Jon Moxley is currently tearing his way through the B Block in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax 29 tournament.
One current NJPW wrestler, however, hasn’t been too impressed with the former WWE Superstar: the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito.
The Los Ingobernables de Japon leader sat down with njpw1972.com for an interview to discuss the G1 Climax and a few of his opponents, including Moxley.
It’s worth noting that the second part of this interview was only recently uploaded, and was conducted before the G1 matchup between Naito and Moxley on July 28th.
Commenting on the matchup between Moxley and Juice Robinson, Naito stated that the match, which saw Moxley claim the IWGP US Championship, didn’t move him.
“That Moxley match didn’t really move me. I know it was a hot crowd in Ryogoku, that came through on the TV even, but I was left thinking, ‘Why are the people making that kind of noise?’ I couldn’t put my finger on it, myself.”
When discussing Moxley specifically, he claimed to prefer technical wrestlers over Moxley’s current brawling style.
“I prefer technical wrestlers. Plus, with his new gear, he seems more subdued, less showy than how I imagine a WWE wrestler is. Then again, that’s just going off one match. Maybe he has something I haven’t seen just yet,” Naito said.
He continued, “You don’t hold all the championships he has, or get as popular as he’s got purely on luck. Maybe I’ll see something in him after we actually meet in the ring, but for now, he’s an unknown quantity.”
The two clashed a few days ago on July 28th. Jon Moxley defeated Naito, continuing his undefeated streak in the G1 Climax.
