Shoes

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1982-06-22

Place of Birth

Adachi, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan

Tetsuya Naito

Biography

Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his 21-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) from 2004 to 2025, where he led Los Ingobernables de Japón and is widely seen as one of the greatest and most popular wrestlers in the company’s history. He now works as a freelancer, primarily appearing for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) and Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH) alongside BUSHI, where the pair are one-time GHC Tag Team Champions. He started training in 2000 under Animal Hamaguchi and joined NJPW in 2004 as a Young Lion in the company’s dojo. In NJPW, he built a decorated career as a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and eight-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, while also holding the NEVER Openweight Championship. As part of No Limit with Yujiro Takahashi, he held the IWGP Tag Team Championship and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. He later added two more IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns with SANADA and Hiromu Takahashi. In tournament competition, he won the G1 Climax three times (2013, 2017, 2023), the New Japan Cup in 2016, and later the World Tag League in 2023 with Hiromu Takahashi. Over time, Naito grew into one of NJPW's most accomplished and decorated figures, earning Tokyo Sports MVP honors (2016, 2017, 2020, 2023), the Technique Award (2018), the Best Bout Award in 2020 for his match against Kazuchika Okada on January 5 at Wrestle Kingdom 14, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards for Best Gimmick (2017) with Los Ingobernables de Japón, Most Charismatic (2017, 2018), and Japan MVP (2020). He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2022 and was ranked No. 5 in the PWI 500 in both 2020 and 2024.

Known for

New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it is the largest wrestling promotion in Japan and one of the largest in the world.

New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it is the largest wrestling promotion in Japan and one of the largest in the world.

World Wonder Ring Stardom

World Wonder Ring Stardom

Stardom World is the VOD network for World Wonder Ring Stardom. WWR Stardom is a Japanese women's promotion started in 2011 featuring matches of many varieties including high speed octane action, long brutal brawls, and even costume battle royals. In 2019, the promotion was acquired by Bushiroad and has since become one of the top wrestling promotions in Japan.

All Elite Wrestling: Collision

All Elite Wrestling: Collision

An in-ring show featuring more wrestlers, more stories and more action to super-serve fans.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Pro Wrestling NOAH is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 following a mass exodus of All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW) staff led by Mitsuharu Misawa. In many ways based as a spiritual successor to AJPW and Giant Baba's legendary "King's Road" style, it has been a consistently major part of the Japanese puroresu market, even having international cross-overs and working agreements, most notably with American companies WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). It is currently owned and operated by Japanese conglomerate CyberAgent, who also operate DDT Pro-Wrestling and Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW), and are minority owners of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

NJPW Best of the Super Junior XXVII & World Tag League 2020 - Day 17 (Final)

NJPW Best of the Super Junior XXVII & World Tag League 2020 - Day 17 (Final)

The seventeenth and final night of both Tag Team tournaments took place on December 11, 2020, at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

NJPW New Japan Cup

NJPW New Japan Cup

The NJPW New Japan Cup is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax which follows a round-robin format.

NJPW Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall 2023

NJPW Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall 2023

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jō Hall was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) that took place on June 4, 2023, in Osaka, Japan, headlined by SANADA (c) vs. Yota Tsuji for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

NJPW Best of the Super Junior 23 - Day 14 (Final)

NJPW Best of the Super Junior 23 - Day 14 (Final)

The fourteenth and final night of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s annual junior heavyweight round-robin tournament took place on July 7, 2016, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and featured the final match to crown the winner of Best of the Super Juniors 23.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 - Day 13 (Final)

NJPW New Japan Cup 2021 - Day 13 (Final)

The thirteenth and final night of the tournament took place on March 21, 2021, at the Xebio Arena Sendai in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan, and featured the final match to crown the New Japan Cup 2021 winner.

NJPW Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall 2017

NJPW Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall 2017

NJPW Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jō Hall was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) that took place on June 11, 2017, at Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka, Japan, and was headlined by Kenny Omega (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

NJPW Royal Quest III

NJPW Royal Quest III

Royal Quest III was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) that took place on October 14, 2023, at the Copper Box Arena in London, England and was headlined by Will Ospreay (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 - Day 3

NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 - Day 3

The third night of New Japan Cup 2025 took place on March 11, 2025, at Baycom Gymnasium in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan, and featured three second-round matches.

NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 - Day 6

NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 - Day 6

The sixth night of New Japan Cup 2025 took place on March 15, 2025, at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan and featured four quarter-final matches. The show was headlined by an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Hirooki Goto (c) and Yuji Nagata.

NJPW Burning Spirit 2022 - Day 14

NJPW Burning Spirit 2022 - Day 14

The fourteenth and final night of Burning Spirit 2022 was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) that took place on September 25, 2022, at World Hall in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, and was headlined by Will Ospreay (c) vs. David Finlay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.