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On the 4th of January 2019, Wrestle Kingdom 13, New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest show of the year took place at the Tokyo Dome.
The show featured all of the promotions top superstars including Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega. While these performers are some of the best in all of wrestling, they may not be as well known to the more casual fan who is only familiar with the WWE product.
Although the Wrestle Kingdom stars mentioned above have not plied their trade at the grandest stage of them all at WrestleMania, there are a select group of wrestlers who have indeed competed at both WWE's and NJPW's biggest shows. Completing this career double is no small feat as it is only achieved by superstars who have managed to rise through the ranks in both America and Japan and this is reflected in the names who have achieved the feat, which includes Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle in addition to these names.
#5 Finn Balor/ Prince Devitt
Wrestle Kingdom appearances: 7
Wrestle Kingdom wins: 5
WrestleMania appearances: 1
WrestleMania wins: 0
Prince Devitt really put himself on the map in New Japan Pro Wrestling where his consistently strong showings and leadership of the Bullet Club saw him sky-rocket in popularity during his time with the promotion.
Now known, of course, as Finn Balor in WWE, the wrestler is yet to truly leave his mark on a WrestleMania yet although his first WrestleMania match, a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship against both Seth Rollins and The Miz was a strong showing and might be indicative of future matches he will have to offer.
Balor is an immensely talented performer and while his popularity in WWE may not yet be as great as it was in New Japan, it would not be at all surprising if he went on to have a stellar career in WWE and star in many a WrestleMania.
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura
Wrestle Kingdom appearances: 10
Wrestle Kingdom wins: 7
WrestleMania appearances: 1
WrestleMania wins: 0
Nakamura may have the most impressive resume of anyone in this list when it comes to his work with New Japan Pro Wrestling and his various top quality performances at Wrestle Kingdom.
Nakamura also deserves special praise for his Wrestle Kingdom match against AJ Styles that was so good that the WWE decided to book the same bout again at WrestleMania 34. Outside of that WrestleMania match with Styles, however, Nakamura is yet to truly prove himself at WrestleMania and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to beef up his WrestleMania record in the years to come.
In any case, Nakamura is a top performer who has proven he can produce on wrestlings biggest stages so you would be foolish to bet against him churning out more quality matches in the years to come.
#3 Cody Rhodes/ Cody
Wrestle Kingdom appearances: 3
Wrestle Kingdom wins: 1
WrestleMania appearances: 6
WrestleMania wins: 1
Most will agree that Cody has gone from strength to strength having left WWE and performing in various other promotions. With that being said, Cody Rhodes did enjoy big moments at WrestleMania during his WWE run with his post-legacy breakup triple threat match against Randy Orton and Ted Dibiase.
Cody's Wrestle Kingdom appearances were book-ended by matches against Juice Robinson with a contest against Kota Ibushi in the middle. The fact Cody has performed on wrestling's top stages in such a variety of different roles and his character has evolved a number of times from his early days to his current form with the likes of "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and even Goldust along the way. For the moment, it seems unlikely we will see Cody perform at either show in the near future as he focuses on All Elite Wrestling.
#2 Chris Jericho
Wrestle Kingdom appearances: 2
Wrestle Kingdom wins: 0
WrestleMania appearances: 13
WrestleMania wins: 5
Jericho has enjoyed a long and stellar career, predominantly with the WWE where he took part in a number of memorable matches and enjoyed success at the company's biggest show, WrestleMania.
However, now in the latter stages of his career, Jericho has gone on to perform in New Japan Pro Wrestling and is quickly putting together an impressive resume of Wrestle Kingdom performances which he added to yet again this year in a no disqualification match against Tetsuya Naito.
While it remains to be seen just how long Jericho will be able to compete, he has already amassed an incredible record at wrestling's biggest shows and so is a deserving of this place on the list. From his WrestleMania debut in 2000 to the present day, Jericho has been consistently one of the best wrestlers in the industry.
#1 AJ Styles
Wrestle Kingdom appearances: 3
Wrestle Kingdom wins: 2
WrestleMania appearances: 3
WrestleMania wins: 2
It was at one point unthinkable that AJ Styles would top this list. For the majority of his career Styles was the John Cena of TNA wrestling and played a massive part in all the successes that the company experienced.
It was fairly late in the day that Styles made the jump to New Japan but he quickly excelled there too, putting together a strong Wrestle Kingdom resume, including the previously mentioned match against Nakamura, and, like Prince Devitt before him, enjoying a successful reign as the leader of the Bullet Club.
Somehow, the phenomenal one went on to achieve even more success in WWE and has already put in some strong showings at WrestleMania in his matches with Chris Jerricho, Shane McMahon and the re-match against Nakamura. A truly special talent, Styles will likely go on to add to his already outstanding record on wrestling's grandest stages.
Which Superstar do you think might soon be added to this list? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Follow Sportskeeda for all your pro-wrestling and WWE content.
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