The logo of CHAOS, following Kazuchika Okada's departure
CHAOS was originally formed in in April 2009, when all the members of the Great Bash Heel (G.B.H) stable turned on leader Togi Makabe and reformed under new leader Shinsuke Nakamura. Soon after, the new group was named CHAOS, with Nakamura being named as the leader. As the leader of CHAOS, Nakamura was one of NJPW's top wrestlers.
CHAOS originally was the only heel group in New Japan Pro Wrestling, they feuded with every group within New Japan. In 2013, CHAOS started feuds with two other heel groups, Suzuki-gun and Bullet Club, which led to the stable being portrayed in a more sympathetic way. After Takashi Iizuka and Yujiro Takahashi jumped to Suzuki-gun and Bullet Club, CHAOS finalized its face turn. During Nakamura's leadership CHAOS featured allies from different promotions, including Masato Tanaka from Pro Wrestling Zero1 and NJPW wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Kazushi Sakuraba.
Since its founding, CHAOS has added several new members, most notably Kazuchika Okada, who established himself as one of NJPW's top wrestlers, holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on four occasions and also won the G1 Climax on three occasions (2012, 2014 and 2021), as well as the New Japan Cup in two occasions (2013 and 2019). After becoming NJPW's top star, Okada who was already perceived in the same veign as Nakamura, took over the stable's leadership in February 2016, after Nakamura's left NJPW.
The following years, were marked by internal instability despite championship success, with Jay White joining CHAOS in January 2018, he began instigating the other members to turn on Okada, in an attempt to usurp his leadership, only to leave CHAOS and join Bullet Club, becoming their new leader. This led to Okada making an unprecedented decision to align CHAOS with New Japan Seikigun ("regular army") led by his biggest rival Hiroshi Tanahashi against Bullet Club. Shortly after, CHAOS featured various members turning on the stable with Will Ospreay, who was brought in by Okada, turning on CHAOS to form United Empire and Sho turned on his longtime partner Yoh to form House of Torture. CHAOS also briefly established a U.S. based branch of the stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the guidance of Romero. In January 2024, Okada left NJPW after his contract expired, ending his eight-year tenrue as leader. After a period without leadership, Hirooki Goto decided to unite CHAOS with New Japan Seikigun, disbanding the stable.
History[]
Formation (2009)[]
In August 2008, Shinsuke Nakamura's clean-cut babyface stable RISE began feuding with Togi Makabe's villainous stable Great Bash Heel. On September 5, Nakamura and Goto unsucessfully challenged Makabe and Toru Yano for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, after Giant Bernard and Rick Fuller turned on RISE and cost Nakamura and Goto's match against Great Bash Heel. Afterwards, Low Ki also turned on RISE to join Great Bash Heel. In 2009, RISE entered in a decline and the stable began quietly disbanding, after each member of the stable went on their seperate ways, but Nakamura still felt resentment and vowed revenge towards Makabe. On April 5 at Resolution, Toru Yano turned on Great Bash Heel leader Togi Makabe, costing his match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Throughout that month, all members of Great Bash Heel, with the exception of Tomoaki Honma, turned their backs on Makabe, joining Nakamura and Yano. On April 23, the new group was officially dubbed "CHAOS" with Nakamura and Yano positioned as its two central figures. The group shared the common goal of restoring the "Strong Style" of New Japan, which Nakamura felt was abandoned after the departures of bearers Antonio Inoki and Shinya Hashimoto.
Shinsuke Nakamura's leadership (2009–2016)[]
Feud with Togi Makabe (2009–2010)[]
On June 20, 2009, at Dominion 6.20, Black Tiger lost to Tiger Mask in a mask vs. mask match and afterwards Tatsuhito Takaiwa revealed his identity by removing his mask, marking his last appearance for the promotion. In August, Masato Tanaka joined the stable. Later that month, four members of CHAOS took part in the 2009 G1 Climax with Yano and Bernard wrestling in block A and Anderson, Nakamura and Iizuka in block B. All three failed to advance from their blocks, execpt for Nakamura, who managed to advance to the semifinals. On August 16, Nakamura first defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the semifinals and then he was defeated by Togi Makabe in the finals of the tournament. On September 27, Nakamura defeated Makabe in a decision match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the third time, avenging his loss from the finals of the 2009 G1 Climax. From October 17 to November 1, four teams of CHAOS took part in the 2009 G1 Tag League; Ishii and Tanaka and, Nakamura and Yano in block A, Bad Intentions and, Gedo and Jado in block B. Only Nakamura and Yano, and Bad Intentions managed to win their respetive blocks. In the semifinals, Nakamura and Yano were defeated by Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi). Meanwhile, Anderson and Bernard first defeated Wild Child (Takao Omori and Manabu Nakanishi) in the semifinals and then Devitt and Taguchi in the finals to win the tournament. This led to a match on January 4, 2010, at Wrestle Kingdom IV, where they failed to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, involving No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro) and Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray).
On April 4, Yano and Iizuka turned on Anderson and kicked him out of the stable with help from Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi, who joined the stable in the process. Giant Bernard, who wasn't present at the show, ended up leaving CHAOS alongside his tag team partner. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku, Naito and Takahashi lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Seigigun (Wataru Inoue and Yuji Nagata) in a three-way match, also involving Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson). In the main event, Nakamura lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Togi Makabe. Following the loss, Nakamura was sidelined with a shoulder injury until he returned on June 19 at Dominion 6.19, defeating Daniel Puder. On July 19, Nakamura received a rematch for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was once again defeated by Makabe to end their feud.
Various feuds and championship dominance (2010–2013)[]
From August 6 to August 15, four members of CHAOS took part in the 2010 G1 Climax with Naito and Yano wrestling in block A and Nakamura and Takahashi in block B. All four failed to advance from their blocks. Nakamura entered the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but a 30-minute time limit draw against Pro Wrestling Noah's Go Shiozaki eliminated him from the tournament. The draw with Shiozaki led to a no time limit match at a Pro Wrestling Noah show on August 22, where Nakamura was defeated. On October 12, NJPW announced the participating teams in the Super J Tag League. In the tournament, CHAOS would be represented by two teams in separate blocks; debuting members Davey Richards and Rocky Romero in block A and Gedo and Jado in block B. Both teams won their respective blocks with a record of three wins and one loss, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On November 13, Gedo and Jado defeated Richards and Romero in the finals to win the tournament. As a result of their victory, Gedo and Jado received a match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, which took place at a Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) event on December 26, 2010, where they were defeated by the defending champions, the Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi). From October 22 until November 7, three teams of CHAOS took part in the 2010 G1 Tag League; Tanaka and Ishii wrestling in block A, No Limit and Iizuka and Yano in block B. Only No Limit managed to win their block with a record of three wins and two losses, advancing to the semifinals. On November 7, No Limit defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man in the semifinals, and then were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Yuji Nagata and Wataru Inoue. The rivalry between Nakamura and Shiozaki culminated in a match on January 4, 2011, at Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, where Nakamura was victorious, avenging his loss.
On May 3, No Limit failed in their attempt to regain the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Bad Intentions. After the match, Takahashi walked out on Naito. From May 13 until May 15, during New Japan's first tour of the United States, the Invasion Tour 2011, three members of CHAOS took part in a tournament to crown the first IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Both Naito and Takahashi were eliminated in the semifinals. Naito and Takahashi were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals, while Yano was eliminated in the finals by the eventual tournament winner MVP. Upon CHAOS's return to Japan, Takahashi and the rest of the stable turned on Naito on May 26, effectively dissolving No Limit. Takahashi then joined Gedo, Jado and Tanaka as the fourth member of the CHAOS sub-group Complete Players. Later that month, three members of CHAOS took part in the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors with Richards and Jado wrestling in block A and Gedo in block B. Gedo and Jado finished last in their respective blocks. Meanwhile, Richards finished second in his block, with a record six wins and two losses in his round robin stage matches, which included a win over the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Prince Devitt, Richards finished second in his block and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. On June 10, Richards was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by the eventual winner Kota Ibushi. Eight days later, Hideo Saito turned on Seigigun and its leader Yuji Nagata, joining the stable. From August 1 to August 14, four members of CHAOS took part in the 2011 G1 Climax with Takahashi, Saito and Yano wrestling in block A and Nakamura in block B. All CHAOS members in block A failed to advance from their blocks. Meanwhile, Nakamura won his block with a record of seven wins and three losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On August 14, Nakamura defeated Tetsuya Naito in the finals to win the 2011 G1 Climax. Nakamura went on to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on September 19, but he failed to recapture the title from Hiroshi Tanahashi. On October 10 at Destruction, Richards and Romero defeated Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Later that night, Tanaka defeated MVP to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. From October 22 to November 6, four teams of CHAOS took part in the 2011 G1 Tag League; Tanaka and Takahashi wrestling in block A, Saito and Iizuka, and Nakamura and Yano in block B. Only Nakamura and Yano advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, winning all five of their group stage matches. On November 6, Nakamura and Yano were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by the team of Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki. On December 4, Saito was kicked out of the stable, due to his erratic behaviour and poor match results. On December 28, Yoshi-Hashi joined the stable.
On January 4, 2012 at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Richards and Romero lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship back to Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi). The following day, during a press conference, Kazuchika Okada, who had issued a challenge to Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the end of Wrestle Kingdom, was announced as the newest member of the stable, with Gedo becoming his manager and spokesperson. On February 12 at The New Beginning, Richards and Romero defeated Apollo 55 to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Later that night, Tanaka lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Hirooki Goto. In the main event, Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time. On April 21, Low Ki returned to NJPW, joining the stable and teaming with Gedo, Jado and Rocky Romero in an eight-man tag team match to defeat Jushin Thunder Liger, Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask, with Ki pinning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Devitt for the win. On May 2, Richards and Romero were stripped of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship after a car accident forced Richards to miss his flight to Japan. The following day at Wrestling Dontaku, Richards and Romero were scheduled to defend the titles against Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask. At Wrestling Dontaku, Low Ki defeated Prince Devitt to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, Iizuka and Yano defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. From May 27 to June 10, four members of CHAOS took part in the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament with Gedo and Romero wrestling in block A and Jado and Low Ki in block B. All three failed to advance from their blocks execept for Low Ki, who won his block with a clean record of eight out of his eight matches, winning his block and advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. The following day, Low Ki defeated Prince Devitt in the semifinals, before losing to Ryusuke Taguchi in the finals of the tournament. On June 16 at Dominion 6.16, Brian Kendrick joined the stable by teaming with Gedo and Jado in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA and Tiger Mask, when Kendrick pinned KUSHIDA. In the main event, Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship back to Hiroshi Tanahashi, ending his reign. Four days later, Iizuka and Yano were stripped of the IWGP Tag Team Championship, after their title defense against Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, ended in a no contest. On July 7, Alex Koslov joined the stable, reuniting with former AAA partner Rocky Romero, with the two dubbing their tag team "Forever Hooligans". On July 22, Koslov and Romero defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Later that night, Yano and Iizuka were defeated by Tenzan and Kojima in a decision match for the vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship. In the main event, Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the first time. On July 29, Low Ki lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Kota Ibushi in his second defense.
From August 1 to August 12, four members of CHAOS took part in the 2012 G1 Climax with Yano and Takahashi wrestling in block A and Okada and Nakamura in block B. All three members failed to advance from their blocks except for Okada, who won his block with a record of five wins and three losses, advancing to the finals. During the tournament, Okada was defeated by Nakamura, who effectively solidified his spot as the group's leader in the process. In the finals on August 12, Okada defeated Karl Anderson to win the 2012 G1 Climax. From October 21 until November 2, two teams of CHAOS took part in the 2012 Super Jr. Tag Tournament; Forever Hooligans, and Gedo and Jado. In the first round, Gedo and Jado were eliminated from the tournament. Meanwhile on November 2, Koslov and Romero were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi). On November 12 at Power Struggle, Forever Hooligans lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to the winners of the Super Jr. Tag Tournament Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA). Later that night, Low Ki lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Prince Devitt in his first title defense. From November 15 to November 19, four members of CHAOS took part in a tournament to crown the first NEVER Openweight Champion. In the first round on November 15, Takahashi was eliminated from the tournament by Karl Anderson. On November 19, Yoshi-Hashi was eliminated from the tournament by Ishii in the second round. Later that night, Tanaka first defeated Ishii in the semifinals and then Karl Anderson in the finals to become the inaugural champion. On December 10, Tokyo Sports named Okada the 2012 MVP in all of puroresu. His match with Tanahashi from June 16 was also named the Match of the Year. On December 20, 2012, Yano announced that Bob Sapp would represent the stable on January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome. At the event on January 4, Sapp made his return to NJPW, teaming with Yano, Iizuka and Takahashi in an eight-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Akebono, Manabu Nakanishi, MVP and Strong Man. In the main event, Okada unsuccessfully Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The following day, New Japan removed Low Ki's profile from its official website, signaling the end of his run with the promotion.
Feud with Suzuki-gun, New Japan Seikigun and transition to face turn (2013–2014)[]
In February, CHAOS began feuding with NJPW's other villainous stable, Suzuki-gun. After working exclusively against each other in multi-man tag team matches for the first part of February, the rivalry between CHAOS and Suzuki-gun built to two singles matches on February 10 at The New Beginning pay-per-view, where Nakamura defeated Kengo Mashimo, while Okada, who was positioned as the face, was defeated by the stable's leader Minoru Suzuki, following interference from Taichi. On March 3 at NJPW's 41st anniversary event, CHAOS and Suzuki-gun faced off in a four-on-four elimination tag team match, where Suzuki-gun was victorious after Suzuki scored the final elimination over Okada. The rivalry between the two stables continued during the 2013 New Japan Cup, with Okada defeating Archer and Nakamura losing to Davey Boy Smith Jr. in their first round matches on March 11. The second round of the tournament on March 17 saw two more matches between CHAOS and Suzuki-gun, when Takahashi was eliminated Smith eliminated by Davey Boy Smith Jr., while Yano eliminated Minoru Suzuki to advance to the semifinals. The semifinals of the tournament on March 23 saw Okada first defeating Yano in the semifinals and then Hirooki Goto in the finals to win the 2013 New Japan Cup and once again become the number one contender to Hiroshi Tanahashi's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On April 5, Nakamura and Ishii unsucessfully challenged challenged Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. The rivalry between CHAOS and Suzuki-gun continued two days later at Invasion Attack, where Yano first lost to Minoru Suzuki, and then Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Davey Boy Smith Jr. In the main event, Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the second time. Afterwards, Suzuki confronted Okada, seemingly as his first challenger for the title. Following the event, Taka Michinoku announced that Suzuki-gun had recruited a new member to take on Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, noting that he was suitable to challenge for said title. On April 20, the newest member was revealed as former multi-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Shelton X Benjamin. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Koslov and Romero defeated Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA). Later that night, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Shelton X Benjamin. In the main event, Okada successfully defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki. Later that month, Nakamura, through a working relationship between NJPW and the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, worked a tour of CMLL, during which he lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to La Sombra, ending his reign at 313 days and eight successful title defenses. He would regain the title on July 20, becoming the first multi-time holder of the title.
From August 1 until August 11, five members of CHAOS took part in the 2013 G1 Climax with Okada and Ishii wrestling in block A and Nakamura, Takahashi and Yano in block B. All five failed to advance from their blocks with Ishii finishing last and Okada six in their block of eleven and Takahashi in tenth, Yano ninth and Nakamura finishing fifth in their block. Both Okada and Nakamura entered the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but a loss against Shelton X Benjamin and Satoshi Kojima respectively eliminated them from the tournament. On September 29 at Destruction, Tanaka lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Tetsuya Naito. On October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Koslov and Romero lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Taichi and Taka Michinoku. From October 25 until November 6, three teams of CHAOS took part in the 2013 Super Jr. Tag Tournament; Brian Kendrick and CHAOS' newest member Berreta, Forever Hooligans, and Gedo and Jado. In the first round, Berreta and Kendrick were eliminated in the first round by The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), following a pre-match assault by Bullet Club. The semifinals of the tournament of November 6 saw Gedo and Jado being eliminated from the tournament by The Young Bucks and then Forever Hooligans were defeated by The Young Bucks in the finals. On November 9 at Power Struggle, Nakamura made his third successful title defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Minoru Suzuki in a match which had the added stipulation that Nakamura would have had to join Suzuki-gun had he lost the title. Post-match, Nakamura nominated Hiroshi Tanahashi as his next challenger, setting up the first title match between the two longtime rivals in over two years. From November 23 to December 8, four teams took part in the 2013 World Tag League; Nakamura and Ishii, and Tanaka and Takahashi in block A, Okada and Yoshi-Hashi, and Iizuka and Yano in block B. All four teams failed to advance from their blocks, with Nakamura and Ishii entering the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but a loss against Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma eliminated them from the tournament. Following a disappointing fan reaction to a confrontation between Okada and Naito, NJPW announced that fans would get to vote whether they or Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship would be the true main event of the Tokyo Dome show. When the results were released on December 9, Okada and Naito had gotten only half the votes Nakamura and Tanahashi had gotten and, as a result, lost their main event spot for NJPW's biggest show of the year. That same day, Okada became the first wrestler in 25 years to win back-to-back MVP awards from Tokyo Sports. On January 4, 2014 at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naito. In the main event, Nakamura lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi. On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Ishii defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. On March 23, Nakamura defeated Bad Luck Fale in the finals to win the 2014 New Japan Cup.
Feud with Bullet Club and Nakamura's departure (2014–2016)[]
On April 6 at Invasion Attack 2014, Nakamura defeated Tanahashi to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the third time. Also in that night Okada found himself a new challenger in Bullet Club's newest member, the debuting A.J. Styles, who claimed that Okada was still the same "young boy" (rookie) he had known in TNA. As a result, CHAOS began feuding with NJPW's other villainous stable, Bullet Club. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2014, Okada's thirteen-month reign as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion came to an end, when he lost the title to Styles in his ninth defense, after Yujiro Takahashi turned on him and CHAOS and joined Bullet Club. On May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena, Yano and Iizuka faced off against Minoru Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin in a tag team match, during which Iizuka turned on Yano and CHAOS, helping Suzuki pin him for the win and joining Suzuki-gun. Kazushi Sakuraba then entered in the rivalry, becoming an associate of Yano, eventually he became a full-time CHAOS member. Meanwhile, Ishii was pulled into the rivalry between CHAOS and Bullet Club, when he was attacked by former stablemate Yujiro Takahashi, who appointed himself as Ishii's next challenger for the NEVER Openweight Championship. Later in the event, Ishii attacked Takahashi, when he was interfering in an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Styles and Okada. Nevertheless, Okada failed to defeat Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, Nakamura lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale. In the 2014 G1 Climax, Okada and Nakamura won their respective blocks and advanced to the finals of the tournament. On August 10, Okada defeated Nakamura to win the 2014 G1 Climax. After working exclusively against each other in multi-man tag team matches for the first part of September, the rivalry between CHAOS and Bullet Club continued on September 21 at Destruction in Kobe, building up to two matches with Yoshi-Hashi and Okada unsuccessfully challenging Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. In the main event Nakamura regained the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Bad Luck Fale. Two days later at Destruction in Okayama, Yoshi-Hashi also failed to capture the NEVER Openweight Championship from Yujiro Takahashi. In the main event Okada successfully defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship number one contender's contract against Karl Anderson. On October 13 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Ishii regained the NEVER Openweight Championship from Yujiro Takahashi. From November 22 to December 7 CHAOS participated in the World Tag League, having three teams to participate in the tournament, in the block A the team of Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi and in the block B the teams of Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii, and the team of Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano. Nakamura and Ishii finished second in their block with a record of four wins and three losses, narrowly missing the finals of the tournament due to losing to Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata on the final day.
On January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Togi Makabe. Later that night, Okada received his shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi. On February 14 at The New Beginning in Sendai, Ishii defeated Tomoaki Honma, a late replacement for an ill Togi Makabe, to win the now vacant NEVER Openweight Championship. On January 9, Koslov announced he was taking an indefinite break from professional wrestling. On March 1, Romero revealed he was forming a new tag team with Beretta named Roppongi Vice, adding a new member to CHAOS. On April 5 at Invasion Attack 2015, Roppongi Vice defeated The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Meanwhile, Okada entered a "slump", during which he feuded with another Bullet Club member, Bad Luck Fale. After scoring a decisive win over Fale, declared his "slump" over and concluded the event by attacking Styles, after he had retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On April 29 at Wrestling Hinokuni, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Togi Makabe. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2015, Roppongi Vice lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship back to The Young Bucks. Later that night, Nakamura lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Hirooki Goto. In the subsequent three months, CHAOS and Bullet Club faced off in multiple tag team matches with Bullet Club winning all three of the matches. On July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, Okada defeated Styles to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. From July 20 and August 16, CHAOS four members of CHAOS took part in the 2015 G1 Climax, mostly being slotted in block B. At block B, Nakamura won the block and advanced to the finals by defeating reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion and fellow stablemate Okada in their last round-robin match. On August 16, Nakamura was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Hiroshi Tanahashi. On September 27 at Destruction in Kobe, Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time. The following months, featured multiple matches between CHAOS and Bullet Club stables, building up an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between champion Kazuchika Okada and challenger A.J. Styles on October 12 at King of Pro-Wrestling, which Okada won. On November 7, at Power Struggle, Roppongi Vice were defeated by Matt Sydal and Ricochet in the finals of the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament.
Through ROH's working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), the Briscoes made their NJPW debut on January 4, 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, where they teamed with Yano to defeat Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) to become the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Through their affiliation with Yano, the Briscoes also became part of CHAOS. Nakamura made his second successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship by defeating Bullet Club member A.J. Styles. In the main event, Okada defeated 2015 G1 Climax winner Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and becoming the new ace of the promotion. Hours after the event, it was reported that Nakamura had given his notice to NJPW on the morning of January 4, announcing that he was leaving the promotion for WWE. Nakamura remained under NJPW contract and was expected to finish off his contracted dates with the promotion before leaving. On January 12, NJPW confirmed Nakamura's upcoming departure, announcing he would also be stripped of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Nakamura handed in the title on January 25, officially ending his fifth reign. Nakamura wrestled his last match under his NJPW contract on January 30, where he, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata.
Kazuchika Okada's leadership (2016–2024)[]
Feud with Los Ingobernables de Japón and championship success (2016–2017)[]
On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, the Briscoes and Yano lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi. Later that night, Okada sucessfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hirooki Goto. Following the match, Okada offered Goto a spot in CHAOS. On February 20 at Honor Rising: Japan 2016, the Briscoes and Yano lost the title to The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). With the void left by Nakamura, although there was no official announcement regarding his successor, Okada was considered to be the de facto leader of CHAOS, until on February 22, during the Road to The New Beginning tour, Okada was fully recognized as the stable's newest leader, taking over Nakamura's role, and as such he began shaping CHAOS under his image.
Over the next several events, Okada tried to shake hands with Goto and get him to join CHAOS on multiple occasions, but was turned down each time. Shortly after, CHAOS also entered a rivalry with the Los Ingobernables de Japón (L.I.J.) stable. On March 3, Ospreay was announced as the newest member of CHAOS. During March's New Japan Cup, Ishii faced two L.I.J. members, defeating EVIL in the first round and then losing to the stable's leader Tetsuya Naito in the quarterfinals, after which he was attacked by EVIL. In the finals of the tournament, Hirooki Goto was defeated by Tetsuya Naito. Afterwards, he finally agreed to shake hands with Okada, after he saved him from a post-match assault by Naito and his Los Ingobernables de Japón stable, and joining CHAOS. On April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016, Roppongi Vice defeated Matt Sydal and Ricochet to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. In the main event, Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to 2016 New Japan Cup winner Tetsuya Naito, following outside interference from Naito's Los Ingobernables de Japón stablemates BUSHI, EVIL and the debuting SANADA. After working exclusively against each other in multi-man tag team matches the rest of the month, the rivalry between CHAOS and L.I.J. built to three singles matches on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku pay-per-view.
At the event, Roppongi Vice lost the IWGP Junior Heayweight Tag Team Championship back to Matt Sydal and Ricochet. Later that night, as part of CHAOS and L.I.J.'s feud, Goto was defeated by EVIL, Okada gained revenge on SANADA by defeating him in their match and Ishii failed to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event by losing to Tetsuya Naito. After the match, Okada had a staredown with Naito, indicating he wanted a rematch for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Five days later, Ishii lost the ROH World Television Championship to Bobby Fish at the NJPW and ROH co-produced Global Wars show. On 7 June, Ospreay defeated Ryusuke Taguchi in the finals to win the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors. On June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, The Briscoes defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. In the main event, Okada won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by defeating Tetsuya Naito for the fourth time, ending their feud with Los Ingobernables de Japón stable.
From July 22 to August 13, four members of CHAOS took participated in the 2016 G1 Climax with Goto, Okada and Ishii wrestling in block A and Yoshi-Hashi in block B. Only Goto won his block, besting both Hiroshi Tanahashi and Okada, with a record of six wins and three losses, advancing to the finals. On August 14, Goto was defeated in the finals by Kenny Omega. On October 8, Gedo and Jado defeated Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On October 10, at King of Pro-Wrestling, The Briscoes lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship back to Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. On November 5 at Power Struggle, Roppongi Vice defeated ACH and Taiji Ishimori in the finals to win the 2016 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. From November 18 through December 10, two teams represented CHAOS in the 2016 World Tag League with Okada and Yoshi-Hashi, and Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto representing CHAOS in block B. Ishii and Goto had the chance to advance to the finals due to losing to block winners G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) in their final round-robin match. On December 24, Jado and Gedo lost the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships back to Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada. On January 4, 2017 at the Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Roppongi Vice defeated The Young Bucks to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships for their third time. Later that night, Ishii and Toru Yano defeated G.B.H. and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) in a three-way match to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions. In the event, Hirooki Goto defeated Katsuyori Shibata to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. In the main event, Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega.
Feud with Suzuki-gun and further triumphs (2017–2018)[]
The following day, at New Years Dash!!, Suzuki-gun made its return to NJPW after two years away with all eight members attacking the ring following a ten-man tag team match between the CHAOS and NJPW's main army. The attack saw K.E.S. target IWGP Tag Team Champions Ishii and Yano and concluded with Suzuki laying out IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada with the Gotch-Style Piledriver. The angle led to multiple title matches the following month. On February 5 at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Roppongi Vice successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Taka Michinoku and Taichi. Later that same event, Ishii and Yano successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against K.E.S. in a three-way match, also involving Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. In the main event of the show, Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki. Six days later at The New Beginning in Osaka, Ishii and Yano successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Takashi Iizuka in another three-way match involving Makabe and Honma. On March 6 at NJPW's 45th anniversary show, Roppongi Vice lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Later on that night, Ishii and Yano lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. On April 27, Roppongi Vice regained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship by defeating Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Later that night, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Minoru Suzuki. In May, Ospreay won his block in the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to his second consecutive final. On June 3, Ospreay was defeated in the final by KUSHIDA.
In the 2017 G1 Climax four members of CHAOS took part in the tournament, with Goto and Ishii wrestling in block A and Yano and Okada in block B. All four failed to advance from their blocks, despite Okada having a chance to advance to the finals on the final day, but a loss against Kenny Omega on August 12, eliminated him from the tournament. On September 16, at Destruction in Hiroshima, Roppongi Vice's had their farewell match defeating Bullet Club's Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi. Later that same day, Romero announced he was transitioning into the role of a manager and bringing in a new tag team named "Roppongi 3K" to take on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi. On October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Romero revealed his new team as Sho and Yoh, who defeated Ricochet and Taguchi to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Later that night, Ospreay defeated KUSHIDA to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On November 5 at Power Struggle, Roppongi 3K defeated Super 69 (ACH and Ryusuke Taguchi) in the finals to win the 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. Later that night, Ospreay lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Marty Scurll. On January 4, 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome, Roppongi 3K lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome. That same event, Beretta, Ishii and Yano defeated Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship in a five-team gauntlet match. Also during the event, Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Hair vs. Hair match to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. Shortly after, Ospreay won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Marty Scurll, Hiromu Takahashi and KUSHIDA in a four-way match. The following day at New Years Dash!!, Beretta, Ishii and Yano lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to the Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa).
Various departures and alliance with NJPW Seikigun (2018–2021)[]
On January 6, in a press conference, Okada accepted Jay White into CHAOS in order to face off against Bullet Club and Kenny Omega, claiming he needed backup in his fight against Bullet Club. On January 28 at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Roppongi 3K defeated The Young Bucks to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. In the main event, White defeated Kenny Omega to become the second IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in the title's history. On March 6 at NJPW's 46th anniversary show, Roppongi 3K lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru). On April 6, at Revolution Pro Wrestling's WrestleCon, Ishii defeated Zack Sabre Jr. to win the British Heavyweight Championship. On June 9 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Michael Elgin. Later that night, Ospreay lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to winner of 2018 Best of the Super Juniors Hiromu Takahashi. Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Kenny Omega in a two out of three falls match, marking a losing streak for CHAOS, with the stable just holding one championship. On June 17 at Kizuna Road, Goto regained the NEVER Openweight Championship from Michael Elgin. On July 1 at Strong Style Evolved UK, Ishii lost the British Heavyweight Championship to Minoru Suzuki. On July 7, at G1 Special in San Francisco, White lost the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship to Juice Robinson. Later that month, six members of CHAOS took part in the 2018 G1 Climax, with Okada, White and Yoshi-Hashi in block A and Goto, Ishii and Yano in block B. During the tournament, White cheated to win his matches using heel tactics such as excessive outside interference, ref bumps and low blows. He also tried to takeover the leadership of CHAOS, instigating Romero, Sho and Yoh to use his tatics, but they were against it. All six failed to advance from their blocks with Okada and White entering the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but a loss Hiroshi Tanahashi and EVIL, respectively, eliminated them from the tournament. On September 17 at Destruction in Beppu, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Taichi. During the Destruction tour, tensions between Okada and White got worse after Okada accidentally attacked Yoshi-Hashi and White encouraged him using a chair against his opponent, while also criticizing Okada's actions.
On September 23 at Destruction in Kobe, White attacked Okada and was joined by Okada's former manager Gedo, after he turned on him. On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Jado also turned on Okada to join Bullet Club OG, alongside Gedo and White. On October 14 at Global Wars UK, Ishii defeated Minoru Suzuki to regain the British Heavyweight Championship. From October 16 until November 1, Sho and Yoh took part in the 2018 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On November 3 at Power Struggle, Sho and Yoh defeated Desperado and Kanemaru, and BUSHI and Shingo Takagi in a three-way match to win the Super Jr. Tag League. Later that night, Goto defeated Taichi to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship. From November 17 until December 7, CHAOS were represented by two teams in the 2018 World Tag League; Beretta and the debuting Chuckie T. and Ishii and Yano, with neither teams qualifiyng for the finals of the tournament. During the tournament, CHAOS entered a rivalry with Bullet Club, as part of Okada's feud with Jay White, leading them to form an alliance with New Japan Seikigun ("regular army"). Due to the alliance, various CHAOS and New Japan Seikigun members teamed up on a regular basis, with the prominent example featuring Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi, dubbed as "Dream Team" teaming for the first time against White's Bullet Club. White dominated all of his encounters spoiling the formation of Dream Team for all of the 2018 World Tag League tour. On January 4, 2019, at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome, Ospreay defeated Ibushi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. Later that night, Ishii lost the British Heavyweight Championship to Zack Sabre Jr. Also during that event, Okada was defeated by Jay White in their match.
On February 7, Berreta and Chuckie T's profiles were removed from NJPW website signaling their departures from the promotion. On February 25, Mikey Nicholls was announced as the newest member of the stable. On March 6 at NJPW's 47th anniversary show, Roppongi 3K defeated BUSHI and Shingo Takagi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On March 24, Okada defeated SANADA in the finals to win the 2019 New Japan Cup, receiving a rematch against White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden. At the event, on April 6, Ospreay lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Jeff Cobb in a winner take all match, where Cobb's ROH World Television Championship was also on the line. In the main event, Okada defeated Jay White to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The following month, featured four members of CHAOS taking part in the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors. Only Ospreay advanced from his block, reaching the finals of tournament. On June 5, Ospreay defeated Shingo Takagi in the finals to win the tournament. On June 9, at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Ospreay defeated Lee to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for his third time. Later that night, Ishii defeated Taichi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. On June 16, Sho and Yoh lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo). Southern Showdown in Australia featured various matches between CHAOS and Bullet Club, building up to a match on June 30, where Okada, Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi faced Bullet Club's Jay White, Bad Luck Fale and Robbie Eagles in a winning effort. Afterwards, Bullet Club attacked them, with White instructing Eagles to hit Ospreay with a chair, but he refused. Afterwards, Eagles saved Ospreay, Okada and Tanahashi from a post-match assault, with Eagles defecting from Bullet Club to join CHAOS. From July 6 to August 11, five members of CHAOS took part in the 2019 G1 Climax, with Okada and Ospreay wrestling in block A and Ishii, Goto and Yano in block B. All five failed to advance from their blocks with Okada and Goto entering the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but a loss against Kota Ibushi and Shingo Takagi, respectively, eliminating them from the tournament. On August 31 at Royal Quest, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to KENTA, following the interference from Bullet Club. From October 16 until November 1, CHAOS was represented by two teams that took part in the 2019 Super Jr. Tag League; Ospreay and Eagles and Sho and Yoh. Ospreay and Eagles entered the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but were left behind them in the final standings due to losing to Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) due to outside interference, on the final day. Meanwhile, Sho and Yoh advanced to the finals with a record of five wins and two losses. On November 3 at Power Struggle, Sho and Yoh defeated Desperado and Kanemaru to win the Super Jr. Tag League, for the record-setting third time. Power Struggle also featured the continuation of CHAOS' feud with Bullet Club, with Goto unsucessfully challenging Jay White for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On January 4, 2020, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome, Ospreay lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Hiromu Takahashi. The following day, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14, Sho and Yoh defeated Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Later in the event, Goto defeated KENTA to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. In the main event, Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Tetsuya Naito as part of the "Double Gold Dash", where Naito also defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at the match. On February 1, at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Shingo Takagi. On February 14 at High Stakes, Ospreay defeated Zack Sabre Jr., to bring the British Heavyweight Championship to CHAOS.
In the following months, various CHAOS members were absent of NJPW events, due to travel issues, relating to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leading only Goto, Ishii, Okada, Yano, Sho, Yoh, and Yoshi-Hashi to represent CHAOS in the 2020 New Japan Cup from June 16 until July 11. Only Okada made it to the final of the tournament before losing to EVIL on July 11, following the interference from Bullet Club. On August 9, Goto, Ishii, and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Okada, Yano, and Sho in a tournament final to win the vacant NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On August 27, Sho and Yoh were forced to vacate the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, after Yoh was sidelined with a knee injury. During this month, Okada and Yano took part in KOPW 2020 tournament, a title that Okada proposed to be created. After both Okada and Yano managed to reach the final, on August 29 at Summer Struggle in Jingu, Yano defeated Okada, El Desperado, and SANADA in a four-way match to become the inaugural and provisional KOPW 2020 Champion. From September 19 until October 16, Okada took part in the 2020 G1 Climax. In his final block match on October 16, Okada was defeated by Opsreay, following outside interference from Ospreay's girlfriend Bea Priestley and the returning Great O-Kharn, who ended up leaving CHAOS. Okada began seeking revenge against Opsreay for his actions, leading him to face the Great O-Khan in his test in a match at Power Struggle in a winning effort. The rivalry between Ospreay and Okada culminated in a match on January 4, 2021, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome, where Okada was victorious. The following day, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15, Yano defeated BUSHI, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens to become the provisional KOPW 2021 Champion. On April 4 at Sakura Genisis, Sho and Yoh defeated El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo on June 23 at Kizuna Road. On July 24 at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo, Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. The following day, Yano lost the provisional KOPW 2021 trophy to Chase Owens, after being the last wrestler eliminated in the New Japan Rambo with handcuffs.
In August, Roppongi 3K took part in the 2021 Super Jr. Tag League, entering a losing streak, which culminated on August 16, Sho turning on Yoh, to effectively disband Roppongi 3K, marking his departing from CHAOS and later joined Bullet Club. Their rivalry culminated into a match on September 4 at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, where Yoh was defeated by his former teammate. Later that night, Yano defeated Owens in a a No Disqualification I Quit match to regain the provisional KOPW 2021 trophy. From September 18 to October 20, five members of CHAOS took part in the 2021 G1 Climax with Ishii and Yano wrestling in block A and Okada, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi in block B. Only Okada won his block with a record of eight wins and one loss, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On October 22, Okada defeated Kota Ibushi to win the 2021 G1 Climax via stoppage, after Ibushi dislocated his right shoulder.
Feud with House of Torture and final years of Okada's leadership (2021–2024)[]
Following the tournament, CHAOS began a feud with House of Torture. After working exclusively against each other in multi-man tag team matches between October and the first part of November, the rivalry between CHAOS and House of Torture built to a match on November 6 at Power Struggle pay-per-view, where Goto, Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to House of Torture (EVIL, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi), following the interference from Dick Togo. Afterwards, EVIL, Sho and Takahashi attacked Goto, Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi, before Yoh, who made his return to the promotion since losing to Sho and made the save. Later that night, Eagles lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship back to El Desperado. On November 13 at Battle in the Valley, Ishii defeated Jay White to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. During that month, Chuck Taylor and Trent?, now part of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), would rejoin CHAOS along with the other members of Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander and Wheeler Yuta) after being invited by Rocky Romero, thus establishing a U.S. based branch of the stable in AEW. From November 13 until December 11, Eagles and Yoh took part in the 2021 Best of the Super Juniors. Only Yoh managed to advance to the finals, after finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and four losses. Meanwhile, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi took part in the round-robin portion of the 2021 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of nine wins and two losses, advancing to the finals. On December 15, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated House of Torture's EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi in the finals to win the 2021 World Tag League. Later that night, Yoh was defeated by Hiromu Takahashi in the finals of the 2021 Best of the Super Juniors.
The first night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome, on January 4, 2022, featured two matches between CHAOS and House of Torture with Yoh defeating Sho in their match. Later that night, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to EVIL. Also at the event, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. In the main event, Okada defeated Shingo Takagi to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The rivalry between the two stables continued the following month, during the New Years Golden Series. During the tour on February 19, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi sucessfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against House of Torture's (EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi). The following day, Goto, Yoh and Yoshi-Hashi unsucessfully challenged EVIL, Sho and Takahashi for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On April 9 at Hyper Battle, Yano lost the provisional KOPW 2022 trophy to Taichi in a No Rope Ringout match. Later that night, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb. On May 14, at Capital Collision, Nicholls reunited with Shane Haste, leading him to rejoin TMDK and leave CHAOS in the process. On June 12 at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Okada lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Jay White. On July 5, Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Yoh defeated EVIL, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. From July 16 to August 16, five members of CHAOS took part in the 2022 G1 Climax with Okada, Goto, Ishii, Yano wrestling in seperate blocks. All failed to advance from their blocks with the exception of Okada, who won his block with a record of five wins and one loss, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On August 17, Okada defeated Tama Tonga and then Will Ospreay on August 18, in the semifinals and finals, respectively, to win the 2022 G1 Climax. CHAOS heated feud with culminated to a Tornado Dog Cage Survival match on September 23, where, Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Yoh lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to EVIL, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi. On October 28 at Rumble on 44th Street, the House of Torture members were to attack an outnumbered Yoh, until the lights turned out and revealed to be the returning Lio Rush, who assisted Yoh in fending off the House of Torture, joining CHAOS afterwards. From November 22 until December 14, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi took part in the 2022 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. Meanwhile, Yoh and Rush took part in the 2022 Super Jr. Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On December 14, Yoh and Lio Rush defeated Ace Austin and Chris Bey to win the 2022 Super Jr. Tag League. Later that night, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) to win the 2022 World Tag League.
On January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship for the second time. Later that night, Okada defeated Jay White to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On March 23, Eagles left CHAOS, being revealed as the newest member of TMDK. On April 8 at Sakura Genesis, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis). Later that night, Okada lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to 2023 New Japan Cup winner SANADA. On June 4 at Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi and Aaron Henare and Great-O-Khan in three-way match to win the vacant IWGP and Strong Tag Team Championships. On July 4 at NJPW Strong Independence Day, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi lost the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship to Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin. From July 15 to August 9, five members of CHAOS took part in the 2023 G1 Climax with Okada and Yoshi-hashi in block B, Ishii in block C and Goto and Yano in block D. With the exception of Okada, who managed to advance to the quarterfinals, all members were left behind in the final standings. On August 10, Okada defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and then EVIL, on August 12 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the finals of the tournament. On August 13, Okada was defeated by Tetsuya Naito in the finals. From November 25 until December 6, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi took part in the 2023 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, one draw and two losses, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On December 8, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin and then Hikuleo and El Phantasmo, on December 10 in the semifinals and the finals, respectively, to win the 2023 World Tag League, becoming the first team to win the tournament for three consecutive years. On January 4, 2024, at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Bishamon lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Hikuleo and Phantasmo, in the double title match also for the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship.
Union with New Japan Seikigun and disbanding (2024–2025)[]
On January 19, NJPW announced that Okada would not be renewing his contract at the end of that month, and would cease being a full-time performer for the company after fulfilling his dates at The New Beginning series of events a month later. Okada wrestled his last match under his NJPW contract on February 24 at The New Beginning in Sapporo, where he, Ishii, Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Yano defeated Matt Riddle, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira and Callum Newman. The following month, Goto made to the finals of the 2024 New Japan Cup, before losing to Yota Tsuji on March 20. On April 6 at Sakura Genesis, Bishamon defeated KENTA and Chase Owens to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles back to them on May 4 at Wrestling Dontaku. From October 26 to November 2, Yoh and Romero took part in the 2024 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record two wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals. From November 19 until December 5, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi took part in the 2024 World Tag League. After four victories, they entered the final day with a chance to advance from their block, but were eliminated after suffering his third loss of the tournament against Gabe Kidd and SANADA.
On January 4, 2025 at Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome, Goto won the New Japan Rambo by last eliminating Great-O-Khan to become the number one contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In the month ahead, Goto teased that it would be his final chance at the title, considering it was his tenth overall challenge for the main singles title (after the IWGP Heavyweight Championship) in over 17 years. On February 11, 2025 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Goto defeated Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, to finish his story and capture his first world title in NJPW. On March 6 at NJPW's 53rd Anniversary show, after Goto successfully defended his title against Hiroshi Tanahashi, he was asked by Tanahashi to "lead NJPW to even greater heights". This led Goto to decide to merge CHAOS with NJPW Seikigun, after a cooperative relationship between them since 2018, ending the stable's 16-year run.
