NJPW G1 Climax 2017: 3 Reasons Tetsuya Naito Should Win
By Tim Sherry
2. Always Strike When The Iron Is Hot
Naito has always been good. He was good the day he walked through the door the first time in NJPW back in 2005. He was good when he won the 2013 G1 Climax. And he was good when he battled Okada for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom in 2014. However, in the past 2 years, Naito has upped his game from very good, to unbelievable. At 35 years old, he has never been better and the results prove that. His first 8 years in the company netted zero singles titles. However in just the past 3 and half years, he’s won not only the IWGP Heavyweight title, but also the NEVER Openweight belt, and the IWGP Intercontinental title.
With all that being said, Naito has finally put together the resume needed to defeat somebody the likes of Okada. The new Naito has the NJPW audience foaming at the mouth for somebody shut him up and for that reason, a match with Okada at Wrestle Kingdom could be the most contentious fight in ages.
Inside the ring, he’s never been better as evidenced by his wars with Omega, Tanahashi, Okada, Michael Elgin, and Tomohiro Ishii. All these matches have occurred within the past 24 months and is very likely that Naito’s best work may still be ahead of him. Getting this rematch now will almost ensure a brilliant finale to Wrestle Kingdom and could challenge for match of the year honors at years end.