Tetsuya Naito Says It’s An Honor To Be In G1 Climax: ‘It’s a Tough Tournament’

Tetsuya Naito is competing in his 15th consecutive G1 Climax tournament this year, and he recently spoke about what it means to him to compete. Naito is competing again in the G1 this year and, as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, will get to pick his opponent for Wrestle Kingdom 19 if he wins the tournament. Naito spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview and you can see some highlights below:

On being part of the tournament: “The G1 is the one tour all year that has the most attention from fans all over the world. So to be in this tournament year after year is an honor.”

On the difficulty of winning the G1: “It’s a tough tournament. But feeling just how tough it is reminds me that I am a professional wrestler for NJPW, and that’s a happy feeling.”