NJPW News: Chris Jericho appears at NJPW New Year Dash

What's the story?

Chris Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito to close out NJPW's New Year Dash show on January 05, 2018, effectively confirming that he will continue to work for the Japanese promotion in the immediate future.

In case you didn't know...

On January 04, 2018, Chris Jericho wrestled his first NJPW match in nearly 20 years against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in a losing effort. Even though several reports claimed that the 47-year-old was a free agent, he was adamant that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had given him his blessing.

The heart of the matter

Tetsuya Naito cut a promo to end the New Year Dash show and conceded there were no excuses for his loss to Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12. However, he was ambushed by Chris Jericho, whose intervention caused such a large brawl that the referees, young lions, Roppongi 3K and Rocky Romero had to intervene.

At one point, Naito further enraged the former WWE Champion by performing the Tranquilo Roll and taunting him. Jericho then proceeded to hurl an array of items from the Japanese commentary desk at El Ingobernable, including the table itself.

What's next?

This is a clear indication that Jericho will stick around with NJPW for the time being, and it's safe to dismiss reports suggesting that he would be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match.

Author's take

It's great to see that NJPW can afford to hire a star of Chris Jericho's calibre. Hopefully, the company can grow from strength to strength and emerge as a true competitor to WWE in the years to come.

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