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When one talks about professional wrestling, there's a tendency to think that its glory days are long behind us in 2018. One tends to flash his/her mind back to the Attitude Era, or even beyond, to the days when Hulkamania ran wild.
Every year on January 4th, this myth is shattered. We experience a showcase from the men of New Japan Pro Wrestling that exceeds our expectations, however high they may be, going in. A spectacle of awesomeness from a locker room that is as gifted as the one during WWE's Attitude Era.
This year, our experience was no different, really. The 'worsts' in this list are not really bad per se, but improvements that could have made this show absolutely perfect indeed.
Nearly 95% of this show fell into the 'Best' category'. Naturally, we cannot detail every element in this article. Therefore, we'll stick to the highlights right now. All we'll recommend for the time being, is that you subscribe to NJPW World, because it's well worth the price.
#1 Best: The dream match delivers
At the time of writing this article, Chris Jericho is 47 years of age. At this age, most people who've had the career that Jericho has had, hang up their boots and ride off into the sunset to make a very comfortable living. Jericho came over to NJPW to put over the best wrestler in the world. To do the honours, and pass the torch.
Every Chris Jericho fan knows that he's not a man to rest on his laurels. While he was not in the best shape of his life physically, he put on a show to remember with the greatest performer of our age, Kenny Omega. One that won't be easily forgotten by wrestling fans.
How often is it that a dream match is advertised as one, and actually lives up to the moniker? Mayweather vs. McGregor certainly left some fans with a bad taste in their mouth when it actually played out.
Jericho is like fine wine personified...a supremely talented soul who just becomes better with age.
#1 Worst: Not capitalizing on momentum?
Don't get us wrong at all. Kazuchika Okada is certainly the best performer of our age, and perhaps the greatest champion right now, in all of wrestling. We have nothing but respect and admiration for the man. However, everything pointed to it being Tetsuya Naito's night.
The Number 1 contender got a deafening ovation when he came out for the main event. Okada was almost the heel for the whole match, as the crowd urged the LIJ member on. However, it was not Naito's night, as Okada defeated him in a nail-biting contest.
Imagine if Stone Cold Steve Austin had not defeated Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14. Would he have been the biggest star in the history of wrestling, if such was the case?
We genuinely felt that the IWGP title should have changed hands, at Wrestle Kingdom 12.
#2 Best: The IWGP Junior Heavyweight match
We're sorry Jim Cornette and Vader. Sometimes in wrestling, a spot fest just hits the spot (no pun intended), in the right manner. Ospreay, Scurll, Takahashi and Kushida put on a match that pretty much stole the show, sometime before the two main events. It was awesome!
Of course, the spot of the match was this one. Despite the fact that some may say that it looks 'fake' and 'staged', it was still a moment. The Tokyo Dome erupted when this move was executed by Will Ospreay.
None of the matches in the show were really 'weak'. But this one was particularly good.
#2 Worst: Switch Blade Jay White
Jay White did not wrestle badly at Wrestle Kingdom 12, at all. If anything, he was great for someone as young as he is. Especially when you consider that he went up against Hiroshi Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome. Tanahashi isn't just a wrestler in NJPW, he's a definite living legend.
In a night filled with great wrestling, this match just paled in comparison. Maybe because it was squeezed between the Junior Heavyweight Match and the Omega-Jericho match, it never took off. He just wasn't ready for the spot!
#3 Best: The commentary
And finally, hats off to Kevin Kelly and Don Callis for calling the action across six hours. They did a commendable job, calling the action instead of bickering among themselves. It was certainly a breath of fresh air, and a welcome change from 'sports entertainment'.
Congratulations to NJPW for a historic night of epic proportions indeed. The attendance was a record-breaking one, and NJPW World subscriptions went off the charts as well, because of the Omega-Jericho contest. They certainly made several new fans with the event.
We had a blast bringing the event to you. It's events like Wrestle Kingdom 12 that reinforce our belief that the best days in wrestling are still ahead of us.
Let us know what you felt about the event, in the comments section below.
