The Times New Japan Pro Wrestling Took The Gaming World by Storm
For those who aren’t aware, many wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling have made an impact on the world of gaming. Now if you’re not a wrestling fan, I’ll fill you in what New Japan Pro Wrestling is. They’re a wrestling company that got their start in 1972 in Nakano, Tokyo, started by the late great Antonio Inoki. They’ve had numerous alliances and promotions with various wrestling companies in the past. They also had some great legends among them being Dusty Rhodes, Muhammed Ali, Antonio Inoki and the ACE himself, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Now like many wrestling companies, there are wrestling video games that centered around the main promotion. I’m not going to be talking about them. I’m only going to cover a few times that New Japan Pro Wrestling was involved in video games where it wasn’t the central focus.
Yakuza: Kiwami 2
Yakuza Kiwami 2 has some of the greats joining the roster when you take part in the Majima Construction side of Yakuza: Kiwami 2. Legends like the Great Muta, Keiji Mutoh along with other greats like Toru Yano who first appeared in Yakuza 6. It’s the first time that we got to see these wrestlers in these games. And for fans of New Japan, it’s kind of amazing to see.
Yakuza 6: Song of Life
Yakuza 6 was the game that kick started this trend. By not just having Kazuchika Okada, but also Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and others. It also caught a lot of controversy as the gaijin or foreigner wrestlers were snubbed like Will Osperay and Kenny Omega as an example. At the time Naito, Okada, and Tanahashi were pretty big in New Japan Pro Wrestling as was Osperay and Kenny Omega.
Like A Dragon: Ishin!
It happened sooner or later but Kenny Omega makes an appearance as a card in the prequel of Ishin! Though it would have made more sense to make him an actual character. We got Samoa Joe not only voicing but having his likeness in the last game featuring Majima before we got Kenny Omega. Man deserves his flowers!
And speaking of Kenny Omega, we need to give the man his honorable mention. I think it’s honorable.
Kenny Omega in Video Game Commercials
If you’re a nerd like me, then watching Youtube for Gacha videos, video game lets plays, and other things gave you this commercial a few years back, featuring Kenny Omega playing BanG Dream! Girls Band Party and left you scratching your head. This man could be playing Fate/Grand Order and I would still be swooning.
And more recently did a commerical for Street Fighter 6 revealing the next characters that are releasing for Year 3. Featuring him cosplaying as them, which isn’t the first time that the man has cosplayed. He’s done it for years dressing up as Jasmine from Aladdin, Sanz from Undertale, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. The man is a big video game nerd. So it should be time that he’s a more of a major character in a video game.
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