In a wrestling landscape where there is more and more division spawning at the seams of social media thanks to tribalism and misinformation, we as fans have forgotten what it was like to truly sit down at a show or in front of our screens and enjoy professional wrestling. Where disillusionment, alienation, and frustration towards the likes of WWE and AEW blossom online, I’d like to share a possible beacon away from hate-watching and constant disappointment. Come with me towards the safe, cerulean blue shores of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Starting the year hot with the traditional Tokyo Dome shows in the first week of the new year, New Japan and their global partners showcased the world’s best professional wrestlers in their element, putting on critically acclaimed showings that set the online wrestling world ablaze. The likes of Gabe Kidd, Yota Tsuji, Konosuke Takeshita and more walked out of the Dome with much needed momentum on the march to the next show of New Japan’s calendar, “New Beginning in Osaka” on February 11th.
After a pair of shows like Wrestle Kingdom 19 and Wrestle Dynasty, the term “New Beginning” feels fitting. Could the buzz generated from them mark a new beginning for New Japan–a shot of adrenaline and popularity not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic? For now, that remains to be seen, but signs point in a positive direction with the February 11th card, with younger stars being awarded marquee matches with many of the company’s top championships on the line.
New Japan is finally doing what it, and many Western companies, have been urged to do by fans in the past–establishing younger stars to carry the company banner into the future, maintaining momentum, rather than relying on stop-start pushes. In doing so, 2025 could be the year that New Japan cements the start of an actual new era for the company, creating future major players while ushering the old guard out, as in the case of company President Tanahashi’s retirement tour. Let’s look at some of the competitors on the Osaka card and who New Japan could and should invest stocks in for the years ahead.
Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa:
“Japanese Young Punk” Kosei Fujita, one half of the current IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions, has “star” written all over him. The twenty-two year old became the youngest competitor to ever hold an IWGP championship after winning the titles (alongside Robbie Eagles) at January’s Wrestle Kingdom. Making Fujita a champion at such an age, this soon into his career establishes the company’s faith in him. With mentors like Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and the rest of TMDK-proper, he has all the means in the world to hone the skills, technique, and charisma needed to send his stocks skyward. With his current track record, having won the Super Junior Tag League, there is no reason why he cannot follow in the footsteps of a Hiromu Takahashi, a Will Ospreay, or an El Desperado in becoming a future Best of the Super Jr tournament winner and Junior Heavyweight Champion. Alongside the likes of Master Wato and the current standout Young Lions like President Tanahashi’s personal trainee, Daiki Nagai, the future of the Junior Heavyweight division is in safe hands.
Continuing the TMDK theme, Ryohei Oiwa walks into New Beginning hot off of his first Korakuen Hall singles main event win, where he defeated decorated tag-team wrestler and New Japan veteran, YOSHI-HASHI. The two came to blows during and after their tag match at New Year’s Dash, with Zack Sabre Jr. egging on his protege as he traded chops and forearm strikes with the long-time member of CHAOS. Oiwa prevailed after an intense battle between the two, trading chops and brutal strikes before hitting “The Grip” discus lariat for the pinfall victory. Oiwa is currently positioned as the young hot-head of TMDK, bearing the naivety befitting his lacking experience, but the physical Kobashi-like build and inner fire of his roots in Pro Wrestling NOAH, a battle-ready youthfulness in other words. With Fujita as a possible future Junior Heavyweight ace, Oiwa can be his parallel for the Heavyweight division, with “The Grip” acting as successor to the likes of Ishii, Makabe, Takagi and more with his harder-hitting style. In my eyes, Ryohei Oiwa will be much like Ishii in the sense that regardless of a match result, their opponent would have “survived” the match rather than won or lost. Oiwa has the potential to become an indomitable force in New Japan.
Konosuke Takeshita & Oleg Boltin:
The NEVER Openweight Championship will be contested in a match between Oleg Boltin and Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita enters the show off of a god-like presentation and performance in the Tokyo Dome in back-to-back nights, as well as following the news of him signing a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling, making him a three-company competitor (NJPW, AEW, DDT). Holding championships in both AEW and New Japan simultaneously, Takeshita seeks to “unite the pro wrestling world,” and his increasing presence in promotions globally sees him continuing towards this goal with each tour he participates in. His presentation in New Japan dwarfs that of his AEW presentation to a fair degree, the scale of his entrances, the crowd receptions he receives, the indescribable energy that permeates from him when competing in Japan when compared to his (still highly impressive) work States-side. The thought of a future full-time New Japan/DDT run not out of the realm of possibility, especially with the official passing of UJPW (United Japan Pro Wrestling) as a general incorporated association in January 2025. The likes of New Japan, DDT, and others will work in close proximity together under one collective, cooperative banner–one Takeshita could easily be the face of.
In the case of his opponent, Boltin is entering the year having just received the Tokyo Sports “Rookie of the Year” award for 2024, being positioned strongly beside the likes of company president Hiroshi Tanahashi, and holding impressive wins over the likes of Takeshita in 2024. His connection to the crowd, having spent many years in the country and becoming fluent highlight the investment he’s made in his presence there, and the returned investment New Japan is making in him in his strong positioning on the card since his debut at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in an exhibition match against the aforementioned Ryohei Oiwa. He is just as much a New Japan Pro Wrestling “homegrown” talent as the likes of Kosei Fujita, and Yota Tsuji (more on him later), and in the case of both he and Takeshita, championships and tournament wins feel like a guaranteed part of their career under the Lion’s Mark.
Yota Tsuji & Gabe Kidd:
In the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match, Gabe Kidd seeks to dethrone the current champion, Yota Tsuji. Both Kidd and Tsuji had star-making performances in the Tokyo Dome against Kenny Omega and David Finlay, respectively, cementing themselves as bonafide standouts within the Heavyweight Division of New Japan Pro Wrestling and standard-bearers for the company going into the new year. Both represent Japanese Strong Style with their own respective twists. For Gabe there are subtleties alluding to his career upbringing within the British technical/Lancashire style, as it is known in Japan and brawling; for Tsuji there are indications of his time in Mexico with his penchant for Lucha Libre. Both bear an anti-hero sense, belonging to heel-leaning factions (Los Ingobernables de Japon, Bullet Club War Dogs), but are beloved by the fans for their fighting spirit, their respect for New Japan Pro Wrestling and the duty they feel to be the top star and leading example for other competitors within the company. Tsuji’s cool-head contrasts with Kidd’s intensity, and both claim New Japan as their own. They are two sides of the same coin in many ways. This conflict between them, despite having so much in common, is what evokes the sensation of this being the first in a series of clashes between the two in the coming years–a recurring rivalry to reach the top of the mountain in New Japan and act as its protector, gatekeeper, standard-bearer. With Tsuji having defeated Jack Perry, a spy for AEW’s Kazuchika Okada (to him at least), he seeks to protect the company. For Kidd, he wears the Lion Mark on his gear, he carries its legacy in his use of the Enziguri and Cobra Twist– New Japan’s history is integral to his presentation- he acknowledges the past and leads it to a new future. The Global Heavyweight Title and future of New Japan Pro Wrestling is at stake in this clash between an unstoppable force and immovable object.
Let’s take a step away from seeing and engaging in social media disagreements, tribalism, and hate generally. Let’s remember why we became fans in the first place. Perhaps we can all find some peace under the Cerulean Sky and the burning fire of the Lion’s Mark.
