Since the downfall of WCW in 2001, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arguably been the second-largest and successful wrestling promotion in the world. It continues to have a huge following and recently became the first promotion to welcome back a large number of fans after months of empty arena shows.
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Even though New Japan has been around since 1972, the company only entered into the world of pay per view (PPV) until Jan 4, 2007, when it hosted Wrestle Kingdom 1 with the main event of Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono versus Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima.
10 Minoru Suzuki (4)
Known for both his prowess in the worlds of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, Suzuki had a number of main event matches with NJPW during the 2010s. In his first two bouts, he squared off against Hiroshi Tanahashi in 2012 and 2013.
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He later would go up against Kazuchika Okada, first in 2013, and then in a rematch six years later in 2019. With his signature hairstyle, Suzuki is recognized widely for both his grappling and submissions both in the ring and the octagon. He headlined several other major shows that aren't considered PPVs.
9 Togi Makabe (5)
Togi Makabe dominated the main event scene in 2010, headlining three straight PPVs with matches against Shinsuke Nakamura, Go Shiozaki, and Satoshi Kojima. It was a very successful year for him as he also reached the finals of the G1 Climax tournament.
Since then, he has had a few more main event shots, the latest coming in 2015 against Kota Ibushi when he successfully defended the NEVER Openweight Championship at Destruction in Okayama at the Momotaro Arena.
8 Satoshi Kojima (5)
Satoshi Kojima is the only man on this list who was in the main event of the first NJPW PPV in 2007. It was far from his last as he would go onto to headline four more shows during the 2010s.
His run included main eventing back-to-back shows in January and February 2011 against Tanahashi, and a 2013 match against Okada. Kojima is also known as the first wrestler to hold New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight Championship and All Japan Pro Wrestling's Triple Crown Championship at the same time.
7 AJ Styles (8)
After more than a decade as one of the faces of TNA, and later, Impact Wrestling, AJ Styles returned to NJPW in 2014 as the new leader of Bullet Club, starting a run at the top of the company's card that would include five bouts against Okada, including a triple threat involving Michael Elgin.
Styles would also face Tanahashi twice, before being brutally kicked out of the Bullet Club before making his way to WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble. During his NJPW stint, he also headlined a handful of G1 Climax shows.
6 Kenny Omega (8)
Speaking Styles being kicked out of Bullet Club, his departure was a springboard for Kenny Omega to jump into the main event picture between 2016 and 2019. Once known as a comedy wrestler who fought children and sex dolls, Omega became a bonafide main eventer.
Some of his classic bouts came against Tanahashi, Ibushi, and his legendary matches against Okada which have gained six and seven-star ratings from Dave Meltzer, previously unheard of before.
5 Hirooki Goto (9)
For someone who started out getting into wrestling through Fire Pro Wrestling, Goto has had an amazing career, with his standing in New Japan's main event scene lasting more than a decade.
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His first PPV main event came at NJPW's second PPV ever on November 9, 2007, at Destruction '07 when he lost to Tanahashi by submission. Incredibly, he was still at the top of the card as late as 2019, when he faced Shingo Takagi at the New Beginning In Sapporo.
4 Tetsuya Naito (11)
After getting his first main event in 2011, Naito had to wait five long years before he got another chance. Since then, he has been a dominant factor at the top of the card in New Japan, facing competitors ranging from Jay Lethal to KENTA.
Naito has headlined the last two PPVs for New Japan, including the most recent event, Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall on July 12, when he was defeated for the IWGP Title by EVIL, who had just turned on him recently.
3 Shinsuke Nakamura (16)
Before he became a tag team heel on Smackdown Live, Nakamura was one of the biggest stars for New Japan from the mid-2000s to the mid-2000s. From 2008 to 2015, he reached the top of the card many times facing a wide variety of opponents.
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In 2014 alone, Nakamura headlined six shows, going up against Tanahashi three times and also Bad Luck Fale, one of the founding members of Bullet Club. Nakamura also had the honor of facing one of NJPW's greatest legends, Keiji Mutoh, aka The Great Muta, in 2008.
2 Hiroshi Tanahashi (32)
One of the greatest superstars in the history of NJPW, no one defined the first five years of the company's entry in PPV than Tanahashi. Between 2008 and 2013 alone, he main evented an amazing 21 shows.
His first main event came in late 2007 against Goto, and he would go on to face almost every man on this list at least once, while also battling the likes of Mutoh, Ibushi, and Karl Anderson.
1 Kazuchika Okada (37)
At the top of the list is the arguably the greatest superstar in the history of NJPW, Kazuchika Okada. Since facing Tanahashi in his first main event at The New Beginning on February 12, 2012, Okada has cemented his place at the top of the company, and never looked back.
In addition to facing every other man on this list, Okada has taken on the likes of Jay White, Zack Sabre Jr., and Chris Jericho over the years at New Japan PPVs, making him likely the greatest big card performer in the company's long history.
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