In the ever-evolving landscape of professional wrestling, few promotions command the reverence and global influence of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). For years, NJPW has been synonymous with its hard-hitting, unparalleled in-ring athleticism, compelling storytelling, and a roster teeming with unique talent. However, recent seismic shifts within the wrestling world have forced a new era—one earmarked by the departure of two of its most celebrated stars in recent history, Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay.
The departures of Okada and Ospreay, both seen as some of the greatest wrestlers of all time, whose names were closely tied to NJPW and widely recognised in the wrestling world, have raised doubts about the promotion’s future direction.
These exits represent more than just the loss of individual performers; they signify a pivotal moment of transition and transformation for NJPW—a moment that demands a bold vision, planning, and a reinvigorated commitment to building fresh talent and multiple “Ace’s” of the company.
More lost than gained
Typically, in the world of New Japan Pro Wrestling, when a big star or leader of a faction is on their way out, a replacement is already being groomed on the sidelines to step up and take their place. We see this time after time with Bullet Club.
When Prince Devitt left NJPW, AJ Styles stepped up. When AJ’s time was up, Kenny Omega became the new leader. Then, when Kenny was “kicked out,” Jay White took over. Do you see the trend? It’s a tried and tested formula that helps to immediately push a talent that we all know can be a top star to that main event—and in dramatic fashion too. However, this time around, the loss of talent seemed to have been just that—a loss.
Let’s take a quick look at Kazuchika Okada’s final matches in NJPW. He was the current Openweight Six-Man Champion with, NJPW president, Hiroshi Tanahashi and, fellow CHAOS teammate, Tomohiro Ishii. A match was confirmed in his final weeks, where they would defend the belts against TMDK.
Within the trio of TMDK was Kosei Fujita. Someone the fanbase has been hot on due to his explosive style, and each time he wrestles, he seems to get better and better. What a moment it would be if he and his fellow teammates could overthrow Okada and co. to secure those belts… no. Okada, Tanahashi, and Ishii win, retaining the titles, and immediately after the win, Okada decides to vacate the belts during one of his farewell speeches.
He then goes on to have two more matches in NJPW, one against Tanahashi and the other in a multi-man match against Matt Riddle and United Empire, again, winning them all. There was no passing of any kind of torch; Okada just wins.
What’s concerning about Okada’s departure is that he was the leader of CHAOS, one of the longest-standing factions in NJPW and the de facto “face” faction (which has slowly been overtaken by Los Ingobernables de Japon).
This faction, as far as we are all aware, is now leaderless. No one seems to have stepped up and taken ownership, with no CHAOS members standing out in recent shows aside from Goto’s recent New Japan Cup run. This same trend has occurred with Ospreay’s United Empire.
Unlike Okada, Ospreay left with a real bang, and had one of my favourite matches of the year against the Bullet Club War Dogs in a 10-man dog cage match. His feud with Finlay and the War Dogs ended with a loss, helping to put over this faction that faced questions in the past, which, from what I can see, has elevated each member to new heights.
Finlay looked almost set for New Japan Cup glory if it hadn’t been for his illness, and that was in-part due to the momentum building that Ospreay had a hand in. But this still left NJPW almost empty handed, as post-match, Ospreay was given his flowers and a heartfelt farewell, leaving United Empire behind without their leader.
There have been hints of TJP opting to step up, but it doesn’t feel like this “step up” is doing anything for TJP’s career or United Empire’s legacy. Another faction who are now in limbo and directionless.
Another fairly important member of New Japan’s recent history is Tama Tonga. Who is expected to be signing with WWE, according to reports. His farewell was less grand, but it still leaves his Guerillas of Destruction (GoD) in obscurity.
But now that the dust has settled on Okada, Ospreay, and Tama Tonga’s exits, it leaves a wide-open door for new talent to step up and fill the very large boots left behind. But that doesn’t begin and end with the talent themselves. This is all up to New Japan’s leadership and creative direction.
Tanahashi & Gedo: Great power, even more responsibility
It seems that Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is now president of NJPW, has more power than he ever did in the company, and alongside long-term booker, Gedo, they play a vital role in filling the holes left by Okada and Ospreay.
At the time of writing this, it feels as though NJPW is going through a transitional phase, relying heavily on current, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Tetsuya Naito to hold up the main event scene, while Gedo experiments with the mid and lower card to help decide where we go post-Naito.
We’ve also seen some knee-jerk booking decisions to help usher in some more household names from the west, such as Matt Riddle and Nic Nemeth, both of whom won titles on their debuts in New Japan. Alongside this, we have been treated (and I use that term loosely) to plenty of House of Torture matches and involvements in recent weeks and months.
EVIL and his team of villains are all generally seasoned in New Japan and know how to get a reaction from the crowd. Adding to this is Jack Perry, who is by no means a household name, but does add some prestige following his altercation with CM Punk at last year’s AEW All In event.
We have, however, seen a lot of hope and promise come from Tanahashi, Gedo, and the recent booking in New Japan Pro Wrestling. In a recent interview, Tanahashi highlighted the focus and need for creating and keeping ‘big stars’.
He said, “This is a star driven business, and we need to make new stars… That goes beyond success in the ring as well – mainstream awareness and name value is the key to success. I want more of our wrestlers becoming household names.”
Following on from this, we have seen a number of young lions return from excursion over the last 18 months who are destined for the main event. Most recently, Yota Tsuji won his first New Japan Cup and challenged fellow LIJ teammate, Naito, to an IWGP World title match.
He was unsuccessful in this, but it marks a shift in a new crop of challengers emerging. Tsuji is one of the three Reiwa Three Musketeers, including Shota Umino, and House of Torture’s Ren Narita, a term coined by NJPW themselves to recognise these three as the future of the company and a nod to the original “Three Musketeers of Fighting Spirit” which included Masahiro Chono, Shinya Hashimoto, and Keiji Muto.
In 2004, this term was also used to reference that generation of three stars that included Shinsuke Nakamura, Katsuyori Shibata, and Hiroshi Tanahashi himself. If this is anything to go by, these three men are destined for greatness in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Only time will tell…
It is pivotal that the handling of young stars is expertly performed, as if this is not executed the way it has in the past with the likes of a young Okada, Tanahashi, Shibata, etc., it could be detrimental to not only NJPW, but the individual’s career.
We know that Gedo and his team have the ability to nail this, due to his track record in previous years, but we also know that this “new era” of New Japan is rather fresh, and any blip could delay a potential star’s rise. A prime example at the time of writing is Yuya Uemura.
This young star had almost everything you wanted when kicking off a surge to the top: the looks, the in-ring ability, charisma, and a fan base behind him. He was also the newest member of the then world champion, SANADA’s faction, Just5Guys.
However, since his Wrestle Kingdom 18 win against Yota Tsuji, another touted “next big thing,” we all thought this could be the start of a new top star. But since then, he has been on the receiving end of some damaging losses, which has stalled any momentum he may have garnered from such a big win. The first in a ‘hair vs. hair’ rematch with Tsuji, and the next in the New Japan Cup, where he loses in the first round to Shingo Takagi (the same tournament that Tsuji won).
Thankfully, though, all hope is not just pinned on the Reiwa Three or Yuya Uemura. New Japan has buckets of potential on its books already. Let’s take a look at them.
Filling the void: NJPW’s rising talent
New Japan Pro Wrestling is infamous for developing talent and has a formula for success, the Young Lion system, that has helped produce some of the biggest Japanese wrestlers to exist.
To name a few, this system has produced talents like Jushin Thunder Liger, Keiji Mutoh, Ultimo Dragon, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), Testuya Naito, and more recently, big names like Jay White and Hiromu Takahashi, who the latter, can be seen as the Ace of the junior division.
But that’s all in the past; we’re looking to the future of NJPW, and if you ask me, the future is brighter than people think.
Kicking off by referencing the Bullet Club War Dogs, each member of this faction—bar Dan ‘Drilla’ Moloney—are Young Lion or New Japan Dojo graduates. The leader, David Finlay, has been a mainstay in New Japan for quite some time, drifting the midcard before recently turning heel and becoming the new leader of Bullet Club, forming the War Dogs in his reign.
He sets to be, for the time being, the top “Gaijin” (foreign wrestler) heel for the promotion, and with his War Dogs by his side, this looks like it’s set in stone. Following very closely behind Finlay in that “top heel Gaijin” role is fellow War Dog, Gabe Kidd.
Kidd has recently been making waves both in-ring with his hard-hitting, old school, shoot style approach and through his deeply passionate (and mostly aggressive) promos, one of which ridiculed the current state of New Japan Pro Wrestling and targeted Tanahashi… I can feel Gedo cooking something spicy here.
Another foreign wrestler from New Japan who is almost pinned to be Naito’s successor is Zack Sabre Jr.. ZSJ has been with NJPW since 2017 and, in that time, has proven his loyalty to the company. In recent interviews and promos, he has staked his claim to stay with New Japan ‘forever’ and to fill the gaps left behind by Okada and Ospreay.
In a recent interview, he said, “Well, even in a scenario where Okada and Will stay, I would still feel that 2024 had to be the year I become a top main eventer in New Japan… Obviously there is a gap with the two of them leaving and I do feel I’m best qualified to step into that gap.“ He doesn’t just talk the talk, ZSJ is one of the greatest technical wrestlers to exist, always finding inventive and unique ways to win matches.
Looking closer to home, and by home, I mean Japan, outside of the Reiwa Three Musketeers, there is a wide pool of talent who the fans adore and who have everything they need to make that step up. There are a number of wrestlers that have already solidified themselves as main event worthy and have already done it in numerous large shows.
This includes former world champions EVIL, SANADA, and Shingo Takagi, and other mainstays such as El Desperado seem to be consistently growing in popularity with New Japan fans, suggesting a jump from the junior division to the heavyweight. The same can be said about Hiromu Takahashi, who appears to have ‘done it all’ in the junior division.
Focusing on the new generation, we have to start with the Reiwa Three Musketeers. Yota Tsuji is the standout at the time of writing, already having a world title opportunity and a New Japan Cup win under his belt. He exudes charisma and is one of the most consistent men in the ring, balancing athleticism and power, making him a perfect opponent for any size or style wrestler.
Next up is Shota Umino, who has been likened to Hiroshi Tanahashi (which already says all you need to). He has been hard done by recently with his feud with House of Torture, but is equipped and ready to be the next star in New Japan. Last but certainly not least of the three is Ren Narita.
Ren at first seemed to be the furthest behind in terms of his character and direction, but since turning heel and really leaning into his new persona, he has almost leapfrogged the others in terms of discovering his identity.
Outside of these three, we already touched on Kosei Fujita from TMDK, who shines in every match that he is a part of. He looks to have a strong 2024, and hopefully some more singles matches where he can truly shine. Currently out on excursion in the UK are OSKAR, and Yuto Nakashima. They are both currently still within New Japan’s development programme, and are destined for some great things.
Young Blood, which is what they go by as a team, are one of the first Young Lions to go out on excursion as a team, which shows that NJPW has high hopes for them in their tag division down the line. Unfortunately, Nakashima has become injured early on in the excursion, but OSKAR is currently killing it in the UK independent scene.
This is just a snapshot of my opinion of the next stars in New Japan. We also have the likes of Master Wato, when he returns from injury, SHO, YOH, HENARE, and El Phantasmo. There are many that, with the right story, creative decisions, and timing, can be a success.
Moving forward as the NEW New Japan
Look, losing Okada and Ospreay is going to hurt any company. They are trendsetters, trailblazers and can go viral with any match they put on. But as we have seen year after year, decade after decade, the boots left behind will always be filled.
We will obviously not have a new Okada or a new Ospreay, because ultimately, we don’t want that. The world of professional wrestling is exciting because things change. We get new match types, we get new characters, we see moves reinvented over and over again, new catchphrases to print on t-shirts and hats… you get the idea.
While we are all sad to see New Japan Okada and Ospreay-less, I for one am excited to see this NEW New Japan and what direction Tanahashi, Gedo, and co. take this company in. I’m confident that that direction is only one way.
Forward.
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