1: United Empire (Feels the most like an actual group, not just a collection of people repping a brand, often have members ringside)
2:LIJ (consistent members, everyone works well together)
3:TMDK (Haven’t done much but with the ZSJ addition feels like they have big things coming )
4:Bullet Club (on the decline, HOT not even in the group, ELP/Kenta and Bone Soldier really carrying)
5:Chaos (barely a faction, teams with hontai more than each other)
6:Just 4 Guys (Jobbers as of right now)
11 comments
Honestly I’m not really digging any of them right now. I feel NJPW needs a major shake up. Bullet club is beyond stale. HOT has ruined Evil. I can live with chicken shit cheating heels. However that should be Evil. He needs to be an unstoppable supernatural force. TMDK just feel like they exist and that’s all. UE are probably my favourite.
1. UE, I fucking love their dynamic at how they wholeheartedly support each other without cheating.
2. LIJ, they lost SANADA but he did feel like their weakest member next to BUSHI. Other than that, pretty much just a group of elite calibur wrestlers.
3. CHAOS, because Okada and Bishamon. They’re also pretty tight with each other, especially backstage.
4. HoT: Unpopular opinion time! They genuinely get large reactions, and it’s an absolute joy to see them get pummeled. EVIL is in the perfect sweetspot where he can credibly beat someone like Okada, but can also realistically lose to someone like Mark Davis.
5. J5G, the SANADA shakeup makes them not the bottom. TAKA is super entertaining on the mic, and there’s some bias since SANADA and Taichi are two of my favourites. YOU ALREADY DIE
6. STRONG STYLE, maybe a bit too small to really consider a faction but apart from being 6 man and having Despy they’re kinda eh atm.
7. BULLET CLUB. Losing Jay White has hurt them immensely, and I still don’t see much in David Finlay. Their act is pretty stale, and they have the worst theme song next to YOH’s. ELP and KENTA are their best members, and the former is likely leaving to hopefully LIJ or J5G.
I don’t understand why CHAOS is still a faction. I’d put them below Strong Style and Numbered Guys, personally.
Best faction rn is, unfortunately, United Empire. Bullet Club just changed leaders so they’re Fine ™ just like they always are when this happens and that puts them in the middle of the pack for me. LIJ is a sentimental fave even if they’re not doing a ton these days.
UE > LIJ > TMDK > BC > SStyle > HoT > 5G > CHAOS
Also, all of these factions now are less powerful than the greatest faction that ever existed, which was Taguchi Japan.
EDIT: I disrespected House of Truth by leaving them out originally, which I have now rectified.
At the current moment
J4g>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>United Empire>>Tmdk>Bullet Club>LiJ>HoT>Hontai>Chaos
1. UE. Feel like a stable. Feel like a bunch of guys who are either friends or have each others backs. They have positions for everything. Main Event, Upper midcard, midcard, tag team, juniors etc
2. LIJ because it’s LIJ and despite Sanada leaving I think they are still the coolest. Also feel like ELP is joining so that should be interesting
3. J5G. They can be either funny, serious or cool. Sanada joining is big if booked well, i’m just more excited for them than anyone else at this point besides…
4. TMDK. I’m a Bullet Club guy, but the 4Life thing has been pretty depressing so i’m looking to take my talents to british beach and that means supporting ZSJ and his friends. Does ELP join? I wish, but I still think he’s LIJ bound and replaces Sanada, we move on though.
5. HoT. I think they are funny and at least they have a purpose
6. Strong Style. I’m not too interested, I think they are chilling atm which I can respect, I like them all individually and they have my favorite NJPW wrestler but when it comes to being a FACTION? Idk
7. Chaos. Are they a faction? Bonus points because Yoh-Rush and Bishamon
8. They haven’t felt like a stable since the civil war and even that was botched hard. Jay was a main eventer, a good one, but the stable only existed to serve him, they had that G1 moment and maybe the tossing of GoD but that’s it. I don’t like their direction and it feels somewhat soulless. The fact that we’ve had a western expansion and United Empire have done a MUCH better job than Bullet Club is insane. They are also about to lose their most over member and 2nd most interesting one so that’s also a bummer.
If Hontai counts I’d put them over J5G but overall most factions are really not at their best and the only one that hits all the sweet spots is United Empire.
United Empire seem like the only team with real ambition. BC and Chaos are relics, LIJ aren’t bothered enough to make big moves, and the newer factions could be good but currently look lacklustre.
1. UE, there just smashing it.
2. LIJ, always solid.
Those two stables are solid.
3. Just 5 Guys.
4 Bullet Club, Both stables for what ever reasons are very relevant, both can go either way.
5. HOT, there alright for what they are, but not serious, feel EVIL is wasted.
6. CHAOS. now there with the main unit I wouldn’t say there a real stable, for me personally, need to leave main unit or quietly disband. Not a knock on CHAOS at all btw.
I didn’t mention Strong Style, to soon, I don’t know if there going to become a stable, or if it’s just there team name for main unit.
Personally I’m enjoying a bit of a stable shake up so far this year.
I normally don’t like ranking things, but I’m on lunch break.
Empire: Strongest unit by far. Consistent, tight knit, talented and someone’s always carrying gold. Don’t really get what Tama Tonga said. Three Empire members current carrying titles right now (IWGP Junior + RevPro Heavy).
LIJ: Titan joining was clutch, the fans still love Naito, Shingo is the uncrowned world champ, Bushi is soooooo underrated and Hiromu is the next Liger. They could use one more Japanese member and some stronger direction as a group. But other than that? They’re still the best domestic unit.
TMDK: New favorite thing in wrestling. Mikey + Shane owned WTL, Zack is on fire, Fujita had “it” upon his Young Lion debut, Tito is sorely missed in Japan. Love these guys. Got my TMDK shirt right after Zack joined.
House of Torture: NJPW needed a Japanese heel faction and Suzuki-Gun were babyfaces before disbanding. Easy math. That said, they get shit done. They constantly fuck with fans, officials and all other wrestlers. Love it. Bullet Club needs House of Torture, not the reverse.
J5G: On the come-up. Good acquisition last night. Douki and Kanemaru slay as a tag team, Taka’s a great manager, Taichi finally won me over and Sanada’s always been one of my favorites, shiro pantsu or not. Now they just gotta start winning matches.
Strong Style: Are they a faction or not? Can’t tell. If so, love it. Need a couple more members and we’re in great shape. If they’re supposed to be Hontai, get them outta there and build them up separately. I see people talking about Alex Coughlin. HE should join Strong Style. Suzuki could turn that guy into the next Karl Gotch. This Android thing just feels like a cheap version of Glacier.
Chaos: Ishii is one of my all-time favorites and I love Lio3K. Yano is comic genius. Bored with Bishimon. I get it, it’s their time. New Japan needed a flagship heavyweight tag team and they proved worthy during the pandemic. Yoshi-Hashi’s never looked better, but that’s not saying much. Okada’s Okada. No suspense, don’t care. Eagles screams like a toddler during his matches. Biggest complaint: they don’t feel like a faction. At all. They could all reform as something else behind Okada and he wouldn’t even notice.
Hontai: Best thing they got right now is GOD. If/when Tonga Loa comes back, they should break away and be their own men. Umino will be great eventually and Clark Connors fucking destroys. When he’s booked. Otherwise, these guys are mostly a bunch of dorks. Tana’s on the decline, Kojima was world champ for a promotion New Japan blatantly buries every year, Honma is strange and can barely move, Wato is the new Yoshi-Hashi and I’ve never understood the butt stuff. My first BOSJ match was Kanemaru vs corny fuck-about Taguchi. The reason I love Kanemaru is because his reaction towards Taguchi mirrored mine. I don’t get Alex Zayne and his Captain Hook mustache. Or his gear. Two different reds and mint green? Fucking atrocious. And is Linda Man supposed to be a Japanese Chris Candido parody? Again, these guys don’t feel like a faction.
Team Filthy: Love Tom Lawler, but don’t care about Kratos. If Zayne is Captain Hook, then Kratos could be his pirate-themed club bouncer. Danny Limelight is a good successor to Rocky, but why wasn’t he in BOSJ? WCWC were solid on the Strong shows, but why weren’t they in WTL? And since Strong is now just 60-minute episodes sliced from New Japan US shows, is Team Filthy even a thing anymore?
Bullet Club: Love Finlay as the new addition. Can’t wait to see what happens there. Fourth generation wrestler in a time where legacies are becoming a stronger theme in kayfabe. Love Kenta, but he’s a 12-pack conversation. Short version: he’s just having fun. Ishimori criminally gets no love. Why, because he’s not Hiromu? He fucking kills it at 40 years old and nobody cares. El P is in a transitional phase. Okay, pretty interesting. But unless New Japan develops him further, he’s still just discount Logan Paul to the casual western fan. And… that’s it? Jay was stale as a top heel. Felt this way for a while. Not interested in Chase or Fale. What the fuck happened to Juice Robinson? Bey + Austin are Impact and rarely tour Japan. Saw the additions from Tamashi and wasn’t impressed. This faction needs to be get rebuilt. NOW. Dontaku is in two months. Bullet Club ranks lowest because they’re supposed to feel like a big deal and they haven’t for like 3-4 years. The Bullet Club BRAND is an iconic merchandising monolith, but the faction roster itself is a revolving door with a very short shelf life. Maybe the reason they’ve lost so much steam is because nWo (their chief inspiration) was 20+ years ago and nobody watching today remembers how boring and bloated that shit was either. These things run their course, but are often remembered for overstaying their welcome.
1. United Empire, they’re just too based.
2. TMDK. Pure bias, but they’re the group I’m most interested in right now.
3. LIJ. Always cool, but definitely fell off recently.
4. Just 5 Guys. Bias again, love these goofs.
5. Bullet Club. They’re trying so hard to keep BC relevant and it’s just getting worse and worse. BC’s way more interesting in other companies right now.
6. CHAOS. Ain’t been interesting in about 10 years, and they might as well just be Hontai at this point.
UE and LIJ are the only legit ones I care about
TMDK is an interesting sleeper pick with time can keep growing
Everything else feels stale or is filler
1. UE feels like THE stable in NJPW at the moment, they’re stocked with contenders for every division.
2. LIJ has been consistent for so long, even with Sanada leaving it feels like they’re still on top of their game but it does need a shakeup.
3. CHAOS/HONTAI any grouping consisting 2 of NJPWs modern aces is going to be legendary, and Tama as Never champ and Bishamon are fantastic as a tag team, however it feels like Chaos is an after thought these days and they might as well just merge with HONTAI. I am also including Strong Style as part of HONTAI
4. Bullet Club. Losing Jay is a huge blow and the depth below him is apparent since there was no clear leader for the stable after Jay. Safe to say it’s in a transitional stage at this point and is having a long overdue shakeup so it will be interesting to see how it develops this year. Must split from HOT.
5. HOT is still technically BC but let’s face it it’s kinda like 2 parents who should divorce but are staying together for the Kids. They are the fractional equivalent of a pin eater but they serve that role well but does anyone legitimately buy them as a major threat?
6. Just 5 guys – until they signed Sanada I would have had them bottom. However I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to them throughout the year.
7. TMDK – At this stage it just feels like Zack in his rockabilly phase with Fujita, with Haste, Nichols and Tito not around enough. I do like them as a stable but they kinda need more members who are around more often.