G1 hits Korakuen
Tuesday July 25 sees the G1 tour come to Tokyo for the first time this year, with the first night of a Korakuen Hall double header seeing what’s sure to be some hotly contested matchups with A and B Block reaching the midway point.
Watch all of G1 Climax 33 live in English on NJPW World!
Main event: A Block- SANADA (3-0) vs Kaito Kiyomiya (2-0-1)
Kaito Kiyomiya drew some criticism, especially from fellow entrants, when he said pre-tournament that he only had eyes and interest for SANADA during the G1 Climax, but as inflammatory as his remarks may have been, there is no doubt that this is the most important contest of his campaign. Any representative of an outside company will have added pressure put upon them, especially in Kiyomiya’s case; after all, the last time a NOAH wrestler battled an IWGP Heavyweight Champion in a G1, Naomichi Marufuji defeated Kazuchika Okada in a match fans still bring up seven years on.
As high as the pressure will be for the 2-0-1 Kaito, SANADA will feel the pinch as well. Coming off a win over Yota Tsuji in his hometown of Nagaoka, the world champion sits alone at the top of the block, but must now reset and represent all of New Japan Pro-Wrestling against outside competition in front of what is sure to be a partisan Korakuen crowd. Could this main event prove to be his tallest test yet as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion?
7th Match: B Block- Kazuchika Okada (3-0) vs YOSHI-HASHI (2-1)
Siungles record: 3-0 Okada
A CHAOS derby will see friends and teammates Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI go one on one. Both men came into CHAOS at the start of 2012, returning from excursion at the same time, and with a match opposite one another way back at Wrestle Kingdom 6. That would have been a turning point for the relationship of both men, and though Okada would shoot himself to main event success just one month later, YOSHI-HASHI would have a much longer journey to title success.
That success was for the NEVER 6 Man Championships, and has been followed with tag gold as well. Yet the Headhunter has always wanted singles glory, and has always brought the fight to his G1 entrances. Now after his second win Friday night brought him to 2-1 and second place, YOSHI-HASHI can hit the top if he can beat the unbeaten Okada. Long odds? Most certainly, but the Headhunter is sure to bring every ounce of fight he has to his faction leader tonight.
6th Match: A Block- Ren Narita (0-1-2) vs Hikuleo (0-3)
One time Dojo roommates Ren Narita and Hikuleo face off one on one for the first time in Korakuen. At 0-3, Hikuleo had a difficult opening to his tournament, and for Narita meanwhile, an opening pair of draws was a source of great frustration, and a loss to Gabe Kidd in Nagaoka has deepened that irritation. Who can finally start to get their momentum going tonight?
5th Match: B Block- Tanga Loa (1-2) vs El Phantasmo (0-3)
The two pointer Tanga Loa and winless El Phantasmo go head to head in B Block. When Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga and Jado were kicked out of BULLET CLUB back in March of 2022, it was Phantasmo burying the knife. One year on, and it would be ELP himself booted from BULLET CLUB at the direction of David Finlay. Now, Phantasmo is a man without an island, and a wrestler without a faction. There might be some closure in this contest, but more important to men wins off the pace, two critical G1 points.
4th Match: A Block- Yota Tsuji (0-2-1) vs Chase Owens (2-1)
Singles record: 1-0 Owens
Chase Owens and Yota Tsuji face off for the first time since Tsuji’s return from excursion in A Block. Kicking off his campaign with a loss to Kaito Kiyomiya, then a draw with Ren Narita, Tsuji’s start was a frustrating one, and things just got worse after losing to SANADA in a much hyped rematch from Dominion in Osaka Jo Hall. Both are very much still in the A Block hunt, but will Owens show Tsuji the benefit of his years of experience, and force Tsuji effectively out of the running in the process?
3rd Match: B Block- Taichi (2-1) vs KENTA (1-2)
Two expert hard hitting strikers who also have a penchant for bending the rules, and both with connections to the King’s Road golden age of AJPW generations removed, KENTA and Taichi have surprisingly never met one on one. In both the NJPW World TV Championship tournament last autumn and the New Japan Cup this spring, KENTA and Taichi had potential to meet one another in the bracket, but fate had other ideas. Now they do face off, will it be the four point Taichi or the 1-2 KENTA gaining two more points?
2nd Match: Shota Umino (0-1-2) vs Gabe Kidd (2-1)
As Gabe Kidd came into the LA and Noge Dojos just as Shota Umino went on excursion, it took until the autumn of 2022 for the two to share a ring. Then it was as teammates, but Kidd has taken a dramatic twist since. Umino will face the BULLET CLUB War Dogs’ Kidd tonight in Korakuen; and a Kidd who was first of the two to pick up two points. Now at the midway mark of the tournament, every victory matters all the more; after a draw against Kaito Kiyomiya Friday, will he get his first win, or will the controversial Kidd keep building steam?
1st Match: B Block- Will Ospreay (2-1) vs Great-O-Khan (1-2)
It’s all United Empire to kick us off tonight as Will Ospreay takes on Great-O-Khan. Back during a G1 Climax 30 match for Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada, Great-O-Khan’s interference would pave the way for the United Empire to be built. Now the two go head to head for the first time, at a critical juncture for O-Khan in particular. A dismal start to the G1 had seen the usually verbose O-Khan dispirited, uncommunicative and in need of motivation, but beating El Phantasmo in Nagaoka saw the corner potentially turned. There’s no better source for more motivation than Ospreay, but will he be a source of two points for the Dominator as well?
