This year started off with a bang as WWE signed four of the biggest talents from New Japan Pro Wrestling, all who had a banner year in 2015. Not only was it shocking, as WWE normally isn’t as aggressive in signing talent from there, but it was during their renegotiation period, where New Japan normally signs their guys to one-year contracts as had been tradition for decades.

I guess all traditions eventually come to an end, much like the runs of these four men in the promotion, as it caused NJPW to think differently when it comes to negotiations. But it was a year in which many traditions were broken, not just about New Japan’s contract situations, but also WWE’s mentality of who can be a star. Let’s take a look at the New Japan Four’s banner year, and where they are today.

Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

Being one of the top tag teams in NJPW for years, people raised eyebrows when Anderson and Gallows jumped ship over to WWE. After a few months of questions regarding their debut, they finally arrived on the April 11th edition of Raw. They immediately looked to make a name for themselves in the tag division, all while being chummy with AJ Styles, their former Bullet Club leader.

That trio soon cemented their unit, giving themselves the clever and very original name of “The Club.” Once the brand split went down, they were split up with Anderson and Gallows joining Raw while Styles became exclusive to SmackDown.

Since the brand split, Anderson and Gallows have pretty much been at the center of the tag team division, never too far away from getting a title shot. With New Day having firm control of the belts for most of the last year, they’ve yet to become champions. But it seems likely somewhere down the line, they’ll eventually get a run with the titles, and they’ll be at the top of Raw’s tag team division, much like they were during their time in New Japan.

Shinsuke Nakamura

To say it was shocking when Shinsuke Nakamura announced his departure from NJPW in January 2016 would be an understatement. Not only was he the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, he was one of the cornerstones of the promotion, always at the top of the cards and a certified draw.

So when Nakamura announced he was going to WWE, 2016 was already off to a completely unpredictable start, as it was unheard of that someone like Shinsuke Nakamura would jump from New Japan, where he started and wrestled since 2002, to WWE, where his comfy position at the top wasn’t necessarily guaranteed.

But when transitioning to the WWE, Nakamura instantly “got” the mentality of how WWE, and American wrestling in general, worked. When he made his debut on April 1st at NXT TakeOver: Dallas against Sami Zayn, he didn’t have a crazy, blow out match like he did in big time New Japan matches. He had an amazing match against Zayn, but didn’t go crazy. He got over in that match not by killing himself with scary looking moves, but by just being Shinsuke Nakamura, one of the most charismatic figures in pro wrestling today.

Not only did it work for Nakamura, but everything about him — the music, the entrance, the charismatic swagger — instantly got over and propelled him quickly to the NXT title, defeating Samoa Joe on August 20th.

Although Nakamura is obviously ready for the main roster, apparently Triple H and those in charge over at NXT see differently. Much like how Finn Balor was the anchor for NXT in 2014-15, Nakamura is now poised to be the main attraction for the brand for months to come. His next feud will be against Bobby Roode, where they are destined to face off at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio over Royal Rumble weekend.

There is no timetable for Nakamura’s debut on the main roster, but at 36, it’s painfully clear the time to pull off a debut on Raw or SmackDown would be best suited for everyone sooner rather than later.

AJ Styles

Out of everyone on this list, it’s apparent that AJ Styles has flourished the most under the WWE banner. Like Nakamura, he had a reliable position at the top of NJPW cards as the leader of the Bullet Club. But when WWE came calling with a big money offer, Styles took it. While working in Japan is great, it’s probably better to make that kind of money wrestling at home rather than abroad.

But like most who develop a big name outside of WWE, Styles had a somewhat rocky start. After making his debut at the Royal Rumble, Styles soon found himself in a tag team with Chris Jericho. Y2AJ didn’t last all that long, as Jericho swerved him, leading to a match at WrestleMania.

Styles lost, even though it made total sense for him to win as the next night on Raw he became the number one contender to Roman Reigns’ WWE title. Although he went on to lose those matches, he instantly became a star to not only those in the crowd, but also backstage. His next program, with John Cena, was somewhat of a dream series as one of the biggest names in WWE (Cena) battled one of the top names outside of the WWE in the last decade (Styles).

Their SummerSlam match was one of the best matches of the year, leaving Cena beat as Styles proved to be “The Champ That Runs the Camp,” as he would soon be calling himself. Despite the dumb name, Styles went on to even bigger success, defeating Dean Ambrose at Backlash, doing what many thought was impossible only a few years prior by becoming WWE Champion.

Styles is one of the biggest stars, if not the biggest star, of the SmackDown brand. In the transition from New Japan to WWE, Styles hasn’t lost much — he continues to be one of the best overall workers in the business and almost never has a bad match as he’s just so consistently great in everything he does in and out of the ring. Barring injury, 2017 is set to be a banner year for Styles. He’ll continue to make a case for himself as one of the best in the industry, and he’s completely deserving of another look for the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame.