Day 2 (January 5)
Match #1 – Tag-Team Match: Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Naoki Sano vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee
After three decades of a storied and decorated career, Jushin “Thunder” Liger will have his final match ever in the Tokyo Dome to tag along with one of his greatest rivals ever Naoki Sano. They’d go up against the future of the junior heavyweights division, Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee formerly known as Dragon Lee.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger – The greatest junior heavyweight of all time. But not only that, one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever live. There have been many that are called “legends” and “icons” but both can truly be fitting for a man like Liger. The anime inspired character Keiichi Yamada took on and made it even bigger than its original source. Unlike Tiger Mask where it can be argued that the anime/manga is still more popular than the wrestler, I think we can all agree Liger the wrestler triumphs over his anime counterpart and for a good reason. Liger’s wrestling career dates all the way back in 1984 where he lost to a high school national championship match against Toshiaki Kawada, who would go on to become a legend of his own later on. Initially he was rejected in the New Japan dojo due to his height but it never stopped him from pursuing wrestling, he went on to hone his craft in Mexico at his own cost and finally got the invitation. In his dojo class he trained alongside Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto, all of whom would become future IWGP Heavyweight Champions. Four of the biggest stars in New Japan history, I think that is still the best class they ever had. In 1987 he finally debuted the Liger character and everything was uphill towards from there. A record 11x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, had a lot of memorable battles with different opponents through the years across the world. He has pretty much wrestled everywhere, even remember that one time where he fought Tyler Breeze in NXT? Name any notable wrestler over the past 30 years and chances are Liger had a match or interaction with them one way or another. What’s even more great about him is that he is one of those wrestlers that isn’t just stuck with their gimmick, he has evolved through time and made a lot of changes to his gimmick while still maintaining its originality and what made it successful to begin with, the core is still in tact to this day. Liger is also one of those veterans who never shies away from respecting the future talents, he can be just as silly as he is serious and does not put down any wrestler. It is rare in an industry filled with controversy to have such a universally respected figure, but Liger is definitely that. Calling it a “good run” is an understatement for his colorful career. The man is more than just championships or memorable matches, he is a larger than life icon who transcended professional wrestling as an entertainment art form. There was no one like him before and never will be another one like him ever again. There can only be one Keiichi Yamada, the sole bearer of the mask of Jushin “Thunder” Liger.
Naoki Sano – One of the men that will always be synonymous with Liger’s career is Naoki Sano or some of you might know him better as his more latest ring name “Takuma Sano” especially in his time with NOAH in the 2000’s. Sano is also a graduate of the New Japan Dojo, around the late 80’s to early 90’s him and Liger would have highly acclaimed matches in the junior heavyweight division and they would go on to battle it out as well for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, adding prestige to the relatively new belt at the time. Sano’s matches against Liger in their primes helped in shaping what the division would become and showing off that they can be good or even better than the heavyweights. They have crossed paths a few times years later, most notably reuniting at the All Together charity event in 2012 where they teamed up in a six man tag with Masaktsu Funaki to take on Minoru Suzuki, a young Taichi, and now the late Atsushi Aoki (RIP.) Sano wasn’t a “traditional” wrestler per se, he had that martial arts influence in him similar to a Suzuki or Fujiwara. He would also be a part of UWFI later on and feuded with New Japan. When talking about the best wrestlers back then Sano often gets overlooked, likely because he never truly became the ace for his division, but in his prime he is an excellent worker and later on was able to transition his style with age and still be a serviceable grappler. To this day he is still active within the indies, he has slowed down but the signature spinning kicks are still as crisp as ever and never gets old whenever he hits them. I think it’s a nice way to circle everything around by having him involved in Liger’s final match ever by being arguably the best rival of his career, at least early on.
Hiromu Takahashi – One of the men representing the opposition and will have the honor of being in Liger’s final match ever is the “Ticking Time Bomb” Hiromu Takahashi. Look I get it, Ospreay is the reigning Jr. Heavyweight Champion right now and has been amazing but Hiromu will always be the face of the division, even in his absence he is still one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster and now that he is back, there is no argument on who best represents the division with how popular he is amongst the Japanese fans and even internationally. He basically is the junior counterpart of Naito, sure they may not be the champion or top guy, but will always remain as the most popular to their audiences. Anyway I predicted Hiromu to win on the first night so it would be cool to see him as the champion entering this match, it’s only fitting for Liger to face the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion in his last match too, plus with Hiromu being the future of the division for many more years to come, how can you just not book it the way it is? The story and their careers just writes itself. I’ve already talked enough about Hiromu, it has always been speculated that he will be involved one way or another in Liger’s retirement match and here we are, pretty cool.
Ryu Lee – The former Dragon Lee has now signed a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. At such a young age, Lee is already one of the most accomplished luchadors today. He is a 2x CMLL World Lightweight Champion, having the record longest reign ever with the belt at an astounding 1,197 days. Also a former CMLL Welterweight Champion and an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion earlier this year when he won it in the biggest match of his career at that point, winning at Madison Square Garden in a three way match against reigning champion Taiji Ishimori and fellow luchador Bandido at the G1 Supercard. He’d successfully defend the belt against Ishimori and entered his third Best of the Super Juniors tournament as the reigning champion. At Dominion however he’d lose the belt to Ospreay in an amazing action-packed match. After wrestling in plethora of promotions in both the US and Mexico, he has decided to work full time for NJPW. Throughout his time there and even in CMLL, he will always be connected to one man; Hiromu Takahashi. In Hiromu’s excursion in Mexico, they created an intense rivlary against one another that went over to Japan eventually. Whenever these two share a ring, you are guaranteed of non-stop action from start to finish. Always seemingly attempting to kill one another but through all the pain they delivered against each other, they still respect the opposition as part of competition. Dragon Lee was Hiromu’s opponent when he suffered the unfortunate neck injury last year, now the two of them will finally reunite although this time they’re on the same side going up against a duo of legends.
Prediction: Hiromu and Lee Wins
It’s pretty cool that two rivalries that defined the junior heavyweight division in the past and in present meet each other in the ring in what would be the final match in Liger’s career. When Hiromu and Dragon Lee started their careers, who would’ve thought they will be involved in something as historic and important like this? It’s an honor for them and emotional for us fans to say farewell to a wrestler we’re always used to seeing. NJPW will not be the same without Liger for sure, but at least he is going out on his own terms, not a lot of legends share the same priviledge.
Match #2 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Roppongi 3K
Ishimori & Phantasmo – Ever since these two teamed up its been nothing but success for the Bullet Club. Long time NOAH wrestler, Taiji Ishimori signed with New Japan when he became a free agent in 2018. He donned on the mask of the Bone Soldier, what was once treated as a “joke gimmick” Ishimori quickly turned it around to become a menacing member of the junior heavyweight roster. It wouldn’t take long before he made an impact to the division by reaching the finals of his first BOSJ but lost to Hiromu Takahashi. Earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 13 he defeated KUSHIDA to become IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and would reign over for 92 days successfully defending the belt against veterans Ryusuke Taguchi and Jushin “Thunder” Liger before losing at Madison Square Garden in a three way to Dragon Lee and Bandido. That defense against Liger by the way would be the legend’s last title match for the belt that defined his career, just a little info nugget for those who like ’em. Meanwhile one man who made his New Japan debut this year at the BOSJ in particular, being hyped up by multiple vignettes as the newest Bullet Club recruit is El Phantasmo. Since making his way to RevPro, the Canadian wrestler would become one of the most notable parts of their roster and got noticed by New Japan. They certainly see him as a potential top star with his great acrobatic skills and high volume charisma, one of the best heels working today in my opinion. Phantasmo would go on to have a five match winning streak in the BOSJ before finally losing to Rocky Romero in an upset victory. After the tournament, the two BC members would begin to tag frequently and in Kizuna Road 2019 they defeated Roppongi 3K to become IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions. Afterwards, Phantasmo would go on to surprise everybody by winning the revived Super J Cup tournament in the US, upsetting Will Ospreay in the finals. Currently as of the writing of this post, Phantasmo will also be entering in his first Wrestle Kingdom as the reigning RevPro British Cruiserweight Champion winning the belt on May in a classic bout against David Starr, so far he has successfully defended the belt five times, three of which are against NJPW wrestlers: Taguchi, Rocky, and SHO respectively. In the Super Junior Tag League tournament, the BC duo entered as champions but RP3K would end up winning once again, getting their re-match at the Dome scheduled for the second night.
Roppongi 3K – When Rocky and Trent’s “Roppongi Vice” tag-team came to an end, Rocky started to scout and recruit new proteges of his to join CHAOS. Soon enough he’ll find the former Tempura Boys: Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, they’d later on be simply known as SHO and YOH as Roppongi 3K. As soon as they returned in 2017, Roppongi 3K defeated the team of Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships, they would go on to win the belts two more times later on and even defend and fight for them at Wrestle Kingdom. At the 47th Anniversary Show, RP3K defeated the team of BUSHI and Shingo Takagi to win back the belts they lost at Wrestle Kingdom, they won the re-match at the Road to Dontaku show and would lose the belts to their opponents at Kizuna Road. Both members of RP3K shined individually in this year’s BOSJ, particularly SHO who really put on some of the best performances of his career, solidifying that he can be a top star in the division one day especially in his first match up against Shingo Takagi. He really went all out and tried to get an upset win over the debuting Shingo, the result may have been a lost but he did gain the support of many fans afterwards. YOH wasn’t bad himself, had his fair share of good matches as well but SHO just took it to another level. They would then enter the Super Junior Tag League having won the past two already, well shades of the LA Lakers, they pulled off a three-peat winning the tournament once again and making history by being the only team to do so. Now they have the rights to challenge for the belts again and possibly win them for the fourth time in their tag-team run.
Prediction: Ishimori and Phantasmo Wins
Honestly, out of all the matches this one is the least I’m looking forward to. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, I’m sure the match will be fantastic considering all four men involved, but the tag-team division of New Japan is stale right now, especially the junior heavyweights. It feels like the same teams over and over again challenging for the belts, it is in dire need of an overhaul or a new team altogether entering the fray. BUSHI and Shingo’s duo was short lived, hopefully we get something fresh one day. It doesn’t matter who wins at the end of the day, here’s hoping at the New Year’s Dash show we witness new challengers perhaps for the belts.
Match #3 – RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. SANADA
Zack Sabre Jr. – I think it’s safe to say at this point the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship has replaced the ROH World Championship as the new outside partner promotion belt being defended in Wrestle Kingdom. It’s been a while anyway since the ROH Title has been on the line in the Dome but now the deal is pretty much sealed. The man who has become heavily synonymous with the RevPro belt is the technical wizard that is Zack Sabre Jr. He is one of those wrestlers who you may not be aware but is pretty much a veteran at this point in his career, making his debut in 2004 and has wrestled all over the world in different promotions. In 2017 ZSJ made his debut in NJPW, back then I actually found his placement as a member of Suzuki-Gun really odd. You got these thugs and bad looking men joined up together, then there’s ZSJ the scrawny dude who looked out of place. But he would wind up becoming one of the integral parts of the stable today and is even looking like the replacement to Minoru Suzuki one day as the leader which says a lot how much his career has progress through the years. ZSJ was always appreciated as a technical genius with his old school “escape-ology” style very reminiscent of the World of Sport days with legends like Johnny Saint. But he also mixed it with modern style of the British wrestling which garnered him a lot of support, in his time with New Japan what really developed was his personality, after all being surrounded by goons like Taichi and Archer and you’ll adapt their craziness one way or another, but Zack really shines the most in his post-match promos, always entertaining when need be. Back to the matter at hand though, the biggest match of his career yet was challenging Okada at Sakura Genesis for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after winning the New Japan Cup. He was unsuccessful but it did solidify ZSJ’s placement on the roster as a worthy top challenger. He has held the RevPro title along the way four times since 2016 and defended the belt on multiple occasions in NJPW, in his latest run he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at Destruction in Beppu after only 15 days. This will be the second time the belt will be defended in the Tokyo Dome, as earlier this year ZSJ defeated Tomohiro Ishii to capture his 3rd reign.
SANADA – It’s been an interesting 2019 for the Cold Skull to say the least. The past three years SANADA has always been a solid wrestler but never quite reach the potential of him being the top star, however this time around he has really shown flashes of having that possible ace within him. In the New Japan Cup he was able to reach the finals but loss to Kazuchika Okada. They’d face three more times later on in the year, two of which were for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the other was SANADA finally getting his first victory over Okada in the G1. However during the G1 he has also started to brew up a rivalry against Zack Sabre Jr. While SANADA is mainly an all-around wrestler, being able to mesh and blend with any style of wrestling, he does have a mastery of the technical ways of wrestling as well so matches against an opponent like ZSJ would always result into instant classics. Their personalities would also often clash with one another, ZSJ being the rowdy pesky Brit while SANADA is more tranquilo than his leader could ever be, barely showing any emotion if at all. In their first match in the G1 this year, SANADA scored a surprise pin to win over the RevPro Champion. SANADA himself has mentioned he is barely interested in the belt but is interested in facing off with Zack again.
Prediction: Zack Sabre Jr. Wins
It may not be the match with the most storyline heavily built into it but ZSJ vs. SANADA always deliver in terms of match quality. I think it’s pretty cool for SANADA as well to have a fresh match in Wrestle Kingdom other than challenging for the tag belts again for the third year in a row but I am a little sad for EVIL being relegated into a quite frankly meaningless multi men tag but hey, at least he wasn’t left off completely.
Match #4 – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship : Lance Archer/Jon Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson
This one is interesting. The winner of the Archer vs. Moxley Texas Death Match for the IWGP US Championship will defend his belt the following night against former champion, Juice Robinson. He is still owed a proper re-match, in the G1 Juice defeated Moxley and earned him a future title shot which would have been at King of Pro Wrestling but Mox was unable to attend due to flight issues so New Japan vacated the belt and instead we got Juice vs. Archer which the latter won and is now the reigning IWGP US Heavyweight Champion.
Juice had a decent start at the beginning of the year, beating Cody for the US Title at Wrestle Kingdom. Successfully defended it over some challengers but would get stopped on his tracks by a familiar face in Jon Moxley. Their history dates all the way back in their FCW days, WWE’s developmental promotion at the time, they reunited in the ring at the BOSJ Finals where Mox made his NJPW debut and defeated Juice for the belt. Ever since then Juice always had his sights focus on Mox and beat him once and for all in their rubber match. That was delayed and he’d lose some more momentum at the hands of Lance Archer who ended up winning the vacant belt. It was supposed to be Juice’s re-coronation as US Champion, he could’ve finally defeated Moxley but he has the chance to do it at a much bigger stage. He is finally granted of his re-match and whoever wins between Archer and Mox, Juice will surely bring his A-Game this time around and try to bring home some more gold, if he also enters this match as 1/2 of the tag-team champions with David Finlay.
Prediction: Juice Robinson Wins
I predicted the previous night for Moxley to win and I think it’s only appropriate for him to face Juice and have their rubber match in the Dome and for The Flamboyant to finally get his revenge. It works well with the story they’re trying to tell.
Match #5 – NEVER Openweight Championship: KENTA (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
KENTA – A man who I never thought I’d see in a New Japan ring ever is KENTA. The man was always just on the opposite corner and seemingly would never get on the bandwagon at any point in his career but here we are. Started off early in AJPW but would make a name for himself in NOAH becoming their premier star in the junior heavyweight division before transitioning into a heavyweight. Then he’d go on to the WWE, had a disappointing run with injuries mostly to blame, and then he returned to his home country but not to his home promotion and shocked the entire wrestling world by debuting at Dominion alongside his former tag-team partner and good friend: Katsuyori Shibata. The man formerly known as Hideo Itami in the WWE, is now back as KENTA in New Japan and announced his participation in the G1 Climax. KENTA had a polarizing tournament, some liked him, but others weren’t so complimentary. I personally thought he did well, remember this isn’t the KENTA of old, it’s been ten years since he was pulling off crazy spots against the likes of Marufuji in NOAH, he now wrestles a more methodical style, aging is a thing and having suffered injury setbacks in his time with the WWE does not help. Doesn’t mean he is bad of course he is still good, better than a lot of the members of the roster, just obviously far from his younger days which is to be expected. Even with his best efforts, the NJPW fans were always reluctant on KENTA, due to his past affiliations with NOAH, he would always have that “outsider” feel towards him. So he got sick of it. In the G1 finals in a scheduled six man tag teaming up with the CHAOS duo of Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI, he betrayed them to join on the other side with the Bullet Club. Afterwards Shibata stormed in the ring to interrogate his friend and by interrogate I mean beat the piss out of him, The Wrestler looked be in great shape, even pulling off corner dropkicks on KENTA but the numbers game were too overwhelming and BC humiliated the retired athlete. He would win his first title in NJPW at the Royal Quest UK event by beating Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Championship with some help from GoD. He successfully defended it from YOSHI-HASHI at the FSU tour and finally beat Ishii clean at Power Struggle. Now for KENTA’s next challenge, he is up against someone who is also very familiar with Shibata.
Hirooki Goto – I think we’re at a point where we just fully accept Hirooki Goto’s spot in the New Japan roster. His glory days of potentially reaching the top and becoming IWGP Heavyweight Champion are past him but that doesn’t mean he’s bad, Goto is still one of the most excellent performers they got and you’re always guaranteed to have a good match out of him against any opponent. However this time around, things are more personal than ever. With KENTA disrespecting Shibata, Goto would fight in the place of his best friend. Goto and Shibata’s connection go all the way back in their high school years, however Shibata would be the one to become a pro wrestler first making his debut in 1999 while Goto would follow a couple years later in 2003. As Shibata made his return to New Japan full time in 2014, Goto was there to reunite with his old pal. They were both rivals and partners, at one point feuding for the NEVER Openweight Championship which really cemented the belt’s purpose for hard hitting stiff wrestlers. In 2015 they won the World Tag League and ended up beating Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson at Wrestle Kingdom 9 for the IWGP Tag-Team Championships. Around 2017 however Shibata was starting to get a big push for his solo career, winning the New Japan Cup and fought Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship however it would become the last match of his career after suffering concussions and injuries that set him back. Since then Goto has dedicated a lot of his matches to his friend, he entered this year’s G1 fully prepared with Shibata’s training in the LA Dojo and even tagged with one of Shibata’s students in Karl Fredericks at this year’s WTL. Goto is very close to Shibata, the two are like brothers, for someone like KENTA to disrespect his friend physically and the legacy he has built, a line was definitely crossed and all things will be settled at Wrestle Kingdom 14 when Goto pinned KENTA at their WTL match earning a shot for the NEVER Openweight Championship, a title he has held four times now. It will be a barn burner if I’ve ever seen one.
Prediction: Hirooki Goto Wins
I know everybody wanted a KENTA vs. Shibata match but if he isn’t medically cleared to compete, we shouldn’t be selfish and allow Shibata to live for crying out loud! He still has a lot of training duties left in him. Anyway, Goto winning over KENTA would be my ideal scenario and him celebrating a victory in the Dome with his best friend may seem corny but you can never replicate moments like that again.
Match #6 – Singles Match: Loser of Okada/Ibushi vs. Loser of White/Naito
An interesting scenario, someone is going to leave two nights of Wrestle Kingdom as a 2x loser. I mean damn, none of them are deserving to that distinction but someone’s gotta take it. In my predictions it would be Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White, a re-match of G1 Climax 29 Finals. We’ve already seen what they are capable of and it is great so I wouldn’t mind seeing those two go at it again with Ibushi winning over Jay despite not having the IWGP Heavyweight title. The antagonist will finally pay for his sins so he could end up being the one taking two L’s in two nights. It would be the best case scenario from a narrative stand point but I also get that they’re building up Jay as a young top gaijin heel so I’m not 100% confident on that case.
We could end up seeing Okada vs. Naito as well which just seems bizarre that they’d end up in a scenario like this and have Ibushi vs. Jay as the main event but who the hell knows at this point. Okada vs. White which means The Rainmaker has the chance to take back the loss he suffered at last year’s WK to Jay, then you got Naito vs. Ibushi, they could kill each other again too.
My biggest fear however as an LIJ fan is for Naito to be on the losing end, what’s even scarier is that there is a chance of that happening. We’ve been used to so much disappointment at this point that it wouldn’t even surprised me. I won’t agree with it obviously as I think this should be Naito’s time but it won’t be shocking in the slightest if Gedo and the rest of the booking team decides that he’ll get the bad end of the story, but man just imagine how much ruckus that would leave to the crowd, he’ll forever be known as a choker and a glorified loser. I don’t want a talent as great and popular as Naito to have that connotation on him for the rest of his career. For storyline’s sake, it has to be Jay White.
Semi Main Event – Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
Hiroshi Tanahashi – If I’m not mistaken, Tanahashi is the only wrestler to compete in all the past Wrestle Kingdoms and he has main evented 9 out of the 13. He is also the only wrestler in New Japan history to main event WK for six consecutive times. Truly a personification of the term “Ace” Tanahashi has proven he is a once in a century talent by also being a record 8x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and arguably the greatest wrestler in company history, possibly of all time as well. His journey to how he got into the status he is in now is an interesting one as well. Tana made his debut all the way back in 1999 being a product of the New Japan dojo, he was on the same class with Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata and they were dubbed as the “New 3 Musketeers” with the originals being Mutoh, Chono, and Hashimoto in the 90’s, three men who led NJPW to new heights, Tana, Nakamura, and Shibata were seen to have the same potential. It all worked out in the end but they went through some tough times before getting there, Tanahashi especially. It was in the Inokism years where Tanahashi and Nakamura were being overshadowed by MMA stars rather than traditional pro wrestlers, guys like Nagata and Tenzan were relegated to being after thoughts despite having the support of the fans, Tana and Nakamura were still developing, while Shibata left altogether and became a freelancer. However in 2002, Tana would gain the support of many fans by suffering a stabbing incident at the hands of a former partner. Because of this the crowd found someone to rally behind to and show their love towards the underdog, Tanahashi was at the right place at the right time and his rise to superstardom began. He won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 2006 beating Giant Bernard for the vacant belt in a tournament final which signaled the new era for New Japan. Slowly, the days of Inoki’s influence over the company was fading, Tanahashi would lead the way towards a much brighter and better future with him being the de facto Ace which he would gladly take on the role for the following years. At a time where the company was on the brink of disappearing, Tanahashi persevered and stayed loyal, by passing through the hard times, he was able to see the company flourish to where it’s at now. His rivalry against Kazuchika Okada in particular would be the turning point of NJPW growing on a much more global scale with their great matches garnering the attention of outside fans from all over the world. To this day even though he isn’t as springy as he once was, Tana never fails to deliver on matches not only from a technical level but even better from a storyline and emotional point of view. He will forever have the support of the fans for all the sacrifices he made for the company. Pretty much has faced every wrestler imaginable that has entered New Japan one way or another but he has not shared a ring yet with another living legend, someone who already left a mark in New Japan recently and returning for this dream match.
Chris Jericho – Another widely respected veteran of the business is Chris Jericho. Dating all the way back in 1990 with the start of his career, Y2J has pretty much seen it all since his debut. He has wrestled in every major American wrestling promotion you can think of; Smokey Mountain, ECW, WCW, WWF/WWE, and now in AEW. He also has his fair share of history in both Mexico and Japan, achieving a lot of accolades in the process. In a three decade career, Jericho has amassed a wide array of opponents from legendary names to iconic superstars, past or present. Right now he is the reigning and inaugural AEW World Champion, leading the way for the fresh new company. Just two years ago though Jericho made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling after leaving the WWE which at the time really took the entire wrestling world by storm and much to the surprise of everyone! The 7x World Champion had his first rival on the promotion in Kenny Omega in what was the semi main event for Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. Kenny won the match but Y2J gave it his all in what turned out to be one of the greatest matches in both men’s careers. The following year Y2J returned this time to take on Tetsuya Naito and feuded for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. At last year’s Dominion, Jericho defeated Naito for the IC Title making him the only wrestler to hold both the WWE and NJPW’s versions of their intercontinental belts. His reign was controversial though, missing the G1 while the reigning champion, only defended it successfully once over EVIL at Power Struggle before losing it right back to Naito at WK 13. It wouldn’t be the last time Jericho would work with New Japan this year as he returned once again for Dominion and challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but was unsuccessful in his pursuit. Now he only has one challenger left out of the former “Big 4” of New Japan and it’s none other than The Ace which he called out at Power Struggle. Tanahashi and Jericho are two of the biggest names in wrestling who became successful in their own different ways. It is a dream match nobody expected to see but definitely a welcomed one. Two of the most decorated wrestlers of the past half century will collide for the first time inside the Tokyo Dome.
Prediction: Hiroshi Tanahashi Wins
As much as Y2J tries, the Tokyo Dome is Tanahashi’s turf and he is representing NJPW wholeheartedly in this match. The Painmaker may have a lot left in the tank but The Ace has been through so much, him getting a win on this dream match will add more history in his already celebrated career. They’re both past their prime years but I’m sure with their veteran skills, they could always deliver something great and take us all by surprise, no one should question the credibility of a Hiroshi Tanahashi and a Chris Jericho after all.
Main Event – IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinetal Champion: Double Championship Match
Here we are, the biggest match quite possibly in New Japan Pro Wrestling. History in the making, someone is walking away out of the Tokyo Dome as the first ever wrestler to hold both the prestigious IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship at the same time, likely the only time both titles will be on the line. Will it be The Rainmaker who has carried the torch for New Japan over the past five years? Will it be The Golden Star who carved his own path to get to where he is at now? Will it be El Ingobernable who had a career resurgence and turnaround, going from a despised hero to a beloved anti-hero? Or will be The Switchblade, quite possibly the most hated wrestler in the entire world today? Any four of these men will have their careers made forever. Everything that has happened over the past 10 years has led to this moment, this very match. Someone’s legacy will be immortalized in the history of not only NJPW, but professional wrestling as a whole. It’s more than just ground breaking, it is career defining.
Going by my predictions this match would be between Kazuchika Okada as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. Tetsuya Naito as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. It all comes full circle, two men who hold two belts that are synonymous with their respective careers. The rivalry that started way back in their days as Young Lions. The journey they’ve had is traced towards this match. The story just speaks for itself and I couldn’t think of a better way to start off the new decade with a high profile bout of that caliber. Obviously the LIJ fan in me wants Naito to win it all, finally become the shuyaku by holding both belts that mean so much to him, but The Rainmaker is the current ace, the guy in New Japan, Okada is just 32 and still has a lot left in him so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up winning it all but then he really would be arguably the most dominant champion of all time.
Whatever the case may end up being, this match will dictate the next path of NJPW towards a new era that awaits us. A Wrestle Kingdom with so many implications and stories ending in such a high stakes match, what a perfect way to end the past and prepare for the future.
After 13,000+ words later I am finally done. Folks, this has been the biggest individual article I’ve ever written in my life. I am passionate about New Japan Pro Wrestling. It has been my main source of entertainment since Wrestle Kingdom 9 where I started to watch religiously. For me to even have a small part in such a historic event in Wrestle Kingdom 14, contributing through this article means a lot to me. Hopefully we would all enjoy. It’s been an amazing journey thus far and I’ll always look forward to what’s next.
To all the wrestlers, referees, production staff, executive team, and other personnel of NJPW, thank you for an amazing 10 years worth of content and storylines. Here’s to another 10 years of success!
Thank you for reading. Follow me on Twitter: @SuperMastodon
