Tetsuya Naito is the biggest merchandise seller for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and is the vehicle behind the huge merchandise numbers Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) is responsible for across the world. His winning of the Double Gold Dash tournament during Wrestle Kingdom 14 in January was seen by over 70,000 fans in attendance over two days at the Tokyo Dome.
His IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Championship’ defense against Evil at The New Beginning in Osaka generated approximately $1,153,104.27 at the gate and a house of 11,411.
His loss to former LIJ member Evil at Dominion created a lot of buzz and angered several NJPW fans located in western nations; however, Naito chasing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is a formula that could draw a lot of money for the promotion and cause Naito to become an even larger merchandise success.
Naito Thrives In This Role
Naito from Wrestle Kingdom 8 until Wrestle Kingdom 14 went through an up and down journey to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome. During that period he would become the biggest merchandise hit in the company due to his mixture of charisma, unique personality, and consistent callbacks to his inability to find the ultimate success at the Tokyo Dome.
He has been one of the major pillars of NJPW as the company has expanded into North America and Oceania in recent years.
Is Naito In The Dusty Rhodes Position?
From the words of those who watched Dusty Rhodes in his prime, they often say the money was in Dusty chasing after the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Naito regaining the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14, was a gigantic box office success that generated approximately $10,011,744.48 over the two-day event, that didn’t take into account merchandise sold during both events.
Dusty’s longest tenure with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship came in 1981, in his second reign when he held the belt for 88 days, his first reign only lasted for five days, and his third for 14. Naito’s time with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is effectively longer, even when taking into account title defense means more than days with the championship in NJPW.
With Naito being in the pack with Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, and Jay White as those chasing Evil there will be a lot of interesting narrative unfolding around Naito gaining his revenge over the friend that turned on him.
