Naito greets the press

Tetsuya Naito greeted the press on Monday August 14 for the first time as the G1 Climax 33 winner, giving his thoughts on his third career trophy and what lies in wait next.

‘Here we are, one day removed from the G1 final. I’m beaten up, but the worst part is a lack of sleep. Saturday, Ryogoku. Sunday, Ryogoku. Today, press conference. That’s three days in a row I’ve had to wake up in the morning. Thank you to the NJPW office for the wake up calls. Thanks to your incessant telephone calls, I was able to get myself out of bed. 

This is my third win, first in six years. Everybody in this tournament is in it to win it, so I’m obviously happy to win. For me, I’ve always associated the G1 final with the middle of summer and with Ryogoku, so to have that final in Ryogoku, in mid summer, and of course to have the fans cheering as well, to have that big chant of ‘De Ja Pon!’ felt damn great. I think I had a pretty good summer.

–Traditionally, the G1 win has led to the main event in the Tokyo Dome January 4. In your mind, have you now punched your ticket to Wrestle Kingdom?

Naito: I’m not sure… Do we still have contracts? Still do the briefcase deal?

–There wasn’t a contract last year.

Naito: So… I’m going to the Tokyo Dome, right? That’s the mindset I’ve had for the whole time, that I’d be in the Tokyo Dome, in the main event. 

–Well, after your match, you were confronted and challenged by Jeff Cobb…

Naito: Well, if there’s no contract, I could wrestle Jeff Cobb, lose in five seconds, and still be in the main event, right? I want everyone to think carefully about that. If I don’t have anything at stake against Cobb, I’d have no issues just losing in five seconds.

–(Okamoto of Tokyo Sports) Well-

Naito: Ah, the takoyaki yesterday? Delicious.

–Good to hear.

Naito: You’re going to send me more?

–I’m glad you liked it.

Naito: You brought some with you?

–No, I-

Naito: So why are you here?

–A question. You won this tournament twice before, how does this time feel different?

Naito: That’s a thinker… What with my injuries, and my age as well, I didn’t have, don’t have many more chances left. That’s what I had in mind. I didn’t have the luxury of thinking there’s always next year, or the next year, or five years after that. So I had a lot more on the line I think, and more than my other two wins, I felt that I had to win this time. 

–You’ve wrestled Okada a lot but this was your first G1 final against one another.

Naito: To any NJPW wrestler, the G1 Climax final is such an important stage. I have wrestled a whole bunch of singles matches with Okada. When we were Young Lions, we lived in the same room, so to now meet one another in the final, and for me to beat him? My first two G1 wins are definitely ones that left a strong impression on me, but I think this was even more of an important win and a significant win. A big part of that is the fact that I beat that Okada I used to room with years ago.

  –To look down the road to the Tokyo Dome, the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is SANADA. Yesterday there was a situation with EVIL, and maybe this is too early to speculate about, but do you have a vision in mind of who might be opposite you at Wrestle Kingdom?

Naito: To be honest I didn’t get to see exactly what EVIL did yesterday, but at this point in time, I feel whoever it is across from me, being in the main event of the Tokyo Dome is what’s key. Whoever it is, beating them and then having that roll call in the Tokyo Dome, that’s the goal. Who my opponent is isn’t as important to me as standing in that Dome on January 4 at my very best. 

–You haven’t held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in its current form- is it fair to say though that the main event at the Dome is the more important thing here?

Naito: Yes. I was always chasing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, not the World Heavyweight Championship. Matter of fact, right up until they made the belt, I was against it. So if it’s a question of the Tokyo Dome main event or the world title, the Dome is way up here and the belt is down here. But that’s right now. I could win the title at the Tokyo Dome and then start to see it become more important to me. I won’t know until I win it. But my motivation right now is to be in the main event at the Tokyo Dome.

One more thing, to everyone who’s seeing this- I’ll see you at the matches. Adios.