G1 Climax: Every Modern Final Ranked

6. Kazuchika Okada Vs. Karl Anderson (2012)

Once upon a time, Karl Anderson was a main event singles talent. Seriously, in New Japan, even before the formation of Bullet Club, the 'Machine Gun' was a featured act who would get high-profile title matches. A prominent example of this was in 2012, when he reached the finals of the G1 Climax for the first time in his career. His opponent? The super-rookie former champion Kazuchika Okada, who was still fresh as a cocky young heel.

A key difference between this final and the ones of the last few years is that Anderson/Okada took place on the same day of the final block matches. That means that both Anderson and Okada wrestled on the same show prior to this match. That would explain why it's so short compared to other G1 finals, and... well, not as good.

Granted, it's still a quality performance from both men that gets pretty heated toward the end. However, at this point, Okada still wasn't the top calibre wrestler he would soon become, and Karl Anderson was more of a tag specialist for a reason.

Nevertheless, this match was an important step for Okada, as he achieved his first G1 Climax victory, which would lead him to even more success in the years to come.