From the queen of the north to a hometown hoverboard hero: The Top 100 Wrestlers of 2018 #100-76

You voted. I tallied and in the end over a hundred fifty individual talents received votes in our annual poll. We kick the list off with the beginning of the year and the first twenty-five stars to make the list!

Image credit: Taya Valkyrie on Twitter.

100. Taya Valkyrie 

Far more this Mrs. Johnny Mundo, Taya has shown in Mexica, Lucha Underground and Impact that she's a talent to be watched. She's quickly cemented herself as a top tier talent anywhere in the world.

99. Big E

The lowest rated member of The New Day remains maybe the most overlooked talent in WWE. While he's made a good living as one third of the team, he could have been a main event player. Alas, that seems far in the past now for the former Mr. Langston.

97 (tie). Kofi Kingston

97 (tie). Sasha Banks

It's been a sharp fall for the woman that topped the list back in 2015. Sasha stayed healthy for the entire year but has lost pretty much her entire push as a star player on the women's roster with the focus of Ronda Rousey, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss this year.

96. Bray Wyatt

95. Sarah Logan 

Ranked higher than her stablemate Liv Morgan (who fell out of the Top 100, sadly), Logan has a ton of untapped potential if the WWE chooses to use it. Right now, I fear she will be lost in the mix of too many stars without enough spots on WWE television.

94. Shain Bender

The young Iowa upstart has proven himself an impressive high-flyer both locally and in promotions such as IWA Mid-South. With some seasoning, his abilities and his good looks could get him far in the business.

93. Hiroshi Tanahashi

In perhaps the lowest showing one might expect for a G1 Climax winner, Tanahashi is showing his age but still capable of great wrestling.

92. Jeff Cobb

91. Hiromu Takahashi

90. Sheamus

89. Jaysin Strife

A veteran on the indies, Strife remains an Iowa talent that somehow hasn't broken out nearly as much as he should.

Image credit: Ember Moon on Twitter.

88. Ember Moon

She put in solid performances carrying the NXT Women's belt, but her call up to the main roster hasn't offered her nearly as much to do as it should. She killed it on the independents, but it remains to be seen if she will ever get a chance to shine on a Rousey dominated WWE roster.

87. Tetsuya Naito

85 (tie). Kevin Owens

After being the only talent to make the Top 10 three straight years, Owens finds himself fallen far after a storyline firing and a real life injury. He's still got a ton of upside for WWE, but he will need a strong push upon his return to make it reality.

85 (tie). Zeus

The muscular behemoth of All Japan has helped put the company back on the map this year. He's came a long way since I first saw him as part of Osaka Pro, but he remains one of the most entertaining power wrestlers out there today.

84. Kota Ibushi

83. Tomohiro Ishii

82. Mat Fichett

81. Cesaro

80. Davey Vega

I've known about Vega since his days wandering into Chikara's midst as part of the Submission Squad (a unit that also featured Ember Moon in her indie days.) Along with his new partner Mat Fitchett he now reps the Besties in the World. He's become a top tier talent on the Midwest indies, bouncing from Texas to Ohio and even overseas. They are a top flight team especially when they're up against their perennial rivals, the Rascalz.

78 (tie). Trent Seven

78 (tie).  Jimmy Uso

77. Jey Uso

76. Connor Braxton

While he doesn't seem to quite have the push he was receiving a year ago at SCW, his biggest claim to fame is unfortunately still a hoverboard spot that went viral a couple years back on Youtube. He's slowly becoming a regular for AAW, Blackcraft and F1RST however, which should help get more eyes on him and hopefully mean a lot more bookings ahead for Seth Rollins and Marek Brave's first student.

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.

Kenny Omega: #6 in the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2016

I am actually a bit sad that more wrestling fans aren't familiar with the impressive credentials of New Japan regular Kenny Omega. Though he makes sporadic appearances in Ring of Honor, he's mostly an NJPW stalwart. The Canadian has been a Japanese regular for a decade now, speaks the language and has become the key player in the Bullet Club in the wake of Styles, Gallows and Anderson's disappearance.

Image credit: Senor Lariato

In the process, he's done things gaijin wrestlers don't normally do. Now his sudden shot into the main event isn't necessarily abnormal. AJ Styles basically debuted to win the World title. But the shots he's received are very different. He beat ace Tanahashi to become Intercontinental champion, only to drop it to Michael Elgin. He feuded with both men for most of the summer and scored numerous victories over both, albeit without recovering the title.

But the most impressive feat of 2016 was his victory in the finals of the G1 Climax. The world's most prestigious tournament has regularly featured outside stars, but rarely do they reach the finals. In 26 previous G1 tournaments, only two non-Japanese stars ever made it to the finals: Rick Rude (in the only single elimination version of the tournament) and Karl Anderson. Neither won. Kenny Omega broke that drought, becoming the first North American star to ever win the prestigious tournament. In the process, he was also the first gaijin to ever main event a Wrestle Kingdom. While that event held earlier today falls out of the purview of the 2016 award, just his movement towards that event was impressive. He scored victory after victory over NJPW champion Kazuchika Okada in multi-man matches leading towards the event.

This is all very impressive for a wrestler that wasn't even considered a heavyweight in NJPW until January 5th of 2016. His rise has been astronomical and he backed up every ounce of it with impressive in ring work, both on his own and as a trio with the Young Bucks. The three men won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag title twice in 2016 and remain the only team to successfully defend it more than once.

Omega ended 2016 as arguably the best in ring worker in the world and the second highest man on the NJPW roster. Despite a loss today, he seems poised to make even bigger strides in 2016.

Next, we will look at a very different Japanese star, one that made major waves in two promotions this year.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of New Japan Pro Wrestling for January 2016

With Wrestle Kingdom 10 in the past, Shinsuke Nakamura's removal as Intercontinental champion and a shake up already in place, the roster of New Japan Pro Wrestling is definitely in flux. But that won't stop me from bringing the second edition of the NJPW Top 10 list for this spot between the January 4th supershow and The New Beginning events in mid-February.

So without any further ado, on to the list!

Nakamura no longer holds this belt, but he's leaving New Japan with a great
sendoff during the CMLL FantasticMania events. Image credit: NJPW.

The NJPW Top 10

As we close out 2015, I continue my look at some of the top wrestlers in various promotions as the year draws to a close. This time around, the focus turns to New Japan as it ramps up for its January 4th Wrestle Kingdom 10 event.

Coming off of the World Tag League, New Japan seems to be firing on all cylinders with amazing talent, great import stars from Ring of Honor and a bevy of talent itching to put on the best matches they can. This is New Japan's Wrestlemania season and even in their smaller events they are really showing that fire in six and eight man tags. 

Image credit: NJPW

NJPW kicks off the World Tag League with some amazing new teams

I provided in depth coverage of the G1 Climax tournament over the summer, and though I was disappointed Hiroshi Tanahashi won the tournament and the Wrestle Kingdom X title shot over Shinsuke Nakamura, all the amazing wrestling action was well worth it. Michael Elgin especially won over Japanese fans in ways he hasn't been allowed to do in Ring of Honor.

As November turns to December, it becomes time for the tag team version of the tournament. Even more American talent found their way into the World Tag League tournament than the G1. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian make their debut as a team in NJPW while regulars The Kingdom and the Bullet Club unit of Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (also the tag champions) are also involved. Bullet Club's leader AJ Styles is also in action, teaming with Yujiro Takahashi. The aforementioned Michael Elgin also returns to New Japan to join the tournament teaming with G1 winner Tahahashi in an epic unit.

Tanahashi and Elgin make an amazing team.
All images credit NJPW.

Perhaps the most interesting unit is the Los Ingobernables team of Tetsuya Naito and his new partner EVIL. Formerly a well known talent in America for the last few years on excursion, Takaaki Watanabe, took the EVIL identity upon his return to his home country. Clad in a purple robe and carrying a scythe, he certainly maes an imposing figure as the slightly insane unit cheats their way to victory.

Tetsuya Naito and EVIL with new Ingobernable recruit BUSHI.

Night one actually opened with one of the biggest matches of the tournament as Tanahashi and Elgin met Tanahashi's Wrestle Kingdom X opponent Kazuchika Okada and his partner Yoshi-Hashi. The two teams put on an epic 18 minutes which ultimately served to showcase how entertaining a team Elgin and Tanahashi make.

The other live episode this weekend wasn't populated by too many exciting tag tournament matches, but it was main evented by a highly entertaining "Special Fun Match". Elgin and Tanahashi teamed with the former CJ Parker, now using his old ring name of Juice Robinson, They battled the CHAOS unit of Toru Yano, Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii in a battle built around great fun.

Ultimately, the World Tag League doesn't quite have the notoriety of the G1, but it still brings some great wrestling action available on demand worldwide on NJPW World. Check it out if you're so inclined.

NJPW on AXS brings a classic title match to English language television!

I don't have AXS at home because it is not in the list of networks I conveniently can stream online. However I caught last week's episode of NJPW on AXS and it was a doozy, as the entire show was devoted to the AJ Styles / Hiroshi Tanahashi IWGP Heavyweight title match from last October.

Image credit: AXS.tv.

I have grown fond of the American version of the show as commentators Mauro Ranallo and Josh Barnett add a lot to the already amazing wrestling New Japan brings to the fold. Styles and Tanahashi brought it in a nearly thirty minute battle, with each man going for his signature maneuvers more than once. AJ came with Jeff Jarrett to the ring, his Bullet Club guitar in hand. More than once Jarrett saved the IWGP Heavyweight title for AJ Styles.

But a big equalizer came in the form of Yoshitatsu (now spelled as just one word post-WWE.) He threw Jarrett to the back and forced Styles to fight a fair contest. Ultimately a High Fly Flow set up the win by Tanahashi to give him his unprecedented seventh reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

I cannot speak highly enough of the AXS series. Anyone with it on their cable provider should tune in on Fridays at 9 Eastern / 8 Central and see why New Japan is definitely worth watching.

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.

A Block comes to an end with Styles vs. Tanahashi

With the non-tournament matches becoming more important with the influx of all the other wrestlers now arriving to work the weekend of events, it becomes pertinent to cover the entire card.

All images credited to NJPW.

The show opened with a Bullet Club win as the team of Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi beat the team of Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma and Mascara Dorada. The match featured a definite tease of the Kojima/Anderson match coming tomorrow night.

The second match of the night featured one B Block competitor but its implications were far more oriented towards Sunday's finale as IWGP Jr. Tag Team champions Nick and Matt Jackson, the Young Bucks, teamed with their Bullet Club stablemate Cody Hall to take on the ROH unit of Michael Elgin, Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish. The Bucks and ReDRagon will face off on Sunday for the titles and both units wanted to make a statement in their first night back in Japan.

The A Block finals take shape in a big night of G1 action!

With only five nights left, Night 15 was a vitally important night for A Block as the final fighters for the G1 A Block semi-finalist would be determined.

Image credit: NJPW.

The tournament battles opened with Doc Gallows versus Tetsuya Naito. Amazingly, Gallows played the face in the battle. While Gallows has long been eliminated from contention, a powerbomb from the top kept Naito from getting two important matches going into the end of the night.

The second match of the night saw Katsuyori Shibata sadly fall yet again, this time to Hiroyoshi Tenzan. This was probably Tenzan's best tournament match, but it eliminated Shibata from any chance at a win.

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.

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.

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 - 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.

Dominion 7.5: have we already seen the best show of the summer?

In the last few years, New Japan Pro Wrestling has grown from just another Japanese wrestling company into easily the second largest brand in professional wrestling today. They have done so with a mix of straight forward puroresu aesthetics: highly competitive matches with high work rates, solid storytelling and psychology, and clean finishes—usually, at least.

Their fandom is on the rise worldwide thanks to the AXS television series airing classic matches of the last few years as well as the far more significant (IMHO) New Japan World. The streaming service is cheaper than WWE Network, but offers almost every New Japan show in history. Much like WWE, it also includes live streaming of all its current fare. This will be thoroughly impressive later this month as the G1 Climax tournament starts (more in the future), but it also makes shows like the epic Dominion 7.5 well worth watching.

Much like January's Wrestle Kingdom event, Dominion 7.5 was built to be a supercard in a company already known for great pay-per-views. While Jim Ross and Matt Striker did not call the action in English for this event, the wonderful thing about NJPW is that so much of the action speaks for itself.

I talked about the undercard in my preview last week, but the likes of Kenny Omega, KUSHIDA, the Young Bucks and RPG Vice put on some amazing action. The Bullet Club (Anderson & Gallows) and The Kingdom tore each other apart. KUSHIDA stole one title from the collected Bullet Club, but Anderson & Gallows retrieved the Heavyweight tag belt.

The battle between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toru Yano proved to be a great start to the main event portion of the show. Tanahashi can be best described as the Japanese John Cena, but unlike Cena his constant victories do not turn off nearly as many fans. He can best be compared to the current US champion Cena. He's a guy you can depend on for great matches, but don't expect him to lose much. He didn't here either, but the number of false finishes between Tanahashi and Yano was impressive.

Japanese artist Kyobashi+ did this amazing
illustration of red ninja Nakamura.

The semi-main event for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship went about as I expected. Hirooki Goto seems cemented into his new position as the successor for the title, but that didn't mean Shinsuke Nakamura was going quietly into the night. Nakamura brought it to the man that took his title and Goto answered in kind. With stiff chops and kicks, this one echoed through the arena. But in the end, Nakamura seems ready to go back into IWGP Heavyweight title competition, so his loss here comes as no surprise.

The main event featured AJ Styles defending the aforementioned heavyweight belt against Kazuchika Okada. Every time these to men face off, a lot is made out of Okada's time as Okato in TNA, where he was barely a jobber to guys like Styles. But as "The Rainmaker", Okada is now an amazing star. Everything about this fight was designed to keep fans on the edge of their seats, starting with the Bullet Club's ejection from ringside about five minutes in.

While Styles vs. Okada isn't a new encounter, this was easily their best match. Copyright: NJPW.

While Styles isn't used to going it alone, everyone knows how good "The Phenomenal One" is in the ring. He didn't lose a step against Okada, but without outside interference, he had to deal with multiple surges from "The Rainmaker". But no matter what he threw at Styles, Okada couldn't seem to get the champion down. Okada's impressive clothesline, also called the Rainmaker, has never failed in winning him a match immediately after its use. But somehow Styles resisted two of the devastating blows in the battle. Ultimately it would be a third strike with the Rainmaker that he just could not answer. As the 63rd IWGP Heavyweight champion, he now enters his third reign with the title.

New Japan put on an amazing show on Sunday, but they are not a company that rests on their laurels. Their biggest tournament of the year, the round robin G1 Climax, kicks off in less than two weeks. I will have a rundown of the competitors in what should be an amazing three weeks in the days ahead.

New Japan statues and figures heading to American shores

One of the things I love almost as much as pro wrestling is action figures, so it is with some happiness that New Japan statues and toys are on their way to American shores.

First up is a super-detailed line of PVC statues featuring detailed likenesses of New Japan wrestlers. The only announced and revealed figure so far is Kazuchika Okada, but the Rainmaker is absolutely gorgeous in his trademark pose. Now here's hoping that one Mr. Nakamura will follow soon after.

In figures with articulation news, New Japan also has a series of super-deformed mini-figures on the way. These guys were actually released a couple years back but are only making their way over here recently, probably due to New Japan’s rising international popularity.

Each figure stands about 2.5 inches in height with a whopping three points of articulation. But they come with accessories like half a wrestling ring, Tenzan’s mask and title belts. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan will never be this cute again, folks.

Like most import toys, these will cost you a penny to pick up but all look pretty awesome, so if you are collector inclined check them out at your favorite import toy store.