Ranking Every MVP Of Every Major Wrestling Company

5. New Japan Pro Wrestling: Kazuchika Okada

Kazuchika Okada Kota Ibushi
NJPW

NJPW's talent roster is the greatest collection of pro wrestlers on the planet, and perhaps ever.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is the greatest working pure babyface ever. Will Ospreay is arguably the best wrestler in the world; he has created a new breed of pro wrestling magic, in that it's impossible to determine just how he does it. Kota Ibushi is phenomenal, and in the past year, has added a sequence to his matches that make him scarier than any supernatural character ever. Tetsuya Naito has declined as a performer, but there's an argument to be made that he is NJPW's MVP; he is the merchandise powerhouse, and listening to the furnace reaction he orchestrated at the Tokyo Dome this month, he is the most popular star in the company.

But Kazuchika Okada is NJPW's MVP because he sets the standard of seminal in-ring excellence, and, since he was booked as a wrestling God and somehow conspired to become it, has consistently expanded New Japan's business year-by-year, quarter-by-quarter.

Ace, genius, draw: Okada is everything to his company because his brilliance is literally transcendent; NJPW under his stewardship had emerged as the second-biggest company in the United States, the hardcore fans in which were so spellbound by his G.O.A.T-level epics.

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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!