10 Best Booking Decisions In Wrestling History

2. Kazuchika Okada's Shock IWGP Heavyweight Title Win

The Elite Comeback
NJPW

At Dominion 2023, SANADA narrowly defeated Yota Tsuji, who had just returned, reinvented, from an excursion across Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

It was an excellent match - while it didn't quite approach the peak NJPW standard, the explosive Tsuji wrestled with a boatload of presence - but that's not the point. The point is that a lot of New Japan fans thought that Tsuji could have won the big one in his first "proper" New Japan match - and that's because booker Gedo established that idea 11 full years ago when Kazuchika Okada shockingly defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at The New Beginning 2012.

The precedent for a Tsuji win happened, to reiterate, 11 years ago.

Indirectly - and this is important, since Gedo doesn't deal in short title reigns more often than not and his booking leans more on the predictable side of things - Gedo has for 11 years cultivated the idea that he always has a shock in him. Every big NJPW match is equipped with that promise, which he has not even remotely bastardised.

The decision to strap up Okada was of course brilliant in and of itself; pre-COVID, Okada, an in-ring master so gifted that he himself is able to sell an upset purely through selling for a few minutes, increased business year-on-year every year.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!