10 G1 Climax 27 Matches That You Need To See
8. Tetsuya Naito Vs. Kota Ibushi (17/7/2017)
Returning to New Japan after spending a year stealing the show in the Cruiserweight Classic and shooting fireworks at people in DDT, Kota Ibushi kicked off his G1 in style against Tetsuya Naito. The Golden Star vs. Tranquillo - in hindsight, it was always going to be a bit special.
What we might not have expected was Ibushi’s vicious attack on the neck of Naito. An attack which culminated in a piledriver from the second rope, a rather insane way to kick off a month long tournament. It felt like Kota was making up for lost time and reminding the New Japan audience exactly how good he is.
It wouldn’t be enough, though, as Naito came firing back from this onslaught and took it out on Ibushi’s own neck. Two devastating looking Destinos sealed the deal and made sure that Naito started the tournament with a win. However, the true story was the return of Ibushi and a reminder that he belongs in New Japan.