The Terrifying Decline Of NJPW

There is no consensus with a contrarian backlash.

Everybody seemed to struggle to determine how good and effective he really was. Was White a true heel who really "got" how to draw heat in an era of fan service acclaim? Or was his relentless stalling cheap? White is technically superb, an expert in the "when" to do something in a big dramatic match, but did he reach the emotional crescendo of the 2019 G1 Climax final ever again?

The blunt truth is that, if you were to write a list of the best NJPW wrestlers of the Bushiroad era, White would rank below every other name that enjoyed a stint with the IWGP title. He was excellent, but his matches were often dense and soulless. Ironically, the wrestler who sought to strip the workrate back was himself a bit much.

The COVID-19 pandemic was instrumental in the downfall even if the creative decline predated it. After a brief hiatus, New Japan returned to "clap crowds" reduced in number that weren't allowed to vocalise their emotion. Gedo did something more shocking than Okada's maiden title win at Dominion '20: he strapped up EVIL. EVIL was a fun, sullen midcard brute and absolutely nothing more. This was a diabolical decision, as high a shark-jump as you'll ever see: the sort of decision a booker makes when they shouldn't be booking anymore.

Even the inexplicable greatness yielded throughout this period, on occasion, was bittersweet. The clapping lasted for ages too. Japan was far more stringent than the US with its protocols; it was only at Wrestle Kingdom 17, on January 4, 2023, that something close to true noise returned. By this point, the damage was done. That was Jay White's last big night. He lost to Okada in a main event that almost definitely concluded that the "Okada match" had peaked. Ospreay would be gone in just over a year. Naito was still hugely popular, but was broken-down, his latest stab at the Ace position driven as much by sentiment as anything else. Tanahashi had long since become an athritic New Japan "dad", working his last worthy main event at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2022 against Jon Moxley. Shingo Takagi and Tomohiro Ishii were still fantastic, the latter almost inexplicably so, but had been stigmatised as wrestlers who (somehow) would never be true Ace figures.

Underneath, oh boy.

KENTA wasn't just washed; he took a perverse pride in it. Chase Owens stuck around. David Finlay as a key member of Bullet Club was workrate Vincent. Hikuleo's ceiling was never that high, and yet he positively stormed last year's flabby, depressing G1 Climax. NJPW put the mid in midcard as its main event scene reached an event horizon of sameness. It wasn't all bad - El Desperado and Taichi deserve immense credit for improving beyond all recognition and expectation - and Bishamon saw two no-hopers find success together against all odds. Zack Sabre, Jr. was never not great either. The overall vibe however was bleak, and with every passing gruelling "epic" match, the lure of the promotion faded. Ultimately, the standard set throughout the 2010s resurgence was too high.

Where do you go from there?

CONT'D...(3 of 5)