Voices of Wrestling 2023 Match of the Year: #7 (Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay)

Making the most out of a bad situation, Will Ospreay and Tetsuya Naito gave us a G1 Climax semifinal for the ages.

VOICES OF WRESTLING 2023 MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

• Introduction & Honorable Mentions
• Matches #100-76
• Matches #75-51
• Matches #50-26
• Matches #25-11
• Match of the Year Statistical Analysis & Top 10 Early Reveal (FlagshipPatreon.com)
• Match #10: Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks
• Match #9: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kento Miyahara
• Match #8: Fuminori Abe vs. Takuya Nomura

#7
Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay
08/12
NJPW

Overall Points: 408
Total Votes: 73
% of Ballots: 33.03%
3 First-Place Votes

“Will Ospreay did Yoshihiko spots with a full-grown man. There is nothing else that anyone can say about this match that I want to hear. THE MAN GAVE HIMSELF DESTINOS” -Jeremy Sexton

“In my opinion, the most complete performance of the year from Will Ospreay, even if I don’t believe it was his best match. What he was able to do in this match, especially in the closing minutes against a seemingly knocked-out Tetsuya Naito, will be remembered for the rest of his career. Incredible, seeing he was the one who lost this match.” -Scott Edwards

“Wow…in most other years this would be my walk off winner. This is was an incredible match before Ospreay knocks Naito loopy, which if it were any two other wrestlers this might have been derailed but this was 2024 Will Ospreay and main event of Sumo Hall Tetsuya Naito – arguably the two greatest of all time. Will Ospreay wrestling with a barely conscious Naito added an incredible layer of intrigue and danger that is rare amongst modern wrestling. A feather in the cap for both men.” -Harley Duncan

“Best match from this years G1. But there is more to it. With this match I heard some of the loudest reactions from the japanese crowd, after a very long time. The crowds was really into it. The story was, broken and washed up Naito, trying to react to final to get one step closer to his dream. But there was Will Ospreay who is younger, faster and in much better shape. In their two previous encounters, Ospreay picked up the win. So Naito was never been able to put him down. During the match Ospreay was more dominant and very aggressive. He was hitting Naito with everything. But in the end Naito fought back and picked up the win. Because it was about reaching his destiny or should I say destino ?.” -Kaan

“It’s a real shame that Naito and Ospreay only started wrestling each other so close to Ospreay’s departure from New Japan, because they now have had my favorite match of 2022 and my 3rd favorite match of 2023. This would be a full 5 in my eyes, if not for Naito being knocked loopy at the end.” -Ry Harrison

“Two all-time wrestlers who were on their way to a match of the year contender before an errant kick knocked Naito loopy. The fact that Ospreay managed to keep grace under pressure and help Naito across the finish line is a testament to his maturity in the ring. “Come on, Naito-san. One more move. We’ll do it together, come on.” In the end, the most unintentionally impressive match that happened in 2023.” -Andrew Rich

“Will Ospreay literally carried the future IWGP Heavyweight champion to a match of the year. In any other year. On this day, it was just another Saturday for bruv Will.” -Paul Fontaine

“Inventive. Effervescent. Expertly executed. Teeming with heart. A masterpiece.” -Ryan Dilbert

“The immovable force of Ospreay trying to finally become the megastar he was meant to be against the unstoppable object of Naito climbing back to the top after being knocked down by EVIL and Sanada, the desperation and refusal to quit is apparent from bell to bell in one of the most insane G1 matches in recent memory.” -Nicholas Johnson

“This was on the way to become a classic until something awful happened: Naito was knocked out. He was so out that Ospreay had to yell at him on how to finish the match and basically do it all himself. The match itself is beautiful pro wrestling and the best thing in the G1, but those final moments when Ospreay had to do it all gave this match an unforgettable moment. With Ospreay yelling at Naito, he coached him and basically put Naito on top of himself to lose the match. If Naito had not been out, who knew how high this match would have gone. But still, between the amazing match and the unforgettable moment, this is one of the best of the year.” -Abraham Delgado

“Now, when I put Naito / Okada above this match, I pointed out that Naito was not carried in that spectacle.

Naito was definitely carried here, at least to the finish line. Is Will Ospreay the greatest wrestler in the world today? Yes; even I could probably have a passable match with him… but he drug something out of Naito here and, when Naito was accidently knocked out, Ospreay basically got Naito through the match the rest of the way. Bless his chavvy heart, bruv.” -Justin Harman aka DJ Convoy

“Will Ospreay having to treat Tetsuya Naito like he’s Yoshihiko in the closing stretch of a G1 semifinal main event is next level and hasn’t gotten nearly enough praise. The single best performance of the year” -Tyler Forness

“G1 Climax 33 was certainly not a classic G1 but it finished with two classic matches. Ospreay was trying to reach another G1 final to win the tournament before he left for richer more fertile grounds while Naito at the back end of his career wanted to get back to Wrestle Kingdom and defeat his former stable mate SANADA and have his moment in the sun after KENTA and later COVID ruined his last attempt at a long World Title reign. This was a brilliant and exciting match as Ospreay was his brilliant self and Naito had his shirt off and was really working. This match could have been even better but for a blow that knocked Naito senseless. How Ospreay was able to continue the match and still put over Naito was another example of his greatness.” -Jason Turner

“No more clap crowds means epic, dramatic G1 Climax matches are back. No wrestler on the planet alters their offensive moveset to further serve a specific purpose like Tetsuya Naito does. In this match? Example, hip toss but over the knee to further soften up Ospreay’s neck for Destino. So brilliant. Naito’s G1 run this year feels a lot like Tanahashi in 2018, this is our boy’s last run on top. This match was awesome, Ospreay is so good, these two have underrated chemistry as both their matches last year were good as well. The big thing here though, Naito being legitimately knocked out by an Ospreay kick. This moment took the match to another level in my opinion. Sloppiness down the closing stretch of a match is kind of fire to me sometimes because it shows exhaustion. The drama was at a tipping point adding to the uncertainty of the whole situation. Oh yeah, the crowd is going absolutely bonkers through all of this as well. Let’s not forget the ability of Ospreay to navigate through a situation like that. It was amazing. Just when Naito looked legitimately like a zombie, DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOO. Excellent.” -Noveliss

“What an absolutely insane match. Could you expect anything less from these two? Naito will always be one of my most favorite wrestlers, period.” -Kristen Ashly

“G1 classics are back! Naito and Ospreay put on a masterpiece. Ospreay is on the run of his career and Naito proved that he can still deliver at a high level. Naito legitimately gets rocked by Ospreay and it was great. It really sold the exhaustion of a long match. This match showed how far Ospreay has come from being a spot monkey to being someone who understands how to improvise after something doesn’t go as planned.” -Rene Martinez

“One of the best G1 matches of all time. These two have great chemistry and even Naito being knocked out not only didn’t detract from the match, it added to it.” -George Atsaves

“A truly unique encounter where seeing the strings enhances the spectacle” -Jameshova

“Ospreay deserves Wrestler of the Year just for what he did in the last few minutes of this match. He quite literally carried Naito over the goal line.” -Elliot Imes

“Epic. Ospreay has four of my top six matches for 2023.” -Eric Krol

“It wasn’t the best G1 Climax of the year, far from it. But Will Ospreay and Tetsuya Naito raised their game to deliver an exciting semi-final with intense suspense right to the end.

With the two favourites meeting at this stage of the competition, we could already expect something intense, and they didn’t disappoint in that respect. Tetsuya Naito showed what he’s capable of against an Ospreay who’ll be doing well in 2023.

The kind of match-up you’d expect from a G1 semi-final.” -Traff

“When the book is written on Will Ospreay’s historic 2023 run of classics, this will be one I hope doesn’t get lost. Naito winning G1 and going onto WK seemed almost like a nostalgia run at this point, but Ospreay managed to not only give him the match he needed, but almost literally carried him over the finish line when Naito got knocked silly.” -Kevin Ely

“I never ‘got’ Naito, even in his prime. The character was cool, the backstory from the Stardust Genuis days is interesting, the entrance is fantastic. But whenever the bell rang, he never clicked for me in over a decade of watching him. I was the low man on all his big hyped matches, and this past year I was captain of the ‘Naito is washed’ train. But in this match? I get it, I truly get it.

2023-era Ospreay is in a league of his own at structuring these main event barnburners, and thank god Naito is wrestling an Ospreay style match rather than the inverse. That isn’t to say Naito is to be absolved of any praise in the success of this match, his pace, ability to flawlessly navigate long and intricate sequences, his ability to emote and show layers behind his veneer of aloofness – it all came together in a way I hadn’t felt with Naito’s performances before. Watching this match felt like the wrestling equivalent of those sympathybait viral videos where a person gains the ability to hear for the first time, to experience things that had only been described second-hand to them. You may understand it conceptually, but until you hear it yourself you never grasp the richness of the sound.

Even if the final 60 seconds never happened, this still would’ve been a top 3 MOTY for me. What squeaked it into second place was Naito getting knocked loopy from an errant kick, and Ospreay immediately taking it upon himself to safely (and literally) carry Naito through a reversal-laden finishing sequence. Ospreay giving himself some of the year’s best looking Destino’s while Naito is oblivious to his surroundings is an image that will be forever in my brain. It’s a wrestling Weekend at Bernies. A sequence from a Yoshihiko match, but actually good. People say that Flair could wrestle a broomstick to a decent match. Here, Ospreay wrestled a broomstick and took it to 5 stars. Amazing match and my #2 of the year.” -SOM

“The whole match is great, but I implore everyone to go watch the closing sequence to this match. This is what the G-1 is all about. This was another Ospreay masterclass paired with Naito showing he’s still got those big matches left in him.” -Brett Miles

“Whilst it might have been just another day for Will Ospreay, this was easily Tetsuya Naito’s match of the year. He was no slouch in it either, harking back to days past with the sort of performance that saw him set the world alight in that G1 final of 2016. Even a knockout near the end couldn’t take it off the rails with Ospreay undertaking an all time carry job to complete the bout after Naito had been knocked loopy.” -Trish Speirs

“Will Ospreay put together a resume of matches throughout the year that makes his claim for pro-wrestler of 2023 hard to contest. But it’s his matches with top tier talents like Tetsuya Naito in the G1 semi-final that help us realize just how spectacular his dance partners for the year have been. Naito brings frenetic energy when he’s performing at his highest gear that makes it so that his fans have almost a desperation for his ultimate victory when it’s all on the line. And on the biggest stages, Naito can deliver like no one else. So who better than Will Ospreay seeking to move past Naito to the G1 Final for one of the grandest stages for El Ingobernable to be his best self.” -Reuel Castillo

““One more time, Naito-San,” couldn’t have been more prophetic.” -Warren Hayes

“I worried about Tetsuya Naito in 2023. I wasn’t sure if he could still summon the peak of his powers to deliver at the highest level. This match was the answer to that. With a fluidness that is less frequent for him together with the greatest possible dance partner in Will Ospreay, Naito delivered another masterpiece. A match that built and built and built with Will in control for large portions until a mistake was made and then rapidly went south with multiple destinos. Yes, New Japan is facing challenges but i think Naito is still able to answer them.” -Arturo Galletti

“In a year unlike any other for Will Ospreay, where all manner of matches could take the top spot, it was this performance that felt like the true encapsulation of his njpw career; and revealed what modern New Japan really is. A match where he got to perform feats of incredible athleticism but ultimately was left to rely on his instincts to get the match over the line. In this space, he found a perfect partner in Naito, a man who has given his body for njpw for years, and had to give it over to Will to finish this match. The shoot and story coalesced, as Naito (a man who’s matches always feel stronger when they get sloppy – see the intentional botches in his feud with Omega) struggled post an apparent knock out, but fought his way through, to climb the mountain once more in an effort to achieve his final dream and close the pandemic era at the Dome. For Will, the man proclaimed the best wrestler in the world, and the man who had captured the hearts and minds of the Japanese crowd the entire G1 (including being cheered over Okada), when he knocked Naito out, and saw him struggling, he realised (as Kevin Kelly aptly out it) that when Naito needs them the crowd will be there for him. Because he is him. Despite all his in ring prowess, all his accomplishments, he will not surpass Naito; and he didn’t. This match is everything that is great about NJPW. The reality and the story are indistinguishable. The in ring performance is elite of elite – but the crowds belief in their character of choice carries this in ring to heights higher than spectacle alone. It becomes high drama. An outcome that Ospreay finally was able to prove that he could cultivate and master. The perfect keystone to a wonderful run in New Japan.” -Josh

“I think Will Ospreay couldn’t have a bad match this year. The finish made this match.” -Jon Rogers

Voices of Wrestling 2023 Match of the Year
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