Naito Brings Ingobernables To The IC Scene
Naito was set to usher in a new era of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Before Naito defeated Elgin, he already had some unfinished business with Jay Lethal. Lethal was betrayed by Los Ingobernables de Japon after they left him on his own in a multi-man tag team match. Five days after Naito won the title, Lethal defeated him in a non-title match as ROH All-Star Extravaganza. Therefore a title match was set up between Jay Lethal and Tetsuya Naito for Power Struggle where Naito successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
Naito was headed for bigger matches and so he was met with Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 11. The same person who had replaced Naito as the top guy of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Naito got a chance to redeem himself and so he did by defeating Tanahashi on the biggest stage possible. Naito didn’t get much of a chance to relax as Elgin came back demanding his shot and Naito defeated him for the second time to retain the title. Tanahashi returned back into the title picture soon and Naito and Tanahashi both faced each other at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka Jo Hall but this time the result was different. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
Naito would stay away from the title picture for just a little while as Tanahashi began his second run as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Tanahashi’s first defense came against Billy Gun at the G1 Special in the USA. Tanahashi went on to have a great second run defeating established stars like Kota Ibushi, Jay White, and Zack Sabre Jr. However, Tanahashi was met with a wall in the form of Murder Grandpa Minoru Suzuki who brought an end to Tanahashi’s amazing second run as IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
At the start of his run, Suzuki seemed almost impossible to stop or move from his position as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. However, it wasn’t as dominant as fans had expected. Suzuki had only one successful defense during this reign and that came against Togi Makabe whom he defeated at New Japan’s 46th Anniversary Show. After this encounter, a familiar figure came back into the title picture and that was none other than Tetsuya Naito who defeated Minoru Suzuki to take back the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
Tetsuya Naito’s second run as the Intercontinental Championship was the shortest reign in the history of the Championship. Prior to winning the title, Naito challenged for Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. After losing the match, Naito was promptly attacked by Chris Jericho. Jericho claimed his right to challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship given his status as arguably the best WWE Intercontinental Champion. Therefore, at Dominion 6.9 the match was set and that is where Chris Jericho defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
No matter the prestige of the belts he wore, they were elevated even higher once around his waist. Having Jericho hold the IWGP Intercontinental Championship was a big deal and he then went on to pick on EVIL. Jericho started a feud with EVIL and got a match against him with the title on the line at Power Struggle. At the end of the match, Jericho locked in the Liontamer and refused to let go even after EVIL had tapped out. It was only until Naito came running to EVIL’s defense did Jericho release the hold. Naito demanded a rematch and thus a match was set at Wrestle Kingdom 13, where Tetsuya Naito defeated Chris Jericho to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
Naito was in his third run with the title at this point and was slowly replacing Nakamura as the face of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Los Ingobernables de Japon was set into a feud with Suzuki-Gun soon after and they started gunning for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Taichi stepped up to challenge Naito to challenge for the title but his efforts were in vain after he lost to Naito at The New Beginning. At the same time, Ibushi had gained a lot of popularity yet he still hadn’t won a major title. Nonetheless, Ibushi was rising through the ranks of the roster quickly and challenged Naito at the G1 Supercard where Kota Ibushi defeated Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
Ibushi had won his first major title in the heavyweight division and was destined for greatness from thereon. However, his first run with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship didn’t go as planned. Naito got a rematch against Ibushi at Dominion 6.9 where Tetsuya Naito won back the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
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