26.) Wataru Inoue
Total Days: 191
Number of Reigns: 1
Out of everyone in this list, arguably the biggest “what could have been?” situation belongs to Wataru Inoue. If you’re a basketball fan the best comparison I could probably give him to is Derrick Rose. Both men received some success because of their talents, in Rose’s case the MVP but would fall to devastating career ending injuries. Luckily for D-Rose however, his career is still continuing today, the same couldn’t be said for Inoue.
Wataru Inoue debuted in 1999 and would later join Liger’s New Japan Junior Sekigun who were fierce rivals at the time against CTU. Earlier on, Inoue was known for his strong fighting spirit, a lot similar to his predecessors Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami. This got him the respect of the fans and would quickly become one of the top favorites in the whole division.
He won his first championship in 2005 becoming Jr. Tag Champs with his mentor Koji Kanemoto. Two years later he defetated Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship which lasted for 191 days. He had three defenses, one with Taguchi and twice against Christopher Daniels before vacating the belt as he moved up to the heavyweights division.
Over the years there have been many success stories of juniors transitioning into heavyweight roles. Earlier names such as Koshinaka and Takada, while modern fans may think of Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega as best examples too. Inoue was on the same path, in fact he won the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships in 2010 with the great Yuji Nagata. But things sadly did not flourish the way they were supposed to be, on March 4, 2013 Wataru Inoue suffered a neck injury which forced him to end his pro wrestling career. The following year, they held a ceremony for his career. A sad ending of someone who had all the potential in the world, we will never truly know what Wataru Inoue could’ve done in the landscape of New Japan today as a wrestler.
Where Are They Now?
While no longer a wreslter, Inoue is still a part of NJPW and works backstage roles.
27.) Low Ki
Total Combined Days: 226
Number of Reigns: 3
It may seem baffling for some people now, but there was a point in time where Low Ki was one of the most talked about wrestlers in the independent scene all over the world. He first started out in small time indies, before making a name for himself in Ring of Honor. It wouldn’t be long before other companies would take notice too such as TNA and Japanese promotions such as ZERO1, NOAH, and of course NJPW.
Because of his martial arts inspired gimmick along with highflying movies, Low Ki is for real one of the best in his prime. He is up there in the indies with the likes of Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, and Chris Hero just to name a few. His attitude issues? Yeah that’s a problem, but in the ring he is a great performer, unless he is stiffing you purposely, but I digress.
His first run wasn’t anything noteworthy, beating Tiger Mask IV then losing it right back to him. His second reign wouldn’t come years later in 2012, after an unsuccessful WWE career, Low Ki returned to the TNA and NJPW, whom at this point were partner companies. Low Ki would become a part of the CHAOS stable and in May of that year defeated Prince Devitt and entered BOSJ as the champion. After 87 days, he exchanged belts once more with Ibushi for his third and final reign, ultimately losing the belt to Devitt.
Low Ki wrestled his last match in New Japan on Wrestle Kingdom 7, wrestling under a suit inspired by Agent 47 of the Hitman video game series. Apparently, this attire was out of protest because he did not want to wrestle out of fear for his health issues in Fukushima nuclear disaster. NJPW did not take lightly of this, a month later he was removed from their website and will probably never return to the company again, and with NJPW’s history, once the bridge is burnt, it rarely gets rebuilt.
Where Are They Now?
Low Ki still a part of the American wrestling indie scene, mainly competing for the revived Major League Wrestling (MLW) promotion.
28.) Mistico
Total Days: 85
Number of Reigns: 1
Nowadays Mistico is the subject of many jokes thanks to his flop career in the WWE. But there was a point in time when Mistico was the biggest name in the entire lucha libre scene!
Around the time he won the belt in 2009, NJPW and CMLL have formed a partnership which still goes strong to this day. Often both promotions exchange their talents for touring purposes. At the time, nobody is a more recognizable name amongst the lucha circuit than Mistico. Thanks to his innovative highflying skills which quickly made him a fan favorite. He won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship by beating Tiger Mask, then defended it twice in Mexico against legends Negro Casas and Jushin “Thunder” Liger which are both instant classic best two out of three falls matches. He dropped the belt back to Tiger Mask in Japan. A short but sweet title reign for sure.
In 2011 Mistico was the first major indie star recruited by Triple H to the WWE and became the “Sin Cara” character. We all know how that went.
Where Are They Now?
There are different wrestlers portraying the Mistico and Sin Cara characters now. The Mistico we all knew is now competing as Caristico for both CMLL and AAA.
29.) Naomichi Marufuji
Total Days: 166
Number of Reigns: 1
NJPW and NOAH have a long love-hate relationship. Every time the two companies worked together, we get great matches thanks to the talented wrestlers both rosters have, but backstage politics would be an occurring issue. Naomichi Marufuji is one of the greatest wrestlers ever, and since the passing of Misawa and retirements of Kobashi and Taue, essentially became the face of NOAH. Prior to his title win in 2010, Marufuji has competed a few times for New Japan before much earlier.
Before it became a staple event of NJPW, Wrestle Kingdom was actually a mega event in Japan where all promotions can gather and book “supercards” and “dream matches” integrating talents. Wrestle Kingdom 4 we saw Marufuji defeat Tiger Mask to become IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, making history in the process as he is the first to hold the three major junior heavyweight belts for NJPW, AJPW, and NOAH!
He had a decent 166 day run with the belt, having 5 successful title defenses before ultimately dropping it to Prince Devitt. Marufuji would return to New Japan again years later, this time as a heavyweight a part of the G1 Climax Tournament and even faced Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, in fact the first challenger to Okada’s historic 720 day reign.
Where Are They Now?
Marufuji is in a similar role in NOAH as Tanahashi in NJPW. A veteran of the company who can still go with the younger guys. Marufuji however has taken more of a heel role recently.
