G1 Climax 33

G1 Climax 33

Tetsuya Naito, winner of G1 Climax 33
Tournament information
Sport	Professional wrestling
Location	Japan
Dates	July 15, 2023–August 13, 2023
Tournament format(s)	Four-block round-robin tournament
Participants	32
Final positions
Champion	Tetsuya Naito
Runner-up	Kazuchika Okada
Tournament statistics
Bouts fought	119
← G1 Climax 32

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.^[1][2]

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.^[1][3][4]

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.^[5][3][4]

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.^[6] During Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall on June 4, NJPW announced the participants for the G1 Climax.^[1]

Storylines

The event includes matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray

The first night of the tournament took place on July 15, 2023, at Hokkai Kitayell in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo.^[8]

Night 2

The second night of the tournament took place on July 16, 2023, at Hokkai Kitayell in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo.^[9]

Night 3

The third night of the tournament took place on July 18, 2023, at

The fourth night of the tournament took place on July 19, 2023, at Xebio Arena Sendai in Sendai, Miyagi.^[11]

Night 5

The fifth night of the tournament took place on July 21, 2023, at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata.^[12]

Night 6

The sixth night of the tournament took place on July 23, 2023, at Big Hat in Nagano, Nagano.^[13]

Night 7

The seventh night of the tournament took place on July 25, 2023, at

The ninth night of the tournament took place on July 27, 2023, at Ota City General Gymnasium in Ōta, Tokyo.^[16]

Night 10

The tenth night of the tournament took place on July 30, 2023, at

The twelfth night of the tournament took place on August 2, 2023, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.^[19]

Night 13

The thirteenth night of the tournament took place on August 5, 2023, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.^[20]

Night 14

The fourteenth night of the tournament took place on August 6, 2023, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima.^[21]

Night 15

The fifteenth night of the tournament took place on August 8, 2023, at Yokohama Budokan in Naka-ku, Yokohama.^[22]

Night 16

The sixteenth night of the tournament took place on August 9, 2023, at Act City Hamamatsu in Naka-ku, Hamamatsu.^[23]

Night 17

The seventeenth night of the tournament took place on August 10, 2023, at

The eighteenth night of the tournament took place on August 12, 2023, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo.^[25]

Night 19

The nineteenth and final night of the tournament took place on August 13, 2023, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo.^[26]

Blocks

References