NJPW: Tetsuya Naito achieves greatness in poignant win at Wrestle Kingdom 14
At Wrestle Kingdom 14, Tetsuya Naito finally achieved his dream of winning in the main event at the Tokyo Dome when he defeated Kazuchika Okada to become the first-ever dual champion in NJPW history.
It’s hard to describe how special it was to see Tetsuya Naito win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14. It’s a story that was at least six years in the making and New Japan managed to hit all the right notes.
Naito’ early beginnings with the company as the “Stardust Genius” is a familiar story in wrestling. He was a high-flying up-and-comer who was earmarked as a future top star. However, fans rejected him because New Japan pushed him too soon, which resulted in his now infamous failure at Wrestle Kingdom 8.
At the event, Naito unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Championship. To add insult to injury, he didn’t get to live out his boyhood dream to compete in the main event of the show either. The fans voted for the Intercontinental Title match featuring Shinsuke Nakakmura and Hiroshi Tanahashi to headline Wrestle Kingdom instead.
This incident would define Naito for the next few years. He never forgot the laughs and jeers from the Osaka crowd when he declared himself the new “shuyaku”—top star—of NJPW. To date, he is at his most vicious and spiteful when he performs at Osaka Jo Hall and he has a history of contempt for the Intercontinental Championship.
In 2017, it seemed like he was on a mission to erase that loss. He was more popular than ever as an enigmatic anti-hero and the leader Los Ingobernables de Japon. That summer, he defeated Kenny Omega to earn a Cinderella win in the 2017 G1 Climax.
In the process, he set a new record with seven wins and two losses and punched his ticket to challenge Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12.
Unfortunately, he was unable to wrestle the IWGP Heavyweight Championship away from “The Rainmaker.” Naito seemed to have the match in tow when he uncharacteristically attempted the Stardust Press, which he famously used during his initial run with New Japan. The move would cost him the match and his chance at redemption.
Since then, Naito has sort of reconciled his hatred with the Intercontinental Title and used it as a way to reignite his dream to compete in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. 2018 was his worst year in recent memory, but he still maintained his new goal to be the first man to hold both the IWGP and Intercontinental Championship.
As a result, New Japan held a poll and the fans spoke once again. Due to popular, they introduced the Double Gold Dash match. On the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14, both champions would defend their titles with the winners of both matches competing in a champion vs. champion on the second night.
Over the weekend, Naito entered the Tokyo Dome with nothing and arguably the most to lose. His rival, Kota Ibushi, had more upside with a win in 2019 G1 Climax. Okada has already cemented his legacy the greatest heavyweight champion of the modern era. Jay White, the youngest of the four competitors, still has his entire career in front of him and he continues to defy the odds.
It was now or never for Naito as he faced White on Night One. Even though he eventually pulled off a gutsy win against one of the most vindictive men in the company, he still had the biggest obstacle of his career in front of him.
When he reappeared after the main event with the Intercontinental Title in hand, Tetsuya Naito put himself on another collision course with the man who crushed his dreams twice, Okada.
The term “big fight feel” is thrown around a lot, but the main event of Night Two at Wrestle Kingdom 14 felt like the very definition of it. The stakes were high and the crowd and everyone watching at home knew it.
Naito and Okada delivered an instant classic filled with emotional highs and thrilling near falls. It was the kind of storytelling wrestling fans recount for years. “The Rainmaker” looked every bit as dominant as we’ve come to expect, but Naito fought back every step of the way.
Then, he went for the Stardust Press again. The same move that cost him everything two years ago landed this time but Okada managed to kick out. When all seemed lost, Naito executed a final Destino and made history as the first dual champion.
Next. KENTA vanquishes the ghost of Hideo Itami at Wrestle Kingdom 14. dark
It was a long-awaited and poignant moment that New Japan fans will never forget. Next month Naito will walk into Osaka Jo Hall, in front of the crowd that rejected him, as both IWGP and Intercontinental Champion. Just as Okada extended the L.I.J. salute to his longtime rival as he exited the Tokyo Dome in defeat, everything comes full circle.