With the news of Naito leaving NJPW. And with one of the pillars of the 2010s. It really got me thinking what did the 2010s to Pre-Pandemic new japan had that made themselves the pinnacle of the wrestling world.
Now obviously the easy answers would be the matches, the stories, and the top level talent involved. But I feel like there had to be more reasons than that.
When I first got into ROH and saw the bullet club shirt. And then I saw some matches that year with new Japan talent and some highlights. I loved what I was seeing but I never watched a full njpw show until WK11.
I think for me outside of the match quality/stories & the top level talent that catch your eye. What made new japan seem so unique was their format of how they perceive wrestling. I watched WWE & TNA since I was a child but the 2010s was not a good time to watch neither company.
Then NJPW comes in as this new thing that doesn't feel predictable and feels like they're system is so different than anything I've seen before. Almost every wrestler looked different had their specific roles clear. And little details mattered more in a lot of matches.
And of course the crowds were electric. It didn't matter if it was a small show in Koruken Hall the fans were louder than any Mania over the years.
The weakest thing I think new Japan had during the time was their tag divisions. Weirdly enough it took a pandemic for them to give a shit about the tag titles in exciting feuds.
by DeathTriangle720