10 Things WWE Doesn't Want You To Know About NJPW

7. Wrestling Is Better When It Makes Sense

Okada plays the Crystal Maze
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New Japan Pro Wrestling has garnered so much critical acclaim in recent years because booker Gedo is as ingenius with the pencil as the top stars are in the ring.

Fans want to invest in programmes, which require some sort of foundational logic to enable that investment. In New Japan, tension isn't instigated by lobbing produce at heels; the sports-oriented, tournament-heavy framework generates organic stories with genuine stakes and reasoning. By installing, for example, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the G1 Climax tournament, New Japan creates both an anything-can-happen mentality and a platform on which to let a prospective star shine. Midcard act EVIL defeated Okada in this year's G1, affording him a crack at the Heavyweight crown later in the year. He failed to wrest the title away from him at October's King Of Pro-Wrestling, but main and subplots were advanced: Okada's Ace legacy continued, and EVIL's growth from Young Lion to star was chronicled further.

New Japan operates as a meritocracy, onscreen and off. Performers don't get the rocket strapped to their backs because they have the look, but not the star quality nor the promo game nor the wrestling ability - nor basically anything Jinder Mahal lacks. You don't get a crack at the main event because you don't turn up for the majority of the year. It's a genuine hierarchy, as opposed to a .5 fit of retcons and renewals.

Unfailingly, a New Japan performer cracks the main event bracket because they deserve to crack the main event. And, as the rise of Tetsuya Naito attests, patience and belief is key. He wasn't jobbed out and poisoned in the eyes of the audience because he failed at the first hurdle. Across social media and wrestling sites everywhere, fans bemoan the disproportionate positioning of an AJ Styles or a Shinsuke Nakamura to Jinder Mahal in a fit of nihilism.

In New Japan, there is actual meaning to things.

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!