The One Thing WWE & AEW MUST Learn From NJPW

The efficiency with which Gedo mitigates the damage done by talent losses by ensuring he always has somebody ready to step up is unparalleled in modern wrestling. While McMahon bemoans injuries and blames poor ratings and attendances for Superstar absences, New Japan don't have that problem. They've been quietly building the wrestlers below for years, so when a spot opens up (whether foreseen or not), there's a readymade replacement.

The 2016 WWE talent raid would have stifled lesser promotions. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were scooped up and suddenly, NJPW were deprived of two top-tier main-eventers. No problem, because up stepped Katsuyori Shibata, Kenny Omega, and Tetsuya Naito, all of whom had already been groomed and prepared for their new spots. They were ready.

Naito was IWGP Heavyweight Champion within three months of Styles and Nakamura's departure. In Omega, Gedo had taken an erratic, inconsistent genius and turned him into a drawing headline-grabber and NJPW's most important foreign wrestler in forever. Shibata didn't work out, but would have if not for his health.

Omega's case is particularly interesting as he was the most successful wrestler to elevated post-Styles/Nakamura, but left a similar hole himself upon leaving NJPW three years later.

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