'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Cody defeated Juice Robinson to capture the IWGP United States Championship at New Japan Pro Wrestling's Fighting Spirit Unleashed this past Sunday. With this win, Cody is now a holder to two Championships as the grandson of a plumber had won the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship from Nick Aldis at ALL IN.
With his win, Cody became the second member from the Bullet Club after its inaugural champion and the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega. While Cody has set his sights on the Heavyweight title and challenged Omega and Ibushi to a match at King of Pro Wrestling, we don't see the American Nightmare winning the strap anytime soon.
With New Japan's flagship event only three months away, the champ needs an opponent to challenge him for the US Title.
Here are five potential opponents for Cody at WrestleKingdom 13.
#5 Bad Luck Fale
The Underboss Bad Luck Fale has been on the sidelines for far too long. The founding member of the Bullet Club has been in the background for a long time and the recent Elite-BCOG storyline is the perfect opportunity for the Tongan to challenge Cody for the IWGP United States Championship.
Fale has one of the most prominent figures in New Japan. The Bullet Club was basically the idea of Prince Devitt turning heel on his long-time partner, Taguchi and having Fale would act as his bouncer. The stable grew into a group of foreign wrestlers who started taking over the company, winning championships left, right and center. It was during this time that Fale would win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship by defeating Shinsuke Nakamura at Dominion in 2014.
Fale would win the Never Open weight 6-Man Tag team Match on three occasions but a singles title has alluded the Underboss for more a long time. A match against Cody on January 4 will revive the Tongan's singles Carrer and he deserves this opportunity given how loyal he has been to New Japan.
#4 Nick Aldis
Nick Aldis lost the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship to Cody at ALL IN on September 1. Aldis has received praise from fans and critics for helping revive the Ten Pounds of Gold and bringing it to the mainstream wrestling after a long period of time. The former Magnus will face Cody in a Championship rematch at NWA's 70th-anniversary show in Nashville on October 21.
If Aldis manages to win back the championship on October 21, the stage could be set for the third chapter in what has been one of the most exciting rivalries of the year. What would make this match even more enticing is if both the NWA worlds Heavyweight and IWGP United States Championship we're on the line in a Winner Takes All Match?
Given the chemistry we saw between Cody and Aldis, a glimpse of which we saw during ALL IN, we expect nothing short of a spectacle if these two egos do collide on the second biggest show in the wrestling calendar. It will be exciting to Aldis inside a New Japan, continuing his rivalry with Cody and trying to become a dual champion in the process.
#3 Jack Sabre Jr
After winning New Japan Cup earlier this year, Zack Sabre Jr has had a lukewarm year in New Japan till now. After shocking the world by making Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi tap out in the New Japan, many believed that the British superstar will be the next big thing in the company. But sadly, that hasn't been the case.
JSJ is one of the prolific submission specialist wrestlers on the planet right one. The 31-year old Brit has been the winner of the Bryan Danielson Award for the Best Technical Wrestler from the past three years.He is renowned for his technical wizardry and has the ability to clutch his opponents in his array of vicious submission moves.
The British Submission Machine is in dire need of a big feud after the recent dry spell that he and his stable, Suzuki Gun, have been through. This match has the potential to be a show stealer and has five stars written all over it.
A win over Cody will not give ZSJ his first title in New Japan but will also act as a catalyst for the Brit's dominance in the land of the rising sun.
#2 Kota Ibushi
There seems to be a lot of bad blood between Kota Ibushi and Cody. The two faced off at the start of the year at WrestleKingdom 12 in a singles match where Ibushi got the better off, Cody. This match was supposed to be for the ROH World Championship but Cody lost the Championship to Dalton Castle at Final Battle on December 15, 2018. The Golden star had to instead settle for a special singles match against the American Nightmare.
And things have only gotten worse between the duo. Ibushi saved Kenny Omega from a beat down from Cody and reunited the Golden Lover earlier this year. Cody has been too pleased with the said reunion and he has been trying hard to get the Golden Lovers apart. This was made when he inserted himself in the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Omega and Ibushi at King of Pro Wrestling on October 8 making it a Triple Threat.
By now, it has become quite clear that Omega will be facing Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event of WrestleKingdom next year. Therefore, we believe the foundation of this match will be laid, come October 8. This will be the second singles match between the duo after their incredible match from last year's WrestleKingdom, only this time the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship will be up for grabs.
A win over Cody will make Ibushi the first Japanese Superstar to win the US title. Just imagine the scene of Ibushi winning the US Title and then Omega retaining his championship over Tanahashi in the main event and the Golden Lovers ending that show with two of the company's top title like Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 20.
#1 P.A.C (Neville)
After being under the radar for almost a year, the man that Gravity forgot finally made this much-awaited return to the wrestling ring at the recent event for Dragon Gate in Japan under his previous ring name, P.A.C. The Brit return has created a storm in the wrestling world with many speculating that the Newcastle-native will be revealed as the newest member of Los Ignorables de Japon at King of Pro Wrestling.
Cody and P.A.C have a long and storied history during their time in the WWE. The Red Arrow teamed up with Arrow Star, Stephen Amell on take on the team of King Barrett and Stardust ( Cody's last gimmick before leaving the company). The duo has also faced off multiple times on WWE TV.
P.A.C Vs Cody is a match fans have been salivating to see ever the since the news of the Neville being released from WWE came out. Cody isn't the same since he left the WWE and has become one of the hottest stars in the independent circuit today while Neville was one of the hottest Indy talents before he signed with the WWE in 2012. This one promises to be a cracker of a match.
