CARRYING THE BANNER:
THE FOUR PILLARS OF NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
By Jasmine Olan
In professional wrestling, every promotion has its top stars, that select handful of popular wrestlers who the promotions create their main event picture around. These franchise performers are vital to each company’s story telling and are often viewed as the face their promotion. Within virtually every generation of the New Japan Pro Wrestling roster, there have been those wrestlers who have become synonymous with NJPW as part mega star, part brand ambassador. In the earliest days it was the company’s original founder, Antonio Inoki. Today, there are four men who stand as the faces of New Japan Pro Wrestling. They are Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Kenny Omega. Over last several years, these men have become corner stones of the promotion and have each taken on the responsibility of representing NJPW. They are the four pillars of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Very few have set the example for being the face of New Japan Pro Wrestling the way Hiroshi Tanahashi has. For nearly twenty years, the Ace Of The Universe has been a true mainstay of NJPW and fans the world over have absolutely loved him for it. His loyalty to his home promotion and its fans have made him a living legend all before the age of forty. For ten years Tanahashi carried the company on his back almost single handedly. From his time as a young lion he has always been known for his fighting spirit. Early on in his career, the Once In a Century Talent was dubbed one of the New Three Musketeers along side Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata. When New Japan needed him the most he was right to carry the promotion through its darkest years to new and greater heights. Even without championship gold on him Tanahashi is still referred to as the Ace and remains one of the most beloved figures in the company as well as a true locker room leader.
Another shining example of this is perhaps Tanahashi’s greatest rival, the Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada. His historic nearly two year reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion earned him comparisons to NJPW’s greatest legends like one of the original Three Musketeers, Shinya Hashimoto. With the passing of the torch from Hiroshi Tanahashi, Okada became the new face of the promotion. He has played a major role in the new golden age occurring in NJPW right now. His rivalries with Tanahashi and Kenny Omega are viewed by fans and critics alike as some of the greatest of all time. Fans have watched proudly as Okada rose from being a teenage wrestling prodigy to the top of the international wrestling scene as an adult. Despite being under the age of thirty for the majority of his four title reigns, Okada handled the responsibility beautifully, a true challenge for someone so young. History will always remember Kazuchika Okada as one of the greatest of all time. As the face of New Japan continues to evolve, another of Okada’s greatest rivals now plays vital role in carrying the banner for the company.
One of NJPW’s greatest gaijin or foreign born talents is current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega. Over the last several years the Best Bout Machine has become the face of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s western expansion. His journey to championship gold made him a world wild fan favorite as well as one of the company’s most relatable and inspirational stars. Kenny’s bond with wrestling fans is definitely a unique one. They’ve watched him learn valuable lessons all throughout his career from tag team success as one half of the Golden Lovers with long time partner, Kota Ibushi to singles stardom as the leader of the Bullet Club. His story self discovery and love lost then regained is heralded as one pro wrestling’s most innovative and best told storylines. As NJPW’s international expansion continues, Kenny Omega is sure to be one of the stars leading the way.
A relatable story has also been a major factor in the success of one of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s greatest anti heroes, Tetsuya Naito. As the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Naito went from struggling to find his way to truly finding his place in the wrestling world. Before LIJ, the former Stardust Genius stepped away from New Japan for a while, feeling mistreated by the company and abandoned by its fans. Naito spent some time in Mexico which would ultimately lead to a new beginning in NJPW upon his return. With that return, things turned around miraculously for Naito when he formed the Japanese branch of CMLL’s Los Ingobernables stable. He found a group of likeminded misfits and together they became one of New Japan’s most successful factions. Fans around the world continue to find inspiration in his story and journey toward learning to let go of the past. He is someone who will never be far away from the main event picture in NJPW.
Each of these four men has carried the banner for New Japan Pro Wrestling in his own unique way. Whether facing each other or any other of NJPW’s finest, they’ve done it with passion and because they love what they do. Fans can find inspiration in any of them. Their complex human stories have helped bring the promotion to where it is now, and they will continue to make history. Passion and undeniable talent are sure to have each of them counted among the greatest of all time. They remain essential to the the main event picture in NJPW will be forever linked as the Four Pillars of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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