Predicting All 20 NJPW G1 Climax 2018 Entrants

18. Tetsuya Naito

Kazuchika Okada Kenny Omega
NJPW.co.jp

Last year's G1 Climax winner needs a historic retention of his crown more than just about any other prospective contender.

Tetsuya Naito may claim to be 'Tranquilo' about the sh*tkicking he took from Chris Jericho at Dominion, but it reflects the contiuation of a year that's hit the skids since he entered January's Wrestle Kingdom as favourite to defeat Kazuchika Okada. More defeats here would potentially damage Naito beyond salvation. The fast-track to Tokyo he'd gain from victory would change everything.

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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, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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