TETSUYA NAITO
THE UNGOVERNABLE ONE
By Jasmine Olan
One of the biggest transformation stories in professional wrestling over the past several years has been that of Tetsuya Naito. As the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Naito went from a wrestler struggling to find his way to one of the industry’s most beloved heel characters. Along way LIJ has become one of the most popular factions in New Japan Pro Wrestling today. Feeling mistreated by the promotion he called home and betrayed by the fans, Naito temporarily stepped away from New Japan to compete for Mexican promotion, CMLL in 2015. There he joined his close friends, La Sombra, Rush, and La Máscara in their faction, Los Ingobernables. Upon his return to NJPW, Naito formed the Japanese branch of the group. In that time, Naito found four fellow misfits, and together they rebelled against the establishment in NJPW. To truly understand the story of Los Ingobernables de Japon, it’s important to know the story of its leader, Tetsuya Naito.
Naito’s journey with New Japan Pro Wrestling began with him as a young lion originally trained by Animal Hamaguchi. He made his official debut in May of 2006. In 2008, Naito formed a tag team called “No Limit” with future Bullet Club member Yujiro Takahashi which lasted until 2011. Over time, Naito’s career gained some big momentum and in 2013 the man then known as the Stardust Genius won the G1 Climax tournament, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals and earning the opportunity to main event NJPW’s biggest event of the year, WRESTLE KINGDOM. That night in front of a pack crowd, Naito addressed the fans and proclaimed, “Shin Nihon Puroreso shuyaku wa ore wa (New Japan’s top star is me).” It was a triumphant moment for Naito who had powered through the grueling tournament after having returned from knee surgery not too long before.
However after that night, the momentum Naito had built up soon began to slow. He found himself struggling to connect with the fans who were losing faith in him at that the time, and it began to get to him. It further angered Naito that NJPW chose to hold a vote to decide which match would be the main event at WRESTLE KINGDOM on January 4th. It would either be Naito vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship or Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. A vote of 2 to 1 decided that it would be Tanahashi vs Nakamura.
Feeling robbed of an opportunity he’d worked so hard to earn, a totally disenchanted Naito headed back to Mexico for a time. While there, the last remnants of the Stardust Genius were stripped away, and a new Naito was born as a member of Los Ingobernables. By the time he returned to Japan, he was now tranquilo, having divested himself emotionally from the fans and NJPW as a whole. During that time, the long standing rivalry between Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi was reignited. Their relationship has always been a complicated one.
At first they got a long very well. During his time as a young lion, Naito had even accompanied Tanahashi to the ring on occasion. After the vote that decided the main event for WRESTLE KINGDOM 8, the two fell out. Tanahashi was and still is the man who has always represented everything the New Japan Lion’s mark stands for as well as the face of the company. Naito had always wanted to have that status within the promotion, but at that time the Stardust Genius had struggled to live up to what the Ace Of The Universe was. At one point Naito seemed destined to be the man to one day replace Tanahashi, but that changed when the fans grew increasingly disenchanted with him.
After Naito’s return from Mexico, the feud between him and Tanahashi grew more and more heated as they battled over the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Tanahashi hated the way Naito would often disrespect and try to destroy the championship belt, something that had meant so much to him for years. It was as if Naito were attempting to completely obliterate that part of himself that still wanted to hold onto his past out of anger over his past failures. To him, Tanahashi was partly responsible for his initial downfall in NJPW. That rivalry resulted in some of the best matches of their time. It was during this period that Los Ingobernables de Japon was formed. The first additions were the King Of Darkness, Evil and the Jet Black Death Mask, Bushi. The final additions were the Ticking Time Bomb, Hiromu Takahashi and the Cold Skull, Sanada.
Naito was now on the road to redemption by this point. He’d even won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after renewing another long standing rivalry. This one was with none other than the Rainmaker himself, Kazuchika Okada. Naito would lose the title several months later but find himself back in the title hunt when the time came for G1 Climax 26. He would make it to the B Block finals but ultimately fall to Kenny Omega who would go on to win the tournament and make history by becoming the first foreigner to win it. That win would mark the beginning of Kenny’s critically acclaimed feud with Okada.
At G1 Climax 27, Naito would once again find himself face to face with Kenny Omega. The energy in the legendary Ryōgoku Sumo Hall was palpable as the two stepped into the ring and went to war against each other in the tournament finals. In a furious back and forth contest both men gave it their all, and this time, Naito would be the one to emerge victorious this time after unleashing virtually every move in his repertoire, including the Stardust Press which he hadn’t used in two years. Something felt a bit different with this G1 win. Naito now had the full support of the fans, and it showed as he once again proclaimed himself the “shuyaku (top star)”. Unlike his win in 2013, it was true this time.
That win was a great confidence booster for Naito as he looked ahead toward WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 where he would live his dream of competing in the main event. It was the dream Naito felt had been stolen from him three years before. While he would not leave the Tokyo dome as IWGP Heavyweight Champion that night, Naito would leave with the utmost respect of the fans. So far the rest of 2018 has seen him win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the second time after defeating Minoru Suzuki at WRESTLING HINOKUNI in April and begin a brand new feud with Chris Jericho who he will face at Dominion on June 9th.
Despite the cavalier attitude Naito often displays at times, there are moments where fans get a glimpse of that part of him that really does appreciate their loyalty and is proud to represent them. In many ways Tetsuya Naito is that guy who really cares in spite of the fact that he doesn’t like to show it, and is learning to let go of the past. With the rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon by his side, he seems to have truly found his place as a symbol for those who’ve ever felt like they never quite fit in. His signature brand of cool remains as entertaining as ever, especially his famous catch phrase, “Tranquilo! Assen na yo!(Calm down)”, and LIJ remains one of wrestling’s hottest factions. As Naito’s story continues, his star is sure to keep burning bright within the New Japan pantheon.
