10 Backstage Stories About NJPW That We Can't Believe

It's considered by many as one of the best wrestling promotions in the world. However, unlike other entities, not a lot is known about what goes on behind the curtain at New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Founded in 1972, NJPW has seen a lot of ups and downs during its time and has welcomed some of the world's best to compete in its ring, including Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, and Hulk Hogan. While some of the team behind the scenes aren't as outspoken as a Tony Khan or Vince McMahon, there are still plenty of stories that have come out of the company.

10 Takaaki Kidani Idolizes Eric Bischoff

In 2012, Bushiroad bought the controlling stake of New Japan Pro Wrestling, which excited CEO Takaaki Kidani. He was a lifelong fan and planned on being very hands-on with his new purchase. Kidani was outspoken about idolizing Eric Bischoff and planned on replicating the nWo angle in New Japan.

His goal was to bring in MMA fighters as an invasion style angle from a failing promotion, UWFi. Kidani even wanted to appear as an on-screen character just like his idol. The idea was scrapped by the NJPW bookers, who had gone through a similar angle that was very damaging to the company.

9 The Company Was Purchased By A WWE Game Developer

Many WWE video game fans will remember Yukes. They were the developer behind the SmackDown games and, more recently, the 2K titles, except for WWE 2K20. When New Japan began struggling due to weak storylines and an exodus of talent, Yukes stepped in to purchase 27,800 shares, which were enough to control the company.

Some saw the purchase as a takeover. However, others described it as salvation. The purchase kept the company going until Bushiroad stepped in to buy the controlling stake.

8 Inoki Made Himself The First IWGP Champion

There is a lot of debate about who the first IWGP champion is. Hulk Hogan has claimed the prestigious title by referring to his win via knockout against the founder of NJPW, Antonio Inoki. But while Hogan did indeed win a tournament and was awarded a belt, he is not recognized as the IWGP Champion as he won something that wasn't meant to be defended.

Two years later, Inoki would award himself the championship title after beating Masa Saito. Inoki would go on to defend the title but would have to vacate it due to an ankle injury.

7 Kidani Planned For NJPW To Overtake WWE

At the press conference to announce the purchase of New Japan Pro Wrestling from Yukes, CEO Takaki Kidani announced his grand plans to overtake WWE in global popularity. Kidani had even developed a PowerPoint presentation on how he would achieve this lofty goal.

However, at the time, NJPW was making approximately 3% what WWE makes in a year. Their first attempt at taking America began with four house shows. However, only 1800 fans showed up in total, and the plans started to change to something more achievable.

6 The Founder Changed A Match Into A Shoot

Antonio Inoki is renowned as someone not to be messed with, especially inside the squared circle. In 1976, Akram Pahalwan, a Pakistani wrestler who had competed in over 280 events in the 1950s, traveled to Japan to face Inoki in a special rules match. The bout started smoothly, but it didn't take long for it to go off the rails.

It began when Pahalwan legitimately bit Inoki on the arm. The founder of NJPW then retaliated with an eye poke. The match was stopped when Inoki locked in chicken-wing armlock that ended up breaking Pahalwan's arm and ending his career.

5 NJPW Vs. The Beast

After leaving WWE and not getting picked up by the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar returned to professional wrestling in New Japan. In his first bout, The Beast faced Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono in a triple threat match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Lesnar would become of the few Americans to hold the prestigious title.

However, the company and The Beast didn't see eye to eye, and Lesnar refused to defend the title regularly. NJPW retaliated by not providing the information for his Visa requirements. Lesnar would later be stripped of the championship as a result of the issues.

4 Buried Kenny Omega When He Decided To Leave

It seems like one of the worst things an NJPW wrestler can do is leave the company. One of the reasons for the promotion's recent success had a lot to do with Kenny Omega, who put on some of the best performances NJPW has seen in years.

However, when WWE and AEW began calling, Omega decided it was time for a change, which left the owners of NJPW very unhappy. The company started portraying Omega in a negative light in the Japanese media to try and decrease his value. However, all it did was burn the bridge between the two.

3 Gedo and Davey Boy Smith Jr

The son of the legendary British Bulldog had a couple of stints in New Japan Wrestling, but his last experience resulted in a falling out with the company. It began when Smith was ready to return as a singles wrestler, but started getting mixed messages from the office.

When he confronted one of the head bookers, Gedo, about the issues, the representative pretended he didn't know how to speak English. It got worse when Smith was booked to lose to lower-level talents, which he didn't agree with. The two ended up parting ways, and Smith would move on to Major League Wrestling.

2 Foreign Grapplers Vs. Antonio Inoki (Slap, Lesnar)

There was a tradition in New Japan Pro Wrestling that the founder, Antonio Inoki, would slap every newcomer who started with the company. The history behind the tradition was that there was a young boy that Inoki slapped in the face who then went on to achieve great success.

As such, the hope was that the same result would happen if a wrestler had the taste slapped out of their mouth by Inoki. Wrestlers and fans have lined up to be hit by the founder of NJPW, but only one person has refused to participate in the tradition, which was Brock Lesnar.

1 Hiroyoshi Tenzan Accidentally Won IWGP Title

Between 2003 and 2006, NJPW went through a rough patch as they started bringing in real fighters to compete against professional wrestlers. It resulted in the IWGP Heavyweight Title changing hands 15 times. One of those occasions was not supposed to happen.

Yuji Nagata was booked to win the title in 2004, but in the semi-finals of the tournament, Tenzan accidentally knocked out his opponent with a moonsault. Instead of kicking out, the referee counted three, allowing Tenzan to proceed to the finals where he would go on to win the tournament.

NEXT: 10 WWE Stars You Didn't Know Had Great Matches In NJPW