David Finlay and EVIL have emerged as the quarterfinalists in the C Block for the NJPW G1 Climax 33 tournament.
Night 15 of NJPW G1 Climax 33 saw Finlay topping the C block at 5 – 2, while EVIL was the runner-up also at 5 – 2. Finlay won the tie by defeating EVIL in their head-to-head matchup.
Finlay will now face B Block runner-up Will Ospreay in the quarterfinals, with EVIL going up against SANADA.
B Block winner Kazuchika Okada and A Block runner-up Hikuleo will compete against the quarterfinalists that emerge from D Block where Jeff Cobb, Zack Sabre Jr., and Tetsuya Naito are in a three-way tie for #1 at 4 – 2.
The quarterfinals will take place on night 17 of the G1 Climax on Thursday, with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday and the finals on Sunday.
In a post-match interview at NJPW G1 Climax 33, Finlay spoke about his latest victory over Eddie Kingston and his next opponent Will Ospreay.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On his win over Kingston: “How about a round of applause for the C Block champion? How do you like that, Gedo? We knew that was gonna happen from day one. Hey, listen, I am officially the king of murderers’ row. I walked into this tournament, saying I am the baddest man in this company, and I just proved it. This was the ass-kickers’ block, I just whooped everybody’s ass. Eddie, I told you I was gonna drag you into deep waters and drown you, and I did exactly that. So when you go back to AEW, you let everyone know who the greatest Bullet Club leader of all time is.”
On facing Ospreay in the quarterfinals: “Now, what do I got next, Ospreay? Last year in the G1, I beat him in under 15 minutes. I’ll do it even faster this year. You understand me, Ospreay? I haven’t forgotten about Kobe. I haven’t forgotten when I was this close to taking the US Championship from you. Back then, I was still holding back. You understand? There is absolutely nothing that will stop me from obliterating you. I’ll break your fingers, I’ll break your knees, I’ll break your legs, I’ll break your arms. I will break your neck if that’s what it takes, Ospreay. Because you are standing in between me and my Tokyo Dome main event. You are standing in between me and winning the G1 Climax. You are the first stepping stone in becoming the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
“This year, I’ve been calling my shots, and I’ve been making them. Dontaku, when I demolished Tama Tonga for this [title], I said he was not walking out of the arena, and what happened? He didn’t walk out of the arena. I walked into G1 Climax,said I would kick everyone’s ass and win C Block. What did I do? Exactly freaking that. So mark my words. It doesn’t matter if it’s Ospreay, Okada, anybody else that makes it through. This is my year. Nobody can touch me. Nobody is more violent than me. Nobody deserves this more than me. So Ospreay, rest up, freshen up. Thursday, your G1 comes to a heartbreaking conclusion.”
