- Awesome Moments: Doing what many thought may just be impossible at this stage in his career, he walks into the Dual Night Wrestle Kingdom 14 after a mediocre 2019. He defeats Jay White to reclaim his Intercontinental Championship before facing the one man he has failed against twice before in the Dome, Kazuchika Okada. Overcoming every possible obstacle, he has achieved what many considered Beyond the Impossible. He beat Okada in the Main Event of Night 2, and became the first EVER Wrestler to hold both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships at the same time.
- He had lost both belts at the same time after a betrayal by long time stablemate EVIL...which only paved the way for Naito to reclaim his titles at Summer Struggle in Jingu Stadium, the first such event NJPW has held in over two decades (Naito interestingly enough, was in the crowd for the last event as well). Punctuated by finally getting to perform the (now truncated thanks to EVIL's betrayal) iconic LIJ Roll Call with his titles, and capped off by fireworks going off for him to pose with. If Wrestle Kingdom 14 was Naito's arrival to being the Shuyaku of NJPW, then Summer Struggle was the solidification of his reign atop NJPW (it also helps that both Okada and Tanahashi lost their matches the same night which highlights his victory more).
- Badass Decay: For three years No Limit had built themselves up in New Japan, Zero 1 and NOAH before a triumphant arrival in American Combat Wrestling on their way to TNA, where they won two matches before being sent out on the losing end of squash matches, one of which by a lone wrestler. Luckily, their next stop was CMLL, where they would pick up more and much more significant wins.
- It seems to be taking hold of Naito again, at least in the eyes of some fans. Ever since losing to Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 12, he's been just floating around. His cool, tranquilo demeanor where he didn't care what anyone thought of him, now can come off like a "poser" attitude since he quite clearly still wants the fans to love him. It says something that early in the year he was absolutely dominating the Japan Popularity Poll only to eventually get beaten out by Hiroshi Tanahashi who was trying for one last bit of glory. With his brutal loss to Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega constantly dogging him now, one hopes that the G1 Climax in 2019 will rejuvenate him.
- Breakup Breakout: To say Naito is doing much better then his former No Limit partner Yujiro Takahashi would be a huge understatement.
- Draco in Leather Pants: As a goody two shoes face he was relatively disliked (think NJPW's precursor to Roman Reigns) even while being pushed to the moon. As the most disrespectful and lazy man in wrestling he is wildly beloved all over the entire world (except Osaka, Japan. They still hate his guts). Some fans believe that most of his issues are NJPW's fault and that they failed him (again, think NJPW's precursor to Roman Reigns).
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: He's already pretty over and liked in most of Japan (except Osaka) but whenever he shows up in an American ring, especially in a Ring Of Honor one, the man is a god!
- Growing the Beard: While always a talented wrestler, he was never able to gain the audience's support, with many claming he was just "Tanahashi lite". This resulted in him losing his main event spot at Wrestle Kingdom 8 to the original via fan vote over what the main event should be. This audience apathy continued until mid-2015, when Naito embarked on an extended tour with CMLL, joining their Los Ingobernables stable as well. Later that year when he eventually returned to New Japan he had adopted a completely different look and attitude. No longer caring about belts, traditions, refusing to helped any of the Faces during tag team matches, often leaving them to fend for themselves. His entrances took over two minutes and took even longer when taking off his entrance attire, the man simply stopped caring. And it turns out it worked. It really really worked. Within a year he managed to turn audience apathy into complete rage and soon he became the most hated man on the New Japan roster even surpassing Bullet Club in terms of heel heat!
- Fridge Brilliance:
- Naito's use of a sliding kick makes sense when you remember he used to be a baseball player.
- His defacing of the Intercontinental Championship stems from the time when his match vs. Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was placed lower than Tanahashi vs. Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Since he was robbed of the main event match, he went crazy with the belt, destroying it piece by piece.
- Harsher in Hindsight: Remember how Naito's first recruit into Los Ingobernables was a fellow Animal Taniguchi alumnus who was so irrevocably removed from his exuberant days as a Young Lion that Tetsuya himself would rechristen him EVIL? Yeah, that decision became the first major crack in the armor of LIJ as of July 12, 2020.
- Heartwarming Moments: Every time he fist-bumps Daryl, Hiromu Takahashi's pet plushie cat. Especially after he won the G1 Climax.
- Vindicated by History: In kayfabe, yes he is. His Wrestle Kingdom 8 challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kazuchika Okada being booted out of the main event by NJPW's fans became his reason for mastering the art of lazy jing and becoming an absolute prick in the ring since the fans didn't care for the bright and heroic Stardust Genius. By embracing the ways of Los Ingobernables and not caring about the crowd or respecting their heroes, he found his mojo and became the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion in over 5 years not named Okada,note Hiroshi Tanahashi,note or AJ Styles.note
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