Full card set for Ryogoku Saturday
After a red hot month of action, it’s finally come down to the final weekend, as G1 Climax 33 heads to a conclusion. Saturday August 12, the Final Four will do battle to determine who meets whom in the G1 Climax 33 final August 13.
Watch all of G1 Climax 33 live in English on NJPW World!
Main event: G1 Climax 33 semifinal- Tetsuya Naito vs Will Ospreay
Singles record: 2-0 Ospreay
A rematch of last year’s G1 semifinal is the culmination of semifinal night in 2023, Tetsuya Naito facing Will Ospreay. This time last year, it was the first meeting for these two men, a gripping match that ended in an Ospreay victory; three months later and a rematch over the IWGP United States Championship ended in the same result.
A year is a long time in professional wrestling- so what may be different in 2023? Many suspected that Ospreay might slow down after his cathartic if demanding victory over Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door. When that didn’t happen, Ospreay getting back on the horse after a shock defeat to Taichi to start his G1 campaign, many suspected he would slow down after an emotional victory over Kazuchika Okada in the Ota birthplace of NJPW. That didn’t happen either, a blip of a countout loss to Tanga Loa quickly rectified as he made the Elite Eight, and at the expense of David Finlay, the Final Four.
So what hope may Naito have, over his prior outings with Ospreay? Most likely, the crowd. 2022’s two encounters were without the benefit of cheering fans, and there is no doubt that Ryogoku will be Naito country this weekend, as El Ingobernable seeks to reach the top of the summer mountain, perhaps for the last time. Naito would do well to make the most of that support, but Ospreay’s fans, who yelled the house down for the Aerial Assassin opposite Okada in Ota, and Finlay in Funabashi, will be present too, and even in hostile territory as he was in Toronto, Ospreay is equally effective. The statistical analysis then, paints Naito as the underdog with back to the wall. No situation Naito excels at more.
7th Match: G1 Climax 33 semifinal- EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada
Singles record: 6-2 Okada
As much as its been easy, and very enjoyable, to heap dirt on EVIL’s terrible record in recent years, so too is it painful to recognise his efficacy through G1 Climax 33. Clearing the B Block with a whole host of interference, dirty tricks and one last low blow to Shingo Takagi, EVIL advanced to the hurt IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA. His right arm injury notwithstanding, the champion had no excuse for his loss to EVIL and a counter to Deadfall that was the cleanest route to victory for him all tournament, albeit with some despicable work done on the front end by Dick Togo.
His momentum is eerily reminiscent of the streak that brought him the 2020 New Japan Cup and subsequent double IWGP gold, a run with a key moment of EVIL defeating Kazuchika Okada in the NJC final and joining what would become the HOUSE OF TORTURE