10 Awesome Ways Wrestlers Got Back At Critics
6. Tetsuya Naito Vs New Japan Pro Wrestling
Tetsuya Naito's fabulous and transcendent "Tranquilo" turn ultimately proved to the missing piece of a puzzle New Japan Pro Wrestling had struggled to complete for years, getting him over as inarguably the most popular star in the company in the polar opposite manner to how they'd expected.
Naito's G1 Climax victory in 2013 was designed to be the catalyst for his heroic ascent, but instead sowed the seeds for every unusual twist that followed. His hard-earned Wrestle Kingdom 8 title shot was - just months before the match was due to take place - greeted with scorn by both the audience and IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada, so much so that NJPW offered fans the opportunity to vote for what contest should main event the Tokyo Dome. In a damning reveal of an inconvenient truth, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental Title won the poll, kicking what should have been the biggest match of Naito's life into a semi-main event slot.
An excursion to Mexico in the aftermath of this personal and professional snub changed everything. Joining CMLL's Los Ingobernables group, he brought the brand new attitude back to Japan, eventually forming Los Ingobernables de Japon in the image of its Mexican origins and becoming the hottest performer in organisation as result.
In the face of vitriolic rejection, he'd become a made man.