10 Times Wrestling Changed Due To Fan Backlash
5. Tetsuya NaitNo
Tetsuya Naito losing out on the Wrestle Kingdom 8 main event due to a fan vote was the damning moment his entire world changed, but the indirect creation of the Los Ingobernables de Japon version of the 'Stardust Genius' was in direct response to fan fury over his unwelcome 2013 push.
Winning the G1 Climax the prior summer, his planned IWGP Heavyweight Title scrap with Kazuchika Okada the following January was placed in doubt by the 'Rainmaker' himself in response to the eerie silence and disinterest that greeted Naito every time he entered arenas. The supposed Number One Contender barely felt like he belonged on the roster, let alone atop the card, and NJPW's unique solution to "save" the main event made a mug out of the man that had survived the hardest tournament in professional wrestling.
Offering fans a chance to vote on whether that or Hiroshi Tanahashi's shot at Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental Title should go on last in the Tokyo Dome, New Japan management helped steer the situation they predicted. Audience anger over Naito's push was satiated, whilst the feeling was justifiably mutual upon his return.