10 Wrestlers Who Saved Promotions From Ruin

4. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Cody Rhodes
NJPW

NJPW is a live events business.

Streaming isn't as entrenched in Japanese culture as it is in the west, the ballooning rights fee stream that has all but saved WWE isn't a failsafe, and the decision to hold Wrestle Kingdom 14 across two nights essentially saved the company as the COVID-19 pandemic loomed. The extra gate revenue generated allowed NJPW the luxury of an extended hiatus.

NJPW was in trouble in the 2000s. The company did not boast ticket-selling stars. They did, or may have, had the indulgent, destructive philosophy of Inokism not buried them.

Inokism can be reduced as thus: promoter Flanderises himself in bid to compete with the white-hot PRIDE promotion, that wrestling by definition could not compete with, ergo New Japan Pro Wrestling dispensed with the Wrestling bit to redefine itself because Antonio Inoki valued legitimacy above all else. Even, as it turned out, making money.

Hiroshi Tanahashi's intelligent, masterful match layout and literal rock star charisma was so universally-liked - he was both magician and artist, a Bret Hart/Hulk Hogan hybrid, to boil it down - that he transformed business, the strength of which persuaded Bushiroad to purchase the company in 2012.

Tana had capitalised on the strength of a quiet rebuild, but his brilliance transcended everything.

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Contributor
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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!