The semifinals of the New Japan G1 Climax have been settled, and the table is set to decide this year’s winner.
Earlier on Saturday at Sumo Hall, Tokyo, Kazuchika Okada faced EVIL, and Will Ospreay went up against Tetsuya Naito.
The winners were Okada and Naito, who will face each other on Sunday.
For both, this is familiar ground. Okada reached the final match in 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2022. He has won every time.
Naito has reached the finals three times. He lost in 2011 but won in 2013 and 2017.
The winner of the tournament gets a match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18, which is scheduled for January 4th, 2024 at the Tokyo Dome.
Okada’s match with EVIL was littered with interference from House of Torture members, but Okada eventually won with the Rainmaker. Naito defeated Ospreay with two Destinos in an exceptional match.
Full results:
- G1 Climax 33 Semifinal: Tetsuya Naito def. Will Ospreay
- G1 Climax 33 Semifinal: Kazuchika Okada def. EVIL
- Hikuleo, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, El Phantasmo & Jado def. SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Eddie Kingston & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Zack Sabre Jr, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Kosei Fujita
- Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & HENARE def. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & BUSHI
- David Finlay, KENTA, Chase Owens, Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd def. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & YOH
- Minoru Suzuki & Ren Narita def. Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma
- Kaito Kiyomiya & HAYATA def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato
John Pollock and Wai Ting will host a review of Saturday’s action later today, exclusively for POST Wrestling Café members.
