Tetsuya Naito wins 2023 Tokyo Sports MVP Award
Tokyo Sports has revealed its award winners for 2023.
The complete list of winners was announced on Tuesday. The awards have been presented annually since 1974, with Dave Meltzer noting that they are the most talked about pro wrestling awards in Japan and are historically the most important as far as legacy for Japanese wrestlers.
Tetsuya Naito was named the recipient of the 2023 MVP Award. This is the fourth time that Naito has won MVP in his career. He also took home the award in 2016, 2017, and 2020.
Naito was the winner of this year’s NJPW G1 Climax tournament. At Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4, he’s challenging SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Here are all of this year’s Tokyo Sports Award winners:
- MVP: Tetsuya Naito
- Best Match: The Great Muta vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Women’s Grand Prize: Tam Nakano
- Outstanding Performer: Hiromu Takahashi
- Fighting Spirit Award: Kenoh
- Technique Award: Yuma Aoyagi
- Best Tag Team: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
- Rookie of the Year: The Saito Brothers (Rei & Jun Saito)
NJPW’s English-language website published in-character comments from Naito, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, and Takahashi about their wins.
Goto said he’s “hugely happy” about winning a Tokyo Sports Award for the first time.
“Thank you for this award. Apropos of nothing, I’ve been doing this 20 years now, and this is my first award, so I’m hugely happy,” Goto said. “I’m very grateful to my partner Yoh-chan, and to all the fans for their support. Bishamon will keep tearing it up in the wrestling world.”
