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.

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 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.

ESO-PRO presents the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015: Honorable Mentions Part 5

As we get closer to revealing the top wrestler of 2015, I just wanted to remind everyone to keep their eye out for the return of ESO-PRO: The Pro Wrestling Podcast. I was a member of the original incarnation of the show, but John Morgan Neal will soon be presenting a reanimated ESO-PRO in 2015 with a wide variety of guests. Keep an eye out for it at the ESO site.

Today we run down the wrestlers ranked twentieth to fifteen on the list.

Xavier Woods greatly increased his profile with his Youtube series.

20. Xavier Woods: While his compatriots in the New Day ranked in at #5 and #8, Xavier Woods spent most of 2015 serving alternately as the team's spoiler and jobber. He lost the titles to the Prime Time Players in one of his few defenses, but he also helped Big E and Kofi win them back at SummerSlam. And while he hasn't got anywhere close to the number of wins his allies have, he's been solid in the ring and on the sidelines, where he's been trombone playing comedy gold. He's also shown how to diversify his career as the host of the new Up Up Down Down Youtube show.

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

The ROH Top 10

I don't follow Ring of Honor as regularly as I once did now that the regular late night broadcast of the show I used to watch here in Eastern Iowa has became very late night. I do occasionally watch the streamed episodes after they air, but I often find the promotion to be incredibly weak booking wise. Often I feel like they hold off on pushes of hot talents until they grow cold while pushing many stars that the ROH faithful just feel flat about. That doesn't stop the company from having some amazing matches still and as they recently closed out their year with Final Battle it seemed like a fitting time to introduce their inaugural top ten.

Remember, all these talents are available for your voting pleasure in the year end Top 10 list!

So without anymore ado, let's get to the countdown!

Image credit: TheWrestlingMayhemShow.com

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.

Did the Young Bucks make the right decision by signing with ROH?

It was a big news story after being teased by the Young Bucks themselves: who would they sign a contract with at this point in their careers? The answer was Ring of Honor. While the deal in place allows them to continue their work with ROH's partner NJPW and the Bucks' home promotion PWG, Ring of Honor seems like a strange choice for the duo.

Image credit: ROHWrestling.com.

Ring of Honor has had two other high profile signings in the last few months. They signed Moose after rumors that the rising star might be WWE bound. Since that time, he's fought on the early half of every card in negligible matches that do nothing for a star that was massively over entering 2015. The second signing was of Roderick Strong, a man that while often looked at as bland personality-wise can go as well as anyone in the ring. His signing has embroiled him in a feud with Jay Lethal, the perennial booking favorite of ROH's Hunter Johnson.

Adam Cole's explosive 2012 at the Battle of Los Angeles

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla puts on an annual tournament called the Battle of Los Angeles which is arguably the best American singles tournament. The 2015 edition will happen this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I will have a preview of it coming up soon. But for now, I wanted to take a look back at the 2012 edition where Ring of Honor stalwart Adam Cole had his breakout performance in an amazing series of matches with a future TNA star and two future NXT standouts. Even current WWE star Kevin Owens is blown away as he watches the finals on commentary.


Checkout the great highlights and then stay tuned for the preview of this year's show, which will feature more than a few names instantly recognizable to Lucha Underground fans.

The future Kevin Owens found out Adam Cole wasn't a very nice guy.
Image credit: FreeAdmission.wordpress.org.

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.

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.

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.

The G1 Climax reaches its halfway point with an amazing morning of action!

Image credit: NJPW.

Night Ten of the G1 opened with a rare singles match in the preliminatires as David Finlay (the son of WWE produce Dave) took on Ryusuke Taguchi. Since Prince Devitt left NJPW, Taguchi has been rather lackluster, but the two men worked well together here. Finlay is coming together well, much like fellow black short Jay White, but he wasn't ready for the win here.

The preliminaries otherwise were fairly predictable, though KUSHIDA and Naito as a dysfunctional team was entertaining. One other note would be the aftermath of the Bullet Club match, where Sunday's opponents AJ Styles and Doc Gallows exchanged more than nasty words. Either Styles or Gallows might find their way out of Bullet Club sooner rather than later.

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.

B Block brings some hard-hitting offense in their first night of the G1 Climax

Thursday was the second night for G1 action, but of course here in the States that means waking up at 4:30. Luckily for me and my readers, being up at 4:30 is pretty natural, so here is what happened tonight in part two of the G1 Climax.

The night kicked off with the regular multi-man matches but only the alliance of Katsuyori Shibata and Tetsuya Naito (with Ryusuke Taguchi) offered any real intrigue. Shibata and Naito meet tomorrow night and it was interesting to see each try to get into the other's head while ostensibly working together.

Ouch. Image caption: NJPW.

The tournament matches started off with a brutal blast of punches and kicks as Satoshi Kojima took on Tomohiro Ishii. I went in expecting this to be a solid match with Kojima coming out on top. Instead I got a solid brawl with Ishii hitting a mean brainbuster for the two points. Ishii actually looked better than I usually expect here, so maybe we will get more solid matches in the G1 from him.

Yujiro Takahashi had Mao back at his side for his first tournament match, but the beauty was no help against Hirooki Goto. In a match that featured multiple biting spots and some painful looking bumps, Takahashi just couldn't bring it together for Bullet Club. Goto walked away with a relatively easy win.

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.