Essay time, as I’ve been thinking for awhile about the similarities between Naito and Jake, just before their clash in June.
Let’s start with how both began in the business; After initially receiving training from Animal Haguchi (legendary wrestler/trainer, who broke in the likes of Satoshi Kojima, Takao Omori and Shingo Takagi in the biz), Naito passed a NJPW tryout in 2005 (beating out young Seiya Sanada), before debuting officially in 2006; Lee started training in the AJPW dojo in 2011, under the tutelage of Keiji Muto (the man responsible for Naito wanting to be a wrestler, along with many others), and under his real name, Lee Jae-kyung; while Naito would go through the typical NJPW YL matches, and eventually find his fist success teaming with Yujiro Takahashi as NO LIMIT, Jake would retire from pro-wrestling after just 10 matches (after an injury); Lee would go onto to train and take part in MMA, until officially returning to pro-wrestling in 2015 (which, funny enough, is the year Naito joined LI in CMLL, before establishing LIJ in NJPW).
Now we come to the part where both men, despite finding solid footing in their respective promotions, eventually settle into positions as the “number two”; despite being primed to be the potential top guys in NJPW, Naito would famously fall out of favor with the crowds, and ultimately be overshadowed by the newly returned “Rainmaker”, Kazuchika Okada; despite being presented as a heel character at first, Okada’s ability in the ring and charisma endeared him to the NJPW fanbase, while Naito was seen as a bland babyface; Okada surpassing Naito was seemingly confirmed at WK 8 (although their story was far from over); Lee, on the other hand, found a pretty solid position in AJPW upon his return in 2015 (now, lead by then-President Jun Akiyama); Lee would officially form the stable NEXTREAM, alongside Kento Miyahara (joined later by Naoya Nomura an Yuma Aoyagi, as the four men would be dubbed “the new Four Pillars of AJPW”); Lee would eventually run into the same problems Naito had in NJPW, being overshadowed by a more charismatic and impressive in-ring performer in Miyahara; Lee would eventually break away from Miyahara, forming several stables to try to dominate All Japan, but falling to Kento several times (as Naito did to Okada); Naito, while never truly being the “Ace” in the time of Okada, would become one of the most popular figures in NJPW (if not THE most).
Both Naito and Jake would have their fates altered in the 2020’s, as events brought about change for both men; due to some still unknown “power struggle” in AJPW in 2023, Jake Lee and several others would leave the promotion, leading to Jake Lee finding a new home in Pro-Wrestling NOAH; Naito would experience a change in his native promotion, as Kazuchika Okada would depart NJ and become “All Elite” in 2024; this departure would leave Naito as the true top “star” and main-event talent in the company; however, despite these changes seemingly being positive for both men, they both have had somewhat uneven success’s; Naito main-evented WK 18, defeating SANADA to win the IWGP World Heavyweight championship, only to lose it Jon Moxley after 99 days as champ; Lee’s arrival in NOAH was met with fanfare, quickly establishing himself as a main-eventer and winning the GHC Heavyweight belt, a belt he would go onto hold for 223 days, before being dethroned by Kenoh (the last truly decent reign with the belt).
The big question to come out of Lee and Naito’s match on June 16th will be what will be both men’s paths coming out of said match; a victory for Naito would set him on the path to perhaps taking back the IWGP, while a victory for Lee will potentially cement his “star” status in Japan.
by MrPuroresu42
