NJPW Roster in 1997: Full List of Wrestlers, Teams, Champions

New Japan Pro Wrestling: Rosters History Database

On this page you find the full NJPW Roster in the year 1997. This includes the list of all NJPW Wrestlers from Heavyweight, Junior Heavyweight and Young Lions, active Tag Teams & Stables, the current reigning Champions, as well as Managers, Announcers, Authority figures, Producers and other personalities in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Our complete Pro Wrestlers Database allows you to travel through time and see the NJPW Roster by Year or any specific Date in history. Simply use the filters below! You even have the option to view a breakdown of the rosters split by Face and Heel divisions.

See Roster by Date

1997

NJPW: All (60)

Heavyweight

Junior Heavyweight

Young Lions

Teams

Champions

Extras

The profile of each NJPW wrestler features their Career History, Ring Names, Face / Heel Turns, Accomplishments, Pictures, Bio and more information and statistics.

Also, check out these useful articles we put together:

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Draysin Martin · 1 hours ago
Now lets get Women's side of things
Upper Card
Face
Jamie hayter
Kris statlander
"Timeless" Toni Storm
Heel
Athena
Thekla
Mid card
Face
Alex Windsor
Anna Jay
Billie Starkz
Harley Cameron
Hikaru Shida
Kamille
Kiera Hogan
Mina Shikawara
Riho
Ruby Soho
Tay Melo
Thunder Rosa
Willow Nightingale
Yuka sazaki
Mid Card
Heel
Diamante
Emi Sakura
Julia Hart
Megan Bayne
Mercedes Mone
Penelope Ford
Red Velvet
Skye Blue
Trish Adora
Low Card
Face
Leila Grey
Madison Rayne
Nyla Rose
Queen Animata
Heel
Donna Purazzo
Serena Deeb
Taya Valkyrie
For Inactive stars
Brian Cage (Succesful Surgery Recovery)
Dr Britt Baker DMD (Hiatus)
Matt Taven (Hiatus)
Mike Bennett (Hiatus)
Injured
Adam Cole
Colten Gunn
Eddie Kingston
JD Drake
Jay White
Kenny omega
Orange Cassidy
Swerve Strickland
Will Ospreay
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Wright Hill · 3 hours ago
Andrade was released. He was okay. I thought that he should have gotten a better push.
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Rionacho · 6 hours ago
Andrade has left wwe again
- 3 Up 1 Down
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  Draysin Martin · 5 hours ago
  
  @Rionacho AGAIN!?
  
  2 Up 0 Down
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  Wright Hill · 3 hours ago
  
  @Draysin Martin Released
  
  1 Up 1 Down
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Jackson Conley · 10 hours ago
Tiffany Stratton NEEDS a new render
So does Cody rhodes
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Draysin Martin · 1 days ago
Anyways here are the Heels for men's division
Mid Card
Action Andretti
Anthony Henry
Anthony ogogo
The Beast mortos
Big Bill
Bishop Kaun
Brandon Cutler
Bryan Keith
Carlie Bravo
Cash Wheeler
Chris Jericho
Claudio Castangoli
Daniel Garcia
Dax Harwood
Dralistico
Gabe Kidd
Hechicero
Josh Alexander
Kazuchika okada
Killswitch
Kip Sabian
Konosuke Takeshita
Kyle Fletcher
Lance Archer
Lee moriarty
Lio Rush
Mark davis
Mr. Instant Replay
Max Caster
Slickity Nickity
Nick wayne
QT Marshall
Ricochet
Rocky romero
Rush
Sammy Guevara
Shane Taylor
Shawn Dean
Toa Liona
Trent Berretta
Wardlow
Wheeler Yuta
Low Card
Face
Angelico
Satnam Singh
Low Card
Heel
Aaron Solo
Ariya Davari
Blake Christian
The Blade
The Butcher
Griff Garrison
Jack jameson
Johnny TV
Josh Woods
Lee Johnson
Mansoor
Mason madden
Preston Vance
Tony Nese
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Wright Hill · 1 days ago
I'll shout it from the rooftops.

EL GRANDE AMERICANO IS THE WWE SPEED CHAMPION.
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  Andy
  
  Admin
  
  · 15 hours ago
  
  @Wright Hill We feel hesitant in assigning the Speed Championship to Kaiser until he actually defends it or shows up with the title. So far the title was never mentioned since Kaiser took the El Grande identity, so it's fair to assume it's still only tied to Gable.
  
  1 Up 1 Down
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  Wright Hill · 13 hours ago
  
  @Andy Alright.. That's fair, but even 2k25 commentary mentioned it despite them still referring El Grande Americano as Gable. But go back and look at people like Ricochet, Candace LeRae, Andrade, Dragon Lee. They didn't walk around with the title. To my understanding, Sol Ruca is the first to actually carry the title around. Before her, they didn't carry OR respect the title at all.
  Granted it was a Twitter exclusive, which is kind of BS in my opinion and I'm glad it's on NXT now... I enjoy WWE speed, But the fact of the matter is they still mention it as El Grande Americano who holds the title and not Gable. Sure is the same guy, and it's not even Kaiser... But the character holds the title.
  
  I feel like Gable still holding the title It's like if They only mention Diesel being WWE Champ Instead of Kevin Nash. Nash was a five-time WCW Champion, And a one-time WWE champ. WWE calls him a six-time champion.
  
  1 Up 1 Down
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  Andy
  
  Admin
  
  · 10 hours ago
  
  @Wright Hill We'll see what to do or retcon the Title History once they do something with the current El Grande on NXT.
  
  1 Up 1 Down
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  Wright Hill · 5 hours ago
  
  @Andy All right thank you, and also thank you for putting up with my countless requests. 😅
  
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Draysin Martin · 2 days ago
Hey AEW needs it's own Carders
Upper card (Men's Division)
Face
Adam Copeland
Darby Allin
"Hangman" Adam page
Heel
Jon Moxley
MJF
Tweener
Christian Cage
Mid Card
Ace Austin
Alex Reynolds
Angelo Parker
Anthony Bowens
AR Fox
Austin Gunn
Bandido
Billy Gunn
Bobby Lashley
Brodie Lee Jr.
Brody King
Dante Martin
Darius Martin
Evil Uno
Hologram
Hook
Jay lethal
Jeff Jarrett
John Silver
Juice Robinson
Katsoyuri Shibata
Kevin Knight
Komander
Kota ibushi
Kyle O'reily
mark Briscoe
Matt Menard
Matt Sydal
MVP
Mascara Dorada
Nigel Mcguiness
Powerhouse Hobbs
Quen
Samoa Joe
Scorpio Sky
Shelton Benjamin
"Speedball" Mike Bailey
Tomohiro Ishii
Truth Magnum
Turbo Floyd
Zay
i'll get more Tommorow but that's what I have for now
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  Madness · 8 hours ago
  
  @Draysin Martin cage is a face, he got kicked out of the patriarchy and is now teaming with adam copeland
  
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  Draysin Martin · 3 hours ago
  
  @Madness Guess you'd be Right
  
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Wright Hill · 2 days ago
Jordynne Grace has a new render with her having curly hair on wwe.com.
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Tyler Andreasen · 2 days ago
Daniel Garcia is heel. He joined the Death Riders.
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Constance Affinito · 3 days ago
Shady Elnahas is in NXT
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  Constance Affinito · 3 days ago
  
  @Constance Affinito Harley Riggins and Jax Presley as well
  
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Jackson Conley · 3 days ago
Tiffany Stratton needs a new render
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Max · 3 days ago
Arianna grace is a heel
Rich Swann is a heel
Kc Navarro was kicked out of first class and is face I think
And myron reed is face
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TopKekyoin · 3 days ago
in faces/heels, Tyler Breeze shows up twice. both in NXT and in the main roster
in all or men/women, some of the lfg people still show up, not sure if its intended or not (The Undertaker, Jeremy Borash, Michelle McCool, Bubba Ray Dudley). even Peter Rosenberg from evolve is there
El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. is now known as Dr. Wagner III
Jaida Parker is still in "OTM - Out The Mud" when she shouldn't be. the stable name itself is wrong too. check Bronco Nima's stable section on cagematch
Tony D'Angelo should be marked as inactive after his sopranos style ending, and Kit Wilson too for obvious reasons
John Cone is still a referee in WWE, should be added to the site. even if he doesnt appear much anymore
Asuka and Ludwig are probably the best examples of tweeners the company currently has, even more so than the wyatts or pretty deadly, I really think they should be changed as such
AJ Lee probably shouldn't have the Raw background as she doesn't either on the official site
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  Andy
  
  Admin
  
  · 3 days ago
  
  @TopKekyoin Hey, thanks!
  - Fixed Breeze.
  - The LFG people you mentioned show up because they also have additional roles in the company.
  - Updated Dr. Wagner III
  - OTM / Out The Mud are the same, OTM is the acronym. (eg. AOP / Authors of Pain)
  - Kit Wilson is still wrestling on Main Event
  - Fixed John Cone being missing (he's a producer, no longer a referee)
  - What starting dates do you recommend for the Tweener role for Asuka & Ludwig?
  - We put her on Raw as that's where the seems to be, but we'll change it in case it proves to be wrong
  
  2 Up 0 Down
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  Wright Hill · 3 days ago
  
  @Andy Praise be to Andy.
  
  0 Up 1 Down
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  TopKekyoin · 3 days ago
  
  @Andy thank you for always listening to us
  yeah, i know otm is an acronym but they started using the name as an acronym over the full name once jaida and scrypts left. do correct me if im wrong on this though
  my bad on kit wilson, you're completely right. what do you think of tony d though? look up "Someone Approached Tony D’Angelo | NXT Jul 29, 2025" on youtube, after this he has not been seen since with people thinking he'll join the main roster soon. just wondering if this should be considered as inactive for story or not.
  Aug. 18, 2025 (or Aug. 4, 2025 unless you would count it as more of a buildup) for Asuka, that's when the stuff with rhea and iyo really started and August 16, 2025 for Ludwig as that's when Triplemania started and we truly saw people cheer him on from that day
  
  random question, do you think you might do the same for aew/roh or maybe njpw too? with the low/high card stuff etc. i love all kind of wrestling and would love to use this site even more for everything and would be willing to help out more with recommendations, but if it will stay wwe centered then i fully understand since it IS the smackdownhotel after all. maybe putting aaa roster on the top of the site next to the rest where it says "wwe roster - aew roster ....... ECW" would be smart too since it's now owned by wwe, and cmll too since its as big as aaa
  
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  Andy
  
  Admin
  
  · 3 days ago
  
  @TopKekyoin - Not sure about the OTM acronym thing, as I don't follow NXT too much. If you're 100% sure about this I can change this. But otherwise I think it's no big deal. Even wikipedia still calls them Out The Mud.
  - As far as Tony, let's wait a bit to see how long he stays out to see if we need to mark him Inactive.
  - Updated Asuka and Ludwig
  - It's very hard to keep track of the low/mid/upper card thing for WWE already, so I assume it would be very hard to keep track of it accurately for other companies as well. We are a very small team. Would you be interested in helping out on the site itself and making the updates directly? If so, add me on discord: andybadwool
  Thanks!
  
  2 Up 0 Down
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  Andy
  
  Admin
  
  · 3 days ago
  
  @Wright Hill Thank you guys for all the help in keeping track of things!
  
  3 Up 0 Down
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Draysin Martin · 3 days ago
NXT homecoming needs to be a Special event the Confirmed matches are
NXT North american title match Tyler breeze vs. Ethan Page (C)
Tag Team match #DIY vs. Trick Melo gang
Trios match Fatal Influence vs. Stephanie Vaquer TIffany Stratton & Rhea Ripley
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Constance Affinito · 4 days ago
TYLER BREEZE IS BACK ON NXT!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Constance Affinito · 4 days ago
Wrist
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Constance Affinito · 4 days ago
Bronson Reed got a broken
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WWEConsumer · 4 days ago
Becky Lynch needs a new render
Lyra Valkyria also has the IC title on her
*Becky doesn't*
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  WWEConsumer · 4 days ago
  
  @WWEConsumer Also Tiffany Stratton
  
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Giosiu35 · 4 days ago
Add Kane back to the ambassadors list, he’s still signed to wwe, he needs to be added back
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WWEConsumer · 4 days ago
Jey Uso needs a new render he still has his WM 40 shades
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IWGP Tag Team Championship	nWo JapanThe Great Muta & Masahiro Chono Won: October 19, 1997 Kobe, Japan \| NJPW nWo Typhoon 1997 73+ days	73+ days
	Kensuke Sasaki & Kazuo Yamazaki Won: August 10, 1997 Nagoya, Japan \| NJPW The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome 70 days	70 days
	The Bull PowersManabu Nakanishi & Satoshi Kojima Won: May 3, 1997 Osaka, Japan \| NJPW Strong Style Evolution in Osaka Dome 99 days	99 days
	Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki Won: April 12, 1997 Tokyo, Japan \| NJPW Battle Formation 1997 21 days	21 days
	Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura Won: January 4, 1997 Tokyo,Japan \| NJPW Wrestling World 1997 98 days	98 days
	Cho-TenHiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono Won: July 16, 1996 Sapporo, Japan \| NJPW Summer Struggle 1996 - WCW World in Sapporo 172 days	172 days

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship	Vacant Won: November 5, 1997 32 days The J-Crown championships (with the except the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship) were vacated. Shinjiro Otani returned its component belts to their home promotions, including the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Otani was the final wrestler in NJPW to hold the title before it was returned to WWF.	32 days
	Shinjiro Otani Won: August 10, 1997 Nagoya, Japan \| NJPW The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome 87 days	87 days
	El Samurai Won: July 6, 1997 Sapporo, Japan \| NJPW Summer Struggle 1997 35 days	35 days
	Jushin "Thunder" Liger Won: January 4, 1997 Tokyo, Japan \| NJPW Wrestling World 1997 183 days	183 days
	Último Dragón Won: October 11, 1996 Osaka, Japan \| WAR Osaka Crush Night! 85 days	85 days

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship	Shinjiro Otani Won: August 10, 1997 Nagoya, Japan \| NJPW The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome 143+ days On November 5, 1997, Otani vacated all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, effectively ending the J-Crown.	143+ days
	El Samurai Won: July 6, 1997 Sapporo, Japan \| NJPW Summer Struggle 1997 35 days	35 days
	Jushin "Thunder" Liger Won: January 4, 1997 Tokyo, Japan \| NJPW Wrestling World 1997 183 days	183 days
	Último Dragón Won: October 11, 1996 Osaka, Japan \| Osaka Crush Night 85 days	85 days

NJPW Roster in 1997: Full List of Wrestlers, Teams, Champions

NJPW: All (60)

Heavyweight

Junior Heavyweight

Young Lions

Teams

Bull Powers

Heisei Ishingun

Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto

Junji Hirata & Shinya Hashimoto

Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai

Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka

Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami

Kensuke Sasaki & Kazuo Yamazaki

Masahiro Chono & Keiji Muto

nWo Japan

Ookami Gundan

Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki

Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto

Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa

Team Wolf

Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

Champions

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

IWGP Tag Team Championship

nWo JapanThe Great Muta & Masahiro Chono

Kensuke Sasaki & Kazuo Yamazaki

The Bull PowersManabu Nakanishi & Satoshi Kojima

Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki

Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura

Cho-TenHiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship

Vacant

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Extras

Part Time Wrestler

Commentator

Ring Announcer

President

Promoters

Director of Operation

Referees

Producers

Coaches