5 Gaijin wrestlers from New Japan who have the best chance to win the IWGP Heavyweight title
If the WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling share one common trait, it's that they traditionally have the same five to seven stars hold the top titles in the company. Every now and then, a well-deserving, veteran workhorse like Kofi Kingston is finally given a run with a title.
Other than that, the WWE, Universal and IWGP Championships are usually held by a rotation of a select few in both companies. The Universal Championship has been held by mainly Brock Lesnar with runs from Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns mixed in. Finn Balor held the title for a day and Goldberg held it for a month. Kevin Owens held the title before unceremoniously dropping it to the WCW stalwart.
While people often find things in one promotion that they don't find in another promotion, when it comes to top titles, NJPW and the WWE book them similarly. Who has been the main IWGP Heavyweight Champ over the last four years? Kazuchika Okada. He had a reign of 720 days.
Mixed in between his various reigns were runs from Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jay White. But when all is said and done, the man who always holds the gold the longest is Okada.
A person not native to the country is called a "gaijin" and when it has come to the IWGP title, only eight such men have held the title. The most recent holders were Styles, Omega and White. But White, the most recent foreign-born holder of the title, didn't defend the title once en route to dropping it back to Okada.
So if one thing is certain regarding the booking of the title, it's that not many gaijin have chances to win the title. Of the current roster, here are the five men with the best chance at becoming the next gaijin IWGP Heavyweight Champion in NJPW.
#5 Juice Robinson
WWE just isn't for every wrestler. When Robinson was CJ Parker in NXT, he was traditionally used to put over every and any other wrestler. He was a heel with a similar gimmick to what Daniel Bryan had become late last year, but it didn't stick.
Once he left and landed in NJPW, he was an instant hit. The crowd loved him due to his different look and he proved how skillful he was. He beat Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States title, and has held it twice.
While he isn't on the same level of stardom that Omega was during his time with NJPW, Robinson is one of the more popular wrestlers not from Japan. It might be a long-shot, but Robinson might pull down a reign in the future if his star continues to rise.