10 Best Babyfaces In NJPW

10. Toru Yano

The loveable rogue, Toru Yano is the perfect example of a heel turning into one of the best babyfaces in New Japan.

Starting in Great Bash Heel with Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe, Yano eventually turned on his teammates to join the new heel faction Chaos led by Shinsuke Nakamura. The crowd hated what they did to Honma and Makabe and embraced it, using dirty GBH tactics to keep Chaos on top.

In 2020, although Yano still uses that sneaky style from low blows to taking off the turnbuckle, people are now cheering for him. Toru Yano is the epitome of a clown from his entrance to being announced as the curry master or seller of DVDs. He’s taken everything that made him a dastardly heel and turned it into something seen as innocent and cheeky.

Yano is the perfect example of how to take a heel and make him a babyface without getting rid of their essence. Crowds are shouting along with Yano and buying his merch, so he is definitely doing something right.