{"id":13721,"date":"2019-12-14T19:16:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T19:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=13721"},"modified":"2019-12-14T19:16:22","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T19:16:22","slug":"njpw-wrestle-kingdom-14-full-background-analysis-and-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/14\/njpw-wrestle-kingdom-14-full-background-analysis-and-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 14 Full Background, Analysis, and Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by: Super Mastodon (@SuperMastodon<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As another decade ends, we will welcome a new one\nand what better way to kick things off than with the biggest event in Japanese\nprofessional wrestling; NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 live in the Tokyo Dome! What sets\nthis one a part from the rest is that WK 14 will be a special two day event\nfeaturing historic and high stakes matches from top to bottom. The end of an\nera for some but the beginning for the future of NJPW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will be my biggest and most special preview article I’ve written yet so buckle up and prepare yourselves as we take a look at every scheduled match on the main card for the upcoming two nights of wrestling greatness at the 14th annual Wrestle Kingdom event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Day 1 (January 4)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Match #1 – Eight Man Tag-Team: Liger Retirement Match 1:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jushin\n“Thunder” Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, Great Sasuke, & Tiger Mask IV\n(w\/ El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, &\nRyusuke Taguchi (w\/ Kuniaki Kobayashi)<\/strong> – Special Guest\nReferee: Norio Honaga<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 29 reigns for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight\nChampionship with all the men involved in this match. The first out of the two\nretirement matches for the great Jushin “Thunder” Liger who will be\ncapping off his decorated and amazing three decade career in pro wrestling. All\nof the men in this match have played a heavy role in Liger’s career one way or\nanother, so let us take a closer look at each of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team #1:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jushin\n“Thunder” Liger<\/strong> – The man of the hour. A long\ncelebrated and decorated career will finally come to an end, surrounded by some\nof the most influential people in his career. I’d talk extensively on Liger\nlater on as we get into his final match at the second night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatsumi\nFujinami<\/strong> – Liger’s idol and the reason why he wanted to\nbecome a professional wrestler.  A 6x\nIWGP Heavyweight Champion, Fujinami is one of the greatest of all time in New\nJapan history. This will be his first match back in the company since 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great\nSasuke<\/strong> – His rivalry with Liger in the 90’s is arguably\nthe best junior heavyweight feud of all time, the only one that can even\nmeasure up would be Dynamite Kid vs. the Original Tiger Mask. Sasuke and Liger\nhad a lot of memorable bouts against one another and helped in transcending\nwhat the junior heavyweight division is all about now. This will be Sasuke’s\nfirst match in New Japan since 2010 where he won a tag match with Satoshi\nKojima against GBH’s Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger\nMask IV<\/strong> – One of the men who carried the junior heavyweight\ndivision along with Liger during the darker years of the company in the 2000’s.\nAlso had plenty of classic bouts with Liger for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title\nand later on in their careers as they become veterans, began teaming up often\nas a duo, they even held the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team titles in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El\nSamurai<\/strong> – He will be the cornerman for Liger’s team. El\nSamurai is one of the most underrated junior heavyweights of the 90’s. A former\n2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and also held the junior tag belts with Liger in\n2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team #2:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naoki\nSano<\/strong>\n– The first rival of Keiichi Yamada when he became Jushin “Thunder”\nLiger during the company wars between NJPW and UWFI. Liger and Sano’s matches\nwere some of the best ever in New Japan history and their rivalry shaped the\nentire junior heavyweight scene of Puroresu. Some of you might be more familiar\nlater on with his body of work in Pro Wrestling NOAH as Takuma Sano but he is\nnow making his return to New Japan, with his last match being in 2011 when the\ncompany was still in partnership with NOAH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinjiro\nOtani<\/strong> – Before becoming well known for his work in Pro\nWrestling ZERO1, Shinjiro Otani was another superstar of the junior heavyweight\ndivision at its peak in the 90’s. In his sole reign with the IWGP Heavyweight\nChampionship in 1998, he was defeated by Liger ending his 181 day run. Otani is\nalso considered one of the best juniors ever, his last New Japan match was in\n2013 for Wrestle Kingdom 7 where he lost to TenCozy teaming up with Keiji\nMutoh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatsuhito\nTakaiwa<\/strong> – A multi-time tag-team champion with Shinjiro\nOtani, Takaiwa also held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when he defeated\nLiger in 2000. He also donned the mask of Black Tiger, wrestling last time in\nNew Japan with said gimmick in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryusuke\nTaguchi<\/strong> – The youngest of the bunch, which is saying\nsomething because he is already at 40 years old. Liger and Taguchi share a\nmutual respect for one another. He is a 2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and one of\nthe more decorated wrestlers active in the junior heavyweights today. Despite\nwrestling in a comedic style, he can still perform at a top notch level if\ngiven the proper time and opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuniaki\nKobayashi<\/strong> – The cornerman for the team, Kobayashi is one of\nthe original cornerstones of the junior heavyweight division in NJPW way back\nin its inception. He is a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, held it for 129\ndays in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special Guest Referee: Norio Honaga<\/strong> – A 3x IWGP Heavyweight Champion, exchanged the belt\nagainst Liger in his heyday. Became a referee after his retirement from in-ring\ncompetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nTeam Liger Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, we all win in this match no matter the result. It’s only fitting we get this as one of Liger’s matches. Some of the wrestlers who influenced and shaped his 30 year career, plus just seeing these legends back in a New Japan ring is both nostalgic and a sight to behold. Yes they are all past their primes but that doesn’t matter, we will be watching this match for its implication, not to expect a five star rating. It is after all the second to the last match in Liger’s entire career. Let’s just the moment as these legends share a wrestling ring together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #2 – Eight Man Tag-Team: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Suzuki-Gun<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANADA,\nEVIL, Shingo Takagi, & BUSHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Taichi,\n& El Desperado<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LIJ and Suzuki-Gun members have been at each other’s\nthroats all year. The two rival factions will finally settle their differences\nin the Tokyo Dome in an eight man tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANADA<\/strong>\n– It was a pretty solid year for SANADA, having challenged multiple times for\nthe IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kazuchika Okada in instant classic\nmatches but never quite got on the next level to capture the belt for the first\ntime in his career. The next night he will have his chance however for the\nRevPro British Heavyweight Championship held by Zack Sabre Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EVIL<\/strong>\n– Unlike his partner SANADA, EVIL had somewhat of a quiet year in 2019. He\nstill had solid matches here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary so him re-gaining\nsome momentum at the start of the new decade will help get back on his tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shingo\nTakagi<\/strong> – One of the breakout starts in 2019 for New Japan\nPro Wrestling ever since making his debut as the newest member of Los\nIngobernables de Japon. The former long time member of the Dragon Gate roster\nquickly made an impact in the company, going on an undefeated streak and\ntearing the competition initially at the junior heavyweight division until\nlosing for the first time in the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors\ntournament to Will Ospreay in what many consider as Match of the Year. Since\nmoving up to the heavyweights division by entering the G1 Climax for the first\ntime, The Dragon has been making some waves on the roster and looking to\nfurther up his momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BUSHI<\/strong>\n– Similar to EVIL, it’s been a quiet year for BUSHI as well. He did win the\nIWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team belts earlier at this year’s Wrestle Kingdom with\nShingo in a three way against Desperado & Kanemaru and Roppongi 3K. His\nhighest profile match was challenging for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight\nChampionship, a title he once held, against Will Ospreay at Power Struggle. It\nwas a great showing for BUSHI but not enough to secure the victory. It did\nhowever mark the return of his old pal Hiromu Takahashi which we would get more\nonto later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zack\nSabre Jr.<\/strong> – It’s been kind of an up and down year for Zack in\n2019. It was in 2018 where he really reached the pinnacle in New Japan so far\nin his career, winning the New Japan Cup and ended up challenging Okada for the\nIWGP Heavyweight Championship. Although with Minoru Suzuki taking a step back,\nhe’s been the “unofficial” next guy for Suzuki-Gun. Eventually he’ll\nget there but his rank within the stable is increasing as time progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minoru\nSuzuki<\/strong> – We could potentially see Suzuki’s last match in\nNew Japan and in the Tokyo Dome for a while as rumors has it he will be having\nhis departure with the company soon. I personally would be a little\ndisappointed to see The King go but whatever makes him happy, he can do it.\nSuzuki has kind of a down year as well, primarily sharing the spotlight with\nthe much younger members of his stable. He did not participate in this year’s\nG1 Climax much to his ire but guys like Taichi and ZSJ were able to shine\nbecause of it. His feud and eventual singles match against Liger is one of the\nmost memorable of the decade. Suzuki bringing out the devil within, Kishin\nLiger, is something we will never forget about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taichi<\/strong>\n– Ever since moving up to the heavyweight division, it’s been pretty solid for\nThe Holy Emperor himself. In the middle of the year Taichi held the NEVER Openweight\nChampionship for the second time beating Jeff Cobb but would lose in his first\ndefense against Tomohiro Ishii. The two of them would have a banger of a\nre-match in Taichi’s first run in the G1 Climax tournament which he excelled in\na lot of other matches. Him and Zack had a solid run in this year’s World Tag\nLeague as well, overall a pretty good year for Taichi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El\nDesperado<\/strong> – Desperado missed a majority of the middle of the\nyear due to suffering a jaw injury at the hands of Jun Kasai at an independent\nshow just days before he could participate in the Best of the Super Juniors. In\nhis return however, he has been great and doesn’t looked like he missed a step.\nLooking to gain back a lot of the momentum he has lost and possibly have a\nsingles run at some point as well, challenging for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight\nChampionship again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nLIJ Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well for those who know me, I am an LIJ fan so there’s some bias in my prediction. Honestly it could go either way, the main purpose of this match anyway other than to put in the rest of the remaining members of the roster is to hype up SANADA vs. ZSJ for the next night. Knowing what my prediction is for that match, I think having LIJ get a win here would be the best way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #3 – Eight Man Tag-Team: CHAOS vs. Bullet Club<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hirooki\nGoto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA, Bad Luck Fale,\nYujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s fitting that we’re getting this match in what\nis a faction rivalry that defined the decade for New Japan, CHAOS vs. Bullet\nClub. CHAOS were initially the bad guys on the company, originally led by\nShinsuke Nakamura formed in 2009 but upon the arrival of Prince Devitt’s Bullet\nClub, the home grown talent became the good guys against the evil foreign\ngaijins which would later on become the biggest entity in all of professional\nwrestling since the nWo in the 90’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hirooki\nGoto<\/strong>\n– Hasn’t really done much earlier in the year but would later become one of the\nbest parts of the G1 Climax as per usual of Goto having great battles against\nthe likes of Shingo, Juice, and Naito just to name a few. We’ll get more on to\nhim later as we talk about his second night match against KENTA for the NEVER\nOpenweight Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomohiro\nIshii<\/strong> – The Stone Pitbull had another solid year. He lost\nthe RevPro British Heavyweight Championship to kick off 2019 at the hands of\nZack Sabre Jr. at Wrestle Kingdom 13, he would then bounce back in the New\nJapan Cup having a MOTY worthy bout against CHAOS stable mate Kazuchika Okada.\nIshii would have his 5th reign with the NEVER Openweight Championship this\nyear, beating Taichi for it at Dominion and entered the G1 with the belt. All\nof his matches were great but the one that will always be my favorite is his\nmatch against Jon Moxley, was full of intense action from beginning to end. He\nwould eventually lose the belt to KENTA at the Royal Quest UK show. Him and\nYOSHI-HASHI had a good run at this year’s World Tag League to conclude his\n2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toru\nYano<\/strong>\n– Not much really took place for YTR other than his usual antics. Besides his\nDVD’s he now sells curry recipes as well apparently. As of the writing of this\narticle Yano is still 1\/3 of the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag-Team Championships\nalong with reunited tag partner in Togi Makabe and Ryusuke Taguchi, for whatever\nthose belts are worth anymore. He actually had a decent dark horse run at the\nG1, pulling off upset wins one after another. He formed a bond with Colt Cabana\nthis year and teamed up for the first time in the World Tag League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOSHI-HASHI<\/strong>\n– It’s YOSHI-HASHI. He had a year to say the least. Didn’t even qualify for the\nG1. The biggest match he had was losing to KENTA in his first defense as NEVER\nOpenweight Champion at the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour. Other than that, not\nmuch else of note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KENTA<\/strong>\n– Ever since leaving the WWE, KENTA surprised everyone at Dominion by being\nintroduced by his former tag-team partner and long time friend Katusyori\nShibata making his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling and entered the G1 Climax.\nHe is going into this match as the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion and we’ll\ntalk more about him later as we get into his second night match vs. Goto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad\nLuck Fale<\/strong> – One of the remaining original members of the\nBullet Club is still around, Fale has somewhat taken a step back in his role\nthough and mainly focuses on training the future with the Fale Dojo. He still\nparticipated at some of the tournaments like the New Japan Cup, G1 Climax, and\nWorld Tag League but his days of being at the top and a dominant monster are\ncoming to a close. With all that said, he is still a force to be reckoned with\nno matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yujiro\nTakahashi<\/strong> – Pimpin’ ain’t easy. Yujiro is just Yujiro. He\nwill never be higher in the card than where he is but serves his purpose as one\nof the lower midcard members of the Bullet Club but still remains as one of the\nentertaining parts of the faction. As long as Pieter is around, no one is\ncomplaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase\nOwens<\/strong> – The Honorary Tongan had an underrated year. He\nhad an upset victory over Juice Robinson at the New Japan Cup earlier in the\nyear which granted him a shot at the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. Tagged\nwith Fale at the World Tag League to round up the year for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nCHAOS Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is mainly a preview match for Goto vs. KENTA at night 2 for the NEVER Openweight Championship. I’m choosing the CHAOS team to win this one, but really whoever gets the victory, I won’t complain. It’s primarily a filler match just like the previous multi-man tag. It sucks that Ishii is relegated to another one of these again but with all the programs they are running, it’s good that he even made the card at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #4 – IWGP Tag-Team Championships: Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. FinJuice<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guerrillas\nof Destiny<\/strong> – GoD could very well go down as the best tag-team\nof not only the year, but of the entire decade for New Japan Pro Wrestling. No\nother team has been more dominant than them, being 5x IWGP Tag-Team Champions.\nThis year in particular, GoD just ran through the entire division ever since\nwinning the tag belts earlier in the year at the Honor Rising event from EVIL\nand SANADA. They had a total of seven successful title defenses across the\nongoing 291 day reign. They also simultaneously held the ROH World Tag-Team\nChampionships this year, winning those at the Madison Square Garden for the G1\nSupercard event and feuded with The Briscoes at ROH. All in all, Tama Tonga and\nTanga Loa have a total combined reign of 563 days as IWGP Tag-Team Champions,\nwhile representing Bullet Club successfully around the world. No other team can\neven come close throughout the year against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FinJuice<\/strong>\n– GoD has pretty much decimated all the teams New Japan and ROH had to offer\nexcept for this one, the reunited duo of David Finlay and Juice Robinson,\ncollectively known as FinJuice! Finlay was out for the majority of the year due\nto suffering a shoulder injury which removed him from the New Japan Cup.\nMeanwhile for Juice he had a pretty good run with the IWGP US Heavyweight\nChampionship since winning it from Cody at WK13, in his second run he defended\nthe belt three times successfully before losing it to Jon Moxley’s debut match\nat the BOSJ Finals. Juice would face off against Lance Archer for the vacated\nUS Belt at King of Pro Wrestling but failed to win back what was once his.\nAfter the match, Archer continued to attack Juice only to be rescued by a\nreturning David Finlay, who was one of his classmates at the dojo. Since then\nthe two have teamed up constantly, entering and winning this year’s World Tag\nLeague which earned them a rightful challenge at GoD’s IWGP Tag-Team\nChampionships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nFinJuice Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The momentum is pretty much on the corner of Juice and Finlay, they had a great tournament at the WTL and GoD’s time as champions have been served well, it is time to put over the next top team of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #5 – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship (Texas Death Match): Lance Archer (c) vs. Jon Moxley<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lance\nArcher<\/strong> – What a breakout year it has been for “The\nAmerican Psycho” Lance Archer. Since his split up with Davey Boy Smith\nJr., Archer was able to focus on his singles career and his trajectory has been\ngreat right from the get-go. He outdid everybody’s expectations at the New\nJapan Cup when he had a surprisingly great match against Will Ospreay. It would\nturn out that it wasn’t just a fluke and he’d continue to have this streak of\namazing matches to add in his resume, a complete career resurgence for someone\nwho has been wrestling for nearly 20 years and has seen multiple ups and downs\nthroughout his days. He also entered the G1 Climax for the first time since\n2014 this year and while he did not do well in terms points, he did have\ninstant classic bouts against some of the best A Block had to offer. Archer won\nhis first ever singles gold in New Japan by winning the vacant IWGP US\nHeavyweight Championship at King of Pro Wrestling beating Juice Robinson. He\nhas successfully defended the title once against David Finlay at the Showdown\nin San Jose show and is now looking to have an all-out war against former\nchampion, Jon Moxley, in a Texas Death Match! Somewhere in Amarillo, Terry Funk\nhas a smile on his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jon\nMoxley<\/strong> – One of the biggest stars in all of professional\nwrestling in 2019 without a doubt is Jon Moxley. Ever since leaving the WWE, he\nhas made headlines after headlines and surprised a lot of people in different\npromotions he has wrestled in so far. During the Best of the Super Juniors\ntournament, vignettes started to show of a mysterious challenger for Juice Robinson’s\nIWGP US Heavyweight Championship. It would be revealed later on to be Jon\nMoxley, making his first post-WWE appearance and Japanese wrestling debut at at\nthe BOSJ Finals in June where him and Juice, old familiar foes, beat the living\nhell out of one another in what can be argued as “Match of the Year”\nfor the company. In my opinion, it is Juice’s best match in his New Japan\ncareer so far. After a hard fought battle, Moxley was successful in his debut,\nsquashed Shota Umino at Dominion and took him under his wing afterwards, then\nwent on a tear at his inaugural G1 Climax competition. He would go on to have a\nfive-match winning streak at the G1 before finally losing to the trickster that\nis Toru Yano. Moxley would then debut in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as well but\nhas not forgotten his NJPW commitments. He was however forced to vacate the US\nbelt by failing to fly over for his re-match against Juice due to flight issues\nbut is now prepared to re-claim what was once his and a title he never properly\nloss. He returned to New Japan at the World Tag League finals, delivering a\nDeath Rider not only to Lance Archer, but Minoru Suzuki as well. Message was\nsent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nJon Moxley Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much as I have enjoyed Archer’s run and he is definitely a solid champion, I feel with where the story is going, Moxley will take the W here and face Juice the next night for the US belt and finally have their long awaited rubber match in New Japan but we’ll see. Whatever the case may be, these two will definitely destroy each other and I expect blood to possibly rain down on the Dome with such a high stakes and stipulation of a match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #6 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will\nOspreay<\/strong> – There is no other wrestler in the world that\ncould even come close to being “Wrestler of the Year” in terms of\nmatch quality and resume to Will Ospreay. I’m not even the biggest fan of his\nbut you cannot deny what he has done this year and how much he has elevated his\ncareer for the good with all the hard work he has put in day in and day out in\nevery match. It all began at the beginning of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 13, in\na deadly bout for the NEVER Openweight Championship defeating Kota Ibushi in\nwhat was a hellacious action-packed, fast-paced match from start to finish. He\nwould go on to have two successful defenses with the belt before losing it to a\nDouble Title match against Jeff Cobb at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square\nGarden. Afterwards Ospreay would join pretty much all the tournaments New Japan\nhas to offer and do well in every single one of them, as a junior heavyweight\nto be exact! In the New Japan Cup he became a “giant slayer” by\ndefeating both Bad Luck Fale and Lance Archer in the first two rounds before\nlosing in a classic quarter finals match against CHAOS stable bretheren\nKazuchika Okada. Then he would enter his fourth Best of the Super Juniors\ntournament, pretty much have all great matches against his entire block competition,\nmost memorable are the ones against Rocky Romero, El Phantasmo, and Robbie\nEagles at least for me. He would reach the finals and ended up being the first\nman to beat Shingo Takagi in a New Japan ring, ending The Dragon’s undefeated\nstreak since his debut in NJPW. Ospreay would beat another dragon in the form\nof Dragon Lee in what was a crazy death-defying, highflying match at Dominion\nand become a 3x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. With the BOSJ over it seems like\nthat is it for Ospreay but he would continue to make history, entering the G1\nClimax as the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. It’s not a first time though as\nTatsuhito Takaiwa, the reigning IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion in 2000 entered\nthe G1 but it is a rare ocassion for junior heavyweights to enter the premier\ntournament for heavyweights. He didn’t slow down as he would go on to have one\nof the best G1 runs ever, especially for someone who is entering for the first\ntime and is suffering with injuries. His biggest victory was winning over The\nAce, Hiroshi Tanahashi in an emotional bout between the two. Ospreay entered\nthe revived Super J Cup reached the Semi Finals before losing to El Phantasmo\nand also participated in the Super Junior Tag League with Robbie Eagles. There\nhas been so much already that I haven’t even mentioned that he has successfully\ndefended the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship throughout all this three times,\nwith BUSHI being the latest at Power Struggle. Will Ospreay has pretty much\nreigned over the entire junior heavyweight division. He has beat every single\nchallenger possible. There’s no one left to fight anymore. Or so does it\nseems…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiromu\nTakahashi<\/strong> –  On July 7,\n2018 Hiromu Takahashi defeated Dragon Lee for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight\nChampionship that he won at Dominion from Will Ospreay. However during the\nmatch, Hiromu suffered a neck injury and would be force to vacate the belt\nafterwards. At the time nobody knew the extent of how long he’d be gone but as\ntime passes by it would be evident that it will take a while. Hiromu was\nsidelined for a year, with barely any updates other than the odd social media\npost here and there. Some even speculated his career is over, after all neck\ninjuries are no joke, we have seen countless wrestlers retire prematurely due\nto these cases. Every tournament we would wait if Hiromu is finally coming\nback, he has been one of the most beloved members of the New Japan roster ever\nsince making his return from excursion in 2016 becoming a part of Los\nIngobernables de Japon. 2018 was seemingly the year for him, he won his second\nIWGP Jr. Heavyweight title and the BOSJ for the first time in his career but it\nall ended abruptly due to the aforementioned injury. But all hope was never\nlost, the Ticking Time Bomb finally made his anticipated comeback at Power\nStruggle. After Ospreay beats BUSHI, Hiromu appeared for the first time since\nhis injury and has recovered fully. His energetic personality loomed over the\nentire arena and everyone was surprised yet also full of joy in seeing the\nformer champion make his way to the ring and eventually challenge Will Ospreay\nat the Tokyo Dome! After all, Hiromu never lost the belt, he just vacated it,\nnow he has a chance to take back Belt-san and continue on his supposed long\nreign as champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nHiromu Takahashi Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is another case similar to GoD, Ospreay has pretty much beat everyone there is to beat as champion in his division, with Hiromu returning, I think he’d take the belt back and Ospreay would probably move up to the heavyweights officially sooner rather than later. These two are very much familiar with one another. They are rivals but also share a common respect with one another, this is probably the match I’m most looking forward to in the whole card, which is saying something because this year’s Wrestle Kingdom is packed with a whole lot of exciting matches!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Semi Main Event – IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clash of styles, two men who have different\noutlooks in professional wrestling. One is a devious leader who is willing to\ndo anything, no matter how clean or dirty it is, just to get to the top while\nthe other cannot be governed, does not abide by the traditional rules, but it\nhas garnered the respect of the fans because he still showcases heart and\nhardwork despite the seemingly nonchalant attitude. But they both have\nsomething in common, a similar goal. The path to become the number one in all\nof New Japan Pro Wrestling. It’s the battle between Jay White and Tetsuya\nNaito, for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay\nWhite<\/strong> – Since 2013 Bullet Club has taken not only NJPW,\nbut the entire world by storm! Never has a faction become so impactful in the\ngrand scheme of things since the nWo. The stable itself has seen different\nforms of leadership throughout its existence, started with Prince Devitt who\nlaid the foundation as to what the group was all about, a collection of\nunwanted “outsiders” bonding to terrorize the rest of the roster.\nMoving on to AJ Styles wherein BC truly reached their peak in terms of massive\ngain in popularity and success, when at one point majority of the members held\nall the belts. Then to the Kenny Omega and Elite era, having a strong presence\nin the media day by day, making multiple headlines, and controversies within the\ngroup itself being divided as to differing in beliefs. Finally, to the present\ntime, the Cut Throat Era, “Switchblade” Jay White since 2018 has\nbetrayed CHAOS and became the new leader of Bullet Club. With the guidance of\nGedo who also left CHAOS and turned on his long time partner and mentoree\nKazuchika Okada, he found his new star in Jay White. Since his return from\nexcursion, he challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP\nIntercontinental Championship but failed. It wouldn’t be long though before Jay\nfinds his purpose and takes on a path rightful for him in reaching the top one\nday. Since then though, his connection to the belt was already planted. Fast\nforward on February 2019, after beating Okada at Tokyo Dome, New Beginning in Osaka,\nhe also defeated another fan favorite, this time getting his revenge on\nTanahashi, upsetting and getting the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the\nfirst time in his career. It was only a short reign though as 54 days in, Jay\nheadlined MSG for G1 Supercard when The Rainmaker finally got his payback and\nwin, losing the title in the main event. This year’s G1, Jay started off with a\nthree match losing streak to his former stable mates in CHAOS but would\neventually bounce back. He reached the finals, once again beating another fan\nfavorite in Tetsuya Naito at the semis, but got defeated by Kota Ibushi. At New\nDestruction in Kobe however, Jay got his title shot against Naito for the\nIntercontinental Championship and defeated him once more, finally getting the\nbelt he challenged for way back when he returned. Now he is looking to take\nthings further, by pulling off another win over Naito, and headline the\nfollowing night and make history. Much to the ire of many fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tetsuya\nNaito<\/strong> – From becoming a hated bland babyface, to being\nthe most popular member of the roster, the past decade for Tetsuya Naito’s\ncareer has been an interesting journey. Ever since “re-discovering”\nhimself due to finding Los Ingobernables in CMLL, Naito’s trajectory at\nbecoming a top star changed for the better. Gone are the days of him seemingly\nbeing forced in the role of ace, he has taken more of an “anti hero”\nrole which the fans would gradually turn to support. As Los Ingobernables de\nJapon started to grow, so is Naito’s popularity. He would become the number one\nmerchandise seller in the company, on April 2016 with the help of his LIJ\nbretheren, he finally captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first\ntime, beating Okada and successfully defending it to Tomohiro Ishii at Dontaku.\nHowever just 70 days in, he’d drop the belt right back to The Rainmaker wherein\nOkada would go on to have his historic 720 day reign as champion, the longest\nsingle run in NJPW ever. Naito’s time as champion was merely seen as a\ntransitional one, he is yet to have a “proper reign” so to speak.\nHowever another belt that is pretty much intertwined with his career is the\nIWGP Intercontinental Championship. Around the same time, Naito became the IC\nChamp beating Michael Elgin. However, he would treat the belt like trash, often\nthrowing it around, damaging the belt, and just being plain old disrespectful\ntowards it. Why? Well the IC Title was always seen as the “second\nprize” Naito always desired to be on the shuyaku<\/em> aka top star. Being seen with the IC Title is like being\nthe man behind THE man. He treated the belt so badly that by the time Hiroshi\nTanahashi ended his 259 day run with the belt at Dominion, they made a new one\nbecause the one Naito held was so damaged beyond good repair. This wouldn’t be\nthe last time Naito would become IC Champion though, he would have three more\nreigns afterwards mainly feuding with the likes of Minoru Suzuki, Chris\nJericho, and Kota Ibushi. Now though he sets his sights towards the\nSwitchblade. At Wrestle Kingdom 12, Naito was unable to capture the IWGP\nHeavyweight Championship after such a flawless year, at 13 he did have a\n“dream match” against Chris Jericho, but since then it seems like he\nbecame directionless. He was one of the leading favorites in winning the G1\nthis year but Jay White put a stinker on those thoughts, eliminating him in the\nsemis. This could very well be Naito’s last chance at becoming the shuyaku<\/em> he desires since training at\nAnimal Hamaguchi’s dojo. He has built up LIJ and his own career towards this\ngoal, he doesn’t have a lot of chances left, being relegated to a “what\ncould have been scenario?” isn’t so fitting for someone like him. The\nentire fan base is rooting for someone they once despised. El Ingobernable has\nthe chance to dethrone the Cut Throat Era away from its place once and for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nTetsuya Naito Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m holding out hope. Please. Just let him win this one. I’m begging all the wrestling Gods to bless Naito on the upcoming event. As I’ve said, this could very well be his last chance, if he fails, there may never be another one again and he could turn into someone like Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii. Great workers but could never quite get to the top. What makes Naito different from them though is he has tasted the gold already, he just wasn’t able to savor it enough. But if there is any time to do it, it is now. To hell if I’m bias, I’m rooting for Tetsuya Naito all the way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Main Event – IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two men whose careers began so different from one\nanother. Okada has been a pet project of New Japan since his early young lion\ndays. He was groomed to be the next big thing in Puroresu, the face of the\nentire sport. While Ibushi is a self-trained wrestler, mainly a freelance for\nthe majority of his early run. Doing oddball spots in promotions like DDT while\nmaintaining his integrity as one of the best workers in the country. But no\nmatter how different the paths they took, it all led them to this. Main\neventing the Tokyo Dome in front of a sellout crowd, for the prestigious IWGP\nHeavyweight Championship. Let’s take a closer look as to how they got here in\nthe first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kazuchika\nOkada<\/strong> – As I’ve mentioned right from the get-go of his\nyoung lion years, Okada was already seen as a top prospect, a blue chipper with\ntons of potential. Ever since his return from excursion in 2012, Okada was\npoised to the very top feuding with the ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Initially, it\nfelt like he was being put on the position way too early. But as time went by,\nThe Rainmaker has proven that he is worthy of being the next top star and that\nhe became. What’s interesting about Okada is that besides his other\naccomplishments such as being a 2x G1 Climax and NJC Winner as well as a\nplethora of awards in the Tokyo Sports magazine, he has only held one\nchampionship belt his entire 16 year career so far and that is the IWGP\nHeavyweight Championship. Okada is pretty much synonymous with the belt at this\npoint and vice versa, the two compliment each other so much because they have\nalways been intertwined. He held the belt on five different ocassions, his\nlongest was at 720 days in his fourth reign, beating Shinya Hashimoto’s record\nas the longest reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion. All in all Okada holds the\nrecord for total combined days as champion at 1,767 days, a record that will\nlikely never be touched, at least for a very long time. His rivalry with\nHiroshi Tanahashi is what really got the ball rolling for him, taking him from\na star to superstar level due to their classic matches. Then his feud with\nKenny Omega really took the world by storm and made him one of the most well\nknown workers in a global scale. However before winning his 5th title, when\nOkada’s 720 day run came to a close at Dominion last year, he changed. He lost\nthe only thing that mattered to him, his prized possession is no longer by his\nside. Okada went crazy, a new attitude altogether. He dyed his hair red,\ncarried balloons around, he just wasn’t himself. Even when he tried to be,\nreturning as the Rainmaker at Wrestle Kingdom 13, complete with the classic\nattire, he still lost to Jay White. But everything changed at this year’s New\nJapan Cup. The Rainmaker we all remembered got back on his feet and momentum\nfound its way back at him, he would go on to defeat Michael Elgin, Mikey\nNicholls, Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii, and finally SANADA in the finals. Okada\nwould go on to main event Madison Square Garden at G1 Supercard to take back\nthe IWGP Heavyweight Championship, beating Jay White, and has reigned long\nsince once again currently at 251 days. He has already defended the belt\nsuccessfully four times, twice to SANADA, then to veterans Minoru Suzuki and\nChris Jericho. Now an old foe faces him in his fifth Tokyo Dome main event and\nwill defend the title that means so much to himself and to his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kota\nIbushi<\/strong> – For the longest time the perception towards Kota\nIbushi is that he has the potential to become the biggest star at the biggest\nstage, but he preferred to do things his way and be a freelancer for the\nmajority of his career. The man is blessed with athletic talents, he would\nbecome one of the best workers in all of Japan and later on in the world as his\nname gets more recognized. If Kenny Omega has connection to Okada, I don’t\nthink it can be compared how much connected he is to the career and life of\nIbushi. Those two men will always be related to one another no matter how near\nor far they get in the paths they take in their professional lives. But now,\nOmega is gone from New Japan. Ibushi is all alone. Despite this, he is already\nan accomplished wrestler on his own right, before finally getting this\nopportunity, he has won a plethora of titles for NJPW before such as being a 3x\nIWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, 1x IWGP Jr. Tag-Team Champion with Kenny, also\nheld the NEVER Openweight and IC Titles once while also winning the BOSJ in\n2011 and NJC in 2015. With such a stacked a resume, it was always a wonder why\nIbushi was never seen as a top guy. Well he put himself in that position, by\nnever fully committing to New Japan and still wrestling primarily for DDT as\nwell as other promotions. The Golden Lovers would reunite during the Bullet\nClub split saga in what was the most emotional moment in New Japan this entire\ndecade and there have been plenty, its just that nothing beats the years of\nbuildup towards that very moment. Although everything changed when they split\nup once again. Ibushi is back being on his own but this time he has signed a\nlong term deal with NJPW, solidifying his position in the company. Little by\nlittle he would be rewarded, he had a hellacious feud with Tetsuya Naito for\nthe IC Title where both men seemingly attempted to kill one another with their\nintense matches, then we proceed to the G1 Climax. Last year he reached the\nfinals but did not quite have the complete tools yet to beat Hiroshi Tanahashi.\nHowever this time around, Ibushi flourished and defeated one of his idols\nbesides Shinsuke Nakamura. For the first time, five G1’s later, and he has\nfinally done it, beating Jay White in the finals! Their battle was interesting\ntoo, Jay was surrounded and backed up by the entire Bullet Club while Ibushi\nwas all by himself, with no one to truly protect him. Yet he beat all the odds\nstacked against him and was finally one step away from reaching something he\nhas never achieved, main eventing the Tokyo Dome. Him and Okada have only faced\none-on-one twice their entire careers, one encounter was at this year’s G1 in\nthe semis. Now for the third time, it will be the biggest match of their\ncareers yet, headlining the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 at a sold out\ncrowd. From wrestling inside trains and subways, to becoming one of the top\ndraws at the Dome, Kota Ibushi has had one hell of a career and him finally\nwinning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship would truly be the icing on the cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nKazuchika Okada<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of all the matches so far, this one is really the most difficult to predict for me. Honestly it could really go either way and the story for both men would still work. Okada’s 5th reign while lengthy seems like it hasn’t fully reached its true potential yet. Meanwhile for Ibushi, him finally getting that Tokyo Dome moment would be huge for his career. But the momentum is really strong on both sides, Okada and Ibushi had a great year, it’s been nothing but solid for them, it’s really not an easy pick but I ended up going with Okada. Initially I had Ibushi, in fact as I was originally typing this I had Ibushi as my pick but decided to change on the last minute. I remembered one golden rule (heh, pun sort of intended) is that the ace rarely loses at the Dome. As much as I want to witness Ibushi to finally win it, I think they’re going to have it at another time. For everything to go full circle and we get Okada vs. Naito III at the Dome the following night, couldn’t get much more sweeter. But that’s not a guarantee and tha’s the beauty of New Japan booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Day 2 (January 5)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Match #1 – Tag-Team Match: Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Naoki Sano vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After three decades of a storied and decorated\ncareer, Jushin “Thunder” Liger will have his final match ever in the\nTokyo Dome to tag along with one of his greatest rivals ever Naoki Sano. They’d\ngo up against the future of the junior heavyweights division, Hiromu Takahashi\nand Ryu Lee formerly known as Dragon Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jushin\n“Thunder” Liger<\/strong> – The greatest junior heavyweight\nof all time. But not only that, one of the greatest professional wrestlers to\never live. There have been many that are called “legends” and\n“icons” but both can truly be fitting for a man like Liger. The anime\ninspired character Keiichi Yamada took on and made it even bigger than its\noriginal source. Unlike Tiger Mask where it can be argued that the anime\/manga\nis still more popular than the wrestler, I think we can all agree Liger the\nwrestler triumphs over his anime counterpart and for a good reason. Liger’s\nwrestling career dates all the way back in 1984 where he lost to a high school\nnational championship match against Toshiaki Kawada, who would go on to become\na legend of his own later on. Initially he was rejected in the New Japan dojo\ndue to his height but it never stopped him from pursuing wrestling, he went on\nto hone his craft in Mexico at his own cost and finally got the invitation. In\nhis dojo class he trained alongside Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono, and Shinya\nHashimoto, all of whom would become future IWGP Heavyweight Champions. Four of\nthe biggest stars in New Japan history, I think that is still the best class\nthey ever had. In 1987 he finally debuted the Liger character and everything\nwas uphill towards from there. A record 11x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, had\na lot of memorable battles with different opponents through the years across\nthe world. He has pretty much wrestled everywhere, even remember that one time\nwhere he fought Tyler Breeze in NXT? Name any notable wrestler over the past 30\nyears and chances are Liger had a match or interaction with them one way or\nanother. What’s even more great about him is that he is one of those wrestlers\nthat isn’t just stuck with their gimmick, he has evolved through time and made\na lot of changes to his gimmick while still maintaining its originality and\nwhat made it successful to begin with, the core is still in tact to this day.\nLiger is also one of those veterans who never shies away from respecting the future\ntalents, he can be just as silly as he is serious and does not put down any\nwrestler. It is rare in an industry filled with controversy to have such a\nuniversally respected figure, but Liger is definitely that. Calling it a\n“good run” is an understatement for his colorful career. The man is\nmore than just championships or memorable matches, he is a larger than life\nicon who transcended professional wrestling as an entertainment art form. There\nwas no one like him before and never will be another one like him ever again.\nThere can only be one Keiichi Yamada, the sole bearer of the mask of Jushin\n“Thunder” Liger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naoki\nSano<\/strong>\n– One of the men that will always be synonymous with Liger’s career is Naoki\nSano or some of you might know him better as his more latest ring name\n“Takuma Sano” especially in his time with NOAH in the 2000’s. Sano is\nalso a graduate of the New Japan Dojo, around the late 80’s to early 90’s him\nand Liger would have highly acclaimed matches in the junior heavyweight\ndivision and they would go on to battle it out as well for the IWGP Jr.\nHeavyweight Championship, adding prestige to the relatively new belt at the\ntime. Sano’s matches against Liger in their primes helped in shaping what the\ndivision would become and showing off that they can be good or even better than\nthe heavyweights. They have crossed paths a few times years later, most notably\nreuniting at the All Together charity event in 2012 where they teamed up in a\nsix man tag with Masaktsu Funaki to take on Minoru Suzuki, a young Taichi, and\nnow the late Atsushi Aoki (RIP.) Sano wasn’t a “traditional” wrestler\nper se, he had that martial arts influence in him similar to a Suzuki or\nFujiwara. He would also be a part of UWFI later on and feuded with New Japan.\nWhen talking about the best wrestlers back then Sano often gets overlooked,\nlikely because he never truly became the ace for his division, but in his prime\nhe is an excellent worker and later on was able to transition his style with\nage and still be a serviceable grappler. To this day he is still active within\nthe indies, he has slowed down but the signature spinning kicks are still as\ncrisp as ever and never gets old whenever he hits them. I think it’s a nice way\nto circle everything around by having him involved in Liger’s final match ever\nby being arguably the best rival of his career, at least early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiromu\nTakahashi<\/strong> – One of the men representing the opposition and\nwill have the honor of being in Liger’s final match ever is the “Ticking\nTime Bomb” Hiromu Takahashi. Look I get it, Ospreay is the reigning Jr.\nHeavyweight Champion right now and has been amazing but Hiromu will always be\nthe face of the division, even in his absence he is still one of the most\npopular wrestlers on the roster and now that he is back, there is no argument\non who best represents the division with how popular he is amongst the Japanese\nfans and even internationally. He basically is the junior counterpart of Naito,\nsure they may not be the champion or top guy, but will always remain as the\nmost popular to their audiences. Anyway I predicted Hiromu to win on the first\nnight so it would be cool to see him as the champion entering this match, it’s\nonly fitting for Liger to face the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion in his last\nmatch too, plus with Hiromu being the future of the division for many more\nyears to come, how can you just not book it the way it is? The story and their\ncareers just writes itself. I’ve already talked enough about Hiromu, it has\nalways been speculated that he will be involved one way or another in Liger’s\nretirement match and here we are, pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryu\nLee<\/strong>\n– The former Dragon Lee has now signed a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling.\nAt such a young age, Lee is already one of the most accomplished luchadors\ntoday. He is a 2x CMLL World Lightweight Champion, having the record longest\nreign ever with the belt at an astounding 1,197 days. Also a former CMLL\nWelterweight Champion and an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion earlier this year\nwhen he won it in the biggest match of his career at that point, winning at\nMadison Square Garden in a three way match against reigning champion Taiji\nIshimori and fellow luchador Bandido at the G1 Supercard. He’d successfully\ndefend the belt against Ishimori and entered his third Best of the Super\nJuniors tournament as the reigning champion. At Dominion however he’d lose the\nbelt to Ospreay in an amazing action-packed match. After wrestling in plethora\nof promotions in both the US and Mexico, he has decided to work full time for\nNJPW. Throughout his time there and even in CMLL, he will always be connected\nto one man; Hiromu Takahashi. In Hiromu’s excursion in Mexico, they created an\nintense rivlary against one another that went over to Japan eventually.\nWhenever these two share a ring, you are guaranteed of non-stop action from\nstart to finish. Always seemingly attempting to kill one another but through\nall the pain they delivered against each other, they still respect the\nopposition as part of competition. Dragon Lee was Hiromu’s opponent when he\nsuffered the unfortunate neck injury last year, now the two of them will\nfinally reunite although this time they’re on the same side going up against a\nduo of legends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nHiromu and Lee Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #2 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Roppongi 3K<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ishimori\n& Phantasmo<\/strong> – Ever since these two teamed up its\nbeen nothing but success for the Bullet Club. Long time NOAH wrestler, Taiji\nIshimori signed with New Japan when he became a free agent in 2018. He donned\non the mask of the Bone Soldier, what was once treated as a “joke\ngimmick” Ishimori quickly turned it around to become a menacing member of\nthe junior heavyweight roster. It wouldn’t take long before he made an impact\nto the division by reaching the finals of his first BOSJ but lost to Hiromu\nTakahashi. Earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 13 he defeated KUSHIDA to\nbecome IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and would reign over for 92 days\nsuccessfully defending the belt against veterans Ryusuke Taguchi and Jushin\n“Thunder” Liger before losing at Madison Square Garden in a three way\nto Dragon Lee and Bandido. That defense against Liger by the way would be the\nlegend’s last title match for the belt that defined his career, just a little\ninfo nugget for those who like ’em. Meanwhile one man who made his New Japan\ndebut this year at the BOSJ in particular, being hyped up by multiple vignettes\nas the newest Bullet Club recruit is El Phantasmo. Since making his way to\nRevPro, the Canadian wrestler would become one of the most notable parts of\ntheir roster and got noticed by New Japan. They certainly see him as a\npotential top star with his great acrobatic skills and high volume charisma,\none of the best heels working today in my opinion. Phantasmo would go on to\nhave a five match winning streak in the BOSJ before finally losing to Rocky\nRomero in an upset victory. After the tournament, the two BC members would\nbegin to tag frequently and in Kizuna Road 2019 they defeated Roppongi 3K to\nbecome IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions. Afterwards, Phantasmo would go on to\nsurprise everybody by winning the revived Super J Cup tournament in the US,\nupsetting Will Ospreay in the finals. Currently as of the writing of this post,\nPhantasmo will also be entering in his first Wrestle Kingdom as the reigning\nRevPro British Cruiserweight Champion winning the belt on May in a classic bout\nagainst David Starr, so far he has successfully defended the belt five times,\nthree of which are against NJPW wrestlers: Taguchi, Rocky, and SHO\nrespectively. In the Super Junior Tag League tournament, the BC duo entered as\nchampions but RP3K would end up winning once again, getting their re-match at\nthe Dome scheduled for the second night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roppongi\n3K<\/strong>\n– When Rocky and Trent’s “Roppongi Vice” tag-team came to an end,\nRocky started to scout and recruit new proteges of his to join CHAOS. Soon\nenough he’ll find the former Tempura Boys: Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, they’d\nlater on be simply known as SHO and YOH as Roppongi 3K. As soon as they\nreturned in 2017, Roppongi 3K defeated the team of Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet\nfor the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships, they would go on to win\nthe belts two more times later on and even defend and fight for them at Wrestle\nKingdom. At the 47th Anniversary Show, RP3K defeated the team of BUSHI and\nShingo Takagi to win back the belts they lost at Wrestle Kingdom, they won the\nre-match at the Road to Dontaku show and would lose the belts to their\nopponents at Kizuna Road. Both members of RP3K shined individually in this\nyear’s BOSJ, particularly SHO who really put on some of the best performances\nof his career, solidifying that he can be a top star in the division one day\nespecially in his first match up against Shingo Takagi. He really went all out\nand tried to get an upset win over the debuting Shingo, the result may have\nbeen a lost but he did gain the support of many fans afterwards. YOH wasn’t bad\nhimself, had his fair share of good matches as well but SHO just took it to\nanother level. They would then enter the Super Junior Tag League having won the\npast two already, well shades of the LA Lakers, they pulled off a three-peat\nwinning the tournament once again and making history by being the only team to\ndo so.  Now they have the rights to\nchallenge for the belts again and possibly win them for the fourth time in\ntheir tag-team run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nIshimori and Phantasmo Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Match #3 – RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. SANADA<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zack\nSabre Jr.<\/strong> – I think it’s safe to say at this point the RevPro\nUndisputed British Heavyweight Championship has replaced the ROH World\nChampionship as the new outside partner promotion belt being defended in\nWrestle Kingdom. It’s been a while anyway since the ROH Title has been on the\nline in the Dome but now the deal is pretty much sealed. The man who has become\nheavily synonymous with the RevPro belt is the technical wizard that is Zack\nSabre Jr. He is one of those wrestlers who you may not be aware but is pretty\nmuch a veteran at this point in his career, making his debut in 2004 and has\nwrestled all over the world in different promotions. In 2017 ZSJ made his debut\nin NJPW, back then I actually found his placement as a member of Suzuki-Gun\nreally odd. You got these thugs and bad looking men joined up together, then\nthere’s ZSJ the scrawny dude who looked out of place. But he would wind up\nbecoming one of the integral parts of the stable today and is even looking like\nthe replacement to Minoru Suzuki one day as the leader which says a lot how\nmuch his career has progress through the years. ZSJ was always appreciated as a\ntechnical genius with his old school “escape-ology” style very\nreminiscent of the World of Sport days with legends like Johnny Saint. But he\nalso mixed it with modern style of the British wrestling which garnered him a\nlot of support, in his time with New Japan what really developed was his\npersonality, after all being surrounded by goons like Taichi and Archer and\nyou’ll adapt their craziness one way or another, but Zack really shines the\nmost in his post-match promos, always entertaining when need be. Back to the\nmatter at hand though, the biggest match of his career yet was challenging\nOkada at Sakura Genesis for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after winning the\nNew Japan Cup. He was unsuccessful but it did solidify ZSJ’s placement on the\nroster as a worthy top challenger.  He\nhas held the RevPro title along the way four times since 2016 and defended the\nbelt on multiple occasions in NJPW, in his latest run he defeated Hiroshi\nTanahashi at Destruction in Beppu after only 15 days. This will be the second\ntime the belt will be defended in the Tokyo Dome, as earlier this year ZSJ\ndefeated Tomohiro Ishii to capture his 3rd reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANADA<\/strong>\n– It’s been an interesting 2019 for the Cold Skull to say the least. The past\nthree years SANADA has always been a solid wrestler but never quite reach the\npotential of him being the top star, however this time around he has really\nshown flashes of having that possible ace within him. In the New Japan Cup he\nwas able to reach the finals but loss to Kazuchika Okada. They’d face three more\ntimes later on in the year, two of which were for the IWGP Heavyweight\nChampionship and the other was SANADA finally getting his first victory over\nOkada in the G1. However during the G1 he has also started to brew up a rivalry\nagainst Zack Sabre Jr. While SANADA is mainly an all-around wrestler, being\nable to mesh and blend with any style of wrestling, he does have a mastery of\nthe technical ways of wrestling as well so matches against an opponent like ZSJ\nwould always result into instant classics. Their personalities would also often\nclash with one another, ZSJ being the rowdy pesky Brit while SANADA is more tranquilo <\/em>than his leader could ever be,\nbarely showing any emotion if at all. In their first match in the G1 this year,\nSANADA scored a surprise pin to win over the RevPro Champion. SANADA himself\nhas mentioned he is barely interested in the belt but is interested in facing\noff with Zack again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nZack Sabre Jr. Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Match #4 – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship : Lance Archer\/Jon Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This one is interesting. The winner of the Archer\nvs. Moxley Texas Death Match for the IWGP US Championship will defend his belt\nthe following night against former champion, Juice Robinson. He is still owed a\nproper re-match, in the G1 Juice defeated Moxley and earned him a future title\nshot which would have been at King of Pro Wrestling but Mox was unable to\nattend due to flight issues so New Japan vacated the belt and instead we got\nJuice vs. Archer which the latter won and is now the reigning IWGP US\nHeavyweight Champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juice had a decent start at the beginning of the\nyear, beating Cody for the US Title at Wrestle Kingdom. Successfully defended\nit over some challengers but would get stopped on his tracks by a familiar face\nin Jon Moxley. Their history dates all the way back in their FCW days, WWE’s\ndevelopmental promotion at the time, they reunited in the ring at the BOSJ\nFinals where Mox made his NJPW debut and defeated Juice for the belt. Ever\nsince then Juice always had his sights focus on Mox and beat him once and for\nall in their rubber match. That was delayed and he’d lose some more momentum at\nthe hands of Lance Archer who ended up winning the vacant belt. It was supposed\nto be Juice’s re-coronation as US Champion, he could’ve finally defeated Moxley\nbut he has the chance to do it at a much bigger stage. He is finally granted of\nhis re-match and whoever wins between Archer and Mox, Juice will surely bring\nhis A-Game this time around and try to bring home some more gold, if he also enters\nthis match as 1\/2 of the tag-team champions with David Finlay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nJuice Robinson Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Match #5 – NEVER Openweight Championship: KENTA (c) vs. Hirooki Goto<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KENTA\n<\/strong>–\nA man who I never thought I’d see in a New Japan ring ever is KENTA. The man\nwas always just on the opposite corner and seemingly would never get on the\nbandwagon at any point in his career but here we are. Started off early in AJPW\nbut would make a name for himself in NOAH becoming their premier star in the\njunior heavyweight division before transitioning into a heavyweight. Then he’d\ngo on to the WWE, had a disappointing run with injuries mostly to blame, and\nthen he returned to his home country but not to his home promotion and shocked\nthe entire wrestling world by debuting at Dominion alongside his former\ntag-team partner and good friend: Katsuyori Shibata. The man formerly known as\nHideo Itami in the WWE, is now back as KENTA in New Japan and announced his\nparticipation in the G1 Climax. KENTA had a polarizing tournament, some liked\nhim, but others weren’t so complimentary. I personally thought he did well,\nremember this isn’t the KENTA of old, it’s been ten years since he was pulling\noff crazy spots against the likes of Marufuji in NOAH, he now wrestles a more\nmethodical style, aging is a thing and having suffered injury setbacks in his\ntime with the WWE does not help. Doesn’t mean he is bad of course he is still\ngood, better than a lot of the members of the roster, just obviously far from\nhis younger days which is to be expected. Even with his best efforts, the NJPW\nfans were always reluctant on KENTA, due to his past affiliations with NOAH, he\nwould always have that “outsider” feel towards him. So he got sick of\nit. In the G1 finals in a scheduled six man tag teaming up with the CHAOS duo\nof Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI, he betrayed them to join on the other side with the\nBullet Club. Afterwards Shibata stormed in the ring to interrogate his friend\nand by interrogate I mean beat the piss out of him, The Wrestler looked be in\ngreat shape, even pulling off corner dropkicks on KENTA but the numbers game\nwere too overwhelming and BC humiliated the retired athlete. He would win his\nfirst title in NJPW at the Royal Quest UK event by beating Tomohiro Ishii for\nthe NEVER Openweight Championship with some help from GoD. He successfully\ndefended it from YOSHI-HASHI at the FSU tour and finally beat Ishii clean at\nPower Struggle. Now for KENTA’s next challenge, he is up against someone who is\nalso very familiar with Shibata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hirooki\nGoto<\/strong>\n– I think we’re at a point where we just fully accept Hirooki Goto’s spot in\nthe New Japan roster. His glory days of potentially reaching the top and\nbecoming IWGP Heavyweight Champion are past him but that doesn’t mean he’s bad,\nGoto is still one of the most excellent performers they got and you’re always\nguaranteed to have a good match out of him against any opponent. However this\ntime around, things are more personal than ever. With KENTA disrespecting\nShibata, Goto would fight in the place of his best friend. Goto and Shibata’s\nconnection go all the way back in their high school years, however Shibata\nwould be the one to become a pro wrestler first making his debut in 1999 while\nGoto would follow a couple years later in 2003. As Shibata made his return to\nNew Japan full time in 2014, Goto was there to reunite with his old pal. They\nwere both rivals and partners, at one point feuding for the NEVER Openweight\nChampionship which really cemented the belt’s purpose for hard hitting stiff\nwrestlers. In 2015 they won the World Tag League and ended up beating Doc\nGallows & Karl Anderson at Wrestle Kingdom 9 for the IWGP Tag-Team\nChampionships. Around 2017 however Shibata was starting to get a big push for\nhis solo career, winning the New Japan Cup and fought Kazuchika Okada for the\nIWGP Heavyweight Championship however it would become the last match of his\ncareer after suffering concussions and injuries that set him back. Since then\nGoto has dedicated a lot of his matches to his friend, he entered this year’s\nG1 fully prepared with Shibata’s training in the LA Dojo and even tagged with\none of Shibata’s students in Karl Fredericks at this year’s WTL. Goto is very\nclose to Shibata, the two are like brothers, for someone like KENTA to\ndisrespect his friend physically and the legacy he has built, a line was\ndefinitely crossed and all things will be settled at Wrestle Kingdom 14 when\nGoto pinned KENTA at their WTL match earning a shot for the NEVER Openweight\nChampionship, a title he has held four times now. It will be a barn burner if\nI’ve ever seen one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nHirooki Goto Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Match #6 – Singles Match: Loser of Okada\/Ibushi vs. Loser of White\/Naito<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interesting scenario, someone is going to leave\ntwo nights of Wrestle Kingdom as a 2x loser. I mean damn, none of them are\ndeserving to that distinction but someone’s gotta take it. In my predictions it\nwould be Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White, a re-match of G1 Climax 29 Finals. We’ve\nalready seen what they are capable of and it is great so I wouldn’t mind seeing\nthose two go at it again with Ibushi winning over Jay despite not having the\nIWGP Heavyweight title. The antagonist will finally pay for his sins so he\ncould end up being the one taking two L’s in two nights. It would be the best\ncase scenario from a narrative stand point but I also get that they’re building\nup Jay as a young top gaijin heel so I’m not 100% confident on that case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We could end up seeing Okada vs. Naito as well which\njust seems bizarre that they’d end up in a scenario like this and have Ibushi\nvs. Jay as the main event but who the hell knows at this point. Okada vs. White\nwhich means The Rainmaker has the chance to take back the loss he suffered at\nlast year’s WK to Jay, then you got Naito vs. Ibushi, they could kill each\nother again too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Semi Main Event – Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiroshi\nTanahashi<\/strong> – If I’m not mistaken, Tanahashi is the only\nwrestler to compete in all the past Wrestle Kingdoms and he has main evented 9\nout of the 13. He is also the only wrestler in New Japan history to main event\nWK for six consecutive times. Truly a personification of the term\n“Ace” Tanahashi has proven he is a once in a century talent by also\nbeing a record 8x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and arguably the greatest wrestler\nin company history, possibly of all time as well. His journey to how he got\ninto the status he is in now is an interesting one as well. Tana made his debut\nall the way back in 1999 being a product of the New Japan dojo, he was on the\nsame class with Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata and they were dubbed as\nthe “New 3 Musketeers” with the originals being Mutoh, Chono, and\nHashimoto in the 90’s, three men who led NJPW to new heights, Tana, Nakamura,\nand Shibata were seen to have the same potential. It all worked out in the end\nbut they went through some tough times before getting there, Tanahashi\nespecially. It was in the Inokism years where Tanahashi and Nakamura were being\novershadowed by MMA stars rather than traditional pro wrestlers, guys like\nNagata and Tenzan were relegated to being after thoughts despite having the\nsupport of the fans, Tana and Nakamura were still developing, while Shibata\nleft altogether and became a freelancer. However in 2002, Tana would gain the\nsupport of many fans by suffering a stabbing incident at the hands of a former\npartner. Because of this the crowd found someone to rally behind to and show\ntheir love towards the underdog, Tanahashi was at the right place at the right\ntime and his rise to superstardom began. He won the IWGP Heavyweight\nChampionship for the first time in 2006 beating Giant Bernard for the vacant belt\nin a tournament final which signaled the new era for New Japan. Slowly, the\ndays of Inoki’s influence over the company was fading, Tanahashi would lead the\nway towards a much brighter and better future with him being the de facto Ace\nwhich he would gladly take on the role for the following years. At a time where\nthe company was on the brink of disappearing, Tanahashi persevered and stayed\nloyal, by passing through the hard times, he was able to see the company\nflourish to where it’s at now. His rivalry against Kazuchika Okada in\nparticular would be the turning point of NJPW growing on a much more global\nscale with their great matches garnering the attention of outside fans from all\nover the world. To this day even though he isn’t as springy as he once was,\nTana never fails to deliver on matches not only from a technical level but even\nbetter from a storyline and emotional point of view. He will forever have the\nsupport of the fans for all the sacrifices he made for the company. Pretty much\nhas faced every wrestler imaginable that has entered New Japan one way or\nanother but he has not shared a ring yet with another living legend, someone\nwho already left a mark in New Japan recently and returning for this dream\nmatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris\nJericho<\/strong> – Another widely respected veteran of the business\nis Chris Jericho. Dating all the way back in 1990 with the start of his career,\nY2J has pretty much seen it all since his debut. He has wrestled in every major\nAmerican wrestling promotion you can think of; Smokey Mountain, ECW, WCW,\nWWF\/WWE, and now in AEW. He also has his fair share of history in both Mexico\nand Japan, achieving a lot of accolades in the process. In a three decade\ncareer, Jericho has amassed a wide array of opponents from legendary names to\niconic superstars, past or present. Right now he is the reigning and inaugural\nAEW World Champion, leading the way for the fresh new company. Just two years\nago though Jericho made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling after leaving the\nWWE which at the time really took the entire wrestling world by storm and much\nto the surprise of everyone! The 7x World Champion had his first rival on the\npromotion in Kenny Omega in what was the semi main event for Wrestle Kingdom 12\nfor the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. Kenny won the match but Y2J gave it\nhis all in what turned out to be one of the greatest matches in both men’s careers.\nThe following year Y2J returned this time to take on Tetsuya Naito and feuded\nfor the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. \nAt last year’s Dominion, Jericho defeated Naito for the IC Title making\nhim the only wrestler to hold both the WWE and NJPW’s versions of their\nintercontinental belts. His reign was controversial though, missing the G1\nwhile the reigning champion, only defended it successfully once over EVIL at\nPower Struggle before losing it right back to Naito at WK 13. It wouldn’t be\nthe last time Jericho would work with New Japan this year as he returned once\nagain for Dominion and challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight\nChampionship but was unsuccessful in his pursuit. Now he only has one\nchallenger left out of the former “Big 4” of New Japan and it’s none\nother than The Ace which he called out at Power Struggle. Tanahashi and Jericho\nare two of the biggest names in wrestling who became successful in their own\ndifferent ways. It is a dream match nobody expected to see but definitely a\nwelcomed one. Two of the most decorated wrestlers of the past half century will\ncollide for the first time inside the Tokyo Dome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prediction:\nHiroshi Tanahashi Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Main Event – IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinetal Champion: Double Championship Match<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we are, the biggest match quite possibly in New\nJapan Pro Wrestling. History in the making, someone is walking away out of the\nTokyo Dome as the first ever wrestler to hold both the prestigious IWGP\nHeavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship at the same\ntime, likely the only time both titles will be on the line. Will it be The\nRainmaker who has carried the torch for New Japan over the past five years?\nWill it be The Golden Star who carved his own path to get to where he is at\nnow? Will it be El Ingobernable who had a career resurgence and turnaround,\ngoing from a despised hero to a beloved anti-hero? Or will be The Switchblade,\nquite possibly the most hated wrestler in the entire world today? Any four of\nthese men will have their careers made forever. Everything that has happened\nover the past 10 years has led to this moment, this very match. Someone’s\nlegacy will be immortalized in the history of not only NJPW, but professional\nwrestling as a whole. It’s more than just ground breaking, it is career\ndefining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going by my predictions this match would be between\nKazuchika Okada as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. Tetsuya Naito as the IWGP\nIntercontinental Champion. It all comes full circle, two men who hold two belts\nthat are synonymous with their respective careers. The rivalry that started way\nback in their days as Young Lions. The journey they’ve had is traced towards\nthis match. The story just speaks for itself and I couldn’t think of a better\nway to start off the new decade with a high profile bout of that caliber.\nObviously the LIJ fan in me wants Naito to win it all, finally become the shuyaku <\/em>by holding both belts that mean\nso much to him, but The Rainmaker is the current ace, the guy in New Japan,\nOkada is just 32 and still has a lot left in him so I wouldn’t be surprised if\nhe ends up winning it all but then he really would be arguably the most\ndominant champion of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Catch Two Nights of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome live on NJPWWorld.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After 13,000+ words later I am finally done. Folks,\nthis has been the biggest individual article I’ve ever written in my life. I am\npassionate about New Japan Pro Wrestling. It has been my main source of\nentertainment since Wrestle Kingdom 9 where I started to watch religiously. For\nme to even have a small part in such a historic event in Wrestle Kingdom 14,\ncontributing through this article means a lot to me. Hopefully we would all\nenjoy. It’s been an amazing journey thus far and I’ll always look forward to\nwhat’s next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To all the wrestlers, referees, production staff,\nexecutive team, and other personnel of NJPW, thank you for an amazing 10 years\nworth of content and storylines. Here’s to another 10 years of success!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for reading. Follow me on Twitter: @SuperMastodon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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