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Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling
Japan has long been the most respected territory in the field of professional wrestling, and the most appreciated by hardcore fans worldwide. New Japan Pro Wrestling is the country's most recognisable brand. It attracts scores of fans to annual Tokyo Dome shows, has made household names of its most prominent talent, and is increasingly in demand by a rabid international audience.Yet NJPW's 40+ year history has been a rocky one. The company has endured strong competition, scandals and riots, and for a time it seemed like poor decision making would sink what was once a national institution.For the first time in English, Lion's The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling explores NJPW's triumphs and tribulations. Starting with the origins of pro wrestling in post war Japan, Lion's Pride covers the company's inception in 1972, through its boom in the early 1980s, its influence on the medium at large in the '90s, and its downturn and subsequent revival in the last two decades. Alongside a detailed and informative history are essays detailing the intricacies of Japanese wrestling psychology, how NJPW's key players shaped the company, and much more besides.A crucial reference guide for any wrestling fan, Lion's Pride offers an entertaining and insightful glance behind the scenes of the 'King of Sports'.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 25, 2016
Lion's Pride is the story of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
As with a lot of guys my age who were wrestling fans during the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese wrestling always held some mystique. I didn't see a single Japanese wrestling match until the dawn of the internet made it much easier to get tapes and such. Lion's Pride lifts the veil and reveals the inner workings of one of Japan's biggest wrestling organizations.
As with all talk of Japanese wrestling, the book starts with Rikidozan and the Japanese Wrestling Association. From there, it follows the career of Antonio Inoki and his formation of New Japan. The many exoduses of talent are covered and New Japans ups and downs are many. Antonio Inoki, like many owner-wrestlers, booked himself over the rest of the talent time and time again. It's a wonder New Japan survived long enough for him to retire.
The book talked a lot of the creation of stars like Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu in the 1980s, Keiji Muto, Masa Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto in the 1990s, and Tanahashi and others for the new millennium. The book concludes in 2015, with the rise of Bullet Club and the launch of New Japan's streaming service.
Lion's Pride was really informative, highlighting some backstage stuff I wasn't privy to and expanding on a lot of things I'd only read about on Wikipedia. The writing was pretty good for a book of this type. I did think the organization was a little weird, deviating from the main narrative to talk about completely unrelated things. For the most part, however, the book did what it set out to do. Three out of five stars.
As with a lot of guys my age who were wrestling fans during the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese wrestling always held some mystique. I didn't see a single Japanese wrestling match until the dawn of the internet made it much easier to get tapes and such. Lion's Pride lifts the veil and reveals the inner workings of one of Japan's biggest wrestling organizations.
As with all talk of Japanese wrestling, the book starts with Rikidozan and the Japanese Wrestling Association. From there, it follows the career of Antonio Inoki and his formation of New Japan. The many exoduses of talent are covered and New Japans ups and downs are many. Antonio Inoki, like many owner-wrestlers, booked himself over the rest of the talent time and time again. It's a wonder New Japan survived long enough for him to retire.
The book talked a lot of the creation of stars like Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu in the 1980s, Keiji Muto, Masa Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto in the 1990s, and Tanahashi and others for the new millennium. The book concludes in 2015, with the rise of Bullet Club and the launch of New Japan's streaming service.
Lion's Pride was really informative, highlighting some backstage stuff I wasn't privy to and expanding on a lot of things I'd only read about on Wikipedia. The writing was pretty good for a book of this type. I did think the organization was a little weird, deviating from the main narrative to talk about completely unrelated things. For the most part, however, the book did what it set out to do. Three out of five stars.
August 15, 2016
Good, but poorly edited
This is a very good book in desperate need of a good editor. I'm no expert, just an experienced writer who happens to have been a fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling for over a decade. I found dozens of careless mistakes that should have been caught had this book had an editor who knew the topic. The errors left me frustrated, and hence enjoying this book less than I wanted to. I give the finished product an A for content, but a C- for proofreading.
This is a very good book in desperate need of a good editor. I'm no expert, just an experienced writer who happens to have been a fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling for over a decade. I found dozens of careless mistakes that should have been caught had this book had an editor who knew the topic. The errors left me frustrated, and hence enjoying this book less than I wanted to. I give the finished product an A for content, but a C- for proofreading.
February 22, 2020
Charlton does a great job of breaking down the complicated and at times troubled history of NJPW. The end result is a wonderful jumping off point for anyone that wants to get into watching New Japan or anyone with an interest in wrestling in general. The only downside is that since the book was published in 2015, it doesn't include information about many recent events in NJPW like the Okada-Omega rivalry or New Japan's recent westward expansion. However, as someone who was very unfamiliar with New Japan before reading, I still found it extremely informative and a fun read.
August 21, 2020
Really, really wanted to give this 4*, as it's an engaging and unique book, and one that I was excited to read. I did enjoy it, but it desperately needed an editor. Odd structure and lots of repetition of information left it dragging a bit by the end.
March 4, 2016
Chris Charlton writes a compelling history of New Japan Pro Wrestling, a company whose rise to status as the second largest wrestling company in the world was anything but certain. The first half of the book serves as something of a biography to Antonio Inoki, the young star that started the company in the wake of Japanese legend Rikidōzan's death.
But as the company grows and contracts, it tells the tale of the changing style of the entire sport in Japan as straight up Japanese vs. America storylines were slowly replaced by the fighting spirit that drives NJPW today. He also covers the turbulent near bankruptcy of the early 2000s and the revival of the company under the ownership of Bushiroad today.
Together it is one of the most fascinating independent wrestling books of all time and is worth every penny of its entry price. If you're a fan of pro wrestling, don't pass it up.
But as the company grows and contracts, it tells the tale of the changing style of the entire sport in Japan as straight up Japanese vs. America storylines were slowly replaced by the fighting spirit that drives NJPW today. He also covers the turbulent near bankruptcy of the early 2000s and the revival of the company under the ownership of Bushiroad today.
Together it is one of the most fascinating independent wrestling books of all time and is worth every penny of its entry price. If you're a fan of pro wrestling, don't pass it up.
April 11, 2016
A good summary of what is the History of the famous New Japan Pro Wrestling and in a sense a good explanation in why to understand its history you need to juggle it with what the mind of Antonio Inoki.
It comes with various references of the most emblematic wrestlers of the promotion, it's venues and the different point of view between eastern and western philosophy regarding wrestling.
As a fan of Japanese Wrestling Ive gotta say that this book is one I would have read in a day when I was younger .
I specially loved certain explanations in the importance of some wrestlers that in my case I didn't even know they were the creators of certain moves that I adore.
The many names referenced in the book a
make you appreciate their work even more.
It comes with various references of the most emblematic wrestlers of the promotion, it's venues and the different point of view between eastern and western philosophy regarding wrestling.
As a fan of Japanese Wrestling Ive gotta say that this book is one I would have read in a day when I was younger .
I specially loved certain explanations in the importance of some wrestlers that in my case I didn't even know they were the creators of certain moves that I adore.
The many names referenced in the book a
make you appreciate their work even more.
October 15, 2022
A glorified Wikipedia article with too many tangents, told out-of-chronological order. Only interesting facets were the complexities of scandal and mismanagement that dogged Antonio Inoki’s career.
February 28, 2023
It's a really valuable history of Japan's largest but only somewhat English-accessible pro wrestling company.
So often, for English-speaking folks like me who are interested in the global history of pro wrestling, the best we can often do is look up highly-rated matches and watch them without much context (as anything communicated about the story outside of the ring will be via promos or commentary done in a language I struggle to understand even with hours upon hours of study).
Charlton's book, while understandably not offering exhaustive context for every single great NJPW match, provides the broad but vital narratives that have shaped the business, booking, and aesthetic decisions that have led to New Japan being what it is today.
Charlton's history is not told strictly chronologically, which was slightly disorienting at first but I ultimately welcomed it and trusted his approach, as he found compelling ways to highlight the most crucial threads that have woven in and out of the company's past and present, both in front of the fans and behind the scenes.
That said, I do have small problems with the book.
First, it's somewhat superficially sourced. This book is a convenient distillation of information that is somewhat difficult to glean for folks outside of Japan, but it's not fueled by much in the way of original/deep research or interviews. I don't mean to suggest that this project is of that more ambitious scope or purpose, but it does leave it all feeling somewhat--again--superficial. It's good for what it is, but it only goes so far.
Second and least importantly: there are a handful of mistakes in the copy. No huge problem.
Finally (and I don't mean to overstate this, either), I was really confused by the end of the book. Obviously, NJPW's story is still being written both as of my writing and as of this book being published, but the ending of this book felt absolutely jarring and inelegant to me. It was very out of character given the non-linear tapestry woven in the preceding chapters. I had to flip back and forth on my Kindle to be sure I was actually reading the final paragraph, because it just doesn't read like a final paragraph should.
So often, for English-speaking folks like me who are interested in the global history of pro wrestling, the best we can often do is look up highly-rated matches and watch them without much context (as anything communicated about the story outside of the ring will be via promos or commentary done in a language I struggle to understand even with hours upon hours of study).
Charlton's book, while understandably not offering exhaustive context for every single great NJPW match, provides the broad but vital narratives that have shaped the business, booking, and aesthetic decisions that have led to New Japan being what it is today.
Charlton's history is not told strictly chronologically, which was slightly disorienting at first but I ultimately welcomed it and trusted his approach, as he found compelling ways to highlight the most crucial threads that have woven in and out of the company's past and present, both in front of the fans and behind the scenes.
That said, I do have small problems with the book.
First, it's somewhat superficially sourced. This book is a convenient distillation of information that is somewhat difficult to glean for folks outside of Japan, but it's not fueled by much in the way of original/deep research or interviews. I don't mean to suggest that this project is of that more ambitious scope or purpose, but it does leave it all feeling somewhat--again--superficial. It's good for what it is, but it only goes so far.
Second and least importantly: there are a handful of mistakes in the copy. No huge problem.
Finally (and I don't mean to overstate this, either), I was really confused by the end of the book. Obviously, NJPW's story is still being written both as of my writing and as of this book being published, but the ending of this book felt absolutely jarring and inelegant to me. It was very out of character given the non-linear tapestry woven in the preceding chapters. I had to flip back and forth on my Kindle to be sure I was actually reading the final paragraph, because it just doesn't read like a final paragraph should.
March 17, 2022
Very much needed book about what was until recently the second biggest wrestling company in the world. This book is great just for covering New Japan Pro Wrestling's history, but it is also pretty important for covering Antonio Inoki's MMA ambitions and his students creating the first Shoot wrestling and MMA promotions. Most readers will probably not be looking for a book about MMA's origins, but this book does a good job linking MMA's origins to Inoki, and his wrestlers striking out on their own. As much as Antonio Inoki gets hate for his constant flirtations with MMA, he linked that sport to pro wrestling in ways MMA fans aren't really ready to accept. He even pioneered pro wrestling as a haven for retiring MMA fighters in his later years with NJPW. This book covers all of that.
If I had one criticism, I would have liked a little bit of details about NJPW's relationship with CMLL and Mexican Lucha Libre. The relationship NJPW has with CMLL is like a marraige and I would have liked more details about why it's so strong.
I found it a great companion to Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling by Jonathan Snowden, another book that looks at the relationship between pro wrestling and MMA. It covers different sides of the same story while being more evenly split between MMA and Pro Wrestling in America and Japan.
If I had one criticism, I would have liked a little bit of details about NJPW's relationship with CMLL and Mexican Lucha Libre. The relationship NJPW has with CMLL is like a marraige and I would have liked more details about why it's so strong.
I found it a great companion to Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling by Jonathan Snowden, another book that looks at the relationship between pro wrestling and MMA. It covers different sides of the same story while being more evenly split between MMA and Pro Wrestling in America and Japan.
August 29, 2020
This book is great for the early history, but if you're looking for anything from the last 5 years, there's nothing about it at all. You get to see the start of the international marketing push, but you don't get a sense of if it was successful or not, and while you see a lot of names that are still main-eventing in New Japan, the successful Omega/Ibushi reunion storyline is of course too late, and there's nothing about Omega's feud with Okada. I would have liked to have been able to see something about the marketing with regards to Los Ingobernables de Japon and their cross-promotion with the Carp, and how that affects the popularity of New Japan, etc.
There's also a lot of mistakes that a more thorough editing job would have picked out of the copy, and I find that super annoying and it throws me out of the narrative. What it instead of what if makes me spend time parsing the sentence to figure out what it's supposed to me because it reads as nonsensical on first pass, for example.
There's also a lot of mistakes that a more thorough editing job would have picked out of the copy, and I find that super annoying and it throws me out of the narrative. What it instead of what if makes me spend time parsing the sentence to figure out what it's supposed to me because it reads as nonsensical on first pass, for example.
January 5, 2025
I first read this book back in 2016 when getting into NJPW and the wider Puro Scene. This was an invaluable resource for me at the time and really helped me to learn about the company at large, both it's history and the modern product at the time.
I've come back re-read it this year since doing a rewatch of NJPW from the "rainmaker shock" onwards. I still think it's a good read and it's given me a few jumping on points to explore more Fujinami's and Hashimoto's work in depth. The main drawback to this book is the almost scatter shot pacing and repetition of information. The book mostly follows chronological order but has breaks to rank people or discuss key information. This ends up with certain topics being repeated multiple times.
I've come back re-read it this year since doing a rewatch of NJPW from the "rainmaker shock" onwards. I still think it's a good read and it's given me a few jumping on points to explore more Fujinami's and Hashimoto's work in depth. The main drawback to this book is the almost scatter shot pacing and repetition of information. The book mostly follows chronological order but has breaks to rank people or discuss key information. This ends up with certain topics being repeated multiple times.
August 31, 2017
Very educational
I started following NJPW this past January when I became hooked by Okada-Omega at Wrestle Kingdom. As my fandom has grown over the past year, I've found myself searching for old matches on NJPW World and reading Wiki pages for any and all wrestlers.
Chris' book, which I discovered after stumbling upon his Twitter account, is an incredible summation of the history of the company. Anything you need to know about every aspect of the company, why and how it's constructed as you see in the present, is answered.
If you're a NJPW fan looking to learn more about the company, I could not recommend it highly enough.
I started following NJPW this past January when I became hooked by Okada-Omega at Wrestle Kingdom. As my fandom has grown over the past year, I've found myself searching for old matches on NJPW World and reading Wiki pages for any and all wrestlers.
Chris' book, which I discovered after stumbling upon his Twitter account, is an incredible summation of the history of the company. Anything you need to know about every aspect of the company, why and how it's constructed as you see in the present, is answered.
If you're a NJPW fan looking to learn more about the company, I could not recommend it highly enough.
January 24, 2025
This is likely the most comprehensive book on the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling written in English. It offered good insight on the promotion's early years. However, as it was authored by one of New Japan's English color commentators, it featured heavy bias towards the company, often accompanied by snark towards other domestic and foreign wrestling promotions. The book also suffered from poor editing and narrative structure, frequently disrupting the flow with entire chapters dedicated to top 10 lists. I wanted to appreciate it more, but at least I discovered a few new wrestlers and added some matches to my watchlist.
November 21, 2025
Lion’s Pride offers a solid overview of NJPW and the broader rise of professional wrestling in Japan. I enjoyed the historical context and many of the behind-the-scenes stories, and it works well as an accessible introduction to the subject.
I did, however, have a few issues. First, the book is now a decade out of date, which makes some sections harder to fully engage with. Second, the occasional typos were distracting. And finally, the commentary on Inoki felt overly negative without providing enough substance or balance to support the criticisms.
Overall, it’s an informative read, but one that would benefit from an updated edition and a bit more nuance in its analysis.
I did, however, have a few issues. First, the book is now a decade out of date, which makes some sections harder to fully engage with. Second, the occasional typos were distracting. And finally, the commentary on Inoki felt overly negative without providing enough substance or balance to support the criticisms.
Overall, it’s an informative read, but one that would benefit from an updated edition and a bit more nuance in its analysis.
January 2, 2018
Comprehensive and digestible account of the history of arguably the hottest wrestling promotion in the world today. I started watching NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 11, and my obsessive personality meant that I needed to know as much as possible to get up to speed. Between this book and the Voices of Wrestling 2014, 2015 and 2016 NJPW year-end review books, I feel that I understand the product much better. This book is easy to read and touches on all the key moments, leaving no stone unturned and putting everything into context. I would love to see an update covering 2015-2017.
August 31, 2020
Overall, I would say Chris Charlton did an admirable job relaying a history that is somewhat hard to get reliable information on in English. However, I do think that the editing could have been a bit tighter. Several chapters break up the flow of the narrative with supplementary material that just feels like padding. The information in these non-linear chapters is often revealed in the history anyway, which makes them feel redundant. With that said, I do think the book is a good starting point for familiarizing yourself with a quick sketch of Japanese wrestling.
December 27, 2021
A pretty good retelling of NJPW history. It's at its best focusing on and retelling key stories from peak/low eras.
At it's low points it recycles information too often, eg. it mentions so many times about how Liger/Tiger Mask are licensed properties. Odd sections with top lists don't really seem to fit either and the book concentrating so heavily in the last half on "modern era" which is not ~6 years ago.
Probably should be a 3/5 but I like the subject matter and author enough to go higher.
At it's low points it recycles information too often, eg. it mentions so many times about how Liger/Tiger Mask are licensed properties. Odd sections with top lists don't really seem to fit either and the book concentrating so heavily in the last half on "modern era" which is not ~6 years ago.
Probably should be a 3/5 but I like the subject matter and author enough to go higher.
July 23, 2018
This book is a great collection of interesting facts about New Japan. The amount of information is pretty incredible considering almost all of the author's source material is old newsletters and news clippings. There were very few quotes from original interviews the author conducted, and no real through line to the narrative. It kind of just bounced around from tidbit to tidbit and never really dove deep enough into the individual personalities or stories for me.
March 1, 2019
Honestly when i started this i thought i would get bored of it easy but not so much, i enjoyed it from beginning to end. If you are a fan of pro wrestling and want to know more about New Japan, or a new fan of New Japan who wants to know the inner workings of it this book is for you, masterfully written and paced, giving you dates that you can refer back to if you have an NJPWWorld account I loved it
January 25, 2020
This is probably the most complete book written in english about japanese wrestling and will be of great use to understand its complexities and peculiar ways. It's clear that much research and effort have gone into writing this book. I'll just say that the style of writing is a bit dry and that I was hoping for more personal stories and anecdotes. But if you're looking for a complete enumeration of the events that took place at NJPW this is the book!
February 8, 2020
I enjoyed this book and it is definitely a quick read for a wrestling fan.If you have a casual knowledge of Japanese wrestling and NJPW you might enjoy this a lot more then a hardcore life long fan.The format is a bit odd,you get a chapter about the history of NJPW and the next chapter is an opinion piece by the author such as top ten foreign workers in the company.I do recommend a passing knowledge of New Japan wrestling if you want to pick this book up.
February 28, 2020
Great insight to the world of NJPW
After being introduced to NJPW by my boyfriend I was intrigued to find out more. How did it start, how different the promotion was to WWF or WWE. This book have a great insight to the troubles, the history, the wrestlers and the culture and I can't wait to research some of the matches and older Njpw videos so that I can get a better understanding.
After being introduced to NJPW by my boyfriend I was intrigued to find out more. How did it start, how different the promotion was to WWF or WWE. This book have a great insight to the troubles, the history, the wrestlers and the culture and I can't wait to research some of the matches and older Njpw videos so that I can get a better understanding.
August 6, 2020
Wonderful concise history of New Japan.
I’m an American who has always loved wrestling. I discovered Japanese wrestling in the early 90s and was hook. US wrestling just seemed so lame afterwards. Unfortunately tape trading was often frustrating and expensive, so I never got to watch as much as I would like until NJPW World came along. This book fills in a lot of the gaps I had in my NJPW knowledge and points out so,e banger matches to watch. Definitely worth a buy.
I’m an American who has always loved wrestling. I discovered Japanese wrestling in the early 90s and was hook. US wrestling just seemed so lame afterwards. Unfortunately tape trading was often frustrating and expensive, so I never got to watch as much as I would like until NJPW World came along. This book fills in a lot of the gaps I had in my NJPW knowledge and points out so,e banger matches to watch. Definitely worth a buy.
April 29, 2021
3.5 stars.
Full of information, pulling together a condensed history of Japanese pro-wrestling in general before diving into NJPW (and a fair bit of AJPW too) and at times following many side stories of note, the structure gets as unruly as this sentence at times, but by the end it all fit together and left me with a much better sense of what lead to NJPW’s resurgence in the 2010’s and also a long list of matches I’m curious to check out.
Full of information, pulling together a condensed history of Japanese pro-wrestling in general before diving into NJPW (and a fair bit of AJPW too) and at times following many side stories of note, the structure gets as unruly as this sentence at times, but by the end it all fit together and left me with a much better sense of what lead to NJPW’s resurgence in the 2010’s and also a long list of matches I’m curious to check out.
July 26, 2024
2.5- sorry Chris. There was some interesting stuff in here and I did learn stuff, but I thought structurally it needed a bit of work and there were some sloppy editing mistakes with punctuation and capital letters, it was amateur hour. I also felt like the list sections kept running over the same ground and the same people (Fujinami, Devitt etc.) I think Benoit’s contributions could have been approached more critically. Still, need a FUCK YOU WE ARE JADO AND GEDO t shirt lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2021
Great read, so totally worth getting, it needed an editor to go through it, because some of it is a little rough and some little bits are wrong. But the passion in here to write a colloquial history of New Japan for a fan with the relevant context is so clear and it makes up for a lot of the faults in my eyes.
January 20, 2024
3 stars because the book is sloppily put together and badly needs an editor. Chris often says the same things multiple times throughout the book. Genuinely appreciated learning a thorough history of New Japan, and it has only deepened my love for the promotion and the sport in Japan in general (fuck you, Tim!)
May 4, 2017
Great read on the history of NJPW. The book was organized a bit weird for my liking, but it was easy to follow. It was cool to see the way they develop young lions as well as why foreign talent is always apart of the agenda.
April 26, 2018
An extremely interesting look at the history of NJPW
I learned a lot about NJPW through this book as it weaves throughout the long history of the historic promotion. As a result I learned about so many wrestlers I'd love to look into.
I learned a lot about NJPW through this book as it weaves throughout the long history of the historic promotion. As a result I learned about so many wrestlers I'd love to look into.
May 29, 2017
Informative
I learned quite a bit of the NJPW history A good read for those of us with casual interest in NJPW
I learned quite a bit of the NJPW history A good read for those of us with casual interest in NJPW
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews