I was a regular NJPW viewer back in 2016 until 2020, after watching Kenny Omega beat Goto in the finals of the G1 Climax. And then with the Omega-Okada saga, the rise of Naito and the roster of amazing characters such as Suzuki, Toru Yano, all of LIJ and BC… I got hooked and never turned back. NJPW was my main focus as a wrestling fan.
When Naito beat Okada at WK14, it was the end of an era for me. It all culminated so perfectly. This story that was years in the making reached an emotional level that I had never felt as a pro-wrestling fan.
Although NJPW is known as the holy grail for the pro-wrestling in the world, I never cared so much about that. Of course, Omega vs Okada was a match-up made in heaven when it comes to technical prowess in the ring. But Naito vs Okada was special for me because it wasn’t simply a wrestling match, it was an emotional and psychological war. It wasn’t about who was the best pro-wrestler, it was about Naito fulfilling his destiny against his dojo brother turned legend.
This storytelling is what makes NJPW so unique, and I believe that the creative team behind the curtains knows about that.
And for a match like Naito vs Okada to have this kind of feel around it, it takes time. And during this time, it might fail, but it’s always a matter of knowing how to build upon that and make that failure be part of something larger (that is one of Gedo’s strongest suits in my opinion).
I watched WK19 yesterday after a 5 year hiatus, and the roster of new names such as Shota, Narita, Yota Tsuji… It’s really exciting to see these new names coming up in a NJPW roster that is currently rebuilding itself after suffering and recovering from the pandemic.
From what I know about NJPW, it’s a company that goes through this type of cycle time and time again. And, to be honest, I was quite hyped to watch WK19 yesterday because of that. I can only think what the low-heat main event of ZSJ vs Shota will bring to Shota’s character arch throughout the years.
Maybe I have my rose tinted glasses on, and I’m giving hype for an uncertain future, but I believe that WK19 will be seen as a Wrestle Kingdom that was the beginning stage for many of the biggest stars in NJPW 5-10 years from now.
I really missed puroresu, and I really missed NJPW. So glad to be back.
Fuck AEW btw
by Thomson5