In just the first month of 2024, the professional wrestling landscape has been... crazy, to say the least. Barring the nonsense coming from the higher-ups of many of the industry's major promotions, there have been quite a few prominent free agents floating about on the market. With big names likely to show up anywhere at any time, we thought it would be fun to give our take on who each of us here at AOW would build our own promotions around.
Since there are only so many free agents and independent talents, our choices will span all promotions and can include anyone who is even a current champion. Think of this as a reset on the wrestling world with a new big four on the rise. Each AOW member will only draft a host of champions and give their reason as to why they chose them. With that out of the way, here are our picks for who we would fantasy draft to kickstart our own wrestling promotions.
Jake: Jake-1 Promotions
World Champion: Kento Miyahara
When we're talking about the best wrestlers in the world, many claim that they are it and stand above everyone else. Your Chicago Phil's, Tribal Chiefs, Jon Moxley's, and Kenny Omega's of the world all claim to be the best and you can see why they'd call themselves that. All of those men are supremely successful and won titles everywhere they've been and had high-profile matches and rivalries. But what about the man who calls himself "The Best of the Best", Kento Miyahara?
Kento Miyahara is the quintessential wrestler and is unique like no other you'll see around the wrestling world. It all starts during his entrance with an electric song that also allows the crowd to chant his name along with it, immediately showing this guy is not like others. He has a crowd connection and works them during his matches like a pro, and his charisma in and out of the ring is unmatched. You would think he was playing 2k with the amount this man taunts and showboats during his matches. While not doing overly flashy moves, he manages to make simple things seem flashy and gives life to them with how smooth and skilled he is, making everything he does eye-catching and mesmerizing.
Kento is also an incredible babyface while also being able to be a snarky ass, taunting his opponents during matches; yet, you just can't help but root for him. Kento is one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and, while not as widely recognized, he deserves to be mentioned among the best of the best. Ultimately, this is why he would be the world champion of Jake-1 Promotions.
Midcard Champion: Zack Sabre Jr.
When it comes to a midcard champion, you need a guy who is just on the cusp of moving up or is seen as the future face of a promotion who will soon step into that role. Zack Sabre Jr., for my money, is a guy who could be the face of any promotion with the right backing and push to get him there. Years of showing how great he is at technical wrestling, winning the New Japan Cup, and a stellar run with the NJPW World Championship showed he's ready to be that guy.
2023 was a great year for ZSJ for a multitude of reasons, mostly proving he's a top two technical wrestler in the world, if not the best in the world at it. The cocky, brash, trash-talking Brit truly showed this past year why he should be in the conversation of being a top guy in Japan. Zack showed during his run with the NJPW TV title that he can carry a title and add prestige to it no matter what it is; and, he also showed during both his matches with the American Dragon Bryan Danielson that he is one of the best wrestlers in the world. While he is mostly deserving and befitting of a top championship in any promotion, I am choosing ZSJ as my midcard guy to fit nicely alongside Kento at the top.
Tag Team Champions: Daisy Monkey (Arisu Endo & Suzume)
A multitude of factors went into this decision to pick Daisy Monkey as my tag team champions. Men's tag team wrestling has been in a low spot for the last year and a half with not much moving me mostly. Joshi tag teams have been pretty good recently, but mostly this is recency bias since I was so invested in Daisy Monkey finally winning the Max Heart tournament.
For years, both members of Daisy Monkey had struggled to find major success in TJPW (mostly due to slow booking and reliance on the pillars), but they finally found the one big success that they can cling to in the Max Heart. Winning the Max Heart Tag Tournament was years in the making for this duo, Arisu took 2 years to win a singles match and, while Suzume has had some success, there was nothing major to latch on to. Daisy Monkey had challenged for the tag titles in the past but fallen short due to still being early in their careers and needing more experience.
Daisy Monkey is the ultimate underdog team with Endo being a gas light to add fire into matches and being a crowd favorite. Alongside Endo, Suzume adds just as much with her speed and passion she shows, never backing down from a challenge. Daisy Monkey is my favorite duo in wrestling right now. They're always a blast to watch and root for no matter what, and I want to see them succeed. This is why they are my perfect Tag Team Champions.
Women's Champion: Miu Watanabe
This decision was probably the hardest to make on the list just due to the sheer amount of talent out there in women's wrestling currently. Picking between Utami, Saya, Sareee, Athena, Miyu, Shida, and a whole host of others made this a challenge with no real wrong answer. In the end, though, I picked who I felt had the most upside and longevity to provide a new promotion and that person is Miu Watanabe.
Miu Watanabe is a bright, cheery, strong, and sometimes scary wrestler and is an idol on top of all that. Miu, the overly idol-obsessed and incredible wrestler, feels like the perfect pick to stand atop a women's division that is just starting. She is an absolutely unbelievable babyface in the ring with a crowd following like no other. It all starts in the opening of TJPW shows where she leads her Idol group, the UpUp Girls (Pro Wres), in a song and dance where she is so bright it's hard not to keep your eyes on her.
However, when she gets in the ring it all flips. She is one of the strongest Joshi wrestlers around, picking up, throwing, and slamming bigger and heavier opponents with ease leaving you amazed at how she can do all this. It's almost impossible not to cheer for her when she gets in the groove of a match, especially when she pulls out her big swing with impressive setups that come out of nowhere that would even outdo Claudio Castagnoli. Miu, at only 24 years old, has tons of time to stand atop the women's wrestling world as an ace for as long as she wants and that is why she is my top women's champion.
Unno: Unno Wrestling Federation
World Champion: Bryan Danielson
Okay look, I know the World Championship should typically go on someone younger and someone you can build a company around, but I need this more than air itself. Forget the "technical wrestler" stuff, Bryan Danielson is one of, if not, the greatest wrestler of all time. As he enters his final full-time year in wrestling, there is nothing I want more than to see the American Dragon hold world title gold one more time.
There is not much I can say about Danielson that fans don't already know; he's a beast in the ring, he is great on the mic (contrary to what some may tell you), and he is someone who could be seen as the pinnacle of the company. Danielson would be a final boss of sorts, the person who ultimately knocks him off has to carry that pressure of succeeding one of the greatest of all time. With nearly a quarter of a century of in-ring experience, Bryan Danielson remains atop the mountain of pro wrestling. Before he rides off into the sunset (or probably wrestles part-time until he's 70), there is nothing more I would want than to have Bryan Danielson as my World Champion.
Midcard Champion: Konosuke Takeshita
This was a very tough decision for two reasons: one, I felt as though Takeshita is more than capable of holding the world title but missed out for the reasons given as to why I chose my world champ, and two, this came down to a decision between Takeshita and Daniel Garcia. For my money, Takeshita just squeaks past DG for me as I truly think he is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now (though, I guess that goes for all of my choices).
Takeshita as a face is phenomenal, but his work as a heel (especially in Japan) has been magnificent in solidifying him as an ice-cold killer. There's a certain disregard for human life that he displays with this new attitude and it makes him come across as a lot more threatening. Takeshita is truly a beast; he's a big guy who can hit his fair share of power moves and suplexes, but he is deceptively quick and agile (the Takeshita-LINE makes me tear up every time). Before stepping up in the hunt for world title gold, I choose Konosuke Takeshita as my midcard champ where he will look to dominate the competition and show why he is ready to take that next step.
Tag Team Champions: Violence is Forever
Another very tough decision to come to, I decided to go a little bit out of the ordinary and put the Tag Team Championships on one of my favorite teams in wrestling: Violence is Forever. A team that has not quite broken into the mainstream of wrestling, but has made themselves very well known on the independent scene racking up titles wherever they compete.
Simply put, these guys rock. VIF is one of the hardest-hitting tandems out there and their matches never fail to impress. There's something about the way their mix of grappling, submissions, and striking comes together that makes them one of the most compelling tag teams to watch. Though they are cold and calculated in the ring, they have also built themselves up as fan favorites and have earned respect from many who have watched them (plus, who doesn't like singing Zombie during their entrance). I think VIF would make for a fantastic set of inaugural champions, carrying the championships and chopping down all who oppose them.
Women's Champion: Mayu Iwatani
Though I am known to be an avid Tam Nakano fan (I'm sorry my cosmic chief), I felt like there was no better choice to put my women's title on than Mayu Iwatani. She is not just one of the best women's wrestlers in the world, but one of the best wrestlers in the world period. Something of a Jack of all trades, Iwatani can stand amongst the best of the best in just about any style of wrestling. You want a high-speed match? Done. You want a hard-hitting strike exchange? No problem. You want Iwatani to sell like she just got hit by a cannon? You got it.
Mayu Iwatani is one of the smoothest performers I have ever seen step foot inside of a wrestling ring, and I believe she would be the perfect benchmark to kickstart my women's division. On top of that, she is a very aloof and goofy character that has become endearing to many fans who watch her, making her the perfect face and ace of the promotion alongside the world champ.
King: Grass and Graps Wrestling
World Champion: Jon Moxley
When I think of a world champion in pro wrestling in 2024, my mind always goes to Jon Moxley first. The "Ace of the World" has all the qualities of a top guy: he's got the size, the in-ring ability, he can talk, and he's believable. His most important quality though, and why I would make him my world champion, is his passion. Mox loves the sport of professional wrestling with everything in him and shows it every time he is in the ring. There are very few in the industry who bring the consistent intensity Mox does. That is the kind of world champ that my promotion needs.
Midcard Champion: Je'Von Evans (FKA Jay Malachi)
For anyone who has not seen Jay Malachi, now known as Je'Von Evans since signing with WWE, go look him up right now. This young man is going to be a STAR in the very near future. I got the pleasure of watching him all over the independent scene in North Carolina through 2023 and he has IT. I have yet to see him have a bad match. His move set is unbelievable, he legitimately flies through the air. The best part of all of it is he's only 19 years old! This is why he is perfect for the midcard title.
I believe mid-card titles should be put on young talent who can have great matches with anyone. This way we get to test them out, having more of a spotlight on them, while still giving them room to grow in areas they need improvement in. Malachai/Evans is already a former DPW world champion. Though it was a fairly short reign compared to the previous title holder, Lucky Ali (who was almost my pick for this), he showed in that time that he has the potential to be the face of a company one day. Putting this title on him first would be the first step in that long process.
Tag Team Champions: WorkHorsemen
This pick took days for me to decide on. I've lost sleep and barely eaten for days trying to choose a tag team to represent this division. In all seriousness though, it was between the young, but already established, TV wrestlers in Top Flight and the veteran, "indy darlings", the WorkHorsmen. My final decision was based on how I would book the titles. The WorkHorsemen are a perfect heel team to start building the tag division with. They can have amazing matches with just about any tag team and would put over Top Flight in a G&G Wrestling classic when it is time. Watching them work at multiple DPW events shows me this team has everything it takes to spearhead a division when given the ball. In my promotion, JD Drake and Anthony Henry would be the cornerstones of the tag division.
Women's Champion: Mercedes Moné
I mean, what can I say that hasn't been said already? My first piece with AOW was about why Mercedes Moné, "in my opinion", is the greatest North American women's wrestler of all time. She is truly my GOAT. Not just women's wrestling, but pro wrestling as a whole is always better when Moné is around and at the top of her game. The Women's Championship can't be treated as anything less than a world championship. I want it to be just as important and prestigious as the men's championship. So who better to hold the belt than the greatest of all time? For G&G Wrestling it is all about Big Business and the CEO would be at the forefront of it all.
Harkin: Harkin Championship Wrestling
World Champion: Kazuchika Okada
HCW's Weather broadcast expects heavy rain in the World Championship scene that isn't likely to go away anytime soon as Kazuchika Okada is not only my pick to be the top champion, but also the ACE of the promotion. The Rainmaker's accolades speak for themselves, but the one I always lean on to rant about his greatness is his phenomenal 4th IWGP Heavyweight title reign. A title reign that will go down as one of the greatest in the history of professional wrestling.
For me, Okada is the perfect ace figure. If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. As such, there's no better man for other world-class wrestlers to try (and most likely fail) to dethrone than one of the greatest big-match performers of all time. The Rainmaker is my unquestionable choice.
Midcard Champion: Will Ospreay
For many, the purpose of a midcard belt is to be the workrate championship of a promotion. Following this philosophy, the only wrestler I could think of that would make sense to put in a position to deliver quality matches every single time he steps in the ring is the one and only, Will Ospreay.
Ospreay creates magic every time he enters the squared circle. It doesn't matter which continent he is wrestling in or what company he is wrestling for, he always delivers. The Last World Beater would not only do a 10/10 job at defending this belt regularly in awesome matches all over the world, but he would also turn this title from a B to a 1B Championship while elevating (no pun intended) every wrestler he faces off with.
There's no one I would rather have with this belt than the Billy GOAT.
Tag Team Champions: AphroditE (Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita)
Seeing that I'm a Golden Phoenix super fan, picking my tag team Champions couldn't be easier. Even putting my obvious bias aside, there is no debate that Saya and Utami are phenomenal singles competitors in their own right; but, that's not what gets them this spot. What makes me believe they are the best possible choice to be my tag title holders is the incredible tag team run that they are on since they both came back from injury in late November.
To me, they are the best tag team in the world. It's rare to find a duo with as much individual brilliance as these two work just as well, or maybe BETTER, together. I'm a true believer that they can raise the floor and make the sky the ceiling of any tag team division in the globe. They are just that damn good.
With all that being said, I fear all the other tag teams in HCW will have to bow down to the Queens.
Women's Champion: Sareee
Out of every title, picking who would hold the Women's Championship was the most difficult decision I had to make. There are so many people who you could put in this spot and I wouldn't blame you one bit. However, after carefully considering every option that I had, I decided to go with the woman who took the joshi world by storm in 2023.
Sareee signed with the WWE in 2020 and was released from the promotion in 2023. When she announced on Twitter that she was going to wrestle in Japan again, many people (myself included) were super excited about what she was going to do; but, there weren't many who could predict how good she would be. All-time classics against Chihiro Hashimoto and Arisa Nakajima, and the creation of the great self-produced Sareee-ISM shows have highlighted a phenomenal 9-month run for the Sun God that has changed the Joshi scene for the better.
Sareee has not only proved to everybody how absolutely incredible she is as an in-ring competitor, but, also how much she just GETS wrestling as a whole. She is, in my opinion, the best women's wrestler in the world right now and there's no one I would rather have my top women's belt on than the very best. I have no doubt that with Sareee at the helm, my women's division will prosper.