10 Wrestlers Who Left And Returned More Badass
7. Tetsuya Naito
Tetsuya Naito, an outstanding, flashy in-ring talent, was perceived by the New Japan fanbase as a great match generator more than the prospective Ace the company had built him as in 2013.
He lacked the storytelling depth and universal human appeal of Hiroshi Tanahashi, the man he sought to replace, and was rejected accordingly. The transparent, rushed nature of his push didn't resonate, resulting in shocking, somehow audible silence when he took to the ring carrying his G1 Climax briefcase. He was formally rejected by those fans, when tentative management held a vote to determine the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 2014. NJPW were not in a position to ignore the mounting evidence, and consequently changed direction. In a later tour of CMLL, Tetsuya Naito joined the Los Ingobernables faction, using the essence of the faction to inform his new persona.
Repurposing his stint in Mexico as a response of sorts to the backlash - a non-response - the new Naito was totally aloof. The synergy with his natural disposition was perfect, inspired; where Naito once struggled to emote, he successfully gave no f*cks about even trying, carving himself as coolly dispassionate.
This extended to his disrespectful treatment of the IWGP Intercontinental Title, and in the ring, he turned badass, key to seducing the NJPW core, by giving a similar lack of f*cks about his neck, which he bumped on relentlessly to cast himself as a dangerous presence where once he was artificially wholesome.