw Leg Whips in the business today and manages to hit it on Haste. These two are determined to one-up each other at every turn and this is just a truly enjoyable bout.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi

Rating: ****.75

C Block: HENARE [United Empire] Vs Shingo Takagi [L.I.J.]

This match is just big beefy scary men slapping meat and sometimes that’s just what you want from your pro wrestling. This is a good little match with Shingo Takagi targeting the neck of HENARE. Takagi is magnificent to watch, absolutely captivating and really does make his opponents shine.

HENARE is a great wrestler and I really like him, but this G1 needs to be his time to shine. He needs to up his game and show everyone that he deserves to be spoken about for his skills inside of the ring. He does in this match, the tests of strength and resistance between these two competitors is a joy to watch and HENARE’s knee in the corner is so smooth. Stick with this one cause it starts slow but only intensifies as it goes on.

Winner: HENARE

Rating: ****.5

G1 Climax 33 Semi Main Event | D Block: Tetsuya Naito [L.I.J.] Vs Hirooki Goto [CHAOS]

Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto is one of the biggest and best rivalries in all of the G1 Climax and this one is just the next chapter with Naito looking to get his first 2 points after being defeated by Jeff Cobb on night two.

This is hard-hitting, fast-paced and brutal in its delivery with both men always wanting to come out on top. It’s full of near falls and big moves, Naito hits a wonderful Frankenstiner off of the top rope hoping to get a quick win but to no avail. By the 15-minute mark, these two men are spent, working hard to get the win and that energy they need to keep going. With three minutes left to go, it’s a close one but Naito manages to hit the Destino and picks up the win. Please seek out this match if you can, it is fantastic.

Winner: Tetsuya Naito

Rating: *****

G1 Climax 33 Main Event | C Block: Tama Tonga [Guerrillas of Destiny] Vs Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS]

Tama Tonga has another uphill battle tonight in Tomohiro Ishii who will be looking to get himself his first two points and make Tama play into his hands. Ishii has a very distinct style of match based around being the strongest and if he is beaten by you then there will always be a level of respect there. You have to be tough to go against Ishii. His style is old school with Brain Busters, Vertical Suplex’s and Clotheslines galor.

Tama Tonga is fast though, he runs around the ring like a blur but Ishii is also quick, a lot quicker than his size and strength would have you believe. They deal out forearms and huge power moves wearing each other down in the hope one of them will get the upper hand, but neither of them does.

They’re explosive in the ring and embody that fighting spirit everyone seems to talk about. Ishii does like to utilise a headbutt here and there, he also sometimes, like in this match, will use his opponent’s moves. His stun Gunn is a pleasant surprise and well executed. With five minutes left to go the action intensifies and Tama Tonga somehow gets the strength to hit the Jay Driller to win the match.

Winner: Tama Tonga

Rating: ****.75