NJPW G1 Climax 2018, THE FINAL WEEK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

5. Tetsuya Naito Vs. SANADA (August 8)

Kenny Omega Kota Ibushi
NJPW

Rating: ****1/2

The battle of the Los Ingobernables de Japon brothers brought out the understated intensity in SANADA, determined as he was not be left in the shadow of his ultra-charismatic leader Tetsuya Naito with so much still to play for.

The win was at the time a necessity for Naito as he strived to stay in contention with Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega, but the fight SANADA offered clearly gave him pause in an emotional post-match group tribute to fallen hero Hiromu Takahashi.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. 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