10 Wrestlers Who Were Great By 25

At 22, New Japan young lion Kazuchika Okada began his excursion after a hard fought loss to company front man, Hiroshi Tanahashi. It was clear New Japan saw great potential in Okada and hoped a US excursion would bolster the youngster’s talent even more, Okada debuted for TNA where he proceeded to be stuck with various ill-suited gimmicks and undercard losses.

By the time Okada returned to New Japan, there was very little buzz surrounding him and he was greeted with jeers from the audience when he challenged Tanahashi to a title match. Okada proceeded to demolish Tanahashi’s 13 month reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion in a classic bout. Okada’s subsequent title defences and G1 Climax victory that summer revealed what New Japan had known all along. Okada was a superstar in waiting, quickly gearing up to cement his place as the next generation ace of the promotion.

With a colourful, rich boy gimmick and exceptional mat work and hard hitting offence, Okada became an overnight main eventer at just 24 years old and hasn’t looked back since.