10 Best NJPW Wrestlers Of 2016
3. Tetsuya Naito
Naito sent the wrestling world into a spin when he completely abandoned his squeaky-clean babyface gimmick for the snide, disrespectful Ingobernables stable in CMLL. Once he returned to New Japan he quickly recruited followers and came charging into 2016 with serious momentum. His WK10 loss to Goto was redeemed in the finals of the New Japan Cup and Naito went on to become only one of two performers to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Title in 2016.
Did the crowd boo when the dastardly heel stole the championship? Absolutely not. LIJ has gotten over as the most popular stable in New Japan and continues to add quality talent to its ranks in the form of Sanada and Hiromu Takahashi (formerly Kamaitachi). Though he only held it for a month it solidified Naito's place as one of the top heels in the company.
In-ring wise he has had stellar encounters with Okada, Ishii, Elgin, and one of the best matches of the year against Kenny Omega. Though he has missed out on the WK11 main event we will surely see him there many times in the near future.