A spectacle is an event or scene of a movie that gives a sense of emotion. Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito, two of wrestling’s greatest performers of all time, gave us one of those spectacles during New Japan’s G1 Climax.
At this stage of their respective careers, only one of them could not afford to lose this match, and that man was Tetsuya Naito. For Okada, this would have won his 3rd straight G1 in a row, 5 in total, being tied with Mr. G1 himself Masahiro Chono. In Naito’s case, it meant much more from where he was at the beginning of the year from losing one of this group members being the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada to realizing that as his body can’t hold up, he only has a few years left being at the top.
The Match
From the start of both entrances, especially at Naito’s entrance, the atmosphere from the crowd of Ryogoku made this match feel big time. The level of focus both men presented from the start of the bell showed how important this match was. The pacing throughout the match is much slower, which results from the fatigue each wrestler has sustained throughout the tournament. With the pacing of the match being slower, each move either Okada or Naito used became more impactful.
They go back and forth with Okada teasing the Rainmaker multiple times in the match with almost every single one being reversed by Naito. The one that did hit looked weak, but for Naito, that Rainmaker probably felt devastating. Towards the closing stretch, Naito does one of the variations of the Destino, but Okada kicks out. Naito goes for another Destino, but Okada counters it by hitting an Emerald Flowsion. With one last attempt, Okada tries to a Rainmaker, and Naito counters with a second Destino. With the roar of the crowd behind Naito the whole match, Tetsuya Naito hits Okada with the third and final Destino for his 3rd G1 victory.
What’s next for Tetsuya Naito?
With the G1 finished, what is next for the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon? Before starting the post-match conference, Jeff Cobb, a member of the United Empire led by Will Ospreay, confronting Tetsuya Naito. Cobb mentioned that Naito can’t call himself the true winner of the G1 Climax, because he needs to recover from that loss in the 2nd night of the G1. New Japan’s next big show will be Destruction In Ryogoku in Tokyo, so this maybe will be the Cobb’s chance to steal Tetsuya Naito’s glory of going to Wrestle Kingdom 18 to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
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