For the first time ever, Los Ingobernables de Japon members Shingo Takagi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito faced off one-on-one.
The early portion of the bout saw respect between the two New Japan talents; however, Takagi made it clear that he came here to win by kicking Naito in the gut when the IWGP IC Champion wanted to bump fists. From that moment on, neither guy held back and had a pretty even match-up that became intense the longer it went, with Naito actually spitting in Takagi’s face.
As the bout came close to the thirty-minute mark, Naito countered with a Canadian Destroyer and then followed up with Destino for a strong nearfall. Takagi would fight back against the IWGP IC Champion, but his comeback didn’t last for long, as Naito connected with Destino once again to score the pinfall with less than two minutes before the 30-minute time limit.
Tetsuya Naito’s G1 Climax score is now 4-3 (8 points), whereas Shingo Takagi’s record is now 2-5 (4 points).