New Japan Pro Wrestling, the league founded by the legendary late promoter, Antonio Inoki, will see another main event star depart the promotion in a matter of weeks, as the company announced that former IWGP champion, Tetsuya Naito will exit the organization after his scheduled bout on May 4 in Fukuoka. The news was confirmed by New Japan on their website, with NJPW president, Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is set to retire from in-ring competition in January, wishing him the best in the future. While this is still surprising when you take into account Naito’s immense popularity over the past several years, including when the organization had a surge in popularity in the time period before the launch of All Elite Wrestling, it’s not completely shocking. Last month, Tokyo Sports reported that Naito was working as a free agent for the company because he and management had yet to reach an agreement on a new deal, prompting questions about his future.
His Los Ingobernables de Japon stable mate, Bushi, a standout jr. heavyweight in the promotion, is also set to leave as well, implying that the duo could make the jump to take the faction elsewhere as a team.
Make no mistake about it, Bushi is a solid in-ring performer, but the much bigger story, with no disrespected intended to him, is that Tetsuya Naito, another former main event guy for NJPW, is going to leave the company.
On one hand, despite only being 42, an age that would usually allow for at least a few more prime years, there’s no doubt that in some ways, at least from an in-ring perspective, Naito is damaged goods. He worked a very risky, and sometimes, a downright reckless in-ring style. The amount of ridiculous and outright dangerous bumps that he took for a noticeable portion of his career, have definitely taken their toll on his body. A serious eye injury that required a few surgeries, and several knee injuries shortened the length of his physical prime as an athlete. It should be noted by the numerous young wrestlers that try to emulate the Japanese style that this is often the reality of the risk taken in the squared circle.
On the other hand, Naito is popular enough that he could let his cache as a star and charisma work in his favor as a substitute for some of the in-ring maneuvers that have worn down his body over the years. Ironically, Kota Ibushi had some very memorable and very dangerous matches with Naito, including a Tokyo Dome main event at Wrestle Kingdom in 2021. Ibushi was on the sidelines for almost two years because of a major shoulder injury, which prompted him to leave New Japan, but his appearances in 2023 for AEW were underwhelming, and he has only worked a handful of matches in Japan since that time. Who knows if he’s still on the All Elite roster, but the point being that he went from one of the most incredible athletes in the entire business to more or less off the radar, which proves it only takes one major injury to completely change the trajectory of a career.
Speaking of career path, what’s next for Naito and Bushi?
As I said, I think they will arrive to their next destination as a team to bring the stable to a new organization. If that wasn’t the plan, I doubt they would both leave at the same time. Given that there were extensive contract talks between Naito and New Japan before this decision was made, I’d guess that the highest bidder will probably be the group that will sign him. That notion could provide some insight into what this exit says about New Japan as an organization, particularly the impact that the combination of the start of AEW and the pandemic had on the company.
It goes without saying that New Japan can’t realistically compete with a billionaire. It’s a harsh reality, but it’s simple economics, Tony Khan can offer exponentially more money if he wants to sign a talent, and more often than not, it’s a situation where it’s a number that a performer can’t decline because of the financial security that it provides after they retire. There’s nothing wrong with that either, that’s the entire point of the industry to make as much money as possible for as long as possible. Many talents did their legacy work earlier in their career in NJPW, but All Elite was the chance to get a level of financial security based on their previous effort.
In short, if Tony Khan wants a talent on the New Japan roster, he’s going to get them to sign with his company when the opportunity presents itself. However, that’s not the case here, as Naito didn’t have an offer waiting to go to the United States, or at least there haven’t been any reports of it. In this situation, it appears that Naito wanted more money than New Japan could offer so he’s going to test the free agent market to try to get a better deal elsewhere. That might be more of a statement about New Japan’s financial situation more than anything else. That’s not to say that the company is in jeopardy, as the Bushi Road parent company is very secure, but rather that limited revenue from the wrestling project could’ve affected the amount of money that NJPW management could realistically offer him.
It’s possible that the COVID-19 pandemic affected New Japan more than any other major pro wrestling company in the world because their primary source of revenue is still ticket sales, despite the expanded distribution and merchandise under the Bushi Road banner. When events were shuttered, there wasn’t money bring brought into the organization, while there were still contracts to be paid for the talent. When limited capacity was allowed, it drastically reduced the profit margin for events so even three years after the wrestling world got back to normal, there’s still a ripple effect from the pandemic era. New Japan has a television deal, but they don’t have the hefty media rights contracts that are common in the United States in the modern era since there of difference between the media landscape in the Japanese market.
As far as Tetsuya Naito and Bushi, I’d guess that their next stop is Pro Wrestling NOAH, mostly because the Cyber Fight parent company, which is known for its streaming and advertising agency in Japan, is probably the group that can offer him the most money to ink a contract. I’m not sure the addition of Naito at this point in his career is that much of a big splash for NOAH, but it definitely bolsters the roster to some degree, specifically sine Kenta recently returned to the company on a full-time basis. It’s not out of the question that Bushi might actually get more spotlight in NOAH given the light heavyweight division in the organization.
The biggest takeaway from this story is the fact that on an already thin roster, New Japan has another former main event star leave the company. Again, that’s not to say that it’s going to fold, as every company in the history of the industry has peaks and valleys, but rather to point out that NJPW isn’t in the position to be nearly as much of a commodity as it was nearly a decade ago. How long it takes New Japan to replenish itself remains to be seen, but this is definitely a rebuild era for the company.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
