Naito was unimpressed the first time he saw Chris Jericho.
At the New Japan Pro Wrestling event Dominion, Chris Jericho will face Naito in a IWGP Intercontinental Championship match. In a "special interview" Naito told NJPW that he saw Jericho wrestle over 20 years ago.
"I know that he was in Best of the Super Juniors before. He was in the ring on June 5, 1997 in Budokan on the day I decided to become a pro wrestler. But unfortunately, he wasn't main-eventing, he was knocked out of the tournament already. So, he failed to make any kind of impression on me," said Naito.
On that date, Jericho was in an eight man tag team match with Dr. Wagner Jr, Gran Naniwa and Jushin Liger against the team of Hanzo Nakajima, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Yoshihiro Tajiri. Jericho tied for second in his block during the tournament.
The 2018 Best of the Super Juniors tournament is on going. Fightful Wrestling has the updated standings available on the results page.
The full interview is featured in the tweet by NJPW World above.
