10 Biggest Stories From New Japan's G1 Climax 28 And What They Mean Going Forward

The always tranquilo Tetsuya Naito had a respectable, if disappointing, G1 Climax this year. It naturally paled in comparison to last year's outing where he won the entire tournament and went on to face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title at January's Wrestle Kingdom. Unfortunately, Naito was unsuccessful in that main event and he's now similarly failed in repeating last year’s G1 performance.

Still, the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon secured an impressive though insufficient twelve points in this year’s G1. While Naito was able to defeat mid-tier stars like Hirooki Goto, Juice Robinson, and others, he was unable to topple B Block’s top brass of Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi. His most embarrassing moment of the tournament came when British superstar Zack Sabre Jr. - a recent addition to the Heavyweight ranks - left the LIJ leader staring at the lights.

While Tetsuya Naito has experienced successes like holding the IWGP Heavyweight title briefly in 2016 and the Intercontinental title as recently as this year, perhaps his tranquilo demeanour has started to have a negative effect on his in-ring success. Surely Naito will have to make some changes if he wants to once again reach his previous heights.