Ladies and gentlemen, Wrestle Kingdom season is upon us! As New Japan’s biggest show of the year is looming, with SANADA’s and Tetsuya Naito’s match for the IWGP World Heavyweight championship headlining, I suggest we look back upon the challenger’s previous Tokyo Dome entrances.
Let’s first travel back to 2017 and then jump straight to 2018, to trace how Naito’s entrances highlight the evolution of his character and story.
Wrestle Kingdom 11: The evil facade hiding deep emotions.
The date is January 1st, 2017. Tetsuya Naito enters the Tokyo Dome as the IWGP Intercontinental champion. This is the second time Naito walks into the legendary venue since returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling in mid 2015. After a loss to Hirooki Goto as his first Dome match back, the now leader of fairly new faction Los Ingobernables de Japon faces a man he once idolized but now resents, a man he was supposed to take the torch from: The Ace of the Universe trying to get his mojo back following an injury, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Naito enters this match as the heel of this story, one of two “new” heels rising the ranks of the company, the other one being in the show’s main event. At this point in time, while fans did show some appreciation towards Naito, he had yet to reach the point where he would receive the constant, overwhelming amount of support he does nowadays. Some fans yell his name but the crowd is not erupting in the way we will get to see later. He is no babyface and has one goal in mind: Destroy everything linked to his past failures. That includes his opponent Tanahashi, but it also includes the Intercontinental title itself. Naito treats it quite poorly already, as he sees it as one of the main reasons he was unable to main event Wrestle Kingdom three years prior.
Now then, let’s talk about the actual entrance. The L.I.J version of Naito now wears a suit for big occasions, usually paired with a mask which tend to be demon-like (chances are there are specific references when it comes to the masks Naito has worn over time, but I lack that knowledge). This match makes no exception as Naito makes his way to the ring wearing a burgundy suit. Shades of red can be associated with all sorts of evil, and in this instance, the separation between Naito’s ill intent and Tanahashi’s pure heart is well examplified by the color of their attires.
Sidenote for the gamers out there: If you have played the Yakuza series of games, you might just like me see something “Yakuza-esque” in Naito’s appearance here. The suit, the demeanor, the aura. The fact he looks and pretty much is an evil gang leader.
Another important thing to note here is Naito’s demeanor. As told earlier, Naito is no babyface and has no intent on actively catering to the audience. He does not really acknowledge the few fans showing him support by yelling his name. He does take in the moment when the crowd reacts to him taking his mask off, observing the arena, but quickly falls back into acting smug and unbothered.
As those of you who have extensive Naito lore knowledge will know, he is not exactly an unbothered heel who could care less if the fans support him. He once was hailed as the future Ace of New Japan and quite the popular wrestler, and one could say his new demeanor is a protective shell, as well as the new identity he crafts for himself.
Wrestle Kingdom 12: The anti-hero turned protagonist.
Let’s now jump exactly one year forward. It is once again January 4th, but this time the year reads 2018. Tetsuya Naito has accomplished his goal of destroying the Intercontinental title, eventually losing it to Tanahashi at Dominion this past June in Osaka, leaving it to the ace to restore the title. With that arc of his story resolved, Naito moved on to the G1 Climax as big fan favourite to win the tournament. Following absolute classics against Tanahashi in the A block finals, and a rematch of the previous year against fellow rising heel Kenny Omega in the tournament grand finale, Naito won his second G1 Climax and was set to main event the Tokyo Dome.
This time, nothing would prevent him from wrestling in the very last match, not even the American audience-targeted Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho for the new IWGP US Heavyweight championship. Speaking of championships, Naito would of course challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12. His opponent being none other than the last remaining hurdle of his career, the mighty, record breaking champion at the time: The Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada.
This time around, while Naito is facing yet another very popular wrestler in Okada, things are quite drastically different from how they were a year ago.
Naito is now, alongside Tanahashi, not only New Japan’s most popular wrestler, but the most beloved wrestler in the entire country. 2017 was the year in which Naito started to “open up”, acknowledge the fans’ rapidly increasing support, took part in funny hijinks alongside fellow stablemate and fan favourite Hiromu Takahashi. By the time January 4th rolled around again, New Japan fans simply could not get enough of Naito. In and out of Japan, as the company’s worldwide reach had also increased rapidly.
This main event may be a battle of fan favourites, but the Tokyo Dome crowd is almost completely behind Naito, and it becomes clear the moment “Stardust” starts and the arena erupts.
One thing which needs to be addressed is the special video package that was made for Naito’s entrance. The previous year, Naito had his usual video package playing, with the special feature of a big eye-like shape, one of Naito’s trademarks since becoming ungovernable, moving left and right within the titantron. This time, New Japan made a very specific package about Naito’s history, his and Okada’s intrinsic bond and his destiny as the promotion’s protagonist of sorts.
If you thought Naito’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 entrance felt grand, sit tight, because this one takes the grandeur to a whole other level. Not only is the stage elevated with a big staircase, but jets of flames come out of said stage, adding to the overall big fight feel and grandeur of this entrance. Naito still is dressed in a suit, typical of him for big matches, but he dropped the burgundy for a white suit, added a cape and his mask looks much less demonic. Is it more of a wolf or fox-like figure? I’m not fully sure, but one thing is certain: Not only do the large majority of fans in attendance view Naito as the hero here based of the overwhelming wave of cheers and Naito chants, but that is exactly how he sees himself. He is not the resentful man he was the previous year. He is a man embracing the fans’ support, embracing his new (yet not so new) status. As the english announcer introduces him, Naito does his pose to a chorus of cheers (followed by a few boos as he starts walking down the ramp, but those quickly get overwhelmed). It may seem hard to tell since he is wearing a mask, but Naito is emotional as he walks towards the ring and he actually caters to the audience now. Shades of his old self, as the story of the match would come to tell us.
As he stops midway through his entrance to look around, the chants intensify and there is no doubt that Naito soaks the moment in. This is HIS moment and HIS time. The hero of his own story draped in white, supported by thousands of fans on the edge of their seats, here for one thing and one thing only: To watch him win and truly become the protagonist of not only his story, but of the company he has dedicated his life to.
Unfortunately, Naito was not able to truly fulfill those expectations at the time. Due to the events of 2020, his next chance to cement himself as the core of New Japan was marred as well. But on January 4th 2024, he will once again enter the Tokyo Dome with the fans behind him. Perhaps this time, the story will have a happy ending.