Factions of Japan Pt. II
By: Nicholas Gerts
As factions come and go from puroresu and new ones come into prominence, it’s worth taking a look at those that are reshaping the industry. In our Spring edition, I covered six of today’s most influential stables, telling the backstories of them along with listing the current members in factions like Suzuki-gun and Kongo.
In this issue, you can find some interesting facts on long-running squads in New Japan, while learning about the fresh faces All Japan is creating to build a new foundation for years to come. Of course there’s not enough space to list them all, but here are some more of Monthly Puroresu’s favorites.
CHAOS
COMPANY: New Japan Pro Wrestling
MEMBERS: Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero, SHO, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOH, YOSHI- HASHI
ABOUT: CHAOS is New Japan’s OG faction. Born back in April 2009, CHAOS has ruled over New Japan and continues to dominate 12 years later. The faction might not be at the level of its peak when Kazuchika Okada was the IWGP Heavyweight champ and Shinsuke Nakamura held the IWGP Intercontinental title, but it still poses a major threat in the company. CHAOS’ main success these days comes from its six-man tag team of Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI. The trio recently broke the record for the longest IWGP 6- Man Tag Team title reign in company history and kept NEVER gold the stable by defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata on July 2.
Photo Credit: twitter/taigaPhoto_pw
Members of New Japan’s CHAOS standing tall in the ring at Korakuen Hall on June 23, 2021 during the Kizuna Road tour. Members Tomohiro Ishii (right), Hirooki Goto (center), and YOSHI-HASHI (2nd to left) set the record on the tour for NEVER Openweight 6-man tag title defenses. YOSHI-HASHI, in particular, covets the title and represents the virtuous fighting spirit fans in the audience gravitate towards
Los Ingobernables de Japón
COMPANY: New Japan Pro Wrestling
MEMBERS: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito
ABOUT: LIJ can lay claim to being called the best faction in Japan today and boasts three wrestlers New Japan can lean on as an ace in Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito. Takahashi is a junior heavyweight stalwart and continues to produce some of the best matches in recent history. Naito will go down as one of the best wrestlers in NJPW history, and Shingo cemented his name into puro history after producing numerous match of the year candidates this year while becoming the first Dragon Gate wrestler to capture the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. BUSHI and SANADA might be in championship droughts but stand out on their own as top-tier wrestlers while making LIJ the complete package.
M’s Alliance
COMPANY: Pro Wrestling NOAH
MEMBERS: Keiji Mutoh, Masaaki Mochizuki, Masakatsu Funaki, Masato Tanaka, Naomichi Marufuji, Yuko Miyamoto
ABOUT: I think it’s safe to say that the Naomichi Marufuji-led faction is one of the greatest collections of legendary wrestlers ever assembled. The numbers alone prove it – the six wrestlers boast 147 championships during their 168 years of combined in-ring experience, according to Cagematch. The M’s Alliance proves that age is just a number, as the collection continues to show why they are in the upper tier of Japanese wrestling. Keiji Mutoh’s recent GHC championship run solidified him as the GOAT of all GOATS. Marufuji hit legendary status after knocking off Mutoh for a record-tying fourth GHC Heavyweight Title reign at CyberFight Festival on June 6. And not to be outdone, Masato Tanaka is currently in his fifth run as ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion. Rounding out the group is one of the greatest wrestlers in Dragon Gate history in Masaaki Mochizuki, MMA legend and former All Japan Triple Crown champion Masakatsu Funaki and deathmatch legend Yuki Miyamoto. These six are truly the cream of the crop.
Keiji Mutoh (58) hits a Shining Wizard on fellow M’s Alliance member (and NOAH Vice President) Naomichi Marufuji (41) in an attempt to hold onto the GHC Heavyweight Championship in their match on June 6 at CyberFight Festival 2021. C/O twitter/pw_photo2mass
Keiji Mutoh (58) hits a Shining Wizard on fellow M’s Alliance member (and NOAH Vice President) Naomichi Marufuji (41) in an attempt to hold onto the GHC Heavyweight Championship in their match on June 6 at CyberFight Festival 2021. C/O Total Eclipse
COMPANY: All Japan Pro Wrestling
MEMBERS: Hokuto Omori, Jake Lee, Koji Doi, Kuma Arashi, TAJIRI, Yusuke Kodama
ABOUT: All Japan’s newest stable has quickly become its strongest. The faction has been steamrolling through AJPW ever since Hokuto Omori, Koji Doi, Kuma Arashi and Yusuke Kodama and ditched the Shotaro Ashino-led Enfants Terribles for greener pasture with Jake Lee and TAJIRI back in February. Lee’s stock has skyrocketed since the group’s formation, as the 32-year-old captured the Champion Carnival on May 3 before parlaying that into his first Triple Crown championship on June 26. And the rest of Total Eclipse has mirrored Lee’s ascension during their brief time together. Kodama, Omori and TAJIRI joined Lee in championship glory on June 26 after winning the AJPW 6-Man Tag Titles, and Total Eclipse might completely shroud All Japan in the near future if it adds the World Tag Team titles when Arashi and Doi challenge Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi.
This article first appeared in Monthly Puroresu Issue #5
