Tetsuya Naito comments on winning the NJPW G1 Climax 33.
On August 13, Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the NJPW G1 Climax 33. In doing so, he won the tournament for the third time. He previously won the G1 Climax in 2013 and 2017.
NJPW's website published a transcript of Naito's comments at the G1 Climax 33 Press Conference. Naito first shared his thoughts following his victory.
"This is my third win, first in six years. Everybody in this tournament is in it to win it, so I’m obviously happy to win. For me, I’ve always associated the G1 final with the middle of summer and with Ryogoku, so to have that final in Ryogoku, in mid summer, and of course to have the fans cheering as well, to have that big chant of ‘De Ja Pon!’ felt damn great. I think I had a pretty good summer," Naito said.
Naito was also asked to describe how this G1 Climax win felt different from his first two. He noted that with his injuries and his age, he likely doesn't have many chances left. Naito stated that he didn't have the luxury of thinking there's always next year, so there was more at stake this time around.
"That’s a thinker… What with my injuries, and my age as well, I didn’t have, don’t have many more chances left. That’s what I had in mind. I didn’t have the luxury of thinking there’s always next year, or the next year, or five years after that. So I had a lot more on the line I think, and more than my other two wins, I felt that I had to win this time," Naito said.
When asked about defeating Okada in the finals, Naito noted that they have faced off many times, but beating the former world champion to win the G1 Climax made the victory even more significant. He looked back on their history together and stated that the win over Okada was important to him.
"To any NJPW wrestler, the G1 Climax final is such an important stage. I have wrestled a whole bunch of singles matches with Okada. When we were Young Lions, we lived in the same room, so to now meet one another in the final, and for me to beat him? My first two G1 wins are definitely ones that left a strong impression on me, but I think this was even more of an important win and a significant win. A big part of that is the fact that I beat that Okada I used to room with years ago," Naito said.
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