Faction leaders, aces, and even comedic personalities, if you watch pro wrestling, you know how important a strong character can be for a wrestler. Of course, one's in-ring ability is vital to their success, but ensuring that there is a personality behind the wrestler is an important way to connect with fans. This doesn't have to be some over-the-top, braggadocious, in-your-face character like MJF, but can be something as simple (yet unique) as a character like Katsuyori Shibata's "The Wrestler". With this in mind, we thought it would be interesting to look back through professional wrestling's long history and give our picks for our favorite characters to grace the squared circle.
Harkin's Pick: The Icon Of STARDOM (Mayu Iwatani)
If you know me, you know that Mayu Iwatani is my favorite wrestler of all time. Her journey from being a shut-in in high school, to finding her lifetime passion with wrestling after seeing a Dragon Gate Show, to becoming a STARDOM original and rising up the ranks through the years becoming not only the most decorated wrestler in the company but the true heart and soul of the promotion, Iwatani earned through pure hard work and determination the rightful title of The Icon.
While Mayu is goofy, clumsy, extremely relatable, and at the same time caring for her faction, STARS, she is also incredibly driven by building her legacy and becoming the best. She can be confident and ruthless when she needs to, especially when it comes to protecting her spot as the Ace or the title she is holding. When the Icon gets down to business, she can lock in in a way nobody can replicate, making her big-time matches feel like something you cannot afford to miss.
I always turn to the words of former STARDOM booker and founder, Rossy Ogawa, someone who's like a father figure to Mayu, to explain to people how much The Icon means to STARDOM and Joshi Wrestling in general: "STARDOM's history is Mayu's history". Mayu Iwatani is STARDOM. She was there in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, being someone the promotion could consistently rely on. Going through a rough patch? Put a title on the GOAT and everything will be fine. She carried the company on her back in 2020, and some would say she is doing it right now in 2024 as I write this.
Because of her incomparable greatness and versatility, her matches can also take various routes. When you watch a Mayu Iwatani match you can get the Dominant Ace Icon that is the measuring stick, or the loveable babyface fighting from underneath as the Greatest of All Time makes you feel like it's 2011 all over again. I could ramble for days about Mayu, but to keep it brief, I will finish by saying she is truly the perfect pro wrestler and pro wrestling character in my eyes. There will never be another Mayu Iwatani.
Recommended Matches: vs. Syuri (Jan. 4, 2024), vs. Io Shirai (May 15. 2016; Dec. 22, 2016), vs. Kagetsu (Dec. 24, 2019)
Unno's Pick: The Cleaner (Kenny Omega)
Following his departure from DDT in late 2014, Kenny Omega arrived in New Japan Pro Wrestling as the newest member of the Bullet Club. With a stark difference in character from his former "bubbly" persona, Omega came to NJPW with a mission: to clean up the junior heavyweight division. Claiming he was only in the company for "money and the title", Omega immediately made progress on his goal as he beat Ryusuke Taguchi in his first match as a member of the Bullet Club at Wrestle Kingdom 9 for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
But, I'm not here to bore you with a full-blown summary of Kenny Omega's time as "The Cleaner". What makes "The Cleaner" my favorite character in wrestling is partially nostalgia, but also down to just how damn good Kenny Omega was (and still is). Let's discuss the first point for just a minute, though. I've spoken about this a handful of times before, but 2017 was when I would get back into wrestling for the first time in years. It was also around this time (or arguably 2016) when Kenny Omega would be touted as one of, if not the best wrestler in the world. As someone who pretty much only watched WWE at the time, it was hard not to take notice of what was happening outside of North America's resident wrestling monopoly. So, whenever I could find the time, I began to dabble in NJPW for the first time in my life. And in doing so, there was one man who stuck out to me amongst the rest: Kenny Omega.
Among the Aces, Rainmakers, and whomever else was at the top of the card at the time, something stuck out about Omega that drew me to him (is this what they call aura?). Granted, 2017 would be the tail end of his "Cleaner" persona as he soon shifted to "The Best Bout Machine"; nonetheless, Omega bid adieu to this character in a way no one else could. Starting the year with one of the greatest matches of all time against Kazuchika Okada, arguably three match-of-the-year contenders against Tomohiro Ishii, and one of the greatest bouts in G1 Climax history against Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega was on a level that few others in history have ever (and will ever) reach.
What I loved about this Kenny Omega character is that he never took himself too seriously (unless necessary). He had a goal of dominating the junior heavyweight division, which eventually turned towards reaching the pinnacle of the heavyweight division; yet, Omega still made sure to have fun with the character and the other members of the Bullet Club. Furthermore, Omega is a wonderful storyteller as we watched his progression from the cocky, sometimes childish nature when he first arrived to the driven, confident Bullet Club leader who realized what he lacked in his journey to reach the top of the promotion. There's probably more I could say or elaborate on, but, for the sake of keeping things concise, Kenny Omega's time as "The Cleaner" is the most important part of his career trajectory and arguably one of the most influential characters in (recent) wrestling history.
Recommended Matches: vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (Feb. 14, 2016), vs Tetsuya Naito (August 13, 2017), vs Tomohiro Ishii (May 3, 2017)
Jake's Pick: The Magical Girl (Yuka Sakazaki)
When thinking about our favorite characters in wrestling it only took me a short moment to decide who I feel is an incredible character in the ring, and outside of it. With aspirations of being a comedian, taking a gamble on becoming a pro-wrestler, and joining a new start-up promotion based around idols, the Magical Girl would soar onto the scene.
At first glance, especially in AEW, Yuka seems like an overwhelming force of sunshine and positive energy that embodies what a magical girl is. It all starts with one of the most infectious theme songs in wrestling, Yuka herself singing "ayayayay" repeatedly as she runs out of the tunnel. She wrestles with a smile on her face as a fiery underdog against her typically much larger American opponents. Yuka, who is deceivingly strong, is able to fight back and dominate her opponents with elbows, dives, and ultimately her Magical Girl Splash. She is an incredible babyface in America who easily gets the crowd behind her and cheers on every move when she's in the ring. It's ultimately what got me interested in seeing more of her and led me to do more research on the Magical Girl. This led me to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, her original home for the first 10 years of her career and where the Magical Girl was born.
In a character-rich promotion like TJPW, filled with the likes of a superhero, a cat, idols, and a kaiju, it can be hard to stand out. Still, Yuka is able to capitalize on her strengths and manage to differentiate herself from the rest of the pack. The early days of The Magical Girl were a work in progress for her, using confetti cannons in matches and wearing a pointy genie hat and shoes to cap it all off. Over the years, she'd meld this into one of the most successful wrestlers to ever step foot into a TJPW ring, becoming a three-time Princess of Princess Champion (only behind Miyu Yamashita) and a four-time Princess Tag-Team Champion, the most of any other team. Yuka's in-ring abilities and storytelling are ultimately what drew me to her, being able to blend in comedy with ultra-serious high-stakes matches, creating unique bouts that can't be seen in most other places.
While Yuka is an incredible babyface in the States, back home in Japan she's a strong terminating force of nature that bullies and dominates her opponents back in TJPW. Famous for her no-selling moves and general bully antics of younger wrestlers, all capped off with her success in the company has landed her as one of the pillars of TJPW. But when it's time to lock in for big title matches, she always shows up and is prepared for a war.
The Magical Girl's big matches against the likes of Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, and her tag partner Mizuki have managed to showcase how serious and especially dark the Magical Girl can become. The aptly named "Dark Yuka" appears in her most intense matches, and is brought out during extreme times of need and desperation as an ace up the sleeve to try and get a leg up on her opponents. Once Yuka rolls her eyes, hits that thousand-yard stare, and starts laying in elbows, you know she's entered her dark alter ego and is aiming to take the head off her opponent. This dichotomy of being able to go from the bubbly Magical Girl to a darker version of herself when needed is something I find so interesting and compelling that I haven't seen in anyone else.
The Magical Girl has just recently returned from an injury and is now slated for an AEW Women's Championship match taking place at Grand Slam as of this writing on September 24th. While she's most likely losing, it's a good sign that she's seen as a major player in AEW and hopefully is able to eventually win a title and spread some magic to the wrestling world.
Recommended Matches: vs. Miyu Yamashita (1/4/2023), vs. Mizuki (11/7/2020), MagiRabi vs Daydream (3/19/2022)
King's Pick: The Fighting NXT Champion (Kevin Owens)
In 2014, after 14 years on the indies, Kevin Steen said goodbye to independent wrestling as he signed his first contract with WWE. In the lead-up to his NXT debut, he talked openly in promos about his friends who had already signed contracts with the company. Regardless of his relationship with those people, he would fight anyone to provide for his family. He even took on the name Kevin Owens in dedication to his son, Owen.
The wrestler formerly known as Steen made sure to let everyone know he was dead serious about fighting anyone in NXT from day one as well. After Sami Zayn, allegedly the former El Generico and close friend to Steen, won the NXT championship at NXT: R Evolution, Owens came down to the ring seemingly to congratulate Zayn. Instead, he power-bombed Zayn onto the ring apron. A move that would become a staple of Owens in his early NXT run. This would be the beginning of one of the greatest first years for a wrestler in NXT/WWE.
Owens would win the NXT Championship just two months later from Zayn in one of the best matches for the brand that year. This was the quickest anyone had won the NXT Championship since their debut until Ethan Page won it in 40 days in 2024. He then had an excellent NXT Championship run, facing the likes of Samoa Joe, Finn Bálor (FKA Prince Devitt), and Neville (AKA PAC). Owens would eventually lose the title to Bálor as he moved into a United States Championship program with John Cena on the WWE main roster. Although he did lose the feud, Owens did get a clean pinfall win over Cena in one of their three matches.
If you were to make a list of the most unconventional guys from the 2000s indie circuit to make it in WWE, Steen might be at the top of that list. Taking much of what he did during that independent run and translating it into 2010's WWE television showed just how special the 14-year vet truly was. He is one of the main wrestlers who hooked me into black-and-gold NXT. He also made me want to seek out more wrestling outside of WWE and the occasional TNA viewing. So, this section of the article serves as a plea to Tony Khan to take all funds wasted on Trevor Lawrence, tamper, and pay Kevin Steen all the money he needs to become All Elite.
Recommended Matches: vs. Sami Zayn (Feb. 11, 2015), vs. Finn Bálor (Mar. 25, 2015), vs. Finn Bálor (Jul. 4, 2015)
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