The G1 Climax 33 tournament is over, and 2023 is truly the year Tetsuya Naito.
The Los Ingobernables de Japon leader went on a tear through the bracket this year, beating stars like Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada en route to an impressive third G1 Climax victory.
It was a year filled with incredible matches that did their best to earn the coveted five-star rating from people like Dave Meltzer.
In this article, we’ll reveal which matches from the G1 Climax have earned the 5-star rating.
We will look at the 5-star ratings by Dave Meltzer, the Cagematch rating’s for the matches and our own star rating, right here at Atletifo!
Let us know if you think these matches earned a five-star rating, and tell us which matches you think desrved to be ranked higher on the list.
Tetsuya Naito vs Will Ospreay (G1 Climax 33 Semi Final)
Despite a scary kick seemingly knocking out Tetsya Naito near the end, he put on a five-star classic against Will Ospreay in the G1 Climax semi final.
Will Ospreay vs Tetsuya Naito in the G1 Climax 33 went just under thirty-minutes, and saw both men pull out all the stops to try and book their place in the final.
Naito controlled the pace early on, using his Tranquilo style to slow the pace down and frustrate the British star.
He locked Ospreay in a series of submission to apply torque to his shoulder, trying to nulifiy his variety of finishing moves that rely on it.
Naito even tried to hit the Stardust Press, after feeling the admiration coming from the crowd. Of course, he did not hit it, but this did set up the chance that he could use the move to beat Okada in the final.
The final stretch of the match was incredible, but saw Ospreay accidently knock Naito out with a kick that Naito failed to dodge.
Instead of avoiding the kick, a miscommunication lead to Testuya Naito leaning into the kick. Ospreay’s boot hit Naito’s head with a clunk, and he collapsed three times trying to continue with the match.
Every the professional, Will Ospreay took control of the match and loudly handed instructions to Naito on how to finish the match.
In the end, he ended up doing various versions of the Destino to himself, with the dead weight of Naito not knowing where he was while perched on Ospreay’s shoulders.
This match is one of the highest rated matches of the year, and the 19th greatest NJPW match of all time (according to Cagematch) – truly a five-star classic.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – TBD
- Cagematch Rating – 9.61
- Atletiof Rating – 5 Stars
Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada (G1 Climax 33 Final)
Once again, Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito delivered on the biggest stage possible.
On a fairytale rune on what seems to be the tail end of his career at the top, Tetsuya Naito showcased exactly why the fans have grown to love him.
The leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon made an impressive run to the final of the tournament, wrestle two five-star matches in a row in the semis and final match.
His battle with Kazuchika Okada was legendary, epic and every adjective in between. It drew comparisons from their Wrestle Kingdom 14 classic, and came 16-years after the duos first match together.
With an incredible playing along at every step, Okada vs Naito told a fantastic story. Naito was not as quick as he once was, but used all his knowledge and cunning to stay cool and outwit The Rainmaker at every turn.
Naito managed to avoid all of Okada’s devastating finishers, and going for all his own (although he predictably missed the Stardust Press, as usual).
It took three consecutive Destinos to put down Kazuchika Okada, before Tetsuya Naito had his hand raised as the winner of the 33rd G1 Climax Tournament, and his third title victory so far.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – TBD
- Cagematch Rating – 9.44
- Atletiof Rating – 5 Stars