Tetsuya Naito does not like the G1 Climax field of competitors.
The NJPW G1 Climax is under way and Tetsuya Naito is one of the 20 wrestlers competing in two blocks and Naito is attempting to win the tournament for the third time.
In an interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Naito expressed displeasure with the lineup for the G1 Climax this year. He accused NJPW of filling out the roster with undesirables in order to do 19 shows.
"Look, all I?m saying is that this line of thought- ?we have this many shows so let?s choose guys to fill the spots,? that?s weird, isn?t it? This is the G1 Climax. We should be thinking ?these are the absolute top guys that are really ?grade one?, so we?ll decide the number of shows in the tour based on that?. But I get it. It?s not about that. It?s about being able to book all those buildings, really, isn?t it?," said Naito.
Toru Yano was one wrestler that Naito pointed out specifically as not having a chance to win the tournament. He said he approved of the fact the field is comprised of mostly NJPW talent.
The full interview is available at NJPW1972.com.