There were several departures from New Japan Pro Wrestling over the past several years, mostly when Tony Khan signed away almost every top guy that the promotion had to bolster the AEW roster. If he should’ve or if he made the most of those acquisitions is a different discussion for a different time. As I’ve written about previously, the combination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on revenue and the fact that Tony offered more money than the Japanese league could realistically compete with, New Japan has struggled the past few years. In some cases, management simply hasn’t been able to retain some of the native talent that have went on to explore their options elsewhere. Tetsuya Naito, a very popular performer for New Japan, left the company in May of last year after he couldn’t agree to terms on a new contract. As the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Naito was a centerpiece for the organization at different points when he worked in the main event scene. A few of his stablemates, including Bushi, Sanada, and Hiromu Takahashi have either already left or are rumored to be on their way out of New Japan.
Earlier this month, Naito and Bushi won the GHC tag titles in Pro Wrestling NOAH. When Naito made a surprising return cameo to New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom just a few days after winning the belts in NOAH to congratulate Hiroshi Tanahashi on his retirement at the Tokyo Dome, Naito specifically said on the mic that he probably wouldn’t wrestle in New Japan again.
For the leader of LIJ, you can’t blame him for declining the New Japan renewal offer if the money wasn’t right. At 43, you’d think that he would have a least a few more years left for his in-ring career, but Naito’s risky, and sometimes reckless, style has taken a toll on his body. Eye injuries and knee injuries are well known, but there’s also the wear and tear from years of dangerous bumps that will affect the duration of his career as well. Making the most money possible, regardless of the banner that it’s under, is the smart move for him.
While the exit of Naito was surprising because of how closely associated he was with New Japan for many years, the announcement of another mainstay leaving the company, prompting some speculation that he might ink a deal with the WWE, was also very surprising in recent years.
Evil, a 15-year pro that spent almost his entire career in New Japan, is officially on his way out of the company, as the organization itself recently announced. A member of The Bullet Club in the faction’s latter stages and a current member of The House Of Torture group, he was another talent that was a major part of the New Japan product over the past several years.
Some diehard fans of the dirt sheets have panned many of Evil’s matches, and on the surface, they might have a point. For a promotion that sells work rate and high spots to its primary audience, Evil doesn’t bring anything like that to the table. He’s not particularly fast-paced, high-flying, or hard-hitting. He’s not flashy or a bump machine the way that so many of the top guys of the modern New Japan product are for the majority of the signature NJPW events. Furthermore, considering that Japanese wrestling, even in modern times, is still mostly a sports-based presentation, the interference from The House of Torture stable is often dismissed as cannon fodder.
Taking that into account, the critics of Evil aren’t necessarily wrong, he doesn’t represent what you’d usually expect from the New Japan brand, but the reality is that chances are, that’s how his role was designed in the organization. I’m not saying that he has the skills to work circles around the rest of the NJPW roster if he was given the chance, and truthfully, I’m not sure why he would draw interest from WWE since he doesn’t do anything that others that are already on the roster don’t do in either the ring or for storylines.
However, when you examine what he was used for in key spots in New Japan, it proves that he is a capable performer that is fundamentally solid. More specifically, his exit from NJPW might be more of void on the roster for the Japanese organization than it could be an addition to the WWE, if that’s where he actually ends up. When Bushiroad, the parent company of New Japan, paid Chris Jericho a hefty amount of cash to work a few select bouts over the course of time, he worked a match with Evil. When Jon Moxley worked a handful of dates in Japan, Evil was one of his opponents. When former judo gold medalist, Aaron Wolf made his highly-anticipated debut in pro wrestling, which was one of the reasons that Wrestle Kingdom was broadcasted live on television in Japan, Evil was paired with him to ensure that the hyped match went smoothly.
As far as where anyone goes from here, most of that is probably already decided with the best timing being the actual decision to be made. With Naito and Bushi already in NOAH, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hiromu Takahashi joins them. Even though Sanada claimed that he was stepping away from the sport for the time being, when he returns, it seems like a rather easy choice to go to NOAH to reform LIJ there. It’s not unheard of that factions make the jump to other promotions in Japan, as that’s what Suzuki Gun did when it started in NJPW and took a detour to NOAH for a few years before it resurfaced in New Japan again.
As mentioned, for Evil, I really don’t know why he’d go to WWE, considering that so much of his act is tailored to specifically what his role is in New Japan. Sure, he could be repackaged to work NXT or the main roster, but again, from a fundamental point of view, he doesn’t do anything that others already on the roster don’t already do in either NXT or the main roster. Plus, the track record for Japanese talent in the men’s division hasn’t had nearly the amount of the upside of the women’s division. Shinsuke Nakamura just had a tremendous match against AJ Styles at Saturday Night’s Main Event last week, but for the past several years, he was more or less completely under the radar. The disappointing aspect is that when he won The Royal Rumble in 2018, he was in position to become the first recognized Japanese WWE champion and could’ve been a much bigger star since that time, but it didn’t materialize. Akira Tozawa does very well in his role, but he’s a secondary comedy character that would be expendable if the organization decided to make cuts to the roster. Injuries derailed Kenta’s WWE tenure, but even before that, it looked like there was a ceiling in terms of how far the company was going to push him. Assuming that Evil signs a WWE deal, I’m guessing that he will be a name on the roster that eventually fades in the background, but hopefully, I’m wrong.
The bigger point from the recent exits from New Japan has less to do with an individual performer, although Naito leaving does take away one of the organization’s popular drawing cards, and more to do with he continued struggle that the promotion will have to maintain a level of depth to the roster. The fact that a few more guys are leaving to start the new year with the departures of Evil, Sanada, and Takahashi indicates that either the revenue isn’t there to justify the contracts or talent simply view other places as a better career option based on the current status of New Japan. Don’t get me wrong, the company is stable because of the funding of Bushiroad, but the impact that the promotion will have on the industry will be minimal until they can rebuild the roster.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
