[8.0] "Back to the old G1 format for everyone in the A block. I really missed DOUKI and a lot of the junior weights plus the old timers like Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Togi Makabe. Yota Tsuji using a body double to fool Gabe Kidd was amazing and really boosted the night for me. Ren Narita defeating Kiyomiya was another upset that didn't make sense again. Sanada and Chase Owens tried to have a match but Chase is not on the same level as the champion. Hikuleo having the match of the night was a huge shock. He worked so well with Shota Umino and that brutal chokeslam."

[7.0] "The first single block night of the tournament obviously had a much lower overall match quality with five tag matches on the undercard. None of the tags were downright bad but its over an hour of middling "Road to" level bouts. The actual block matches were all good though aside from Owens/SANADA which was mercifully short."

[8.0] "Good event, one tournament match I did not enjoy, the undercard was okay with 2 really good ones and the other 3 were adequate. Great O-Khan & Jeff Cobb vs DOUKI & Taichi: A good preview of Taichi vs O-Khan, good to see DOUKI back in a NJPW ring after not competing due to the G1 Climax [*3/4]. Hirooki Goto, YOH & YOSHI-HASHI vs David Finlay, Gedo & KENTA: A great preview tag this time in the form of the preview of KENTA and YOSHI-HASHI, some cool moments [***]. House Of Torture vs Los Ingobernables de Japon: Usual H.O.T shenanigans once again, with Shingo continuing to look great, EVIL and Shingo colliding on the 8th August will be interesting to see after this [**]. HENARE & Will Ospreay vs El Phantasmo & Togi Makabe: Good preview of ELP vs Ospreay, HENARE continues to impress this time by taking down a legend like Makabe, Phantasmo and Ospreay continue to impress with their athleticsim and Makabe looked good as well [**1/2]. G.O.D and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii: Best match on te undercard, great to see Tenzan back in a NJPW ring [***3/4]. This ws decent when got started in the ring, towards the end it got really hard hitting and Tsuji winning was great to see [***]. Kaito Kiyomiya vs Ren Narita: Great match, Narita winning was a surprise, Kiyomiya with the legwork was great and flawless and Narita selling the moves from Kiyomiya was great, the final moments were hard hitting [****]. SANADA vs Chase Owens: This match is the worst match of the G1 Climax 33 for SANADA, the match was not good, it might have something to do with the fact that SANADA had an injury heading into this match [*]. Hikuleo vs Shota Umino: One of the best matches in this years tournament of Hikuleo, enjoyed it thoroughly and Umino hitting the superplex off the top rope on Hikuleo wa shocking to see, Hikuleo winning and advancing was a surprise and good to see, in my opinion MOTN [****1/4]"

"One of the downsides of NJPW becoming more popular globally in recent years is the prevalence of fans who don't understand Japanese booking and start complaining immediately when the new guys aren't rushed into the main event. NJPW isn't going to push a top guy from NOAH or AJPW on the same level with NJPW's top guys when Kojima is a recent GHC champ and Nagata is a recent Triple Crown champ. Those promotions have booked themselves well below NJPW's level. They also aren't going to rush the push of the Reiwa Three Musketeers when doing that for the New Three Musketeers led to a backlash and prematurely pushing Okada has made him stale in what should be his prime. NJPW booking is long term and the story will be told over an entire generation. If one of them wins a G1 or an IWGP now, he becomes this generation's Okada or, if there's no follow-up to the premature push, this generation's Goto. That would also risk turning the others into this generation's Naito. The quarterfinalist they picked for the block likely has a much shorter shelf life so it makes sense to get what they can out of him right now before he gets signed by one of the major American sports entertainment promotions. He almost certainly isn't going to win the G1 or the IWGP but he can be a challenger for a smaller show. And there's no need to rush the future when you've got the likes of SANADA, Finlay and ZSJ for this transitional period."

[4.0] "Really boring show. The undercard was terrible apart two matches and two of the four main - events were disappointing. The only two encounters that were really good were Tsuji/Kidd and Hikuleo/Umino; damn good fight and MOTN without a doubt for me. **1/4"

"The block matches themselves were good overall. As for who won advanced to the quarterfinals, that was, erm, certainly a choice. I can understand NJPW not pushing an outsider, although I cannot comprehend why NOAH was stupid enough to make one of their very best wrestlers look like some regular joe. But if not Kiyomiya, then surely Yota Tsuji? He was easily getting the best reactions in his block, and his matches, on average, were the best in the block as well. It's not even like it was unexpected - Tsuji got incredible reactions during his title match with Sanada, and everyone saw that he belonged at the top of the card. But if not him either, then surely Umino or Kidd or even Narita? Nope. Hikuleo may be improving somewhat, but as of today, he is nowhere near as big a star as anyone else in this block (except for Chase Owens). New Japan choosing him over several more promising options defies common sense. It's up to Hikuleo now to prove common sense wrong."

[8.0] "Don't pay attention to the people seething about their fanfiction not happening, yeah Kaito got eliminated, he still looked great in front of a bigger crowd than anything NOAH could draw there. That was a very good G1 show, the multi-man tag were fun and of course Osaka is always one of the best crowds. The G1 matches that mattered were great, the main event put over 2 young guys and had a surprise with Hikuleo beating Shota. Hikuleo is one of the best giant in wrestling right now while still having some room to improve so it's cool to see Gedo actually giving him more opportunities and this will also play into Shota's story on the long term."

[9.0] "A fun show that felt different from the rest of the G1 shows due to only being 4 matches. Id gotten used to the lack of open tag matches after binging 12 days of the tournament. 6 of the new entries in the G1 were all in A Block together and I love how each of them improved in their own way. Gabe Kidd got himself over and Ive even seen people declare he should be a BC leader sooner than later. The crowds are loving him and his antics. Kaito did well but sadly didnt stand out as much as we all thought, but thats not a bad thing. I did believe hed make it further in the tournament so his elimination shocked me. Hikuleo started off losing 3 matches just to win the next 4 (a G1 trope) but had some very good showings with Umino and Tsuji. The Reiwa Three Musketeers not making it out of A Block is questionable but I love that its likely due to them denying being called that and not wanting to be lumped together. People are likely going to be laughingly salty about it but thats just how wrestling fans work at this point. Im looking forward to these three being tied together in future G1s and how this first G1 interaction between them impacts it. Narita vs Kaito was MOTN and I thoroughly enjoyed the main event and the crowds positive reaction to it. Also, the reveal of Tsuji having a twin absolutely had my head spinning in confusion."

[0.0] "Hikuleo qualifying in a group with Ren Narita, Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji aka the new three musketeers according to NJPW, plus NOAH's promising star Kaito Kiyomiya is something that simply doesn't make sense. And yes, he will be losing to whoever he faces next, but from NJPW I expect the best wrestlers to be put in a position of power, Hikuleo's push is something that truly looks like a WWE move because he's tall but he's still green in every other aspect."

[5.0] "Embarrassing, the only word to describe this year's G1 Climax. NJPW introduce Ren Narita, Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji as the new Three Musketeers and NONE of them actually advance in the tournament, making them all look like a huge geeks for whatever reason Same thing for Kaito Kiyomiya, the futur of NOAH who already JOBBED TWO TIMES for Okada and is now also looks like a huge geek for his first G1 No story was told, it's just embarrassing. And the cherry on top of the cake : Hikuleo is the second guy who advances, HIKULEO of all people. Their obsession with that guy is weird, he has absolutely nothing for him outside of his size. I'm gonna stop watching for awhile, most decisions they took since the beginning of the pandemic have been more than questionable."

[8.0] "Really good finish to the A block. These last 4 shows looked quite lacklustre on paper, but if all of the shows are like this one then this will be a great end to the block matches. The Sanada match was fine for what it was given it had no real stakes as well as his injury, but the other 3 matches make this show. All good to great, Tsuji using his twin brother to trick Kidd was a great moment and they should definitely look to get him involved again at some point down the line, the match was great too, probably Kidds most wrestling based match, rather than the cheating and other shenanigans. Narita vs Kiyomiya was brilliant too, the crowd was so loud for the second half of the match and the ending was very good, even though I dont love Kaitos booking in this tournament the matches have been really good. The main event provided the biggest shock of the night, a lot of people were convinced everything that happened on the card set up for Unions big moment, taking down the giant but it wasnt to be. This match had a lot of typical David vs Goliath match tropes, and Shota was the stubborn wrestler just as all the musketeers have been in this tournament, constantly trying to lift the giant. Really good match and Hikuleo has really showed out in this tournament."