5 Dream WWE-NJPW Matches We'd Love to See

Dave Meltzer reported in Monday's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Nick Khan of WWE had been in talks with New Japan Pro-Wrestling about becoming the exclusive North American partners of the promotion, a possibility that had fans thinking up dream matches between the top stars of the two companies.

We have seen NJPW work with All Elite Wrestling and Impact Wrestling recently, but a working relationship with WWE brings with it a wealth of potential classic matches.

From aerial assaults between two of the greatest high-fliers of all time to a showdown between the companies' biggest attractions, there is a considerable excitement to be generated by the prospect of a business relationship between Vince McMahon's wrestling empire and Japan's most storied promotion.

What are some of those matches and why should fans be excited? Let's take a look. 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Roman Reigns

Would a match between Kazuchika Okada and Roman Reigns be a style clash? Very likely, but there are arguably no two better big-match performers in NJPW and WWE right now.

As top stars in their respective promotions, it only makes sense that they battle for supremacy.

We have seen Okada's dramatic epics with AEW world champion Kenny Omega. He has been in the headlines for years because of his ability to deliver Match of the Year candidates against NJPW stars of all styles and backgrounds. He has delivered classics against Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Minoru Suzuki and Tetsuya Naito. 

The Rainmaker has been a standard-bearer for the company for some time. He would have to overcome a spinal injury that had him working through two slipped discs, per Meltzer, but he earns his place against WWE’s top dog.

One can only wonder how he would fare against Reigns, who has proved his ability to work a ground-based style against the likes of Cesaro and Daniel Bryan while also incorporating the heavy-hitting and brawling that made him a top star in the first place.

It would be interesting to see how their styles clashed but also, more importantly, how each translated to the opposing company's fans. As long as they delivered the edge-of-your-seat near-falls and storytelling that each has become known for, fans would likely have an engrossing and compelling main event match.

It may not be one of the most obvious dream matches, but it's definitely one of the more interesting ones.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jay White

Jay White has been the chosen one in New Japan Pro-Wrestling ever since it lured him from Ring of Honor in 2017.

Beginning as a member of the Chaos faction, he betrayed his teammates and became the new leader of The Bullet Club when The Elite left the promotion. And since then, has achieved incredible success with the company.

A former IWGP world, intercontinental, United States and NEVER openweight champion, he has collected every major singles title in the company, all while earning rave reviews as one of the best in the world.

Drew McIntyre was also a chosen one, tapped at an early age as a future face of WWE. While he did not have success as early as White, he finally achieved it in 2020, winning the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 36.

The similarities and expectations of those stars, coupled with their physical styles, would make the match a natural fit on any card. That McIntyre has developed into one of the biggest babyfaces in the industry while White is a natural heel only makes the contest more appealing.

It is also a match that, arguably, has the greatest potential of any on this list to actually happen.

The minute White becomes a free agent, WWE will throw money at him. He's too good for them not to. He would instantly enhance any one of its three brands and bring new blood to a company that could use it.

A showdown with McIntyre would be inevitable at that point.

Until then, we can dream about the prospects of The Scottish Warrior and Switchblade clashing in a high-profile showdown.

Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay

Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay isn't a new match. They have battled numerous times over the course of their careers, wowing fans with their athleticism and high-flying abilities. But they have never competed on a stage as grand as the one WWE has to offer.

Vince McMahon's promotion hasn't utilized Ricochet to his full potential, and there is good reason to believe the most recent IWGP world heavyweight champion would have a difficult time navigating the WWE waters due to his size (or lack thereof), but that does not make a match between the two any less appealing.

The idea of executive producer Kevin Dunn's camera cuts trying to keep up with the two men would be entertaining enough, but what unfolded between the ropes would be special. It would obliterate the more cerebral and formulaic style WWE uses and provide fans with a dazzling display of acrobatics and speed.

Ospreay is the bigger star right now and would probably be given the nod to win but one such match would remind fans of just how special the human highlight reel Ricochet is and possibly earn him favor with a management team that inexplicably stopped believing in him after his 2019 series with AJ Styles.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Randy Orton

Hiroshi Tanahashi is among the most respected and beloved performers in NJPW. A veteran of the promotion who has accomplished everything there is and then some, he has stood atop the mountain eight times as IWGP heavyweight champion, amassed 19 total titles and won the storied G-1 Climax on three different occasions.

He is very much a living legend in the company and would make the perfect opponent for WWE's resident Legend Killer, Randy Orton.

The Viper is an icon in his own right: a 14-time world champion who has battled all the greats and competed on every major stage WWE has to offer. Like Tanahashi, he is beloved and respected by the WWE fans and his peers.

The prospect of the two grizzled vets meshing their wildly different styles to create a show-stealer is appealing. Both men are extremely smart and would seemingly know where to put Ace's babyface comebacks to highlight Orton's methodic heel arsenal.

Imagine Tanahashi selling his head or neck all match and garnering the babyface sympathy while Orton ruthlessly sets up the RKO. Think about the pop if Tanahashi could pull off his High Fly Flow splash. What if Orton caught him mid-flight with his finisher?

The drama would be off the charts.

Cesaro vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

There are few technicians better than Zack Sabre Jr.

The Briton has made a career off of outwrestling his opponents, twisting and contorting both theirs and his bodies in submissions, reversals and counters that the common wrestler could not even dream of. He is a special performer, a throwback to the days before flips and flying became the norm.

When someone is as great as he is at manipulating the body, slithering into and out of holds and countering them into his own, it is incredibly difficult to find someone who can keep up.

WWE has that someone: Cesaro.

The Swiss Superman has been, arguably, the best pound-for-pound professional wrestler for years now. He has shown an innate ability to work with anyone with any style. He is simply extraordinary, something fans have just started to realize amid his push to the top of SmackDown.

Cesaro and Sabre throwing uppercuts at each other, then trying to outmatch the other on the mat presents a scenario so appealing that you demand to see it right now.

Would it play well to the WWE audience with its short attention span and the fact that it has been trained to expect a certain formula? Probably not, but it would showcase technical wrestling on a scale they have not seen since Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit tore the house down every night in the early 2000s.