10 Best Non-WWE Wrestlers Of 2016 (So Far)

2. Kazuchika Okada

Jay Lethal WCPW
njpw1972.com

Only days into the year, Okada already cemented himself as one of the greatest - and most important - wrestlers in the world. On January 4, the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion defended his title against archrival Hiroshi Tanahashi in what was, quite simply, the greatest match in wrestling history.

The stakes could not have been higher, and Okada's victory - his first win over Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome - made him the new ace of New Japan.

Since then, the 28-year-old has been proving why he's the right man to anchor the company into the 2020s. He took control of the CHAOS stable following Shinsuke Nakamura's departure for WWE, then defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title against an angry and focused Hirooki Goto.

After the match, he successfully convinced Goto to join CHAOS, then brought Will Ospreay into the group. While interference from SANADA, EVIL, and BUSHI led Okada to lose the championship to Tetsuya Naito at Invasion Attack, Okada beat SANADA in a grudge match, then won the belt back from Naito at Dominion, making him a four-time champion.

Okada's achievements can't all be listed so simply, though - the real reason he's had such a great half-year is because he's so talented. Blending a puroresu style with lucha libre-influenced offense he learned from Ultimo Dragon in Mexico, Okada is a super-worker whose entire body of ringwork perfectly fits today's pro wrestling scene - it's a hybrid in a day and age where wrestling from around the world is more accessible than ever, and it makes Okada one of the best.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013