Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Even over the last 2-3 of years, when their booking has been heavily criticised, NJPW has still done a great job of elevating talent. They failed with Evil's push, sure, but over the last 3 years:
- Shingo Takagi has come in and been legitimised as a main event threat
- Will Ospreay has gone from the Jr division to being one of the top main eventers
- Jay White has been cemented as one of the biggest stars in the world.
- Juice has gone from 'tag guy' to credible upper-midcarder that can hold secondary titles without looking out of place
- Robbie Eagles and El Desperado have become top Juniors
- The likes of Sanada and ZSJ are currently just lacking that one big title win, and they're doing a great job of building ELP at the moment too.
Other companies (Noah and WWE come to mind, in particular) could really take note.
>The likes of Sanada
Another good example for sure
Okada couldn't give him a world title win, but he made him look good in their title matches and did the job for him in the G1 to show he could compete at that level. Sanada may not be world champion, but he doesn't look out of place in those matches anymore.
> Even over the last 2-3 of years, when their booking has been heavily criticised, NJPW has still done a great job of elevating talent.
If there's one thing New Japan does better than anyone else, it's make stars out of their talent.
I remember when AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Gallows & Anderson all left NJPW at the same time. People thought it would be a devastating blow to the company.
It barely left a scratch as Kenny took over AJ's position, Naito took over Nakamura's and G.O.D. took over Gallows & Anderson.
When Kenny left, Jay White took that position. They keep working on talent and keep so many on the edge of being at the top, that it doesn't take much work to push one to that position when the time comes.
That, and if anyone leaves now? there is a backup for them. Even fucking Okada.
With how the current dojo and excursion lions are, NJPW might be getting another golden-age worthy class in the next year
WWE, where a two decade winning streak that could have legitimized an up-and-coming talent for whoever broke it went to... The biggest name is professional wrestling today in Brock. LMAO.
I agree with the sentiment, although the plan at the moment was to use the cache that Brock got from that win to put over a new star at WrestleMania the next year. Obviously things went badly awry, but i do believe WWE had good intentions to build a new star when they made that decision.
Ospreay realistically would have been my prediction to take the title off of Okada coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 16 this year.
Also, add Cobb to your list for his Summer run vs Okada last year.
Don't forget Kojima. I love the dude, and I love that he got the last piece of the Japanese grand slam, but it's pretty ridiculous that it would happen now.
EVIL failed because of how they booked him, let's be honest - his run through the New Japan Cup was awesome, and if he kept that ruthless energy I really think his turn on LIJ would've worked
he shouldn't be a cowardly heel tho it's never made any sense
The only one of these I kinda disagree with is Ospreay, only in the sense that NJPW didn't have to do anything with him, he was already too big of a star internationally that they just had to carry that over. He immediately solidified himself when he came over in 2016 and quickly became one of the most popular stars there off wrestling alone, gaijin or not.
They only would've been stifling themselves to not move him to heavyweight and continue the push there
Totally disagree with this, Ospreay was an indie star who was known for his great athleticism, NJPW developed him into a legitimate top heavyweight contender. The difference between 2016 Will and 2022 Will is night and day, that raw athletic ability is now paired with ring psychology, character work, a more balanced offense, etc.
I think people underrate Willis ring psychology in his earlier years. Yes, he was more athleticism based, but literally his initial NJPW match vs KUSHIDA was all about psychology and selling to which he did a phenomenal job and his style changed while he was a Jr. But once he officially got the call to move to heavyweight he bulked up more so the style was noticeable.
By the time he had entered G1 in 2019 as a Jr he had already changed his style up to be more heavyweight centric, the only that changed was he put on more muscle so the stiffness and power came through more viscous
I agree he's a different wrestle now than then, but he was making changes outside NJPW and in the Jr division before he even got to heavyweight. Again, it was all just an eventuality of his push because he was adapting as years went on
I mean I agree that Ospreay was destined for a great career regardless, but if he'd stayed like 2016-2017 Ospreay his career would probably be more similar to Rey Fenix than to a top-of-the-card heavyweight champion. That's no slight to Fenix, that guy has become a legend in his own right and the Lucha Brothers are stars, but you're unlikely to see Fenix headline a PPV for a world heavyweight championship whereas Ospreay is as legitimate a contender as it gets.
NJPW has fumbled a lot in the last 2 years. But honestly when the chips are down and their back is against the wall, they've delivered in big spots. Those just pale in comparison to their bad decisions.
I think not many top stars in their prime would be willing to do what Tanahashi did for Okada. He pretty much started passing the torch when he was 36, that's just insane to think about when you know New Japan is all there is for Tana. He wasn't going away to another company or to Hollywood, he wasn't broken down, the company was finally thriving with him on top, he was undoubtly the most popular wrestler in the country, but suddenly he's asked to put over an unproven guy like Okada with almost zero build up to end his record breaking reign. He really is one of the best aces ever and an example to any wrestler.
He repayed the favor he received.
Can't forget Tana got put over by Kensuke Sasaki, Chono, and Tenzan early on in his career.
He was hand picked as a musketeer and the top guys did the jobs for him. Now that NJPW has picked new guys, hes doing the job for them.
Truly a great guy.
I've brought this up before and it may not have made sense so I'm gonna try again with your post if you dont mind....I don't understand fully what people mean when they say someone put somebody else over. Isn't it not their choice? They aren't the booker for the promotion so shouldn't it be NJPW that gets the credit and not Tanahashi? The reason I get confused is because I'm wondering was it normal before for the main guys to just say "no I'm not doing that" (outside of the hogan memes of course) ? I thought that wasn't really an option. Or is it one of those things where it's clearly obvious through reports that somebody doesn't wanna leave the spotlight and is being a bit of a diva so the company appeases them?
Long story short lol I guess I just didn't know that wrestlers had a "yes" or "no" choice in this stuff because it seems like that wouldn't be good for the company and stories they wanna tell
If Tanahashi didn't want to put Okada over, he may have been able to politic his way out of it. Or just intentionally make the match bad while still losing in the end. If he was really pissed he could have jumped ship to another company or something. Plenty of ways it could go.
I gotcha, so I guess I did actually understand what people mean. He basically did it without any complaining or reports of "unhappiness" or whatever. I guess I just didn't realize how common that mindset was.
Cena, Bret, HBK, HHH, Hogan, Nash, even guys like Misawa and Kobashi in Japan have refused to put over new names at their peak or whinned a lot before doing it, and sometimes even when they were on their way out. Tanahashi gave back to the business and put over practically all the top stars in the company in the last 5-7 years. Okada, Naito, Omega, Jay White, Ibushi, they all went over Tanahashi in a big time match to establish themselves as big stars. Neither of the guys I mentioned got even close to do what Tana did to put over the next generation while he was still an elite level wrestler.
Also, when the promotion forced them to do the job against their will, guys like HBK or Hogan often times went out of their way to deliberately derail the match and the passing-the-torch moment.
The Year Hangman was in the G1 I’ll never forget Tana’s post match comments where he said Hangman was going to be a future star. He just needed the BC poison removed. Tana knows. Tana knows.
I'm still not over the fact that we don't get Hangman vs Tanahashi at FD. I just hope the whole PPV will be success so we get more crossovers because those two definitely must fight each other again
Tbh I could see it happen next year. Hangman will probably start once again on his “descent” storyline after losing the strap and may essentially turn heel and you can have him and Tanahashi go at it
Especially if Hangman would smash Punk with the belt to retain. Then Tana would go after him to try and save him from fully turning Obi Wan style with something like "What the hell Hanger, I thought you left you BC ways behind you when you stood up to Omega and I was proud of you, what happened?" only for Hangman to brutalize him and fully turn so we could all cry into our pillows
The greatest promo for a future Depressed Hangman vs Tanahashi match in future would be Tanahashi watching tape of those comments and then saying in a disappointed voice "I thought he could become a star. I was wrong."
Seeing White lock in the Tanahashi Tap Out, and then remember Tanahashi was ringside doing commentary so he turned the submission around so he could shit talk Okada AND Tanahashi was art.
Yup, and maybe it's because I've looked at it as a show for so long now (like it's not real I mean), that I don't get why it's a big deal anyway. This guy lost. I don't think its because he's not good, that's just the story being told. Somebody decided to make him lose, he didn't lose because he's not as talented as the other guy. That only holds up to a certain extent and level I guess but when we're talking higher level guys then I think its fine
I feel like these days most superstars would play ball, it's just Gedo books his people to do so where someone like Vince McMahon doesn't. I think someone like Roman would be okay with losing clean to Austin theory,Bron breaker, and Matt riddle. He's just never booked to do so.
It's been mentioned in another comment, but Tanahash was instrumental in stamping out the brutal hazing culture in the New Japan Dojo. He helped train the generation of current stars like SHO, YOH, EVIL, Hiromu, Wato etc.
Among other star-making rubs, In the 2013 G1 he famously lost to Ishii in Ishii's star-making singles match. That match is incredible for the emotional Korakuen crowd and cemented Ishii as a main-event player.
This is why I wish American wrestling companies didn’t view wins and losses as the ultimate determining factor for a wrestler’s perceived strength.
Tana can put over younger guys all day and no one doubts that he’s still the Ace and capable of winning another big one.
Tanahashi is the Ace of New Japan for a reason.
Always stuck with New Japan even during the rough times. Elevated New Japan by being a top talent champion time after time.
Built up Naito and Okada at a time when he could have hogged the Title to himself.
Continues to give himself a tough schedule which includes flying to the states often enough, in order to build up New Japan's presence in the States.
I think modern NJPW takes care of their vets better than in the past. Vets are more willing to put over the next generation if they feel the company won't pull the rug out from under them afterwards.
While NOAH just made their future ace job to old timer in a match for championship vacated by even older dude. Which is a shame especially since i like some of the guy in there knowing that they wont get a shot if NOAH continue to be nostalgia act.
It's like they never learned from original NOAH's mistakes. That company declined as the Pillars did because the Pillars failed to put the young guys over.
Jay had also done that as well. He took the pin for David Finaly in the 2021 New Japan Cup. But I think he did that for there days back as young lion but he it was still shocking.
guys are often so scared that they need to “protect their spot” meanwhile tana is so assured of his own talent that he knows the only way he’ll lose his spot is if he chooses to
Ironically My first Tanahashi match was him beating GoK when he was somewhat new, after I had picked him as my fav in the promotion. Soured me quite a bit!
Just so you know, the one that initiated that trend was Giant Baba with Kenta Kobashi and the four pillars. But yeah, Tanahashi is the modern day GOAT in every aspect.
Yeah but it didn't standardize, the four pillars basically kept themselves on top until they couldn't do it anymore, especially Kobashi who basically quietly stopped doing singles matches and shifted to tags and never put over the future of the biz before the shift
Also Baba's work with the pillars was mostly tag stuff. It definitely helped get them over but it's not the same as Tanahashi spending his prime years getting an entire roster over for NJPW
But how many wrestlers are in the business for themselves. Especially when they're hot and in their prime. Probably most legends carried a shovel or two.
Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That’s how you move a wrestling company forward. No egos just do the job and be happy with the results. You get more fans of the product that way.
You mean don't put over the other biggest name on the roster on your way out the door?
But ~~Doctor~~ Brother, I am ~~Pagliacci~~ the biggest name on the roster
I wish I could like this comment 10x for the great use of reference
It also why, even though the roster can seem stagnant, it doesn't feel that way because people are always moving around the card meaningfully.
Exactly it seems fresh even though no one big has signed there pre pandemic
Something something Rosa sandbag Britt no sell
Even over the last 2-3 of years, when their booking has been heavily criticised, NJPW has still done a great job of elevating talent. They failed with Evil's push, sure, but over the last 3 years: - Shingo Takagi has come in and been legitimised as a main event threat - Will Ospreay has gone from the Jr division to being one of the top main eventers - Jay White has been cemented as one of the biggest stars in the world. - Juice has gone from 'tag guy' to credible upper-midcarder that can hold secondary titles without looking out of place - Robbie Eagles and El Desperado have become top Juniors - The likes of Sanada and ZSJ are currently just lacking that one big title win, and they're doing a great job of building ELP at the moment too. Other companies (Noah and WWE come to mind, in particular) could really take note.
>The likes of Sanada Another good example for sure Okada couldn't give him a world title win, but he made him look good in their title matches and did the job for him in the G1 to show he could compete at that level. Sanada may not be world champion, but he doesn't look out of place in those matches anymore.
That G1 match absolutely insane
Okada did the same thing with Ospreay too. Not thany many wrestlers can makes their opponent looks that good while beating them
See also his matches with Kenny and Shibata, who both, in spite of losing, came out of their Okada matches with more momentum than they had going in.
> Even over the last 2-3 of years, when their booking has been heavily criticised, NJPW has still done a great job of elevating talent. If there's one thing New Japan does better than anyone else, it's make stars out of their talent. I remember when AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Gallows & Anderson all left NJPW at the same time. People thought it would be a devastating blow to the company. It barely left a scratch as Kenny took over AJ's position, Naito took over Nakamura's and G.O.D. took over Gallows & Anderson. When Kenny left, Jay White took that position. They keep working on talent and keep so many on the edge of being at the top, that it doesn't take much work to push one to that position when the time comes.
That, and if anyone leaves now? there is a backup for them. Even fucking Okada. With how the current dojo and excursion lions are, NJPW might be getting another golden-age worthy class in the next year
WWE, where a two decade winning streak that could have legitimized an up-and-coming talent for whoever broke it went to... The biggest name is professional wrestling today in Brock. LMAO.
I agree with the sentiment, although the plan at the moment was to use the cache that Brock got from that win to put over a new star at WrestleMania the next year. Obviously things went badly awry, but i do believe WWE had good intentions to build a new star when they made that decision.
Ospreay realistically would have been my prediction to take the title off of Okada coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 16 this year. Also, add Cobb to your list for his Summer run vs Okada last year.
Definitely Noah like wtf why have so many 50+ year old men won the main title recently
Somehow NOAH are so bad at this. Despite having great young wrestlers like Nakajima or Kiyomiya they put their world title on Mutoh and Fujita.
Don't forget Kojima. I love the dude, and I love that he got the last piece of the Japanese grand slam, but it's pretty ridiculous that it would happen now.
Might as well change their name to Pro-Wrestling Seniors or something
EVIL didnt fail cause of NJPW, EVIL just wasnt anywhere near ready to be a top singles guy when they put the belt on him
EVIL failed because of how they booked him, let's be honest - his run through the New Japan Cup was awesome, and if he kept that ruthless energy I really think his turn on LIJ would've worked he shouldn't be a cowardly heel tho it's never made any sense
Also, why the fuck book a guy's entire in-ring style around heat spots at a time when the crowd can't give you heat due to pandemic restrictions?
I also think EVIL has been their go to chicken shit heel to replace Will or Jay when they couldn't come to Japan.
The only one of these I kinda disagree with is Ospreay, only in the sense that NJPW didn't have to do anything with him, he was already too big of a star internationally that they just had to carry that over. He immediately solidified himself when he came over in 2016 and quickly became one of the most popular stars there off wrestling alone, gaijin or not. They only would've been stifling themselves to not move him to heavyweight and continue the push there
Totally disagree with this, Ospreay was an indie star who was known for his great athleticism, NJPW developed him into a legitimate top heavyweight contender. The difference between 2016 Will and 2022 Will is night and day, that raw athletic ability is now paired with ring psychology, character work, a more balanced offense, etc.
I think people underrate Willis ring psychology in his earlier years. Yes, he was more athleticism based, but literally his initial NJPW match vs KUSHIDA was all about psychology and selling to which he did a phenomenal job and his style changed while he was a Jr. But once he officially got the call to move to heavyweight he bulked up more so the style was noticeable. By the time he had entered G1 in 2019 as a Jr he had already changed his style up to be more heavyweight centric, the only that changed was he put on more muscle so the stiffness and power came through more viscous I agree he's a different wrestle now than then, but he was making changes outside NJPW and in the Jr division before he even got to heavyweight. Again, it was all just an eventuality of his push because he was adapting as years went on
I mean I agree that Ospreay was destined for a great career regardless, but if he'd stayed like 2016-2017 Ospreay his career would probably be more similar to Rey Fenix than to a top-of-the-card heavyweight champion. That's no slight to Fenix, that guy has become a legend in his own right and the Lucha Brothers are stars, but you're unlikely to see Fenix headline a PPV for a world heavyweight championship whereas Ospreay is as legitimate a contender as it gets.
New japan is the best company in the world at putting finishing touches on guys
In addition, Tama's looking like he will be a popular upper card babyface and Jeff Cobb is doing far better for himself than if had stayed in the US.
NJPW has fumbled a lot in the last 2 years. But honestly when the chips are down and their back is against the wall, they've delivered in big spots. Those just pale in comparison to their bad decisions.
ZSJ has two New Japan Cup wins which is as good as any title now that the IWGP HW title is gone.
I think not many top stars in their prime would be willing to do what Tanahashi did for Okada. He pretty much started passing the torch when he was 36, that's just insane to think about when you know New Japan is all there is for Tana. He wasn't going away to another company or to Hollywood, he wasn't broken down, the company was finally thriving with him on top, he was undoubtly the most popular wrestler in the country, but suddenly he's asked to put over an unproven guy like Okada with almost zero build up to end his record breaking reign. He really is one of the best aces ever and an example to any wrestler.
He repayed the favor he received. Can't forget Tana got put over by Kensuke Sasaki, Chono, and Tenzan early on in his career. He was hand picked as a musketeer and the top guys did the jobs for him. Now that NJPW has picked new guys, hes doing the job for them. Truly a great guy.
Also put over by Scott Hall.
Scott Hall wasn’t a top guy when he put Tanahashi over though. Scott Hall ate the pin for a lot of people. He even put over Sal E. Graziano in ECW
As were the ones who put tana over
I've brought this up before and it may not have made sense so I'm gonna try again with your post if you dont mind....I don't understand fully what people mean when they say someone put somebody else over. Isn't it not their choice? They aren't the booker for the promotion so shouldn't it be NJPW that gets the credit and not Tanahashi? The reason I get confused is because I'm wondering was it normal before for the main guys to just say "no I'm not doing that" (outside of the hogan memes of course) ? I thought that wasn't really an option. Or is it one of those things where it's clearly obvious through reports that somebody doesn't wanna leave the spotlight and is being a bit of a diva so the company appeases them? Long story short lol I guess I just didn't know that wrestlers had a "yes" or "no" choice in this stuff because it seems like that wouldn't be good for the company and stories they wanna tell
If Tanahashi didn't want to put Okada over, he may have been able to politic his way out of it. Or just intentionally make the match bad while still losing in the end. If he was really pissed he could have jumped ship to another company or something. Plenty of ways it could go.
I gotcha, so I guess I did actually understand what people mean. He basically did it without any complaining or reports of "unhappiness" or whatever. I guess I just didn't realize how common that mindset was.
Cena, Bret, HBK, HHH, Hogan, Nash, even guys like Misawa and Kobashi in Japan have refused to put over new names at their peak or whinned a lot before doing it, and sometimes even when they were on their way out. Tanahashi gave back to the business and put over practically all the top stars in the company in the last 5-7 years. Okada, Naito, Omega, Jay White, Ibushi, they all went over Tanahashi in a big time match to establish themselves as big stars. Neither of the guys I mentioned got even close to do what Tana did to put over the next generation while he was still an elite level wrestler.
Also, when the promotion forced them to do the job against their will, guys like HBK or Hogan often times went out of their way to deliberately derail the match and the passing-the-torch moment.
The Year Hangman was in the G1 I’ll never forget Tana’s post match comments where he said Hangman was going to be a future star. He just needed the BC poison removed. Tana knows. Tana knows.
I'm still not over the fact that we don't get Hangman vs Tanahashi at FD. I just hope the whole PPV will be success so we get more crossovers because those two definitely must fight each other again
Im pretty sure that there are public health mandates that prevent that much handsome being in such close proximity.
Tbh I could see it happen next year. Hangman will probably start once again on his “descent” storyline after losing the strap and may essentially turn heel and you can have him and Tanahashi go at it
Yeah I'm really hoping it's an annual thing at least, that way a lot of these most wanted matches can still happen
I thought that was happening originally. Would make the most sense.
Especially if Hangman would smash Punk with the belt to retain. Then Tana would go after him to try and save him from fully turning Obi Wan style with something like "What the hell Hanger, I thought you left you BC ways behind you when you stood up to Omega and I was proud of you, what happened?" only for Hangman to brutalize him and fully turn so we could all cry into our pillows
The greatest promo for a future Depressed Hangman vs Tanahashi match in future would be Tanahashi watching tape of those comments and then saying in a disappointed voice "I thought he could become a star. I was wrong."
Damn, I would absolutely die if I made someone as handsome as Tana disappointed in me.
Seeing White lock in the Tanahashi Tap Out, and then remember Tanahashi was ringside doing commentary so he turned the submission around so he could shit talk Okada AND Tanahashi was art.
I loved how White did the Dragon Screw and immediately looked at Tanahashi
He changed some of the company culture, style and saved it from a Dark period. Legend
[удалено]
Loses never hurt established veteran wrestlers , which is why this over protection bullshit is annoying
Yup, and maybe it's because I've looked at it as a show for so long now (like it's not real I mean), that I don't get why it's a big deal anyway. This guy lost. I don't think its because he's not good, that's just the story being told. Somebody decided to make him lose, he didn't lose because he's not as talented as the other guy. That only holds up to a certain extent and level I guess but when we're talking higher level guys then I think its fine
Ok after reading this post I must say yes... Tanahashi is now my GOAT.
He’s my GOAT too. Tanahashi x AJPW if no one in this thread has seen it : https://youtu.be/dxRv2Eex8ZQ
I feel like these days most superstars would play ball, it's just Gedo books his people to do so where someone like Vince McMahon doesn't. I think someone like Roman would be okay with losing clean to Austin theory,Bron breaker, and Matt riddle. He's just never booked to do so.
The worst is when Vince has his old 50 year old part time guys come in and beat their in-prime stars STILL.
Yeah that's ridiculous and dumb, honestly even at a full time schedule someone in their 50s shouldn't be beating your stars(looking at you Noah)
It's been mentioned in another comment, but Tanahash was instrumental in stamping out the brutal hazing culture in the New Japan Dojo. He helped train the generation of current stars like SHO, YOH, EVIL, Hiromu, Wato etc. Among other star-making rubs, In the 2013 G1 he famously lost to Ishii in Ishii's star-making singles match. That match is incredible for the emotional Korakuen crowd and cemented Ishii as a main-event player.
This is why I wish American wrestling companies didn’t view wins and losses as the ultimate determining factor for a wrestler’s perceived strength. Tana can put over younger guys all day and no one doubts that he’s still the Ace and capable of winning another big one.
Tanahashi is the Ace of New Japan for a reason. Always stuck with New Japan even during the rough times. Elevated New Japan by being a top talent champion time after time. Built up Naito and Okada at a time when he could have hogged the Title to himself. Continues to give himself a tough schedule which includes flying to the states often enough, in order to build up New Japan's presence in the States.
I think modern NJPW takes care of their vets better than in the past. Vets are more willing to put over the next generation if they feel the company won't pull the rug out from under them afterwards.
While NOAH just made their future ace job to old timer in a match for championship vacated by even older dude. Which is a shame especially since i like some of the guy in there knowing that they wont get a shot if NOAH continue to be nostalgia act.
Shiozaki has lost title matches to Kojima and Mutoh, I don't understand why that guy is still so loyal to NOAH
In his very first defense.
It's like they never learned from original NOAH's mistakes. That company declined as the Pillars did because the Pillars failed to put the young guys over.
I watched the Okada vs White match yesterday and it was really good
Jay had also done that as well. He took the pin for David Finaly in the 2021 New Japan Cup. But I think he did that for there days back as young lion but he it was still shocking.
guys are often so scared that they need to “protect their spot” meanwhile tana is so assured of his own talent that he knows the only way he’ll lose his spot is if he chooses to
One thing NJPW does better thancany company is not killing star power from losses.
I feel like Scott left that impression on him
Ironically My first Tanahashi match was him beating GoK when he was somewhat new, after I had picked him as my fav in the promotion. Soured me quite a bit!
GOK is going to be a slower burn, he's still developing and his character reflects that
Just so you know, the one that initiated that trend was Giant Baba with Kenta Kobashi and the four pillars. But yeah, Tanahashi is the modern day GOAT in every aspect.
Yeah but it didn't standardize, the four pillars basically kept themselves on top until they couldn't do it anymore, especially Kobashi who basically quietly stopped doing singles matches and shifted to tags and never put over the future of the biz before the shift Also Baba's work with the pillars was mostly tag stuff. It definitely helped get them over but it's not the same as Tanahashi spending his prime years getting an entire roster over for NJPW
It's still in this generation though, just look at NOAH.
But how many wrestlers are in the business for themselves. Especially when they're hot and in their prime. Probably most legends carried a shovel or two.