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We are four months away from New Japan Pro Wrestling's flagship event, WrestleKingdom 13. Over the past few months, NJPW has emerged as the biggest competition to the WWE with a lot of hardcore fans preferring the Japanese promotion over the WWE. This has resulted in their biggest annual event, the January 4th WrestleKingdom event in the Tokyo Dome garnering massive buzz and media attention. This year's edition was one of the most watched event in the promotion's history. The event was unanimously praised by both fans and critics alike.
New Japan is renowned for the being the destination of the year's best matches. Some of the best in the business today are a part of NJPW with names like Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito setting the wrestling world on fire for the past few years. The addition of Chris Jericho to the NJPW roster has also done wonders for the company. Jericho's debut at WrestleKingdom this year was the catalyst for New Japan World (NJPW's streaming service) getting a lot of new subscribers outside of Japan.
WrestleKingdom has always one of the highly anticipated events of the year and next year's edition is going to be no different. With NJPW and Ring of Honor selling out Madison Square Garden for their G1 SuperCard event during WrestleMania weekend next year, the expectations from WrestleKingdom has been skyrocketed. Given the track record of the company, we are hopeful that the company won't disappoint us, come January 4th.
Here are 5 Matches we would like to see at WrestleKingdom 13 next year :
# 5 Chris Jericho Vs Kazuchika Okada ( IWGP Intercontinental Championship)
Kazuchika Okada has had a sort of mental breakdown ever since losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Kenny Omega at Dominion a few months ago. The Rainmaker has failed to go past the group block in this G1 Climax this year losing to Jay White in his very first block match. He failed to win his block after managing a draw against the eventual winner, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Despite being one of the most decorated Superstars in New Japan, Okada is yet to win any secondary title in the promotion. Given his current state of mind, a feud against Chris Jericho for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship can do wonders for the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Okada and Jericho are yet to cross paths in the New Japan which makes this first-time-ever match all the more exciting.
Okada can put on a great match with almost anybody on the New Japan roster and with Jericho being the hottest he's ever been, this one promises to be one hell of a ride. Okada winning the IC Title from Jericho will be another feather in the already stellar cap of the Rainmaker.
# 4 Cody Vs Tetsuya Naito ( IWGP United States Championship)
Cody's journey from being one of the underappreciated talents of the WWE to one of the biggest independent wrestler in the world today has been. The Grandson of a plumber has proven to be a huge draw for every promotion he has been a part of. The American Nightmare is scheduled to face reigning IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson at Fighting Spirit Unleashed later this month.
Tetsuya Naito has had a rough 2018. He lost to Okada in the main event of WrestleKingdom at the start of the year despite the odds-on favourite. He did manage to capture the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Minoru Suzuki but lost it a few months later at Dominion to Chris Jericho. Naito had a dismal showing at this year's G1 Climax losing to Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Zack Sabre Jr.
Cody Vs Naito is a dream match for fans all around the world. They are a part of two of the most notorious factions in New Japan, Bullet Club and Los Ignorables de Japon (LIP). Cody and Naito are bound to create magic on the ring, given how incredibly skilled and talented they both are.
# 3 Kota Ibushi Vs John Hennigan (Singles Match)
Kota Ibushi lost in the finals of this year's G1 Climax to Hiroshi Tanahashi in what on of the best matches of the tournament. Many believed that the Golden Star would win the tournament and go on a collision course with his Golden Elite stablemate Kenny Omega which will culminate at Tokyo Dome next year where they would face-off for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. But that wasn't supposed to be.
John Hennigan, formerly known as John Morrison in the WWE, is one of the hottest independent stars in the world. Hennigan has performed all over the word for promotions like AAA, Lucha Underground, MLW and most recently Impact Wrestling and has numerous Championships. The only place left for the former Tough Enough Winner to conquer is the land of the rising sun, Japan. Rumors of Hennigan moving to New Japan began surfacing in May this year with Hennigan reportedly being interested in signing with the promotion.
Hennigan has challenged the entire Bullet Club for a match at Chris Jericho's Rock and Rager Cruise. While Ibushi isn't technically a member of the Bullet Club, he is part of the Golden Elite Sub-group of the faction and is closely associated with Bullet Club Members, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks. The Jericho is the perfect place for planting the seeds of this feud which will culminate in a match between the two at the Tokyo Dome next year.
# 2 Will Ospreay Vs P.A.C ( IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Will Ospreay started 2018 by winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome in a fantastic 4-way match which included Marty Scrull, Kushida, and Hiromu Takahashi. He would go on to have a decent run with the title before losing to the winner of the Best of the Super Juniors 2018, Hiromu Takahashi at Dominion a few months ago.
Takahashi suffered an injury last month at the G1 Special in San Francisco last month due to which he had to relinquish his Junior Heavyweight Championship. New Japan announced a tournament to crown a new champion. Will Ospreay will be taking on the Villian Marty Scrull in the semi-finals of the tournament at Fighting Spirit Unleashed at September 30. Ospreay is favorite to win the tournament and go on to the Tokyo Dome as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
On August 24, reports of Neville no longer being under a WWE contract began surfacing. Just a few days ago, WWE.com moved Neville's profile to their alumni section. Osprey has called out the man that Gravity forgot on Twitter recently on Twitter (P.A.C was the ring name Neville used during his time on the indies) which has got fans thinking about a possible clash between the two Englishmen.
Both these Superstars can do incredible things inside the squared circle and seeing them compete for one of the most coveted titles in wrestling today will be a dream come true.
# 1 Kenny Omega Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ( IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
This one is just a formality. Tanahashi and Omega are bound to face off against one another in the main event of WrestleKingdom 13 next year. We don't think that New Japan Management will be getting the title off Omega so early, given the time and energy that they have invested in him. Alternatively, Tanahashi isn't expected to lose his opportunity to compete at the main event of WrestleKingdom 13 as it will upset a large number of fans and will play a spoilsport in what could be a potential match of the year candidate.
Omega and Tanahashi aren't the best of friends in real life. There seems to be a lot of bad blood between the two with Tanahashi saying that Omega is holding back Kota Ibushi from reaching his true potential. Omega fired back by calling the Ace an egomaniac and that saying that he was glad that Tanahashi wasn't a part of ALL IN. As we know, real life tension between two Superstars always leads to magic inside the ring. The real-life tension between the two can be used in the feud which will be the icing on the cake.
Tanahashi and Omega have never had a proper feud except for IC Title match a few years ago and their encounters in the G1 Climax. This will be the first time that these two Superstars will be involved in a proper feud against one another and honestly, we can't wait to see what these two have in store for us.
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
