Wrestle Kingdom 12
January 4th 2018
The 12th edition of NJPW's biggest show of the year is nearly upon us. As always, it is situated in the Tokyo Dome, the 27th year in a row that this venue has hosted an NJPW show on the fateful date of January 4th. All eight of the company's titles will be on the line as the top Japanese wrestling stars, and some unexpected guests from overseas, battle it out.


IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchida Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
Two years prior to this show, Okada defeated Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome to become the Ace. Since then, he has been almost unstoppable. His current reign will be 564 days deep come January 4th, shattering the previous record of 489 days set by Shinya Hashimoto in 96-97. Only two men have been able to take the title from Okada since 2015. One of those men is Tetsuya Naito. He defeated Okada at Invasion Attack 2016, albeit with a major assist from the debuting SANADA. Okada recovered the title in their rematch, their last singles match together. In fact, they have only shared the ring on five occasions since that title match, making this a long-anticipated match. Since 2016, Naito has raised his stock significantly, holding the Intercontinental Championship for the better part of a year, reaching the finals of the 2016 G1 Climax, and winning the 2017 G1 to earn this championship match. Okada's 2017 has been just as successful, defending the belt against Kenny Omega twice, Minoru Suzuki, Tiger Mask W, and EVIL. He has only been pinned two times, both in the latter half of the gruelling G1 Climax, where even the very best can't make it through unscathed.

In reaching the main event at the Tokyo Dome, Naito has finally achieved his redemption from Wrestle Kingdom 8, where he was in exactly the same position (won the G1, challenged Okada), but got infamously snubbed from closing the show by a fan vote. His new found "ingovernable" attitude is a consequence of this event. I'm sure Naito is content with this situation, but as apathetic as he appears on the surface, he surely craves the top belt just like every other wrestler. Both Naito and Okada have never been better. The two hottest stars in the company collide for the top prize. Who will come out victorious?


IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship (No DQ)
Kenny Omega (c) vs Chris Jericho
It's not an exaggeration to describe this match as historic. Monumental. The match that ought to draw a huge audience outside of the NJPW core fanbase. Chris Jericho, one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and a man who everyone thought would spend the rest of his career in WWE, shockingly appeared on NJPW programming to challenge Kenny Omega. Why did he make this challenge? Omega claimed he was the best in the world, that he had beaten everyone there was to beat. It's hard to argue that fact, at least within the confines of NJPW. For obvious reasons, Omega and Jericho have never met in the ring, so to reaffirm his claim, he must vanquish a foe from a foreign land. Jericho put a stamp on his claims by violently attacking Omega after a match and beating him to a bloody pulp. Commentator and Omega associate Don Callis was not safe from Jericho's wrath. Three words describe what I expect this match to be: expect the unexpected. Jericho knows his limitations better than anyone, and he knows he won't be able to work an NJPW-style match anywhere near as good as Okada/Naito and Tanahashi/White. Jericho and Omega are two of the most creative minds in the business. They are bound to come up with something very compelling.


IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Jay White
Naito and Tanahashi have had a stranglehold on the Intercontinental Championship for well over a year. Naito had some fun smashing the belt at every opportunity. Tanahashi eventually managed to wrest it from his hands, and since has held the belt for over 150 days. His Tokyo Dome challenger came as a surprise. After retaining against Kota Ibushi, out came Jay White, fresh from his excursion in ROH, under a new "Switchblade" gimmick. White aims for the stars in his NJPW redebut, hoping to acquire the second most prestigious belt in the company at the expense of one of the company's biggest stars, and a gatekeeper of sorts. Of course, Tanahashi is a clear favourite and doesn't want to drop the belt to a rookie on the biggest stage. This match may seem like a snoozer compared to the matches before and after, but don't underestimate its potential.


IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Marty Scurll (c) vs Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA vs Hiromu Takahashi
At October's King of Pro Wrestling, Will Ospreay defeated KUSHIDA for the first time to win the Junior Heavyweight Championship. One obstacle was overcome, but another one immediately stepped in his path: Marty Scurll. Scurll has defeated Ospreay in big matches all over the world. Ospreay is never one to back down from a fight, and the match was set for November's Power Struggle. Unfortunately for Ospreay, lightning did not strike twice, and Scurll once again defeated his nemesis with villainous cunning. It was then Scurll's turn to be instantly challenged, by none other than Hiromu Takahashi, whose two previous challenges were humiliantly thwarted by Ospreay and Scurll. KUSHIDA and Ospreay also laid their claims to a title shot. Scurll reacted rashly, accepting all three challenges at once. That is how this four way match came to be. KUSHIDA's status as division ace has been put into question this year by Takahashi and Ospreay, but he's always bounced back to the top. This match may not crown an undisputed leader in the highly competitive junior division, but it could set the tone for the rest of 2018.


NEVER Openweight Championship (No seconds deathmatch; hair vs hair)
Minoru Suzuki (c) vs Hirooki Goto
Goto challenged Suzuki for his belt after Suzuki battered his stablemate Toru Yano in a bullrope match. Suzuki initially refused the challenge, for he had defeated him twice earlier in the year. He continued to refuse until Goto pinned Suzuki twice and offered to put his hair on the line. The deal was done.


Cody vs Kota Ibushi
Cody challenged Ibushi after the latter's loss to Tanahashi at Power Struggle because both guys have nothing better to do.


IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) (c) vs The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
Roppongi 3K took the company by storm when they returned from excursion as Rocky Romero's surprise challengers for the Junior Tag Team Championships. They convincingly won the titles from veterans Ricochet and Taguchi, demonstrating superior teamwork and resilience, along with the incredible athleticism characteristic of their weight class. They went on to win October's Super Junior Tag Tournament, defeating Taguchi and ACH in the finals. Following this victory, they were challenged by former division aces and self-proclaimed best tag team in the world, The Young Bucks. Roppongi 3K are riding a huge wave of momentum, defeating all comers since their return, but The Young Bucks will certainly be their greatest test. If Sho and Yoh win, their status as the best junior tag team in the world is not in question. If Matt and Nick Jackson won, they win NJPW tag team gold for a record seventh time.

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (Gauntlet Match)
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (c) vs. CHAOS (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) vs. Michael Elgin and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka and Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe)

IWGP Tag Team Championship
Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japón (EVIL and SANADA)
EVIL and SANADA defeated Guerrillas of Destiny to win the 2017 World Tag League, earning a shot at the tag team champions Killer Elite Squad. This is a fresh match in the division: EVIL and SANADA have been focused on the six-man belts and singles competition, while Archer and Smith spent most of the year on the bench, returning in August to feud with War Machine and Guerrillas of Destiny. The heavyweight tag team division has never been great, but this is the best possible title match.

Is anyone going to join me in watching the show live?

Which matches are you looking forward to the most? Easily Okada vs Naito for me. Those guys could match the quality of last year's main event, impossible as that may seem.

I'm more optimistic about Jericho vs Omega than I was when the match was first announced. It will be a nice change of pace between the workratey matches that surround it. Watching Tanahashi/Naito and Okada/Omega back to back last year was exhausting.

I doubt I'll be satisfied with the junior heavyweight four way unless Takahashi wins.

Keep an eye on Ropping 3K vs Young Bucks. That has potential to be one of the best matches on the show.

NJPW have finally found a good use for the six-man tag team belts: get the rest of the guys on the card in a big clusterfuck match.

What time will it be on in the UK Emperor,? Would be very tempted to watch it live if possible.

It starts at 5pm in Japan, which is 8am in the UK. It's at least a 4 hour show, maybe 5 hours. The first hour or so is skippable.

I probably won't watch live, due to the time difference.

Jericho/Omega is the match I'm looking forward to the most. Will it be the best match on the card? Probably not, but it is nevertheless my most anticipated match on the show. The heavyweight championship match, as well as both junior championship matches should also be good.

You say Cody & Ibushi have nothing better to do while I say this is being done to further the Ibushi/Omega story & possibly Cody/Omega to. I think Ibushi wins and confronts Omega later in the night after he bests Jericho.

Card as awhole is fantastic. Looking forward to Okada/Naito & the JH 4-Way matches the most.

Jericho-Omega is the most intriguing match by far. It's a match that only looked possible in a WWE ring and it will be interesting to see how Jericho adapts to the NJPW style.

The rest of the card does nothing for me. I would be interested in Okada-Naito if they had kept them separated between WK8 and 12, but they already had a long series of matches and none of them were particularly amazing. I seriously don't understand the Jay White push. Nothing about him screams star and I can only imagine he's receiving a push because NJPW has a following in New Zealand (they toured there not that long ago).

Goto is the Randy Orton of NJPW and the NEVER Openweight Championship match only serves to remind me how much I miss Shibata.

Dec 21, 2017 11:53:18 GMT Big Pete said:

The rest of the card does nothing for me. I would be interested in Okada-Naito if they had kept them separated between WK8 and 12, but they already had a long series of matches and none of them were particularly amazing.

It's unreasonable to ask for two top guys to be separated for four years, especially with the existence of round robin tournaments. Sure, they did battle not even a year ago, but Naito was clearly not on Okada's level at that point, needing SANADA to beat him. He's not necessarily on Okada's level now, but he's closer than he's ever been. He's beaten everyone else, including #2 Omega in the G1 final. They may not have had the best matches before, but I still see a ton of potential.

Don't care for the undercard, but I'm really hyped for Jericho/Omega and hopefully seeing Naito walk out with the gold.

It's unreasonable to ask for two top guys to be separated for four years, especially with the existence of round robin tournaments.

That's a fair point. If they had have met only in the G-1 tournament, that would have been fine since it would be under a different set of circumstances. There's a difference between a G-1 match and a NJPW main event epic, especially since we saw them work an entire program together. The problem is, none of the matches were particularly good and neither guy has evolved much since those series of matches. Furthermore, the ship has sailed on this rivalry. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega is by far the most relevant rivalry in the company right now and if Okada drops the belt to anyone other than Omega it would feel like a wasted opportunity.

Actually, scratch that, if Okada dropped the belt to anyone other than Omega or Ibushi it would feel like a wasted opportunity. Ibushi better bring his A-game, and stick that ring up Cody's ass otherwise my January 4th is going to be ruined.

So as it stands, the match feels like an after-thought while Jericho-Omega is the true main event attraction of the show. Once again, Okada-Naito feels over-shadowed by a far more enticing rivalry.

I completely disagree. Okada dropping the belt to anyone but Omega is not a wasted opportunity. Ibushi? Where did you pull that name from? NJPW is very selective with who gets to hold the top belt, and Ibushi is far too low on the card to be considered. He has no business being the IWGP Champ in the near future. One plausible direction to go is to have Naito beat Okada, then Omega beat Naito later in the year. Omega is the champ, but he's not truly the top man until be can beat Okada in a title match. Similar to how the Okada/Tanahashi rivalry concluded.

Okada vs Omega is the defining rivalry of the company, but we do need a timeout. I know it's been done before, but having them main event the Tokyo Dome two years ago is overkill. Calling Okada vs Naito an afterthought is grossly unfair. Naito won the G1, he beat Omega clean, cementing himself as the #2 guy. He's better and more over than he has ever been. They may not have the in-ring chemistry of Okada and Omega, but this match is by no means a dud. You will be surprised.

Because the whole company right now is based around Okada being the greatest IWGP Champion of all-time. If Okada drops the belt to Naito it would be a wasted opportunity because it wouldn't have amounted to anything. Essentially, it would mean that NJPW spent 500 days building up a prop, only to hand it straight back to the guy who was already over.

That's why it would mean more if Omega won it in those circumstances than later on. The driving factor behind Omega's run is that he wants to prove himself as a heavyweight and that's since evolved into him beating Okada for the belt. They've built to it gradually, with Omega getting closer to realising that reality but it was put on hold despite it being the most over storyline in the company.

It would be one thing if Naito managed to get more over in-between takes, but he's plateud since 2016. He's still over with the NJPW faithful, but he no longer feels like this break-out star capable of reaching the Japanese zeitgeist. At least in Omega's case, he's already the most over non-WWE talent in the western world and since NJPW is pushing for US expansion, it would make sense to put the belt on him.

As for Ibushi, he's the only Japanese talent outside of Okada, Tanahashi and Naito capable of stepping up and becoming a star. He's a guy who has always gotten over with the crowd, but has never had the rocket strapped on him. Everytime he's been put with a Nakamura or Tanahashi, the crowd has bought into it and he gave Okada one of his best matches of his career year while he was essentially NJPW's version of Suicide. If Okada retains and they give Ibushi a steady push which results in him pulling the upset over Okada, at least it would be a step forward and would lead to an organic program with Omega given their storied history. The heat would be off the chains given one of the key reasons Ibushi re-signed with NJPW was so he could face off against Kenny in the main event.

The main reason I threw Ibushi's name out there is to highlight the lack of Japanese stars in the promotion. NJPW have done an excellent job of convincing fans that a lot of their guys simply aren't on the level and there aren't enough fresh faces to fill the void - at least not in the immediate future. Guys like EVIL and SANADA could get there eventually, but they'll have to step it up if they wanted to get accepted as anything more than mid-card talent.

And that's played into my indifference in the main event. New Japan is so compartmentalized that guys have limited opportunities to get over on, and we're essentially stuck with the same top 4 guys unless a couple of them are signed by the WWE. There's little that separates the show from other major shows and I'd be surprised if the show is better than the 2017 Dominion show.

There's only two things that make this show feel special. The Tokyo Dome and Jericho-Omega which is by far the most important match on the card.

Let me get my stance clear. I'm not saying that Naito should beat Okada. I don't think that's the best idea. I also don't think it would be a complete waste of Okada's reign to do so. That's outrageous. I understand that Omega/Okada is the big rivalry, and Omega is more important for the Western expansion, but to completely discount Naito as a legitimate challenger is ridiculous. His character may be apathetic, but he has been fighting just as hard to get to the top as Kenny Omega has, and he's super over. Okada/Naito is clearly the second hottest match in the company, and it's a lot fresher than Okada/Omega at this point in time. We'll have to agree to disagree on Naito's progression since 2016.

As for the rest of your post, it boils down to a philosophical difference of opinion. You dislike the Japanese booking style of having a select few guys at the top, where breaking into that elite groups takes a prolonged push of several years. I think that it's a good booking style. It's much closer to a real athletic competition, where it takes years of practising your craft to reach the very top, and not everyone is good enough to make it. I much prefer it to the WWE model where a guy like Jinder Mahal can go from jobber to world champion in less than a month based on the whims of the owner of the company, and where half the roster can viably compete for a top belt, and there isn't always a clear top guy (Lesnar's booking and presentationis one of the few things I like about WWE at the moment). It's a lot harder to get the Japanese style right, because it requires long-term planning at every step in order to keep big matches fresh, and there's a greater reliance on the workers to tell stories in the ring and stay relevant.

I don't think there's a lack of Japanese stars. Okada, Naito, and Tanahashi are the clear top three. Ishii is a star, even if he's never won and perhaps never will win the big one. Suzuki, Goto, Ibushi and EVIL are over midcarders who can be slotted into a main event program at any moment. I do agree that there is too much of a gulf between the top four and everyone else. Shibata was that fresh face who was being given the rocket push to the top, but his tragic retirement threw a spanner in the works, and they haven't been able to replace him adequately. They tried with EVIL, giving him the G1 win over Okada and subsequent title shot, but he's not at that point as a worker yet. I always liked SANADA more, but they appear to be deliberately keeping him at a low profile for some reason.

If he's not dropping it to Naito, what's the end game? NEXT year's WK?

Dec 22, 2017 20:13:50 GMT @ness said:

If he's not dropping it to Naito, what's the end game? NEXT year's WK?

I will be shocked if Naito doesn’t win the title. However, if he doesn’t then Okada needs to hold it till WK13. 

I reckon the best route is Omega winning the belt at Dominion, or maybe he wins the NJPW Cup and picks up the belt at Dontaku or whichever show follows the cup. It's possible for Okada to hold it another year, but I don't think he will. Not everything important has to happen at Wrestle Kingdom, just as it doesn't have to happen at Wrestlemania.

I'm as casual an NJPW fan as it's possible to be so the following might be a stupid question.

Why have they put the US title on the line? Surely it's common sense that that decision removes any and all drama from the outcome, thus takes away from the match a bit right?

Let me get my stance clear. I'm not saying that Naito should beat Okada. I don't think that's the best idea. I also don't think it would be a complete waste of Okada's reign to do so. That's outrageous. I understand that Omega/Okada is the big rivalry, and Omega is more important for the Western expansion, but to completely discount Naito as a legitimate challenger is ridiculous. His character may be apathetic, but he has been fighting just as hard to get to the top as Kenny Omega has, and he's super over. Okada/Naito is clearly the second hottest match in the company, and it's a lot fresher than Okada/Omega at this point in time. We'll have to agree to disagree on Naito's progression since 2016.

Let me draw a comparison. One of my favourite fairytales growing up was the Sword in the Stone, a story about overcoming a seemingly impossible challenge. This narrative has been recycled time and time again, most recently in NJPW where the unmovable object Okada has become the longest reigning IWGP Champion of all-time. If the Sword in the Stone had have ended with Uther Pendragon coming back to life and reclaiming the throne, or alternatively they built up Arthur only to discover that Pendragon happened to have another heir, it would be a complete and utter anti-climax. Similarly if Naito simply regains the championship after such a long build-up it would be a waste of time since he should never had lost it in the first place.

Somehow New Japan have found themselves in a lose/lose situation. If Okada wins, it means nothing because he's beaten this incarnation of Naito before and has beaten Naito in these exact same circumstances before so it doesn't matter. Meanwhile if Naito wins it would taint Okada's legendary run and derail everything New Japan has built towards since they decided to switch gears at the 2016 G-1 tournament.

The thing is, I don't have an issue with the tier-based system. What I have an issue with is all the unnecessary mid-card championships that keep the wrestlers in-line and leads to all these silly 'Clash of Champions' esque cards where all but one of the matches is for a championship. And the only reason that match isn't for a title is because ROH pulled a swerve and put the championship on Dalton Castle after the Ibushi/Cody match was announced. So instead of having guys scratch and claw their way to the top, they simply settle for their own trophies. Omega has a championship, Tanahashi has a championship, Suzuki has a championship and they even made a championship for guys with nothing better to do. It's no coincidence that the most interesting set of shows for NJPW are the Cup Shows and G-1, and that's because we get to see these guys compete for a shot. The only problem with the G-1 is that it's like a whole calender year of shows, stretched into a 2-3 week period and it follows the Best of the Super Junior tournament. What could be a great year of booking ends up becoming a chore by the 8th or 9th show.

I enjoy the style of booking when it's sure of itself, I don't enjoy it when it flip flops like we saw at the 2016/17 G-1 tournament. On PW.com, I was queried over calling Omega/Okada a weird match and one of the reasons why it was weird was the 'swerve' nature of the booking. It was eerily reminiscent of Wrestlemania XV where Billy Gunn and Road Dogg swapped places at the last minute and competed for different championships. It was clear that the most common sense matches going in would be Naito/Okada and Omega/Tanahashi, but at the last minute they decided to fast-track Kenny and it seemed force. However, despite working a flawed match, Omega was able to get over as a superstar, but instead of making him 'the' guy they just give him the Winnipeg Championship and put him on his own little island.

The biggest problem I have is that outside of Tanahashi, Naito didn't beat 'anybody' before the tournament. He beat an established mid-carder in Michael Elgin, a virtual NJPW no-name in Jay Lethal and a recently pushed enhancement talent in Juice Robinson. Even with Tanahashi, he still had to drop the championship to him before moving on, compromising the initial WK11 push. If Naito had have dropped the belt to somebody else (like say...Ibushi) it would have been fine, but instead we got Pendragon Tanahashi over here reclaiming the throne, after already giving it to Naito.

I've ragged a lot on Naito-Okada, but the main feeling is merely indifference. I was interested in the match in 2016/17, by 2018 it's barely room temperature. As a placeholder championship match it's fine, but the rest of the show leaves a lot to be desired.

That's a good analogy. Now I see more clearly where you're coming from. You're saying that because Okada beat Naito before, it is meaningless for him to win again. Tanahashi beat Okada at WK7 in 2013. They met at WK9 two years later. Both times Tanahashi was the champion. Tanahashi won again. Was that match pointless because Tanahashi had beat Okada at WK before? Of course not. Why? Because the story had progressed. Okada had grown from an inexperienced but highly gifted athlete, to a more mature and better wrestler - but ultimately not good enough. I'm not trying to say Naito/Okada is as good a rivalry, but there are similarities.

When Naito beat Okada for the belt, he wasn't even a year into his Ingobernables character. In fact, his main event push had only just begun when he won the NJPW Cup. His win over Okada was unconvincing because he wasn't on Okada's level. By that point his biggest wins were against Tanahashi and Styles at the 2015 G1, but overall he didn't stand out among the pack. He was still an upper midcarder. You're saying he's still on that same level because he didn't "beat anybody" before the G1 2017, his biggest victory to date. A push has to start somewhere, and Naito's big push to the elite was that tournament. He beat Tanahashi and Omega in that tournament, his two biggest rivals besides Okada, and you can make the case for Naito being clear #2 in the company. Now Okada is the only top level guy he hasn't defeated. This is clearly a much different situation than when Okada beat Naito in 2016, a year and a half ago. Just like Okada/Tanahashi, this rivalry has progressed. Essentially Naito is in the same position Okada was in, trying to take over as the best native wrestler in the company. It shouldn't happen, because of the Sword in the Stone analogy, but this match is certainly compelling and the best possible main event they could have done.

NJPW does have way too many midcard belts, and that is a problem. On that we agree.

You're saying that because Okada beat Naito before, it is meaningless for him to win again.

Close, I'm saying after 500+ days Okada's reign has evolved into something else and simply reverting to the previous champion would be an anti-climax.

Ordinarily this is true in a lot of cases, but the Tanahashi/Okada situation was born out of real situation. Despite being booked like the ace, the fans were divided on him and there was a large following that still perceived Tanahashi & Nakamura as the true stars of the promotion. That manifested at Wrestle Kingdom 8 where the fans voted for that match over Okada's championship defence. Now if you can recall, NJPW were building towards a Kazuchika Okada/AJ Styles main event but 'swerved' the fans by having Tanahashi win the championship after the G-1. This actually worked out because AJ Styles/Kazuchika Okada could be settled at anytime, while Okada had unfinished business with Tanahashi. The decision to have Okada lose that match was excellent because it gave him this flaw that he had to overcome. It was analogous to his run as an ace, where fans were happy to support him only so far. When he finally overcame Tanahashi on the big show, it felt like the torch had officially been passed.

Naito/Okada doesn't feel as organic as the Tanahashi/Okada and if they wanted to go down that path it should have happened at this year's Wrestle Kingdom.

Now the match is struggling for relevancy and one of the biggest plot points heading into the show is the nature of the 'double main event'. Before Naito even addressed his opponent, he was more upset with Jericho which speaks volumes about the perception of the match.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Okada's reign. If he does drop it to the 'wrong opponent' could his 500 day reign be looked at as a waste of time?

What I wonder is how do Japanese NJPW fans feel about Okada/Naito? I have a feeling that this match appeals to them more than it does the non-Japanes fan base, but I could be totally off base? Just something I was thinking about.

Dec 23, 2017 18:02:39 GMT Big Pete said:

Now the match is struggling for relevancy and one of the biggest plot points heading into the show is the nature of the 'double main event'. Before Naito even addressed his opponent, he was more upset with Jericho which speaks volumes about the perception of the match.

What's this about?

Dec 23, 2017 18:02:39 GMT Big Pete said:

It will be interesting to see what happens with Okada's reign. If he does drop it to the 'wrong opponent' could his 500 day reign be looked at as a waste of time?

It could never be looked at as a waste of time. At the very least, it gave us one of the best IWGP title reigns ever, certainly the best in recent history, with almost every title defense being a MOTYC. Omega, Shibata, and EVIL were elevated through working with him. It would only be a waste of time if he randomly dropped it to, say, David Finlay on a lesser show.

Dec 23, 2017 19:21:18 GMT SM said:

What I wonder is how do Japanese NJPW fans feel about Okada/Naito? I have a feeling that this match appeals to them more than it does the non-Japanes fan base, but I could be totally off base? Just something I was thinking about.

I suspect they feel much more strongly about it than Big Pete or even I do. Okada and Naito are the two biggest native stars, no question about it. We can speak of their Western expansion all we like, but as far as NJPW booking goes, their top priority is still keeping their biggest stars over and making them as high profile as possible.

Emp, I implore you to watch some of these interviews on YouTube. Not only is it informative, it's also entertaining because of the serious approach a lot of guys take to their interviews.



Note that Naito interrupts the interview straight away to address the double main event. Clearly his position as the top star feels threatened.

Interestingly while I was on a commute to the city for some last minute Christmas shopping, I was listening to Meltzer talk about the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom show. While he echoed my concerns about the show, he made some interesting observations that I thought I would pass on. According to Dave, Los Ingobernables de Japon is the highest merch seller in NJPW history - out-selling Inoki who had a big line of merch. While he wasn't able to quantify an exact amount or verify the number, based on crowd observations, it isn't too far-fetched. Interestingly, LIJ is a bigger merch seller than Okada, which makes Okada's position in the company as the GOAT ace feel baffling.

As far as being a waste of time goes, that was a good answer and you touched on something interesting. Did Shibata really get elevated by Okada in their match? There's two sides to the story here - on one end the match will be immortalised for years to come and will serve as the perfect ending to Shibata's career. In a lot of ways, he's like the mythological greek icon, Icarus, a man who flew too close to the sun and ultimately perished. On the other, the match spelled the end of Shibata and left a gaping hole in the roster (and our hearts).

Now all we have left is Ishii...and he isn't even in a featured match on the card. Tell me again how that doesn't automatically make Wrestle Kingdom a 4/10 card?

Also, before the show, do any of you plan on watching any of the old Wrestle Kingdoms in anticipation? I wouldn't mind going back and watching some of the earlier iterations from 2007.

Great press conference. Pretty sure last year they didn't do English subtitles, so I didn't even bother to check this year. Naito is still reeling from his main event snub four years ago. Now he feels it is happening again, but in a different way. He craves to be in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Not a co-main event. The main event. Interesting how his complaint about Jericho's name value mirrors what WWE has been doing in recent years: bringing in names like Goldberg and Rock in for Wrestlemania only, at the expense of the wrestlers who work for WWE all year round.

Shibata vs Okada was his first true test in the main event. He won the NJPW Cup, sure, but he didn't go through a top star. He defeated Suzuki, Juice, Ishii and Fale, which is a very impressive run. But he still hasn't defeated Naito, Tanahashi, Omega, or Okada. At least in recent memory, if at all. The fact that he came so close to defeating Okada, possibly closer than any other challenger, put him one step closer to being a true top guy.

Dec 24, 2017 12:42:29 GMT Big Pete said:

Now all we have left is Ishii...and he isn't even in a featured match on the card. Tell me again how that doesn't automatically make Wrestle Kingdom a 4/10 card?

I'm not sure what point you're making here. What do you mean by "all we have left is Ishii"? I certainly don't think it's ideal that guys like Ishii are working a throwaway gauntlet match, but you can't argue that the card isn't stacked. Naito, Okada, Omega, Tanahashi, Goto, Suzuki, Ibushi, EVIL, SANADA, Cody, KUSHIDA, and Takahashi are all in high profile matches. That's a good chunk of the native stars. I suspect the Jericho/Omega match threw a spanner in the works. If Jericho weren't on the card, then I'd expect to see some of those guys in a more high profile match. You'd have Omega/Ibushi, maybe Cody/Ishii. White vs Tanahashi is the only bad booking decision in my eyes. Ishii, Juice, Elgin and Zack Sabre would have been much better placed in that slot. Keep in mind that they have to book a very large roster. WK is the only show that doesn't have a bunch of six/eight/ten-man tags to pad out the undercard. It's impossible to get everyone in a singles match: the show would go far too long.

I'm not sure what point you're making here. What do you mean by "all we have left is Ishii"?

You know what I'm talking about - the bad-ass tough guy who goes 100% in all of his matches and stiffs his opponent. You could argue that guys like EVIL, Goto and Suzuki wrestle a similar style, but they're nowhere near as consistent as Ishii or what Shibata was. In a way, it's sad to see that style of wrestling get downplayed since it was a point of difference in NJPW. I understand why they're getting away from it, but when the match was done well it was easily the most engaging match on the card.

I think I'm going to have to watch Shibata-Nagata highlights and cry myself to sleep.

Cody/Ibushi makes sense if the plan is to build to Omega/Ibushi or even Omega/Cody if they decide to do the turn, which would be an interesting way to keep Kenny occupied if they decide to put the belt on Naito. While Ibushi should be booked better than what he currently is, it wouldn't be surprising if Cody/Ibushi is the second best match of the show (Naito/Okada will be the lock, even if it isn't anything too special).

On a separate note, this was a great Okada title reign FMV I came across a few months back.



This guy has some great videos.

I genuinely didn't realise you were talking about wrestling style there. Yes, with Shibata gone, Ishii is the only guy who wrestles that relentless, smash-mouth style. But I like Shibata a lot more. Kicks > forearms and chops. With Shibata gone, there is a lack of distinction in the style of the top guys. They all wrestle similarly. At least for the Tokyo Dome, Jericho (and perhaps Jay White) will offer something different.

I just learnt that Okada introduced the Cobra Clutch into his repertoire during the December tour. An additional weapon to target the neck, but also a hold that could force a submission, or at least keep the dynamic Naito contained for a short while. Good to see Okada freshening up his repertoire a little.

Just finished the final show of the World Tag League. Great show that fully set the stage for me as far as WK goes. Don't know if I will watch the two "Road To" shows. I started with the first, and sorta fell asleep. Not too sure if there was anything worth watching on there.

Okada's new Cobra Clutch is likely to play a deciding factor come show time. It works well for him I think, and could see it transitioning quite easily into a Rainmaker (or five, give or take a couple). The after match shenanigans where he went fully into BossMode to get the move over was pretty damn great.

Loved that Naito press conference. He sure gave that host a hard time.

Big Pete, watch this, and tell me you still don't care about Okada/Naito.



Everyone else, watch that too.

That was really well put together. As more of a casual fan that helped a lot.