FIGURES IN HISTORY:
NJPW’s MOST INFLUENTIAL NAMES
By Jasmine Olan
Over the course of nearly five decades, New Japan Pro Wrestling has emerged as one of professional wrestling’s most successful and influential promotions. With a roster like theirs, it’s no surprise that this has been the case. Every generation of wrestlers that have come through its ranks has included some of the international wrestling scene’s most influential stars. Those performers have have each helped set the industry standard in terms of match quality and story telling. This has played a major role in the company’s success over the years. From home grown talent to foreign born stars, each generation of New Japan’s finest has inspired others and had their own unique impact on pro wrestling as a whole.
It all began in 1972 with the company’s founder, Antonio Inoki. While New Japan Pro Wrestling was built in large part on tradition, it was built partly on taking chances. Inoki made a huge gamble when broke away from the Japan Wrestling Alliance and struck out on his own. What was born from that gamble is now the number two wrestling promotion in the entire world. The example Inoki set by doing this can be seen in the creation of other promotions like IMPACT and ALL ELITE WRESTLING. It stands as a testament to how sometimes betting on yourself can be the best gamble you ever make.
Over time New Japan Pro Wrestling would go on to create some the industry’s biggest stars through working relationships as well as hugely successful dojo system. Legends like Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami would each inspire future generations with their talent and passion. With hard hitting and beautifully paced matches, they helped show the world the fighting spirit NJPW would become so well known as well as the promotion’s connection to its fans. They helped lay the groundwork for a lot of what we see in New Japan today.
The New Japan dojo system would also produce the original “Three Musketeers”, Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto. The impact these three men had on the international wrestling scene is still felt now. Mutoh and Chono helped elevate the G1 Climax tournament to the level of prestige associated with it today. That began with the precedent they set at the first ever G1 finals in 1991. Their feud would also serve as a kind of template for some of NJPW’s greatest rivalries. Meanwhile Hashimoto would go on to become one of the greatest IWGP Heavyweight champions of all time. They would all rule top international wrestling scene throughout the 1990s.
Years later, a new “Three Musketeers” would emerge in the form of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Katsuyori Shibata. Tanahashi and Nakamura would have a legendary feud very similar to the one between Mutoh and Chono. Shibata would go on to become one of the most respected performers of his generation and is now helping create future generations of NJPW stars as head coach at the LA dojo. During New Japan’s darkest times, Tanahashi would carry the company on his back for the better part of a decade as its loyal Ace. Before leaving NJPW for WWE, Nakamura would do his best to elevate the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to a level of prestige very close to that of the promotion’s highest honor, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Their influence is truly undeniable.
New Japan’s roster has also included many of the best junior heavyweight wrestlers. The greatest among them would play a huge role in the junior heavyweight boom in the 1990s. Jyushin Thunder Liger helped put his weight class on the map in a way no one else ever has. Set to retire in January of 2020, Liger has found major success and critical acclaim throughout his thirty four career. He helped create the Super J Cup tournament and held the prestigious IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship a historic eleven times. His heir apparent was found years later in KUSHIDA who would become one of the most respected juniors of his generation. Many of today’s most popular juniors site Liger and KUSHIDA as their inspirations.
One of the most important parts of a wrestling promotion is its booking staff. The best of this is NJPW’s booking team of Gedo and Jado. After taking over as lead bookers for the company, they helped turn things around during New Japan’s darkest hour. They would also be partly responsible for the massive success of one of the greatest IWGP Heavyweight champions of all time, the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada. Gedo and Jado also had a hand in the success of one of New Japan’s greatest foreign born stars, Kenny Omega who be the face of the promotion’s western expansion for years. Their long term booking style continues to be essential to the success of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Few wrestling promotions have inspired they way NJPW has. From its booking style to the prestige of its tournaments and championships, New Japan has consistently set and raised the bar for what professional wrestling is and what it can be. Its example is followed by many others, and its performers remain at the top of the international wrestling scene. Those who have been instrumental in its success are some of the industry’s most highly regarded names. Throughout their careers, they have each become important figures in wrestling history.
