10 Incredible Dream Matches NJPW Will Give Away In The 2018 G1 Climax

4. Kenny Omega Vs. Tetsuya Naito

Kota Ibushi Kenny Omega
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A return match from last year's jaw-dropping G1 Climax final, the B Block battle between the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and one of the leading pretenders to his throne promises to be a tournament scorcher.

The form book heavily favours Omega, but much could change depending on how both fare within the body of the Climax. Omega succeeded where Naito failed when he dethroned Kazuchika Okada at Dominion 6.9, but many others (including Omega himself) fell at the feet of the iconic former titleholder before that point. The pair are 1-1 in G1 battles too, with 'The Best Bout Machine' scoring a win in 2016 ahead of Naito's climactic 2017 victory.

Naito's perhaps never needed a big win more, to the point where success over Omega could now be considered an upset. The LIJ won't just be overcoming the best wrestler in the world - he'll have overcome his own 2018 setbacks to topple a Champion currently experiencing the best run of his entire career.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett