10 Most Shocking NJPW Upsets
5. AJ Styles Vs. Kazuchika Okada - Wrestling Dontaku 2014
![Okada Naito](https://d2thvodm3xyo6j.cloudfront.net/media/2019/03/169acb8d6c1c5ce7-600x338.png)
Yet more evidence of Gedo's unparalleled genius, here, he created another megastar over the course of a single match - his second impossible achievement in the span of two years.
AJ Styles was not a household name in the East, but this did not deter New Japan from promoting him as such. He had last wrestled for the company in 2008, as part of the old arrangement with TNA - but hadn't, on this impression, made much of an impression with the Japanese public. Styles and Kazuchika Okada assembled a very worthy contest, lacking somewhat in the inimitable fiery drama of the true modern NJPW classics; this was AJ's first night back, and thus his lack of profile undermined the occasion.
Gedo corrected this, before the match even unfolded, by making sure fans paid attention to him after the fact: he crowned AJ Styles as IWGP Heavyweight Champion on his re-debut.
Assisted by the Bullet Club, in sacrilegious contravention of his clean finish policy, this masterstroke convinced the fans to emotionally invest in a stranger - and it worked because there was no cynicism to detect. New Japan was growing, flourishing. It didn't need to resort to the shock tactic to drum up intrigue.
It worked in and of itself, and in shaping the complexion of the top of the card, because AJ was rapidly approaching career-best form - something Gedo clearly knew.