Fave Five
1. Kazuchika Okada - with a bunch of great matches to his name already this year, I'm interested in seeing where Okada's 2nd title run takes him. The match with Makabe should be a good test for him - Togi's super popular (why, I don't know) but it'll be a struggle for Okada to get a main event out of him that comes close to any of his recent main event matches. As for why he's no.1 in my fave five, the dude pretty much has it all. Charisma, confidence and ability in spades. The next few months are going to be very exciting, with Naito returning to shake things up, the G1 Climax Tournament imminent and a rematch with Tanahashi somewhere over the horizon.
2. Prince Devitt - quite simply the best Jr. Heavyweight wrestler in the world today. His matches are always top notch. Devitt's been the face of the Jr. scene in New Japan for a good three years now, but with his heel turn, his new BULLET CLUB faction of gaijins and a brewing feud with Tanahashi, he could very well break out in a big way and maybe even transition into the heavyweight division.
3. Minoru Suzuki - probably my favourite guy to watch wrestle on the whole New Japan roster. Suzuki's such a wonderful wrestling technician and his character and mannerisms are all just perfect. It also helps that he's so very unique compared to the rest of the roster, which he plays up upon perfectly and is a good reason why Tanahashi vs Suzuki was my Match of the Year for 2012. Suzuki-gun suffered a heavy defeat over the past few PPVs, so it's hard to tell where they'll go from here and whether the feud with CHAOS has been called off for the time being. I'd like to see some new members. Shibata & Sakuraba would be a good fit, or Yano & Iizuka could defect from CHAOS.
4. Daniel Bryan - despite the 'whatever' booking that permanently surrounds WWE, Daniel Bryan is still a major highlight of every show he wrestles on. The guy has seriously made the best of his situation and is super over, which gladdens my heart as he really is one of my all-time favourite wrestlers. Bryan's a guy who knows the in's and out's of wrestling, he knows how to make everything he does compelling and it totally shows in the way the crowd reacts to him, whether he's in control of a match, working over a hold and doing all he can to make it look believably painful, or whether he's isolated and looking for his chance to escape and make the hot tag. The crowd react superbly for Bryan, he's ridiculously over and the only danger now is with WWE dropping the ball.
5. Daisuke Sekimoto - since 2011 I've been raving about Daisuke Sekimoto. He was impressive before then, but in 2011 he really stepped up his game and since then every single match of his has been a must watch for me. Whether it's in Big Japan or All Japan, Sekimoto absolutely tears it up in the ring, without fail. He's one of the most impressive big men wrestlers in the world today and has a real knack for pacing and structure in his matches that make them a joy to watch.
Honourable Mentions;
. Ricochet - I really can't say enough about how impressive Ricochet is. Sure, Del Sol does some AMAZING things in the ring and it's great seeing PAC succeed in WWE, but Ricochet has very much taken up the mantle of best highflyer in the world and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see WWE take notice in the future.
. Shigehiro Irie - I would love to vote Irie higher, but we get so little DDT these days, it's hard to follow. His match with Omega was great though and it's awesome to see him gain success in DDT.
. Yuji Okabayashi - this past year it seems Yuji's making a concerted effort to step out of Sekimoto's shadow and, while he's not quite there yet, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him rise above his tag partner sometime this year.
. Michael Elgin - such an impressive powerhouse who is absolutely tearing it up wherever he goes. As great as Elgin is, I couldn't put him in the top 5 because he really needs to learn to rein in his matches and not go overkill at every opportunity.
. 'Mr. Touchdown' Mark Angelosetti - if it wasn't for Okada, Touchdown would have been my vote for most improved of 2012 and he's continued that trend in 2013, to the point where every Touchdown match, be it for CHIKARA or one of the many Wrestling is spin-off's, is a must-see for me.
Bottom of the Barrel Award
. The Miz - I just can't bear to see him pushed as a face. I really can't, it's painful and so very, very forced. I also fear that WWE are going to keep forcing it until he gets the reactions they want.
. Bo Dallas - he's funny looking. Also, I don't like the attempt to leech popularity from Neville for Bo's benefit. I don't think he'll ever be anything in the WWE other than another Ted Jr.
. Ryuji Ito - he seriously needs to be gone from the main event scene already. He's in worse shape than ever, his scarred up belly is fucking disgusting and I dislike how his matches have become everything about deathmatch wrestling that I hate.
