It’s New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest event of the year and Wrestle Kingdom 13 is stacked from top to bottom. The two previous shows from the Tokyo Dome have set a very high standard for the company to reach on January 4th, but it’s very likely coming out of this we’ll be talking about some special matches and a stellar show.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:

Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

It’s the desire of western expansion going up against home pride. The showman and his spectacle style of wrestling facing the more technically driven star focused on the narrative of a match. It’s the IWGP Heavyweight Champion who wants to take the company forward into the future against the G1 Climax winner who saved the company several years ago and wants to retain its values. These are just a few of the aspects that are making this match so important, as well as giving the idea that this match will be classic before a bell has even been rung.

While you should always expect any scenario with NJPW, this match came about in a very surprising manner. Tanahashi has spent the last two years being defeated by Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada, making it appear his role in the company was going to be lower down the card than it has been for the last decade. Whereas Omega being defeated by his Golden☆Lovers partner, Kota Ibushi, and the Wrestle Kingdom 13 logo teasing a Golden Star, gave the impression these two would meet again on the biggest of stages to conclude their story. Of course, Tanahashi would defeat Ibushi in an immense finals match – seriously, go out of your way to watch it – and show that age is no factor, despite what Omega is claiming in his promos and on social media.

There’s a bit of history between Omega and Tanahashi going back to 2016 when they briefly feuded for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship before The Ace suffered an injury. That was all about Tanahashi helping build Omega as a star for the future following the leaving of AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura to WWE, but as 2018 comes to a close, Tanahashi is fully focused on stopping that star in his tracks.

Though the hype for this match isn’t to the levels that the Okada/Omega I and Okada/Naito WK main events reached, both men’s contrasting styles, the setting of the Tokyo Dome and even the place of Kota Ibushi – who is in a compromising position between his relation with Omega and respect for Tanahashi – will result in a match talked about all over the world. Do not miss this one.

Prediction: Kenny Omega retains the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:

Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito

Having been defeated by Kenny Omega at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom 12, when Chris Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito the next night at New Year’s Dash it was expected Jericho had been brought into the company to give their top stars a big win over a very credible name. Omega at WK12, Naito at Dominion and then Tanahashi or maybe Okada at WK13. It wasn’t until the referee had counted the 1-2-3 at Dominion that I ever thought Chris Jericho as IWGP Intercontinental Champion would be a reality. The man whose career has prominently been with WWE appearing in NJPW was a shock, but being a champion was and still is something a lot more amazing to comprehend and continues the run of wrestling getting stranger by the year. Jericho’s title win was very much down to the pre-match assault to Naito, where he battered him around the arena. His title retention over EVIL at Power Struggle was similar, but definitely a ‘cleaner’ victory. It was at Power Struggle that this one was made official despite Jericho’s initial lack of acceptance, as Naito would make the save for his LIJ teammate, returning the favour for Dominion, and announce himself as Number 1 Contender, having defeated the next best possibility, Zack Sabre Jr. The build up since Power Struggle had mainly been focused on what has happened since, due to Jericho’s schedule not allowing him to be in the company regularly, however there was more added to the fire on the December 15th Road to Wrestle Kingdom show where Jericho attacked Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi after their six-man tag team win, getting some payback for Naito spitting water in his face and making him look like a fool hours earlier in their press conference.

I don’t expect this to be a wrestling clinic, I expect it to be even more of a brawl than we saw ended up seeing at Dominion with more weapons and more blood. I feel that’s a given from Jericho claiming he’s going to retire Naito. This isn’t going to be the type of match that has increased New Japan’s reputation as the best pure-wrestling company in the world, but I sense it will definitely be a match that people are going back to rewatch after the event has finished.

Prediction: Tetsuya Naito defeats Jericho to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion.

Kazuchika Okada vs ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White

While the Okada/White feud was inevitable from the moment White joined CHAOS in January, this feud has become more personal and bitter than anyone could ever have expected. Jay White’s return to the company as Switchblade started with him trying to kill the legend of Hiroshi Tanahashi and with him hitting Kenny Omega with Blade Runner after appearing to join Omega’s Bullet Club, so it was only a matter of when he’d turn on the ‘good’ stable in New Japan. This turn seemed to be coming soon when Jay beat Okada on the first night of the G1 using outright distasteful tactics. Looking back now, the two points essentially stolen from Okada here are such an important factor in changing the future of New Japan. If Okada wins that match, there’s a good chance Tanahashi doesn’t win A-Block and there’s doubt as to whether Okada and his former cornerman, Gedo, would part ways.

Friction in CHAOS was made even more apparent during the Destruction tour when White questioned Okada’s leadership abilities, trying to turn the naive YOSHI-HASHI against Okada. When Okada failed to defeat Tanahashi in Kobe to win the G1 briefcase, White finally snapped, attacking The New Ace and, shockingly, aligning himself with Gedo who smashed a chair into the back of Okada and told him he was nothing.

The weeks and months since have seen Okada trying to get his hands on White and Gedo, even to the point of aligning with Hiroshi Tanahashi, his greatest rival in NJPW during the World Tag League tournament in ten man tag matches. Okada would finally get some payback on Gedo with Rainmaker and a win in a singles match during the December 15th show, despite the latter’s sneaky tactics, but the victory was short-lived as the unbooked Jay White attacked Okada post-match and hit him – and Rocky Romero – with Blade Runner. This and those tag matches have seen White and his new Bullet Club teammates have more of the upper hand, but in the Dome it’s going to be a more decisive result. I can definitely see there being some interference from the likes of Jado and Bad Luck Fale, but expect that will be counteracted from Romero, YOSHI-HASHI and more from CHAOS. Regardless of that, I’m looking forward to a really good match between these two. Okada’s in-ring performances go without saying and Jay White has constantly been improving this year. This will be one of the most important matches on the card with a lot of big implications for New Japan in 2019, so you’ll want to watch it.

Prediction: Kazuchika Okada wins on this night, with YOSHI-HASHI helping to stop Gedo getting involved too much.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:

KUSHIDA vs Taiji Ishimori

When Taiji Ishimori came to New Japan this April as, really, the first recruitment of Tama Tonga’s new Bullet Club and attacked Will Ospreay, I expected him to go onto win the Best of the Super Juniors and become IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion at Dominion. However he hasn’t exactly had the best of runs in the company at this point. He’d lose in the finals to Hiromu Takahashi, who would then go onto win the title from Ospreay before having vacate after a serious neck injury, and in the meantime Ishimori hasn’t been a prominent star in the company. He’s had some success, as along with Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa he’s one of the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions, but they’re not exactly the most coveted belts. It wasn’t until Power Struggle in November where the seemingly injured Ishimori would finally stake a claim for the Junior Heavyweight Championship and hopefully begin his rise as one of the very top stars in the division, by attacking KUSHIDA unexpectedly, showing that his ankled was not hurt at all. Since then, the two have been up against each other in tag team matches where KUSHIDA has been teaming with the likes of Okada and Tanahashi as the Bullet Club OGs have been getting that advantage going into the Tokyo Dome.

Similarly to Okada above, KUSHIDA’s in-ring performances don’t really need to be mentioned to sell how good this match will be. If you need a taster before Wrestle Kingdom you can pick any of his matches with Scurll – who he won the title against -, Ospreay and Hiromu. As for Ishimori, he’s shown that he’s capable of putting on a clinic against Hiromu in the BOSJ finals, as well as his match against YOH that got him there. While I don’t think it’s going to be a better example of Junior Heavyweight wrestling than the match below, it’s still definitely a match that’s going to be worth everyone’s time.

Prediction: Taiji Ishimori becomes IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Kota Ibushi vs Will Ospreay

It’s a match that had been teased since September 7th in Korakuen Hall and at the World Tag League finals on December 9th it was made official – courtesy of two matches – that Will Ospreay would challenge Kota Ibushi for the NEVER Openweight Championship in a dream match. It was a tag match on September 7th where Golden☆Lovers defeated the team of Tomohiro Ishii and Will Ospreay, and post-match, Ospreay shared a moment with Ibushi that seemed to suggest their encounters during this great match weren’t the end of them competing against each other. A few weeks later at King of Pro-Wrestling, Ospreay made his intentions clear to then-NEVER Openweight Champion, Taichi, that he wanted a match at Power Struggle, but unfortunately an injury suffered during a Rev Pro show at the end of October stopped Ospreay from wrestling and that match from happening. That being the case, a rematch between Taichi and Hirooki Goto was made where Goto regained the title, and not long after it was confirmed he’d be defending against Ibushi on December 9th. With New Japan’s reputation as a company where challengers have to earn their title matches, I really liked how Ospreay had to beat Taichi to get a match at Wrestle Kingdom against either Goto or Ibushi. Ibushi would win the title in a really good match and afterwards it was confirmed.

Quite simply, this match between Ibushi and Ospreay is going to be great and it’s finally a match that puts a massive spotlight on the NEVER title. They’re two of the best workers in the world today and their styles are going to complement each others perfectly. The only concern is that their styles involve doing things that are utterly mental, so there’s a slight risk of injury given both men’s notoriety for landing on their necks. There’s no doubt that they’re going to be trying to outdo one another, so let’s just hope they don’t take it too far, because this will be great without multiple ashai moonsaults and 450s from balconies – that isn’t even hyperbole when Ibushi is involved.

This is set to open the show, so Wrestle Kingdom 13 is guaranteed to get off to a great start and if you have any doubt about this, their interactions in the otherworldly Ospreay and Tanahashi vs Golden☆Lovers tag match from the December 15th Road to Wrestle Kingdom (watch this one asap too!) will definitely ease any qualms.

Prediction: Will Ospreay wins the NEVER Openweight Championship.

Triple Threat IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Match:

El Desperado + Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Roppongi 3K vs BUSHI + Shingo Takagi

This triple threat is a match we’ve already seen as it was the one that ended the Super Junior Tag Tournament, that being said it was a really good match so I’ve got no problems seeing it again, especially given the reasoning behind it. Roppongi 3K went back-to-back winning the Super Junior Tag Tournament for the second year in a row, pinning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, El Desperado and Kanemaru in the process at Power Struggle to earn their match at Wrestle Kingdom. However, as BUSHI and Shingo Takagi defeated SHO and YOH during the tag tournament itself, they’re just as entitled to a championship match as their opponents. Despy and Kanemaru have been incredibly dominant in the junior tag division this year, and they’ll have held the titles for a good three-hundred days by the time January 4th comes around, but the Super Junior finals have shown us that they’re not unbeatable and that anything can happen in triple threat matches. I’m looking forward to this one mainly for the same reasons as the match at Power Struggle. El Desperado has had something of a breakout year with excellent matches in both singles and tag team competition, SHO and YOH are two of the most promising young talents in all of wrestling and it’s a pleasure watching them evolve. This one’s going to be an important chapter in their careers so I’m really invested in seeing what they pull out of their hats here. And finally this is the first big test for Shingo Takagi, who has shown great talent since joining Los Ingobernables De Japon, but the prospect of performing in the Tokyo Dome is really going to show just how good he – and the rest of these men including Kanemaru and BUSHI – really is.

Prediction: Roppongi 3K win to become 3 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

RPW British Heavyweight Championship Match:

Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Jr.

It’s not out of the ordinary for non-New Japan championship matches to be on the Wrestle Kingdom card. As it goes, it would be more surprising if there wasn’t one specials match from an outside company. Previous years have seen the likes of Adam Cole, Jay Lethal and Kyle O’Reilly compete for the ROH World Heavyweight Championship and this year we’re going to see Revolution Pro, one of the top companies in the UK, represented in what is bound to be an awesome match between Ishii and ZSJ.

ZSJ has had an amazing year in the company as one of the top foreign stars and has really found the character and charisma he was lacking in WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic two years ago, and a lot of that is down to his cornerman, Taka Michinoku, as well as the freedom Zack has in his promos and his in-ring work. This one came about when Tomohiro Ishii, who had regained the RPW British Heavyweight Championship from Minoru Suzuki at Power Struggle, battered David Starr to retain at RPW’s Uprising event. He was then, shockingly attacked post-match by Suzuki-gun led by ZSJ, who then proceeded to inform the Stone Pitbull that he wanted his contractually obliged rematch at Wrestle Kingdom. This match is great for multiple reasons, one in particular being how Ishii finally back in a prominent role on the Wrestle Kingdom card after two years of tag matches. There’s also the chemistry these two have shown to have in the ring in their previous encounters in the 2017 G1 USA special and this year’s G1 Climax, which immediately tells you this match on the biggest New Japan stage will be something special. This is one of the most interesting matches on the card as far as who the winner will be, and I expect there to be a lot of near falls and close submission holds from these two.

Prediction: Zack Sabre Jr. regains the RPW British Heavyweight Championship.

Triple Threat IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Match

GOD vs EVIL + SANADA vs The Young Bucks

This match was confirmed when EVIL + SANADA won World Tag League by defeating Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa in the finals to earn a championship match at Wrestle Kingdom, however this has all been silently building since Dominion when The Young Bucks defeated the LIJ duo to become IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

While they’d faced each other twice in both the tournament and the final, the scores were tied between EVIL + SANADA and GOD – with the latter picking up their victory during the Tag League tournament – so a singles match, while repetitive would have been decisive and regardless, very good to watch. Instead The Bucks, who had been missing for all but the final show of Tag League, entered the arena post-match and informed the winning duo that they were indeed the best tag team in the tournament, but the seven time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Champions are the best team in the world, with a reminder that they’ve got two wins over LIJ including Fighting Spirit Unleashed this past September. Their mentioning that they never got a rematch when they lost their titles to Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa resulted in the supposed singles tag match becoming a triple threat and though many are unhappy with the undeserving insertion of The Young Bucks into the match, I think it’s fine given it does prevent us from seeing GOD vs EVIL + SANADA again and possibly risking overkill after seeing it twice in the last month. There’s also the fact that The Bucks are really good and them being in the match will make it even better, and with uncertainty about their future in NJPW, they’re guaranteed to put on a show to get people talking about them. These are three excellent teams and with that in mind, we’re really going to see which one is the best.

Prediction: EVIL + SANADA become the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship:

Cody vs Juice Robinson

It’s been a strange few months for Juice Robinson. Going into the G1 Climax 28 as the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion after defeating Jay White, a broken hand had a serious impact on his ability to set up Pulp Friction in the G1 Climax and resulted in him losing all but three matches. He’d then lose the US title in his very first defence the next month to Cody. So while he had a poor, albeit understandable performance in the G1, it seemed very strange for him to lose the championship just like that. Fortunately though he and David Finlay had an excellent showing in World Tag League, picking up victories a really impressive 16 points that has earned him a rematch against The American Nightmare, the man who defeated him the US. In contrast to Juice, Cody’s last few months have been fantastic and currently holds both the IWGP US and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship as his stock continues to rise in professional wrestling since leaving WWE in 2016. I feel similar to this one as I did for their match at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, it’s going to be a solid in-ring matchup and I expect both men will be incredibly motivated, albeit for different reasons. Cody is in the same boat as The Young Bucks as far as his future goes and will want to send a message, whereas Juice will be looking to show the entire wrestling world just how good he is in his first big time Tokyo Dome match.

Prediction: Juice Robinson regains the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

What’s on the pre-show?

While New Japan rarely have pre-shows like WWE have done since the inception of the WWE Network, Wrestle Kingdom always features one match the hour before the show officially starts. Usually it’s the New Japan Rumble where random stars from all around the world face off in a battle royal to get the crowd hype up. This year it’s a little different. Usually on the Wrestle Kingdom main card we see a gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships, but seeing as Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Taiji Ishimori won’t be able to defend their titles due to their other matches, this year’s pre-show will see a number 1 contender’s match, which I expect will take place on the January 5th New Year’s Dash show, that sets up some of the big storylines for the rest of the year. Competing in this gauntlet will be some big names who shockingly weren’t included on the main card, such as Minoru Suzuki – who teams with KES (David Hart Smith and Lance Archer) and Hirooki Goto who’s teaming with Best Friends Chuckie T and Beretta. In addition we’ve got the unconventional trio of Toru Yano, Rysuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe who’ll bring a hard-hitting comedic style I’m very interested in seeing, David Finlay, Yuji Nagata (replacing Michael Elgin who has a left knee injury) and Jeff Cobb – the latter is, like Chuckie T, making his first Tokyo Dome appearance, and Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page, who’ll bring some nefarious tactics to try to counter the likes of Suzuki and Yano.

The NEVER Openweight gauntlet is almost always a shambles in comparison to everything else on the card due to how rushed and how poor the quality of wrestling is because of it. It’s always the stain on what is an excellent show, but this year I think we might see a much better match with a lot more time and, with the likes of Goto, Suzuki, Cobb and Scurll involved, it’s bound to be really good match wise, so I’m looking forward to this.

Prediction: Goto, Chuckie T and Beretta become #1 contenders and Chuckie turns on his partners to join Tama Tonga’s Bullet Club the very next night.

Wrestle Kingdom 13 is a very good bet to be the best wrestling show of the year and there’s something on this card for every type of wrestling fan. There’s bitter grudge matches in Okada vs White, dream matches in Ibushi vs Ospreay, a very notable name involved for the casual fan with the involvement of Chris Jericho and a match certain to determine the future direction of the company in Omega vs Tanahashi. Wrestle Kingdom is live on NJPW World on January 4th and if you’re going to watch one wrestling event this year, make it this one.

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