Who Could Lead NJPW’s Next Faction?

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New Japan Pro Wrestling’s roster has grown rapidly in the past few years. With each of the five current factions pushing capacity, which NJPW star could lead a new group into battle?

NJPW’s growing fanbase are enjoying the historic era we are witnessing. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada is leading a roster that is wall-to-wall excellence, and the matches being had are reflecting that. Each tournament and each major show builds on the last. It’s no wonder so many of us are getting blissfully caught up in the New Japan hype.

As much as we are enjoying the performances, we also want to be there for the company’s next major story development. Many new fans missed out on the forming of Los Ingobernables de Japon, which has taken the wrestling world by storm. Naturally, we want something new to come along that we can witness from its inception.

From a locker-room standpoint, it makes sense that a new stable would emerge. Each of the current groups are swollen, with LIJ being one of the few to maintain true exclusivity. Taguchi Japan’s open-door policy means any of the part-time fly-ins, such as IWGP Tag Team Champions War Machine, can take part in the faction struggle without committing fully to a team. However, as NJPW becomes a legitimate spot for wrestlers to build their legacy, many will want a more stable group dynamic (excuse the pun).

Speculation has already begun with the ‘Switchblade’ promos, but there are also returning Young Lions like Jay White and The Tempura Boyz, who will need homes. CHAOS, Bullet Club and Suzuki-Gun have too many members, so who could help create a new faction for all this incoming talent?

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Tama Tonga

An original Bullet Club member, Tama Tonga has risen through the ranks to share the number-two spot with Bad Luck Fale. He has diversified his character and been more open on the mic and on social media. Where there is a problem, as Tama saw with the G1 Climax, he will voice his disdain. When his leader needs checked, he will gladly do so. It’s these kind of qualities that ought to mean his ceiling should be higher than ‘number two.’

As NJPW opens up to the global market, the term gaijin (foreigner) becomes increasingly moot. After all, when Prince Devitt created the Bullet Club, he was an Irishman leading a faction of Americans and Pacific Islanders. However, in its infancy, all of these members acted relatively similarly.

Nowadays, with so many foreigners coming in from all over the globe, Japanese fans will be starting to understand the differences. That’s why I believe Tama Tonga could fracture the Bullet Club and lead a group of Pacific natives. That would include his brothers Tanga Roa and Leo Tonga, as well as BC original Bad Luck Fale. Jay White, another New Zealander, will likely be returning to the fold soon, and ‘Young Lion’ Henare could graduate into the group eventually. Will Ospreay may be British, but he recently outlined his dream to lead the Australian wrestling scene onto the global stage.

Pacific pro wrestling is a clear theme already in NJPW, simply without its own distinct place on the roster. Carving that spot would be a good way of Tama Tonga acting on his clear frustration with the Bullet Club’s direction.

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Hirooki Goto

Each of NJPWs top stars lead one of the roster’s five factions. There is the Big 4 of Okada, Naito, Omega and Tanahashi, and Suzuki brings a legitimate fifth challenger should they need one. Hirooki Goto is arguably the next biggest draw who doesn’t lead his own tribe. Newer fans may not think he’s even the next biggest draw in CHAOS, given Ishii’s recent upsurge. They’d also be surprised to hear he has three New Japan Cup victories and a G1 Climax trophy under his belt.

That kind of legitimacy is expected from chieftains, not right-hand men. Critics could point to a lack of charisma as what made him more suitable for a reduced role. What Goto does have, however, is a legitimate reason to surround himself with cronies: he’s never been able to get over the hump on his own.

Triple H needed DX to supplant The Rock and Steve Austin. Like The Game, had Goto come up in any other era he would have been a clear top dog. But Goto’s career has been defined by his losses to Tanahashi and Okada, unless he takes matters into his own hands. Goto could splinter the CHAOS stable and challenge Okada’s leadership, or he could introduce a new brand to NJPW. It’s hard to see any other way that Goto can cement his legacy with an IWGP Heavyweight Championship win.

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Katsuya Kitamura

One of NJPW’s time-honoured traditions is their treatment of trainee wrestlers, affectionately dubbed ‘Young Lions.’ Outside of the ring, they do the bidding of the veterans, including cooking and cleaning. In the ring, they take countless pinfalls, rarely getting an opportunity to distinguish themselves.

That’s why when a Young Lion manages to stand out, it is worth monitoring. Former amateur wrestling standout Katsuya Kitamura has done just that. His sheer size and physique immediately catch eyes, but what’s more curious is what he has been allowed to do in the ring. He has developed more offense than we usually see, specifically his signature chops that crush the chests of trainees and veterans alike. Where opponents would laugh off a challenge from a newcomer, some are fearful of Kitamura’s destructive potential.

At 31 years-old, NJPW will likely be pulling the trigger on Kitamura soon. He has a certain star power already,  so if they decide build on that, he could lead a new faction. The company has a sizable crop of Young Lions that will need to be homed, so why not have Kitamura lead this new generation?

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SANADA

Los Ingobernables de Japon are NJPW’s tightest unit. Five full-time performers, each of whom warrant their place in such an elite squad. That was not the original intention however.

Tetsuya Naito exiled himself to Mexico after being rejected by the Japanese fans. When he returned, his character was so vastly different and so wildly captivating, it spawned a new faction. However, recruiting BUSHI and EVIL simply made LIJ a vessel for Naito’s solo success. As the faction grew, they started to seek their own glory, and LIJ became about more than just Naito.

Now, a Heavyweight is jockeying for position while still under Naito’s leadership. NJPW management clearly know what they have in SANADA, a veteran of both Japan and abroad at only 29 years old. He has a less-intimidating gimmick now, and some entertaining holds in his arsenal, making him more of a babyface than his comrades. Unfortunately, he also has a team captain that will continue to overshadow him.

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SANADA has long been expected to break out from LIJ, but would he join CHAOS? Taguchi Japan? LIJ’s popularity means the group could rupture, with SANADA and Naito leading competing groups. It would open up room in one of the hottest products wrestling currently has.

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Kenny Omega

‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega has one of the sweetest gigs in professional wrestling.

The Bullet Club originated long before he was even part of NJPW, and it grew exponentially as he took a backseat role in the group. However, AJ Styles decided to make the jump to WWE, and Kenny Omega made his own move. It was a shrewd play by Omega, inheriting one of the most popular brands in the world. All he had to do was sit back and coast on the work that had been done before him.

As it happens, Kenny Omega is not that sort of guy. He wasn’t happy being given his success, he wanted to earn it. So he went about setting the wrestling world ablaze, both with his electrifying matches, and his work with The Young Bucks as ‘The ELITE.’

This endeavour alienated him amongst the Bullet Club faithful, seeing him less as a leader and more as a disinterested steward. Adam Cole, Cody and Tama Tonga have all voiced their ire with Kenny’s rule, and Cody and Tama are now strong enough to lead a mutiny. Where would that leave Kenny?

Not in too bad a shape it turns out. All the work Kenny has put into The ELITE brand is paying off, as they are now getting booked as a trio, rather than as part of a bigger group. The ELITE has the potential to challenge the Bullet Club, but they would need to bolster their ranks with ‘elite’ talent that they trust. Perhaps they could start with an old, firework-loving friend of Kenny’s.