10 Things You Learn Converting From WWE To New Japan Pro Wrestling

8. All Your Favourites

Kazuchika Okada Dinosaur1
NJPW World

A perk of watching New Japan Pro Wrestling today is the option of catching the NXT/WWE's stars of tomorrow unburdened by the pressure of Vince McMahon's production line.

Since Triple H took control of the company's developmental reigns in 2011, the net of talent acquisition has been flung open wider than ever before to allow proven stars an opportunity to shine on their alleged 'grandest stage'. The initial buzz behind NOAH's Hideo 'KENTA' Itami arriving in 2014 unfortunately fizzled, but the NJPW imports have been substantially more successful.

Finn Bálor, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Karl Anderson were all main event mainstays in New Japan before surprisingly signing with the company, whilst Luke Gallows' Far East sojourn resulted in a return to the company alongside his 'Club' compadres with only semi-joking assertions about Vince McMahon's realisation that he'd already had multiple stints in the organisation.

The game works the other way too - Juice 'CJ Parker' Robinson was a standout success story of 2017's G1 Climax, whilst Cody Rhodes continues a career reinvention as a Bullet Club sh*t-stirrer soon set to tangle with Kenny Omega.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett