NJPW G1 Climax 33 Through Day 9
The annual G1 tournament for NJPW kicked off a few weeks ago with G1 Climax 33. Day 1 saw the debut of Block A and B along with Day 2 debuting Block C and D. Each block contains eight wrestlers who compete in a round-robin tournament. At the conclusion of Day 16, the top-two scorers in each block enter the eight-man tournament to crown the G1 champion. Points are determined by victory. A pinfall/submission is two points while a draw is one point. With the conclusion of Day 9 on July 27, we will look at the current block standings and the night’s results.
Day 9 Results
Day 9 saw blocks A and B wrap up their July action from the Ota City General Gymnasium in Ota, Tokyo. Block A has often been referred to as the block chock-full of young talent, as well as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Sanada. Block B has performed just as well thus far with many current and former champions including the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, Will Ospreay, and former five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Okada.
Block A Results
Shota Umino defeats Chase Owens via pinfall (9:35)
Kaito Kiyomia vs Gabe Kidd ends via double count-out (11:44)
Hikuleo defeats Yota Tsuji via pinfall (12:12)
Sanada defeats Ren Narita via pinfall (16:30)
The block’s main event saw the champion Sanada take on former NEVER Openweight 6-man tag champion, Ren Narita. The matchup started out with Narita looking very strong. Sanada had to overcome a very game Narita, who even had a Boston crab locked in very tight at one point. Eventually, Sanada was able to work his way to the ropes for the break. After bouncing off the ropes, Sanada caught Narita in the Dead Fall. Within a blink of an eye, Sanada was being bounced from the ropes and then landing his finisher. The victory makes Sanada the only 10-point scorer by the end of Day 9.
Block B Results
Taichi defeats Yoshi-Hashi via pinfall (13:13)
Tanga Loa defeats Great-O-Khan via pinfall (12:41)
El Phantasmo defeats Kenta via pinfall (0:19)
Will Ospreay defeats Okada via pinfall (17:21)
The block’s main event saw current great champion take on one of the organization’s greatest world champions. The crowd was electric before the bout even started. Ospreay needed the win in this contest to tie with Okada for first in the block. Not only would he tie Okada, but Ospreay would give the former world champion his first loss of the G1. Okada is a four-time G1 champion and the winner of the last two tournaments. With less than three minutes to go, Ospreay hit the Storm Breaker to get the three-count on Okada. One has to wonder if this may give Ospreay the momentum needed to make a deep run in the G1.
Standings Through Day 9
Block A (5 bouts)
Sanada-10pts
Kaito Kiyomia-6pts
Shota Umino-6pts
Gabe Kidd-5pts
Chase Owens-4pts
Hikuleo-4pts
Yota Tsuji-3pts
Ren Narita-2pts
Block B (5 bouts)
Will Ospreay-8pts
Okada-8pts
Taichi-6pts
Yoshi Hashi-4pts
El Phantasmo-4pts
Tanga Loa-4pts
Kenta-4pts
Great O Khan-2pts
Block C (4 bouts)
David Finlay-6pts
Evil-6pts
Tama Tonga-6pts
Eddie Kingston-4pts
Shingo Takagi-4pts
Mikey Nicholls-2pts
Henare-2pts
Tomohiro Ishii-2pts
Block D (4 bouts)
Jeff Cobb-8pts
Zack Sabre Jr.-6pts
Tetsuya Naito-4pts
Hirooki Goto-4pts
Hiroshi Tanahashi-4pts
Shane Haste-4pts
Alex Coughlin-2pts
Toru Yano-0pts
