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Kenny Omega Reflects on Career-Defining Match Against Tetsuya Naito in NJPW

Originally posted on The Sportster | By Kellie Crawford | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 9:38 PM ET

Omega's 2016 match against Naito was a career-turning moment.
Omega defeated Naito with the One-Winged Angel finisher.
In 2017, Naito beat Omega with a Destino in the G1 Climax 27 finals.

Before he became one of the co-founders and an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling, Kenny Omega was one of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest stars. Omega took to X, previously Twitter, on Tuesday to reflect on his career with the promotion and in the process shared one of his favorite singles matches of his career.

Kenny Omega Counts His 2016 Match Against Naito As A Favorite

It doesnâ€™t get talked about much, but to me, this match was one of my favorite singles performances ever. The lead in, the stakes, the match itself, and then what followed after all became a big turning point for me. https://t.co/qE4FgMyX9k— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) August 12, 2025

Omega retweeted a clip from his G1 Climax 26 tournament semi-finals match with former NJPW star Tetsuya Naito, noting how the 2016 match was not only a favorite but a “big turning point” for his career. He wrote:

“It doesn’t get talked about much, but to me, this match was one of my favorite singles performances ever. The lead in, the stakes, the match itself, and then what followed after all became a big turning point for me.”

This was the first singles match between the two titans. At the time, Omega was the newly appointed Bullet Club leader after ousting the then-leader, AJ Styles. He had a lot to prove, not only to fans but to his stable. The almost 30-minute match saw Omega get the win over Naito by hitting the One-Winged Angel finisher.

Omega would go on to win the tournament final by defeating Hirooki Goto. When he won the tournament, he earned a contract for a title shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11. It was not only his first singles match against now AEW star Kazuchika Okada that started a legendary rivalry, but it also marked Omega’s first IWGP World Heavyweight shot. Sadly, Omega wouldn’t win the title until June 2018.

The Match Would Happen Again A Year Later

In 2017, just a year later, NJPW fans would see Omega versus Naito again for G1 Climax 27. But this wasn’t a semi-finals match, it was the finals. The outcome was different this time — the match was not only longer than their first, but Naito got the pin over Omega with a Destino.

The only thing that was the same was, just like Omega the year before, Naito couldn’t defeat Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. It went better for Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12, since he had successfully defended the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho.

Now times are different for both stars. Omega, as noted earlier, is with AEW, while Naito left NJPW in Spring 2025 and has now been wrestling for RevPro.

This article first appeared on The Sportster and was syndicated with permission.

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