The gaijin changing Japanese wrestling forever: Kenny Omega comes in at #2!

Japanese wrestling has a long and storied history with gaijin talent. From the fifties and sixties, American talent was brought to Japan to serve as nefarious villains for Japanese heroes to face down. Some promotions built their entire roster around this concept.

New Japan did not, at least initially. In its earliest days, Antonio Inoki built up the company's concept of fighting spirit, an important factor of any Japanese wrestling promotion. His wrestlers faced each other in tests of skills and will with enmity only rarely being a factor. That changed in the 80s and 90s as an influx of outside talent started to appear. After Inoki's removal, that influx became a flood and today over a third of New Japan's talent comes from outside Japan. They're not always villains, but even those villains have become respected stars in New Japan.

Image credit: NJPW.

But only one has won the G1 tournament and main evented a Wrestle Kingdom. And his name is Kenny Omega.

Anyone that first saw Omega years ago in ROH or PWG knew he was built to be another level of talent. But when he abandoned the American indies for DDT, he recreated himself as a different kind of wrestler. His heavily video game inspired moveset grew and his run with and against Kota Ibushi became something of legend.

That all changed though when he moved to New Japan full time in 2014. Already a full time Japanese resident, he immediately turned heel and joined the Bullet Club. He dominated the Junior Heavyweight division in his first year, but the departure of AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows opened a power vacuum within the Club he immediately filled.

He officially became a heavyweight and promptly beat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Intercontinental title left vacant by Shinsuke Nakamura's departure. And from there, it became clear he was on his way to main event status. After winning the G1 in impressive fashion in 2016, he opened the calendar year 2017 in that aforementioned Tokyo Dome main event. Though he would not beat Okada for the title in their near 45 minute match, it is hard to argue that it was one of the best wrestling matches in the history of the business. The two men made a mat classic, recognized by Dave Meltzer as the second ever six star match.

Kenny toiled around the upper midcard for several months, but he received his rematch at Dominion 6.11 in a sixty minute draw even better than the first match. During the G1 Climax Special from America, he would win the eight person tournament to crown the first ever United States Champion. He brought his new belt home to Japan where he carried it with him during an impressive performance during the G1 Climax. He would finally get a pinfall victory over Okada in a third highly impressive match, but Tetsuya Naito would overcome him to stop his repeat.

His next several months of wrestling were devoted to defending his United States title. Juice Robinson beat him during the G1, so he received the first shot. Yoshi-Hashi tried for it at an ROH event, but failed. In his first major bout as a heavyweight, Beretta challenged for the belt as well, but fell short. Omega seemed dominant with no foe ready to step up for Wrestle Kingdom when Chris Jericho made his presence known. Following Omega's victory over Beretta, Jericho struck and viciously assaulted Omega in the ring. In the process, Omega ended 2017 much as he did in 2016: as the star player in the hottest feud in wrestling.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Omega's 2017 is his insistence in staying free of WWE. Much like the Young Bucks, he's been very public that he thinks his home should be anywhere but the biggest company in the world. With a stated plan to bring New Japan worldwide in 2018, few men other than Kenny Omega could make that happen. But with his level of talent and the caliber of his competition, the sky is truly the limit for The Cleaner.


Tomorrow, the final ten honorable mentions are revealed, all leading up to our number one. Who will it be? Get your guesses in now!

Tetsuya Naito: the ungovernable #10

For the first time in this list's history, half the talents on it are not WWE exclusive talents. New Japan Pro Wrestling invaded America in a huge way in 2017 with people seeking out the show on AXS or signing up for NJPWWorld to watch live events streamed with commentary by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis. A few names can be pointed out as the reason for this sudden rise, but perhaps the one with the most chance to soar up this list in 2018 is Tetsuya Naito.

In the biggest run of his career, Naito couldn't look more relaxed.
Image credit: NJPW.

It's hard to believe that eight years ago, Naito was one half of the IWGP Junior Tag Team champions as he made his international run on TNA television. He debuted there (alongside Yujiro Takahashi) in a handicap match loss to way past his prime Kevin Nash during the Main Event Mafia push. Unlike Kazuchika Okada later in TNA's relationship with New Japan, they did get something of a push. Aligned with Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi, they formed an effective tag team in the heel faction. It would also be the last time Naito played the heel for several years.

Naito came back to New Japan with fanfare, but after No Limit broke up and Yujiro joined the Bullet Club, his push to the main event floundered. He won his first G1 Climax in 2013, but fans weren't wowed by the thought of Naito versus Okada in 2013. A fan vote put the Intercontinental championship match into the main event with Hiroshi Tanahashi facing Shinsuke Nakamura in yet another match of their endless feud.

Ultimately, it would take another excursion for Naito to find his true calling. A trip to CMLL brought him into the stable Los Ingobernables (The Ungovernables). Lead by La Sombra (now Andrade "Cien" Almas), the stable were a bunch of tweeners in a wrestling culture known for strict heroes and villains. But with them, Naito shed his nice guy image as the "Stardust Genius". When he returned to Japan it was with a new demeanor and a legend was born.

Naito made his presence felt in the 2015 G1. And that presence made it clear he didn't give a shit what the fans thought. Even hated Bullet Club members were cheered in their matches against Naito. He would bring in more wrestlers to join his evil alliance: Bushi, EVIL, Sanada and Hiromu Takahashi. In a matter of a year, he would take reigns as both IWGP Intercontinental and IWGP World Heavyweight champion. Naito made it clear that he would not let the chosen of NJPW, Tanahashi and Okada, dominate the field with him around.

The first half of 2017 was built around Intercontinental title defenses, with victories at Wrestle Kingdom 11 over Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson. He would drop the title to Tanahashi at Dominion, but that would just set up a huge run for Naito in the G1 Climax. He would win his block in the world's biggest tournament, then defeat Kenny Omega in the finals to win his second G1 Climax and his second five star match of the year. (The first was against Elgin.) He continued on a winning streak from there, even as his allies in Los Ingobernables won Junior Heavyweight and Six Man Tag Team gold. As 2018 dawns, Naito takes his place in the main event of another Wrestle Kingdom, but even with Omega vs. Jericho on the card, Naito's place at the top of the card is solid.

Naito proved he was ready to hang with the biggest talents in wrestling during 2017, but 2018 could be even bigger. It remains to be seen if he can end Okada's year and a half long reign as he did once before. But wherever the year takes him, it seems likely that Naito will remain a dominant force in New Japan and professional wrestling for years to come.

ROH could take some tips from New Japan

Ring of Honor is always a frustrating company for me. They have all the talent in the world with stars like Jay Lethal, The Young Bucks, Dalton Castle, Moose and Michael Elgin all regularly working their shows. They have a deep roster with a healthy mix of veteran talents (The Briscoes, Kazarian, The Motor City Machine Guns) and new stars (Donovan Dijak, Adam Page, Jonathan Gresham). But they also seem buried in a malaise where stories take months too long to develop and characters are never allowed to evolve naturally. And while the hotshot booking of TNA and WWE isn't necessary for a company as wrestling influenced as ROH, the company seems to have no understanding of how to integrate slower building old school feuds with new school storytelling.

Their Japanese promotional partner New Japan Pro Wrestling has been doing just that for years. In many ways, NJPW continues the wrestling as sports focus of Antonio Inoki it was founded upon forty years ago. The style has become more innovative, but New Japan is a company where wins and losses matter. It is a company where status is something that must be achieved. Even the current champion Kazuchika Okada still has nay-sayers, despite having years now as a major main event player in the company. Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito have worked as heavyweights for nearly a decade each, but now both are entering the title picture for the first time. Yet New Japan continues to tell solid stories with their talents as they develop them through the regular storytelling cycle that kicks off at New Year Dash every year and culminates with the next year's Wrestle Kingdom.

ROH and NJPW have worked together for years now, even debuting full ROH
crossover events in Japan now.

Here are a few tips I think ROH could take from NJPW to help keep so much of its program from routinely feeling stale.

The G1 comes to an end with Nakamura versus Tanahashi

I'm not going to cover Night 18 in much detail here. Both Goto and Anderson lost which guaranteed the main event of Nakamura versus Okada would determine the B Block winner. After a long match, Nakamura made Okada tap with an armbar. The Nakamura / Tanahashi rivalry continued into Night 19's main event.

The G1 Climax brought two very familiar foes together again.
Image credit: NJPW.

Two interesting notes came on the final night in addition to the action. Delirious made his first New Japan appearance in his first onscreen role as booker of ROH. He announced a 2016 ROH/NJPW crossover show in Japan, clearly in answer to the success of the ROH/NJPW American shows.

Later in the night, Genichiro Tenryu made his way to the ring. Thirty-nine years into his career, he is now on his path to retirement. He is probably one of the best traveled talents in Japanese wrestling, but of late has stuck to running his own Tenryu Project promotion. But with his retirement set for November 15th, he picked his final opponent as none other than IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada.

Things get complicated for B Block at G1 Climax Night 16

With only one show left for them between this one and the finals, the top of B Block was still packed with contenders, though the IWGP Heavyweight champion still sat on top. As the night progressed, things would start to take shape for a math-heavy final.

Image credit: NJPW.

Tournament action started out with another Bullet Club battle as Karl Anderson battled Yujiro Takahashi. Both men entered together with MAO draped between them as the entire Bullet Club looked on. The two men started to fight though as Anderson seemed to want to steal Yujiro's girl from him.

G1 Weekend update: Night 13 and Night 14 results

Because of a busy weekend, I wasn't able to watch all of this weekend's action in full, but here's some quick results.

Night 13 was A Block action again and featured:

• Bad Luck Fale over Kota Ibushi. (Ibushi is eliminated from contention.)
• Tetsuya Naito over Toru Yano.
• AJ Styles over Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 
• Togi Makabe over Doc Gallows.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi over Katsuyori Shibata in an incredible main event.

These results leave former win leader Shibata in danger of elimination, while a five way tie for the top still exists between the five winners.

The B Block heats up at the G1 Climax Night 12

It was another single camera action night as the B Block continued in the top half of the G1 Climax Night 12.

Image credit: NJPW.

Michael Elgin and Yuji Nagata started things off. Nagata looked very solid against Elgin. This was probably one of his high points in the touranment, but another buckle bomb/sitout powerbomb combo brought Elgin up to 8 points, already a great number for a debuting gaijin. He and Nagata shook hands post-match in a great sign of respect.

In the second tournament match of the night, Tomoaki Honma sought to finally get on the board, but he had a tall task against an angry Karl Anderson. Honma looked great again in action here, but he still couldn't quite get the win against the Bullet Club's leader.

Eight is the magic number at Night 11 of the G1 Climax!

Night 11 brought the action back to a single fixed camera format, which only encouraged my decision to skip the preliminaries. I've seen indies with one camera with better presentation than this gives New Japan.

Image credit: NJPW.

In a match that made me shiver not with anticipation but with dread, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Bad Luck Fale opened the tournament matches. One once-fast, now-plodding worker against one never-fast always-plodding worker does n ot a good match make. Fale hit an ugly splash from the top to stay in contention with 8 points.

Toru Yano got a quick roll up in a five minute match on Katsuyori Shibata to start a theme of the night as he also made it to 8 points. I would guess this was designed to heal Yano's still very messed up eye, but it was a depressing finish for a Shibata match, as they have been a highlight of the tournament.

Weekend brings two more mornings of G1 action

No time to waste as we have a packed weekend report of G1 action!

Image credit: NJPW.

Night 8 started with some preliminaries with little to note outside the return of KUSHIDA to Japan after a US tour that saw him working the first Global Force Wrestling tapings.

Tournament actin kicked off with Yujiro Takahashi and Satoshi Kojima. Kojima beat the holy heck out of Tanahashi for most of the match, but interference by Cody Hall allowed Yujiro to hit a low blow for the win.

Karl Anderson worked super old school against Yuji Nagata, picking him apart before getting the win in one of Nagata's best fights of the tournament.

Michael Elgin took out Tomoaki Honma in a brutal back and forth match. Honma continues to be a top performer in the tournament, but his loveable loser gimmick kept him without points again, as Michael Elgin moves up to four. The show had a bit of delay to get Honma out of the ring. Hopefully this doesn't mean an injury.

Even short a match, Night 6 of the G1 Climax continued a streak of great shows

Night six opened with the depressing news that Shinsuke Nakamura was not yet recovered from his elbow injury and would be unable to wrestle. This causes Michael Elgin to win by default and score his first two points in the tournament. He was moved to the first half of the card to team with Tanahashi and Naito.

Image credit: NJPW.

Yujiro Takahashi was out first for the tournament, but he would be up against the legend Yuji Nagata. Nagata put on a great performance, but help from Cody Hall (and a few Terminator beats on the ring apron) helped bring Yujiro the win and his first two points, even without MAO at his side.

A busy weekend with Night 4 and 5 of the G1 Climax!

I have two shows to cover here, so let's get right into the tournament action.

Image credit: NJPW.

Night 4 kicked off with a brutal battle where Tomohiro Ishii became the first B Block fighter with 4 points when he overcame Yujiro Takahashi. (I blame the poor substitute MAO for his loss.)

Michael Elgin and Satoshi Kojima beat the hell out of each other in a match that shows how good Kojima still is. Elgin took the loss in a true back and forth battle with a great show of respect in the aftermath by both men.

Karl Anderson continued to upset Japanese favorites, this time overcoming Intercontinental champion Hirooki Goto in a brutal match.

New Japan continues a weekend of excellence with Night Three of the G1 Climax!

Things kicked off with the regular prelims, all designed to preview some fights for tomorrow night. I of course forgot to set my alarm, so I missed all but the end of the final battle between the CHAOS unit of Okada, Nakamura and Gedo and the team of Nagata, Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi. It was a pretty solid match and Honma even got a rare win over Gedo.

Image credit: NJPW.

The G1 tournament matches for night three kicked off with Doc Gallows and Kota Ibushi. Gallows worked the match at his pace, landing one big move after another on Ibushi. But much like night one, Ibushi showed a lack of selling for much of the offense against him, but at least it took a flash pin to get the win.

The G1 Climax kicks off with two big matches

The one flaw a Round Robin tournament always has is that some of the matches will just not be as good as others. Day one of the G1 Climax showed that with some awkward battles, but it made up for it with a semi- and main event that were well worth viewing right now in replay.

Image credit: NJPW.

After the preliminary multi-man matches, the tournament kicked off with Hiroyoshi Tenzan versus Doc Gallows. I have seen a few negative reviews of this match, but while nothing special by any means it was a good showing by the aging legend and the former Straight Edge Society member. Ultimately Tenzan wins (as he is wont to do a bit too often) to give him the first two points of the tournament.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - B Block part 2

Today we take our final look at the G1 Climax. The show kicks off in just a few short days as it goes live at 1 a.m. Central time on Monday morning. While that isn't exactly ideal viewing time for most American fans, NJPW World will have replays up within a couple hours so anyone can watch when they see fit.

Let's finish the round up of B Block and then take a look at my guess for the winner.

Tomoaki Honma: Honma started out in Big Japan Wrestling (BJW) where he worked numerous death matches early in his career. He innovated the use of light tubes in matches (for good or ill). He found his most success during those early years in the much smaller BJW, but moved on to runs in both All Japan and Kensuke Office. He joined New Japan as a regular in 2013, but can best be described as a lovable loser. In 2014, he replaced the injured Kota Ibushi in the G1 tournament. He didn't win a single match, but his spirit and refusal to give up made him hugely popular with NJPW fans. "Honmania" was born and it carried him forward to a Tokyo Dome win over the Bullet Club. Don't expect Honma to win much this year. I would guess he will score a single victory in the tournament, but a key one against the likes of Goto or the next man on our list.

Kazuchika Okada: Despite still being known best to American fans for his short lived TNA run as Samoa Joe's assistant Okato, Kazuchika Okada is the current ace of New Japan. A massive star in Japan, "The Rainmaker" is a stupendous in-ring worker. His finisher, also called The Rainmaker, is just a short-arm clothesline but he delivers it with a devastating amount of force. The current IWGP Heavyweight champion in his third reign, he has put on spectacular contests in recent months against Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ Styles. While neither of those men are in B Block with him, he will face stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura in a dream match. His opening round match pits him against the only gaijin visitor in a first time one-on-one dream match for many ROH fans.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - Block B part 1

The G1 Climax is the biggest tournament of the year in New Japan Pro Wrestling. It is by far the largest round robin tournament of the year, held over 19 events in a nearly month long stretch. It will anoint a new #1 contender in NJPW who will get his title chance at the massive January mega-event. And sometimes it can even make a huge new star.

While Block A was staffed with tons of great talent, Block B in my eyes is even bigger. So let's go in and look at the first half of the roster that will kick off the second day of action.

Satoshi Kojima: Kojima is a fascinating figure in New Japan history. He was a junior member of NWO Japan in his early years where he first formed his long running unit with Hiroyoshi Tenzan known as Tencozy. But Kojima would follow his mentor Keiji Mutoh to All Japan where he would score most of his success as a wrestler (with a short stop in North America for Major League Wrestling). He would become World Tag Champion three times as well as score the promotion's top prize, the Triple Crown Championship, twice. In 2005, he would win his first IWGP Heavyweight title in a battle with Tenzan that also had his Triple Crown title also on the line. He would continue to tag with Tenzan on occasion on cross-promotional events. In 2010, an arm injury sent him away for surgery, All Japan didn't resign him because of it and he returned to NJPW. Since then, TenCozy has become a fixture of tag matches. In the last year, Kojima has regularly competed against NWA visitors to the company and won both the NWA World and NWA World Tag Team titles in the process. He has dropped both titles, but despite twenty-five years as a wrestler behind him, Kojima still can go in the ring. The likelihood he will walk away G1 winner is slim, but he'll put on some great battles in the process.

Tomohiro Ishii: The "Stone Pitbull" has never really been a huge star in New Japan. Though he's wrestled for twenty years, the last ten with New Japan, he has never really came off the bottom half of the card. It wasn't until eight years into his NJPW career that he scored his first title in the promotion, the NEVER Openweight belt. He has since became a fixture of the midcard NEVER belt and this has allowed him to shine in physical contests that often break down into all out brawls. This will be the third G1 Climax for the CHAOS regular. He alternately excels or fails in New Japan seemingly at random, so it is anyone's guess how far he can make it in the tournament, but he seems a very unlikely victor.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - Block A Part 2

Yesterday, I covered the first five competitors in the epic twenty man round robin tournament known as G1 Climax. This is the biggest tournament New Japan holds every year and some of their biggest stars take part. You will see a couple of those huge names in today's rundown.

Bad Luck Fale: The Bullet Club's "Underboss" is a one time Intercontinental champion and a former college rugby star in Japan. The Tongan wrestler made his debut in 2010, but didn't gain much traction in the promotion until he joined the Bullet Club in 2013. Many people consider his title victory over Shinsuke Nakamura last year a huge upset. While his reign was quite lackluster, he seems to only get better every year. He put in a commanding performance last year, but lost his block to Nakamura. This year he's free of Nakamura, but faces some stiff competition in his division, including a stablemate and former IWGP champion.

AJ Styles: The biggest American star in the G1, AJ Styles will have something to prove after losing his IWGP Heavyweight title to Kazuchika Okada. He came within inches of winning Block B last year, tying for first place numerically. But his loss to his perennial rival Okada in the tournament moved the other man to the finals and ultimately to win the tournament. Styles will not have to face Okada in his block this year. He could very well pull out the victory in Block A, but keep in mind no gaijin has ever won the G1 Climax tournament, and only two have made it to the finals of the 25 year old tournament (Rick Rude and Karl Anderson.) Wherever he lands at tournament's end, he should look awesome in battles with Naito, Yano, Makabe and the three remaining men on this list.

G1 Climax 2015 Preview - Block A part 1

G1 Climax is the biggest tournament in New Japan. Held annually in July and August, it encompasses some of the greatest stars in New Japan mixed with a few guests of high note. Its purpose is similar to WWE's Royal Rumble: it will crown the contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the January dome show, presumably called Wrestle Kingdom 10.

While this year's tournament only features 20 stars, two less than last year's record breaking 22, it will be the longest G1 tournament in New Japan history, stretching over 19 shows between July 20 and August 16.

I am always interested in informing American fans about the talent they might be missing without a NJPW World subscription, so over the next four days I will cover the talent in the tournament, broken down by the A and B blocks of the round robin tournament, each split into five easy to cover talents. I will cover them by match listings for the two opening round days of the tournament.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan: Tenzan is a New Japan living legend. A twenty year veteran of the promotion, his accomplishments in the company are massive. An eleven time IWGP tag team champion and a four time IWGP heavyweight champion, he has completed in 20 straight tournaments, by far the most of any competitor. He is the current NWA champion after scoring a win over Rob Conway in February. While he has lost a step since his heyday in the early 2000s, Tenzan can still put on great matches, but don't expect his numbers to sail too high in the tournament, especially with his initial contest against the next competitor.

Doc Gallows: Formerly known as Festus and Luke Gallows in WWE as well as TNA as D.O.C., Doc Gallows is one of the most hated men in NJPW. One of the meanest members of the reviled gaijin stable, The Bullet Club, Gallows is also the current IWGP Tag Team champion. Last year, he finished on the low end of the totals, but Gallows has only become more fearsome since that time. I expect Gallows to go far this time around, especially if his wife Amber gets involved from outside.