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#4 Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito - G1 Climax Final
One year prior, Omega and Naito wrestled in the best match of the 2016G1 Climax. Here, Omega was hoping to make history by winning the tournament again, but like in 2016, he had a monumental challenge in front of him in Tetsuya Naito.
Naito hadn’t forgotten what happened the year before either, and proceeded to do everything possible to make sure Omega wouldn’t win again. That meant hitting big move after big move, and spiking Omega on his head and neck whenever possible.
Omega did try to out-wrestle Naito, but that was almost impossible. He busted out so many big moves, including a Moonsault off the ringside barricade and a piledriver through the announce table, but nothing worked. He even tried to Powerbomb Naito off the top rope but Naito always seemed to have an answer for anything Kenny tried.
Ultimately, Naito would not be denied his chance at redemption. The fire that burned inside him – that desire to redeem himself after his 2013 world title catastrophe and being completely rejected by the fans to the point that it forced him to become Tranquilo and spit on NJPW’s heritage – could not be extinguished. He hit so many high-risk moves and neck-destroying spikes that you’d think this was 1990’s All Japan.
Even Naito’s Destino finisher – which is a type of inverted DDT – was modified so that Kenny would land on the top of his head.
That was the great story told in this match. Naito wanted to win this match far more than Kenny, and had very good reasons to want to meet Okada at Wrestle Kingdom. It set the stage for a great encounter down the road, while also proving to the whole world that Naito was as good as anyone in a big-match setting.
