 Narita in April 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1997-11-29)November 29, 1997 (age 27) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Ren Narita[1] |
| Billed height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 100 kg (220 lb)[1] |
| Billed from | Aomori, Japan |
| Trained by | NJPW Dojo[2] NJPW L.A. Dojo Katsuyori Shibata |
| Debut | July 4, 2017[1] |
Ren Narita (成田 蓮Narita Ren, born November 29, 1997[3]) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler. He is signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member ofHouse of Torture. He is a two-timeNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion and a one-timeNJPW World Television Champion.
Narita was also a member ofBullet Club, since House of Torture was a sub-group of the stable. However, he never represented the stable, as HoT members only interact with each other, and it became a stable in its own right, following a civil war storyline in 2025.
Narita has played several sports before becoming a wrestler, includingbaseball, andkendo.[3][2]
Narita was trained underNew Japan Pro-Wrestling's (NJPW) "young lion" system. Narita made his professional wrestling debut for NJPW'sdevelopmental territoryLion's Gate Project, where he wrestledShota Umino to aten minute time limit draw at theLion's Gate Project 7 event on July 4, 2017.[4][5][6] Later that month, Narita had his second match, teaming with Umino where they lost toSuzuki-gun (El Desperado andZack Sabre Jr.) on day eight of the2017 G1 Climax tournament.[7]
Narita competed in the11th Young Lion Cup, gaining 1 point after a time limit draw against Tetsuhiro Yagi.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] During the following year, Narita wrestled several tag team matches with NJPW veterans.[15][16][17][18][19] In May 2019, afterFlip Gordon pulled out of theBest of the Super Juniors 26 tournament, Narita was announced as a last minute replacement.[20] He ended the tournament with a final standing of 0 points. Throughout the Destruction tour in September, Narita took part in the12th Young Lion Cup. He finished with a record of 5–2. Afterwards, it was announced that he was heading to America for his excursion and joining the L.A. Dojo.
Narita wrestled his first match in the United States atFighting Spirit Unleashed Boston, losing toLance Archer.[21] Narita earned his first win in the states, defeating fellow L.A. Dojo teammateAlex Coughlin, in November atNJPW Showdown in San Jose.[22] In March 2020, New Japan suspended all of its activities, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, causing American-based talent to not be able to travel to compete. Therefore, Narita appeared primarily on New Japan's new American-based showNJPW Strong. In March 2021, Narita competed in theNew Japan Cup USA tournament, defeating Misterioso in the qualifying round.[23] In the first round, Narita lost to eventual winner,Tom Lawlor.[24] In July, Narita teamed withYuji Nagata to compete in the Tag Team Turbulence tournament, where they defeated Fred Yehi andWheeler Yuta, in the first round.[25] In the second round, the duo lost to eventual winners,the Good Brothers. In September, at Autumn Attack, Narita challenged Tom Lawlor for theStrong Openweight Championship, in a losing effort.[26] In November atBattle in the Valley, Narita lost toWill Ospreay.[27] After L.A. Dojo head coachKatsuyori Shibata returned from injury on the finals of theG1 Climax 31, he announced he would compete in a match atWrestle Kingdom 16 against a mystery opponent.[28][29] At said event on January 4, 2022, Shibata's opponent was revealed to be Narita, who Shibata defeated.[30] Narita returned to compete onNJPW Strong until September, defeatingJuice Robinson in his final match.[31]
Narita returned from his excursion, in October at Declaration of Power, teaming withRobbie Eagles andDavid Finlay, to defeatSuzuki-gun.[32][33] Later in the month, Narita competed in a 16-man tournament, to crown the inauguralNJPW World Television Champion, in the first round Narita achieved a shock victory overTomohiro Ishii.[34] He then went on to defeat established heavyweight wrestlers, such asToru Yano andSanada, thus advancing to the finals atWrestle Kingdom 17, where he would faceZack Sabre Jr.[35][36][37] At Wrestle Kingdom, Narita was defeated in the tournament final by Sabre.[38]
The night after Wrestle Kingdom, atNew Year Dash!!, Narita teamed withTomoaki Honma andTiger Mask, losing toHouse of Torture (Evil,Yujiro Takahashi andDick Togo). After a post-match beat down by House of Torture, Narita was saved byMinoru Suzuki andEl Desperado, which set up a six-man tag-team match between the two teams for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships, which were held by House of Torture.[39] On February 11, Narita, Desperado and Suzuki defeated House of Torture (Evil, Takahashi andSho) to win the Never Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships, marking Narita's first NJPW Championship.[40] The following month, Narita made his debut in theNew Japan Cup tournament, but was eliminated in the first round by Evil.[41] On April 3, the trio, now namedStrong Style defeated House of Torture in a rematch to retain their titles.[42] A month later on May 3, Strong Style lost the titles toKazuchika Okada,Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii, ending the trio's reign at 81 days.[43] In July, Narita made his debut in the annualG1 Climax tournament, where he would participate in the A Block.[44] Narita finished his tournament with 6 points, failing to advance to the quarterfinal round.[45]
On December 6, Narita attacked his partner in theWorld Tag LeagueShota Umino and joinedHouse of Torture, turningheel.
On January 4, 2024 atWrestle Kingdom 18, Narita teamed with fellow House of Torture memberEvil, to defeat Umino andKaito Kiyomiya. Narita would participate in the2024 New Japan Cup, where he would defeatTaichi andZack Sabre Jr., only to be eliminated byYota Tsuji in the quarter-final. AtWindy City Riot, Narita defeatedMinoru Suzuki and appeared later in the show, attacking newly crownedIWGP World Heavyweight ChampionJon Moxley, only to be chased off by Umino. On night two ofWrestling Dontaku, Narita unsuccessfully challenged Moxley for the championship. AtKing Of Pro-Wrestling, Narita defeatedJeff Cobb andYota Tsuji in a three way match to win theNJPW World Television Champion. AtWrestle Kingdom 19, Narita lost the title toEl Phantasmo in afour-way match, involving Cobb andRyohei Oiwa. On January 30, 2025, Narita teamed withSho andYujiro Takahashi to defeatHiroshi Tanahashi,Toru Yano andOleg Boltin to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships for the second time in his career.
On night one ofWrestling Dontaku, House of Torture were defeated by the Bullet Club War Dogs in aDog Pound match. Per the stipulation, House of Torture were forced to leave Bullet Club.[46]
Narita appeared on the May 12, 2021 episode ofDynamite, where he accompaniedYuji Nagata for hisIWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match againstAEW World ChampionJon Moxley.[47] On the May 24 episode ofDark: Elevation, as part of the partnership between New Japan Pro Wrestling andAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), Narita made his in-ring debut for the promotion defeatingRoyce Isaacs.[48]
,Internet Wrestling Database