The biggest tournament of the professional wrestling summer came to a close today, with the finals of the G1 Climax 33. New Japan Pro Wrestling put 32 of the best wrestlers in the world in the mix, and two would make the finals.
Kazuchika Okada & Tetsuya Naito had fought hard to make the finals, and both had goals in mind. Okada wanted to win three tournaments in a row and tie the record of most tournaments wins at five.
Naito meanwhile simply wanted to get back to the top, and have another chance to close out Wrestle Kingdom before it’s too late.
Tetsuya Naito Wins G1 Climax 33
After a 34 minute war with the crowd in Osaka-jo Hall firmly behind Naito the whole way, and despite suffering a brutal beating at the hands of Will Ospreay just 24 hours before – Naito was able to defeat his longtime rival.
Okada has been nearly unstoppable this year, only taking a few losses – most notably to Bryan Danielson at Forbidden Door & Will Ospreay earlier in the tournament. However, Naito was able to put him down for the three count – winning his third G1 Climax tournament.
This puts Tetsuya Naito in the main event spot at Wrestle Kingdom 18, facing the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion… if he can hold onto the match.
One condition to winning the G1 Climax tournament is that you generally must defend the right of challenge against anyone who beat you during the tournament.
The Work Doesn’t Stop Until Wrestle Kingdom
There needs to be no doubt that you are the best around, and due to this – Naito has two matches to prepare for before January 4th.
On the second day of tournament action, Jeff Cobb would defeat Tetsuya Naito – ensuring Naito started his tournament with a loss. Cobb & Naito have a storied history with each other, and Cobb has a high chance of being able to take that Wrestle Kingdom main event if Naito isn’t careful.
The second match Naito lost was one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, when TMDK member Shane Haste was able to defeat Naito.
While some consider this to be a fluke victory, Haste would disagree – and has a claim to another singles match with Naito to prove this is not the case.
With the Destruction tour and King of Pro Wrestling PPV as major shows in the fall, Naito will likely have these matches in the coming months.
Can Tetsuya Naito get to January 4th? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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