How I Would Book: Shota Umino and His Rise to the Top of New Japan Pro Wrestling

The road to the Tokyo Dome is long and winding and when it came out the main event would be Zack Sabre Jr vs. Shota Umino it felt like a lot of fans did not want Shota Umino in that role. For many a spot and role too soon, for others a corner New Japan booked into. Many see Shota Umino as the appointed next ace of New Japan following the end of Hiroshi Tanahashi's career on January 4th 2026. I think that New Japan have the chance to tell a great story with Shota Umino and personally I would like to outline how I would go about it.

As the man with the main event of the Tokyo Dome and being rejected due to it, looking to cement his place at the tope of the card but not seen as that ace, Shota Umino isn't the next Hiroshi Tanahashi he is the next Tetsuya Naito. Right now Shota Umino is in that feeling as Naito did when he declared himself the Shuyaku (the main persona of New Japan) and met with fan rejection, a vote to remove his main event match from that position and then stumble down the card until finding himself. I think Shota Umino's story can follow this somewhat but not all the way. We do not need a second Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) but some comparrison will be needed. As for now our story starts January 4th 2025. 

January 4th 2025
Wrestle Kingdom the biggest event of each New Japan year. It serves as the ending of the last years events and the beginning of the next ones. Shota Umino enters this main event against the current World Heavyweight Champions Zack Sabre Jr (ZSJ) and he falls short of his goal and ZSJ becomes the first non Japanese wrestler to win the Wrestle Kingdom main event. January 5th whoever Shota faces he also losses still hurting physically and emotionally from the night before. A few other key parts to mention is David Finlay retaining the Global Title no other results really are part of this story. 

The next parts of our story take place over the majority of 2025 in the period over the New Japan Cup and through to before the G1 climax. The main part to discuss for Umino's story doesn't really concern him to begin with but is Yuya Uemura coming back and Just 4 Guys merging into Hontai. 

Why End Just 4 Guys?
SANADA leaving for War Dogs is pretty much the end of the stable if we are being real. They do not have a purpose now apart from Yuya and I have to be honest the stable serves more in Hontai then on its own. I also need Yuya Uemura in and around Hontai as he is one of the main characters of our story. But also apart from that Yuya Uemura would be the one to win the Global Title from David Finlay, we would keep that title to before the G1 climax at some point. In my mind I'd love Gabe Kidd to win it but not sure if that would be the case.

With us on the Hiroshi Tanahashi retirement year I expect a large bunch of multi man matches. In these I would expect to see teams of Tanahashi, Uemura and Umino maybe with others as well. Could they win the 6 man tag titles? Much like New Japan I don't care about that titles either way the main point you'd see is Tanahashi really putting over the Global Champion Uemura as the guy seeimgly leaving Umino on his own. This would continue in various ways until June. Forbidden Door is in August so I can see some for a big event. Main event Yuya Uemura losses the Global Title and the closing of the show is Tanahashi and Umino helping Uemura up until he drops both of them! A shocking conclusion and heel turn just before the G1. A man scorned by rejection and a falling down the card he is not longer the main seen as leading Hontai he's been passed over and now more. 

We roll on a few more show before G1 and in one we get our looks at the new Shota Umino. I'd switch his colour scheme away from white and pink to a black and purple (I don't think that is the House of Torture colour scheme so lets roll with it), also stop him coming through the crowd he's entering from the stage it's a full change. A more violent Shota still being called The Roughneck but maybe more rougher and more tougher with a new finishing move. Why am I changing everything in one go? Well I have an issue with the fact Umino dresses like a Tanahashi clone and uses the finisher of Jon Moxley. We are left wondering who is Shota Umino is and we need to establish this going forward. This very match here is ground zero for the rest of the story a new man born out of the severing of relationships. I think match he faces a Young Lion (for which I will say is Daiki Nagai for story purposes) and after beating him as Jon Moxley did for him picks him up and brings him with him as his understudy pretty much.

Why Give Shota Umino a Second?

Well at this point it's pretty straight forward. As a man on his own in a company that does a lot of multi man matches and Umino doesn't have people to just go and work with. The main heel stables feature two of his biggest rivals in prominent roles be it Gabe Kidd in Bullet Club and Ren Narita in House of Torture. This way we at least keep in fully involved, maybe in the G1 you have a heel from AEW in the tournament he can team with as well. So that also brings me to Daiki Nagai. This could've been any Young Lion I only picked Daiki Nagai as he's my favourite and his brash personality works the best here. You could use Masatora Yasuda another wrestler with a father in the business but this time a wrestler not a ref. It could be Katsuya Murashima but I would argue he would be on excursion at this point and Shoma Kato I see as a face, mainly because of his story coming through their TV show 'The Spirit' and wanting to show it as a big success pathway and could also be on excursion. We could have new Young Lions at this point as well but we will see, I have set my mind on it being Daiki Nagai so that's who I see in the role. 

G1 Climax 2025 Final: Shota Umino vs. Yuya Uemura

Moving onto our next big moment in this story we see the end of G1 Clmiax former allies, potentially 6 man tag champs with each other now rivals on either side, one loved and endorsed as the new ace and one rejected from that role and forging a new one. Give these guys some time but in the end Shota Umino falls short and Yuyua Uemura wins the G1 Climax. Umino and Nagai leave as we see Uemura win the G1 not given the flag by Masahiro Chono as ZSJ was but by Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Why Have Umino Lose?

Well suffering builds success. But apart from that at this point Umino has bigger things then the world title to take. Any other Wrestle Kingdom, any other January 4th I eould have him win but if Yuya is a traditionalist who has his shot against the World Champion at Wrestle Kingdom a fitting way to really crown the new ace on the biggest day there is just one bigger match January 4th 2026 to have. 

We have some time before Wrestle Kingdom with the likes of Forbidden Door and King of Pro Wrestling to happen and in that time we establish the main events of Wrestle Kingdom. For the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship ZSJ will face the G1 Climax winner in Yuya Uemura and the last match of the ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino. If Tanahashi is going to retire he will slap the sense into one last man. 

January 4th 2026
To build a new generation it often comes at the sacrifice of the previous one and 2026 should be that moment. Maybe you also have Tsuji beat Naito in a singles match and establish him as the LIJ leader going forward as Naito steps back a little more. Our main focus is that of Uemura and Umino. Uemura in the semi-main event (look it's the last show of the ace it was gonna happen) wins the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, the first of his generation to do it and the guy moving forward. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi signs off his career losing to Shota Umino and on the final night of the ace really we set up the top face in Yuya, the top heel in Shota and if we really do the rest the top tweener in Yota.

From here we don't have a large amount. I'm holding off on a Shota New Japan Cup win here a loss in the final to Yota Tsuji is on the list mainly as we can then have Umino get his win back in the G1. We can keep Shota on a strong win/loss record this might be the only pinfall loss he takes all year, no title matches just wins over most people. You have Umino rack up wins against the likes of Ishii, Goto, Boltin, Shingo, Cobb, O-Khan, Henare, Newman, Oiwa and even the likes of Naito and ZSJ if they come across each other and he should beat at least one in the cup. Should also mention at some point we would have Daiki Nagai do a Kosei Fujita and graduate without an excursion. If Tanahashi wants Young Lions graduating quicker then this is something that will be done time to time and for Shota's story whoever he is with it would be needed. Maybe they have a run in Best of the Super Juniors as well. 

G1 Climax 2026

As you would expect this is the time Shota Umino wins. Who does he beat in the final, who's in his block? Honestly, I don't really know all I know is Shota Umino is the guy to win he is the guy to go on a face Yuya Umeura for the belt in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th 2027. This G1 will also be a big one fully in tune with the new generation with the like of Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube making their debuts and hell if you care about NJPW Academy in America maybe Zane Jay has progressed enough of the two years to this point he's in it. Either way it's important to also make not that Nakashima and Leube would come back as part of CHAOS and also win World Tag League this year.

January 2027

I'm saying January 2027 as a whole for this. We start with January 4th a few big notes like YoungBlood winning the IWGP Tag Team Championships, you'd haope big wins for other major members of the roster like Tsuji and Oiwa (was just here I remembered Ren Narita, funny how House of Torture just kills a career). But our main focus is the main event, a year after retiring Tanahashi we have Shota Umino finally reach the top and win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This would be a two year journey to the top and Shota finally made it and while I would end the story here we have just one last day.

New Years Dash 2027 is a fun time for all with a mystery card as normal we will be looking at the semi-main event to begin with where we see the team of CHAOS in Nakashima, Leube, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. House of Torture. CHAOS win but before they leave for the main event we get the entrance for Umino and Nagai They stare down CHAOS in the ring until Youngblood attack Bishamon. This is until Ishii and YOH make the save and Youngblood leave the ring. Again, this is until YOH with chair in hand smacks down Ishii leading to a 5 on 1 assault on Ishii until whoever the main event is gainst makes the save. Let's say for argument the main event here Cobb, TJP & Akira vs. Umino, Nagai & YOH with team Umino winning. After the match we get the full announcement, Umino has a stable of 5 to lead and as champion he will revive CHAOS in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Why Bring Back CHAOS?

Remember when CHAOS was arguably the most important stable? Remember when they had the likes of Okada and Nakamura and they weren't just kinda forgotten with a terrible logo. I want that back and if Umino is leadign a stable I don't want to create one from scratch because I think there's potential in a revival and reuse in the name. The members of this version of CHAOS are all young and hungry and the stable is set up with the Wrold Heavyweight and Tag Team Champions it's a big day one reset and I think would work.

Conclusion

We will leave everything there, this was the rise of Shota Umino and he would by this point have risen. As the regining G1 Climax winner, World Heavyweight Champion and leader of CHAOS he would be at his peak not as a Tanahashi clone but as his own man. To tell a story like this takes time patience and faith but isn't this what New Japan use to be? We always saw the long term story arcs which I feel we don't get enough of these days and with someone like Shota we have the chance right here to get back to that just in time to cement the faces of the next generation which hopefully will be a new golden one.