10 Times Wrestling Promotions Came Back From The Dead
1. NJPW - 2020
It's dead.
Los Ingobernables de Japon are a stable of aloof, cool dudes, which is just as well, since SANADA and EVIL are incapable of emoting. Following lockdown-imposed hiatus, booker Gedo made the decision to have EVIL defect to Bullet Club and win both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles at Dominion. In one double-barrelled blast of stupidity, Gedo tarnished the prestige of the most over title in the game and entrusted the almost chillingly blank EVIL to get a ruthless betrayal over. It was left to Hiromu Takahashi to sell it in a cringe-worthy melodramatic meltdown. The match itself was long, aimless and dull. In parallel, New Japan, beloved for its pure sporting framework, promoted a new King Of Pro Wrestling Title in a thoroughly bizarre PG Extreme Rules/Taboo Tuesday hybrid.
Who the f*ck is Master Wato, what the f*ck is a Master Wato, and why does he look so awkward? Isn't...isn't he a master?
Gedo had a good run. Perhaps the best ever. Past tense.
It's alive!
Though the Great O'Kharn is another "post-excursion repackage that fatalistically can never, ever headline the Tokyo Dome," the G1 Climax was a triumph, really, given the clap-crowds. Well-booked and exceptionally performed, Minoru Suzuki in particular grasped how to adjust to the new atmosphere. By perfecting his already exceptional facials, he adapted the best qualities of cinema to the pro wrestling realm. Big Tomohiro Ishii simply did incredible Ishii things and coaxed the old shrieks with his incandescent fire.
Much of the G1 was a return to form after a loss of it, and nothing more inspiring than that - but Christ, it was missed.