Semifinals set for NJPW G1 Climax 33

  • Ian Carey
  • By 

The G1 Climax 33 quarterfinals took place on Thursday in Chiba. 

Tetsuya Naito, Will Ospreay, EVIL, and Kazuchika Okada have all advanced to Saturday’s semifinals after wins on today’s show. 

Naito defeated Hikuleo in the first quarterfinal match on Thursday. He’ll now face Ospreay in the semifinals for a second year in a row. Ospreay defeated David Finlay in the second quarterfinal match, fending off repeated interference from Bullet Club to do so. Naito and Ospreay have met twice in singles action previously with Ospreay having won both, including in the G1 semifinals last year. 

After going undefeated in the round-robin portion of the tournament, SANADA lost his quarterfinal match to EVIL on Thursday. EVIL picked up the win after countering the Skull End into Everything is Evil. However, there had been repeated interference by House of Torture earlier in the match. 

Kazuchika Okada defeated Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of Thursday’s show, keeping his hopes of a third straight G1 tournament win alive. He picked up the win after fighting his way out of a submission hold and hitting a Rainmaker.

Okada moves on to face EVIL in the semifinals. The two have met eight times previously with Okada holding a 6-2 lead in the head-to-head series. EVIL’s only wins over Okada took place in 2017’s G1 Climax tournament and in the finals of the 2020 New Japan Cup.  

The G1 Climax 33 semifinals will be held Saturday, August 12, and the finals take place on Sunday, August 13. Both shows will take place in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan. 

NJPW G1 Climax 33 semifinals 8/12: 

  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay
  • EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada