10 Reasons To Get Into NJPW In 2019
5. The Fall & Rise & Fall & Rise Of Tetsuya Naito
This time last year, the world waited for Tetsuya Naito rise back to the top of New Japan Pro Wrestling following an assumed victory over long-standing IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. It didn't happen, and the storm that brewed over Naito's feathered fringe as a result of 'The Rainmaker's victory lingered for much of the year.
Up and down matches and moments with the likes of Minoru Suzuki and Chris Jericho were no-sold as always by the 'Tranquilo' leader of the ultra-popular Los Ingobernables de Japon, but it wasn't until the G1 Climax that he finally got his mojo back.
Typical for his year, it was in defeat against tournament rival Kenny Omega that the old Naito finally seemed to permanently reemerge. He's had to wait patiently for his rematch against Chris Jericho for a belt he theoretically doesn't even want, but few ever doubted his ability to stay cool under such professional pressures.
A year on from a devastating Tokyo Dome defeat, Naito again goes into Wrestle Kingdom with the hopes, dreams and expectations of his devoted fanbase balled up in his group's closed fist solidarity gesture. Should the result differ from how things turned out in 2018, expect the rest of the year to follow in that same upward trajectory.