The G1 Climax 33 was a professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The tournament commenced on July 15 and concluded on August 13, 2023. It is the thirty-third edition of G1 Climax and the forty-ninth edition of the tournament counting its previous forms under different names.
Considered NJPW's most important tournament, the G1 Climax featured 32 wrestlers, divided into four blocks of eight ("A", "B", "C", and "D"). Each participant faced all seven other wrestlers within the same block in singles matches. The winner of each block was determined via a point system, with two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a defeat. There was a 20-minute time limit for the block matches instead the usual 30-minute time limit. Each night of the event seen matches from two blocks per night. On the final three days of the event, the top two scoring wrestlers of each block entered an eight-man playoff to determine the winner of the tournament, who also receives a future match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom.
It was the largest G1 Climax to date with 32 participants and like last year's G1, it returned to the four-block format.
The event saw the G1 Climax debuts of Shota Umino, Hikuleo, Eddie Kingston, Ren Narita, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, Yota Tsuji and Kaito Kiyomiya with Kingston and Kiyomiya being outsiders from All Elite Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah respectively.
Production
Tournament rules
The tournament features 32 wrestlers, divided into four blocks of eight ("A", "B", "C", and "D"). Each participant faces all seven other wrestlers within the same block in singles matches. The winner of each block is determined via a point system, with two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss; each night of the event sees one match from each block between two members competing for the tournament. In case of several wrestlers sharing the top score, the results of the matches those wrestlers had when facing each other in the tournament act as tiebreaker, with the one having the most wins over the other top-scorers determining the winner of the block.
On the final three days of the event, the top two scoring wrestlers of each block enter an eight-man single-elimination playoff to determine the winner of the G1 Climax, who would gain a future match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, NJPW's top championship, at Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW's biggest yearly event; if the IWGP Heavyweight Champion himself wins, he selects his opponent at Wrestle Kingdom. The matches of the tournament have a 20-minutes time limit (with the time limit being reached resulting in a tie); the semifinal (block winners) and final (semifinal winners) matches, where a winner must be determined, have no time limit.
History On April 8, 2023, at Sakura Genesis, NJPW announced that the 2023 edition of the G1 Climax would take place from July to August. During Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall on June 4, NJPW announced the participants for the G1 Climax.
Storylines The event includes matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Venues DatesVenueLocationJuly 15Hokkai KitayellToyohira-ku, SapporoJuly 16July 18Yamagata City General Sports CenterTendo, YamagataJuly 19Xebio Arena SendaiSendai, MiyagiJuly 21City Hall Plaza Aore NagaokaNagaoka, NiigataJuly 23Big HatNagano, NaganoJuly 25Korakuen HallBunkyo, TokyoJuly 26July 27Ota City General GymnasiumŌta, TokyoJuly 30Aichi Prefectural GymnasiumNagoya, AichiAugust 1Takamatsu City General GymnasiumTakamatsu, KagawaAugust 2Hiroshima Sun PlazaNishi-ku, HiroshimaAugust 5Osaka Prefectural GymnasiumNamba, OsakaAugust 6August 8Yokohama BudokanNaka-ku, YokohamaAugust 9Act City HamamatsuNaka-ku, HamamatsuAugust 10Funabashi ArenaFunabashi, ChibaAugust 12Ryōgoku KokugikanSumida, TokyoAugust 13
Results Night 1 The first night of the tournament took place on July 15, 2023, at Hokkai Kitayell in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo.
Night 2 The second night of the tournament took place on July 16, 2023, at Hokkai Kitayell in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo.
Night 3 The third night of the tournament took place on July 18, 2023, at Yamagata City General Sports Center in Toyohira-ku, Yamagata.
Night 4 The fourth night of the tournament took place on July 19, 2023, at Xebio Arena Sendai in Sendai, Miyagi.
Night 5 The fifth night of the tournament took place on July 21, 2023, at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata.
Night 6 The sixth night of the tournament took place on July 23, 2023, at Big Hat in Nagano, Nagano.
Night 7 The seventh night of the tournament took place on July 25, 2023, at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo.
Night 8 The eighth night of the tournament took place on July 26, 2023, at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo.
Night 9 The ninth night of the tournament took place on July 27, 2023, at Ota City General Gymnasium in Ōta, Tokyo.
Night 10 The tenth night of the tournament took place on July 30, 2023, at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi.
Night 11 The eleventh night of the tournament took place on August 1, 2023, at Takamatsu City General Gymnasium in Takamatsu, Kagawa.
Night 12 The twelfth night of the tournament took place on August 2, 2023, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.
Night 13 The thirteenth night of the tournament took place on August 5, 2023, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.
Night 14 The fourteenth night of the tournament took place on August 6, 2023, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.
Night 15 The fifteenth night of the tournament took place on August 8, 2023, at Yokohama Budokan in Naka-ku, Yokohama.
Night 16 The sixteenth night of the tournament took place on August 9, 2023, at Act City Hamamatsu in Naka-ku, Hamamatsu.
Night 17 The seventeenth night of the tournament took place on August 10, 2023, at Funabashi Arena in Funabashi, Chiba.
Night 18 The eighteenth night of the tournament took place on August 12, 2023, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo.
Night 19 The nineteenth and final night of the tournament took place on August 13, 2023, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo.
Blocks +Final standings Block A Block B Block C Block DSanada14Kazuchika Okada12David Finlay10Tetsuya Naito10Hikuleo8Will Ospreay10Evil10Zack Sabre Jr.10Yota Tsuji7El Phantasmo6Tama Tonga9Jeff Cobb9Ren Narita6Tanga Loa6Eddie Kingston8Alex Coughlin6Shota Umino6Kenta6Shingo Takagi7Hiroshi Tanahashi6Kaito Kiyomiya6Great-O-Khan6Mikey Nicholls4Hirooki Goto6Gabe Kidd5Taichi6Henare4Shane Haste5Chase Owens4Yoshi-Hashi4Tomohiro Ishii4Toru Yano4
+Tournament overview Block A Sanada Owens Hikuleo Narita Umino Tsuji Kidd KiyomiyaSanadaSanada(9:13)Sanada(10:16)Sanada(16:30)Sanada(18:48)Sanada(18:36)Sanada(12:08)Sanada(19:58)OwensSanada(9:13)Owens(11:20)Narita(9:08)Umino(9:35)Tsuji(11:42)Owens(2:55)Kiyomiya(8:28)HikuleoSanada(10:16)Owens(11:20)Hikuleo(11:58)Hikuleo(17:21)Hikuleo(12:12)Kidd(3:29)Hikuleo(9:46)NaritaSanada(16:30)Narita(9:08)Hikuleo(11:58)Draw(20:00)Draw(20:00)Kidd(10:05)Narita(15:17)UminoSanada(18:48)Umino(9:35)Hikuleo(17:21)Draw(20:00)Tsuji(19:20)Umino(13:03)Draw(20:00)TsujiSanada(18:36)Tsuji(11:42)Hikuleo(12:12)Draw(20:00)Tsuji(19:20)Tsuji(14:47)Kiyomiya(14:48)KiddSanada(12:08)Owens(2:55)Kidd(3:29)Kidd(10:05)Umino(13:03)Tsuji(14:47)Draw(11:44)KiyomiyaSanada(19:58)Kiyomiya(8:28)Hikuleo(9:46)Narita(15:17)Draw(20:00)Kiyomiya(14:48)Draw(11:44) Block B Okada Yoshi-Hashi Taichi Kenta O-Khan Ospreay Loa PhantasmoOkadaOkada(16:32)Okada(16:20)Okada(19:10)Okada(15:23) Ospreay(17:21)Okada(12:33)Okada(16:21)Yoshi-HashiOkada(16:32)Taichi(13:13) Kenta(12:16)O-Khan(13:50)Ospreay(13:04)Yoshi-Hashi(12:35)Yoshi-Hashi(10:56)TaichiOkada(16:20)Taichi(13:13) Kenta(2:11)O-Khan(17:41)Taichi(17:43)Taichi(12:34)Phantasmo(13:56)KentaOkada(19:10)Kenta(12:16)Kenta(2:11)Kenta(11:40)Ospreay(14:02)Loa(12:46)Phantasmo(0:19)O-Khan Okada(15:23)O-Khan(13:50)O-Khan(17:41)Kenta(11:40)Ospreay(11:20)Loa(12:41)O-Khan(12:46)OspreayOspreay(17:21)Ospreay(13:04)Taichi(17:43)Ospreay(14:02)Ospreay(11:20)Loa(15:34)Ospreay(18:52)LoaOkada(12:33)Yoshi-Hashi(12:35)Taichi(12:34)Loa(12:46)Loa(12:41)Loa(15:34)Phantasmo(12:14)PhantasmoOkada(16:21)Yoshi-Hashi(10:56)Phantasmo(13:56)Phantasmo(0:19)O-Khan(12:46)Ospreay(18:52)Phantasmo(12:14) Block C Finlay Ishii Evil Tonga Takagi Henare Kingston NichollsFinlayFinlay(15:55)Finlay(16:12)Tonga(14:22)Takagi(18:45)Finlay(11:54)Finlay(16:34)Finlay(9:52)IshiiFinlay(15:55)Evil(14:36)Tonga(15:38)Takagi(18:10)Henare(14:21)Ishii(16:12)Ishii(13:01)EvilFinlay(16:12)Evil(14:36)Evil(17:34)Evil(17:40)Evil(12:03)Evil(15:15)Nicholls(9:40)TongaTonga(14:22)Tonga(15:38)Evil(17:34)Draw(20:00)Tonga(14:30)Kingston(11:39)Tonga(9:10)TakagiTakagi(18:45)Takagi(18:10)Evil(17:40)Draw(20:00)Henare(19:38)Kingston(12:50)Takagi(9:13)HenareFinlay(11:54)Henare(14:21)Evil(12:03)Tonga(14:30)Henare(19:38)Kingston(10:32)Nicholls(12:21)KingstonFinlay(16:34)Ishii(16:12)Evil(15:15)Kingston(11:39)Kingston(12:50)Kingston(10:32)Kingston(8:33)NichollsFinlay(9:52)Ishii(13:01)Nicholls(9:40)Tonga(9:10)Takagi(9:13)Nicholls(12:21)Kingston(8:33) Block D Tanahashi Naito Goto Sabre Yano Cobb Haste CoughlinTanahashiNaito(17:54)Tanahashi(14:40)Sabre(16:09)Tanahashi(7:45)Cobb(10:30)Tanahashi(12:04)Coughlin(8:50)NaitoNaito(17:54)Naito(17:40)Naito(18:30)Naito(7:24)Cobb(14:20)Haste(13:44)Naito(10:07)GotoTanahashi(14:40)Naito(17:40)Sabre(14:30)Goto(6:44)Goto(11:33)Goto(2:29)Coughlin(6:23)SabreSabre(16:09)Naito(18:30)Sabre(14:30)Sabre(5:37)Cobb(16:16)Sabre(13:23)Sabre(11:13)YanoTanahashi(7:45)Naito(7:24)Goto(6:44)Sabre(5:37)Yano(1:49)Yano(6:09)Coughlin(5:07)CobbCobb(10:30)Cobb(14:20)Goto(11:33)Cobb(16:16)Yano(1:49)Draw(11:10)Cobb(9:51)HasteTanahashi(12:04)Haste(13:44)Goto(2:29) Sabre(13:23)Yano(6:09)Draw(11:10)Haste(10:55)CoughlinCoughlin(8:50)Naito(10:07)Coughlin(6:23)Sabre(11:13)Coughlin(5:07)Cobb(9:51)Haste(10:55)
References
External links G1 Climax official website