The Winners and Losers of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Wrestle Kingdom 12”

It’s the fans ultimately bringing home the gold, though.

Each January 4th, New Japan Pro Wrestling kicks off the New Year with its biggest annual outing. This year’s event — the 27th event overall but the 12th production under the “Wrestle Kingdom” banner — has once more been heralded by the media as the “Japanese Super Bowl,” and rightfully so. Not just for the sheer grandeur of such an evening of suplexes and springboards, but the sense of finality attached. As with its predecessors, WK12 is meant to be the culmination of an entire year’s worth (or longer still) of storylines. Bitter rivalries settled with blood and sweat, new stars rising from off the mat, and the immediate future of NJPW given shape.

So, just what can we expect from WK12, one of the most anticipated cards in recent years? Here’s my two cents:

New Japan Rumble

My grandpa once said battle royals are about as valuable as a coffee cup during a monsoon. No, he didn’t, but the less said of Rumbles, the better.

Winner: Checking Twitter or power napping.

Roppongi 3K vs. The Young Bucks for the NJPW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Even if you’ve never seen a wrestling match, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the Bucks. Brothers Matt and Nick Jackson have torn up wrestling rings in ROH, PWG, and beyond, and their fame now transcends to the shelves of Hot Topic. They’re the closest thing indie wrestling has to a face, and it’s one with a perpetual cocky smile and a sweet spray tan. That doesn’t mean, however, they should have victories dumped on their zebra-colored laps. Roppongi 3k (aka Sho and Yoh, The Tempura Boyz) are on a hot streak, having won the titles in their first match back before conquering the Super Jr. tourney the very next month. On top of the fact that they’re the heir apparent to Roppongi Vice, another recent gem of the New Japan Jr. division. A win for R3K would be a huge step toward building them as the next big stars. The Bucks, meanwhile, can always step up to heavyweight tag titles…

Winners: Roppongi 3k

Gauntlet Match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship

If you’re like me, you may have wept slightly when EVIL, Sanada, and Bushi lost the titles back in December; Los Ingobernables de Japon are a breath of fresh air for NJPW, sinister and yet still utterly engaging and entertaining. But with EVIL and Sanada moving on to other things (more on that later), it made sense to put the belts on the Bullet Club faction of Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa. There’s plenty of directions the bookers can go here. Shifting the straps on Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano) would be a way to bolster that stable if the main event rumors prove true. Or, help establish two other groups in Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, and Zack Sabre, Jr.) or Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Togi Makabe). Ultimately, though, Michael Elgin and War Machine (Rowe and Hanson) feel like the best choice. They’re all fairly over, and their already scary image would be improved as a trio. All hail Team Gnarly Beards.

Winners: Elgin, Rowe, and Hanson

Cody vs. Kota Ibushi

Originally, this match was to be for the ROH World Championship before the former Stardust dropped it to Dalton Castle at “Final Battle ’17.” While that stipulation would have almost ensured Rhodes’ victory, I still don’t see the outcome changing. Cody has experienced new life since leaving WWE in early 2016, winning belts everywhere, becoming a member of the white-hot Bullet Club, and showing the kind of charm, intellect, and athletic prowess that should have made him a champ years ago. Putting him over the well established Ibushi, especially on a such a monumental show, would only expand Rhodes’ global presence and help him make 2018 an even bigger year for the grandson of a plumber. Simultaneously, another big loss might be good for the Ibushi character, and help create some much needed focus on his win-loss record after he’s been misused (see the G1 and Tiger Mask W).

Winner: Cody

Killer Elite Squad vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon for the IWGP Tag Team Championship

Shortly after the WK12 card was announced, I saw a Twitter comment noting that someone had forgotten about the champions of Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith, Jr. The boys of K.E.S. are no strangers to the IWGP tag titles, but they don’t exactly have the same level of momentum they had just a few years ago. And, as far as a fan or viewer, they’ve always felt more of a force in Pro Wrestling NOAH, even after they invaded and pulverized Chaos early last year. Yet just as that team’s fallen out of favor, you have Sanada and EVIL from L.I.J., arguably the breakout group of the last several years (and the K.E.S. equivalent of 2018). Having the pair lose the NEVER 6-Man titles all but made the end result clear, but I’m just as interested in how the match plays out. A nice, long competitive match could help maintain K.E.S.’ standing in the tag division, and give L.I.J. more competition down the road and find new ways to expand the dimensions of everyone’s favorite dirtbags.

Winners: EVIL and Sanada (L.I.J.)

Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship (Loser Cuts Hair/No Seconds Deathmatch)

As far as the NEVER “division” has been concerned, it probably hasn’t been as a glowing success as management may have first envisioned. The 6-Man titles have felt slightly like a joke (though L.I.J.’s record-breaking run helped provide some credibility). The very same could prove true for the Openweight Championship if Suzuki retains. The Suzuki-gun mastermind already has the 4th longest reign of 250-ish days. Suzuki’s generally heralded as the ultimate badass, and using him to further build the title up sees like a “duh” move of the highest order. Yet there’s no discounting the appeal and prowess of Goto — he’s certainly one of NJPW’s pure golden boys. Plus, who’d dare want to cut off those gorgeous locks? Despite the fact that I’m picking Suzuki down below, the true winner is the actual title belt. A grueling, gnarly contest between two warriors is only going to make the NEVER crown seem all the more important and not the secondary joke it sometimes feels like. Just make sure there’s a sick counter or two for Suzuki’s patented sleeper.

Winner: Suzuki

Marty Scurll vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

As much as I may love The Villain, putting the title on him made almost no sense. On the sinewy shoulders of Ospreay, however, it felt as if the title had landed squarely on the future. The Aerial Assassin doesn’t just bring excitement and 630s to the division, but a sense of innovation and intensity that’s crucial for a division that, even in a place as sacred as Japan, doesn’t always get the proper shine it rightfully deserves. One could argue, though, that as deserving as Ospreay was, he stunted the momentum of Kushida, who in turn denied a massive run from Takahashi. Either way, we now enter WK12 with a group of wrestlers who are equally deserving of the belt and thus are likely to help maintain its momentum and place on the card/company as a whole. The one who deserves it most, though, still winds up being Ospreay. The man has had a big run in NJPW the last 18 months or so, which was stunted slightly by losing the oh-so tiny Junior belt with nary a single defense. Giving Ospreay back the belt and having him fight for every grueling defense helps everyone in involved, from the strap itself to his many competitors. Let Mr. Scurll ply his villainy elsewhere in New Japan.

Winner: Ospreay

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay “Switchblade” White for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Here’s why I love Japanese wrestling (aside from the headbutts and trophies): making a star is fairly easy. Just take a Young Lion, kick his ass back to Mexico or the U.S., and when he comes back after a year or so, just hype him to the moon. As such is the case of Jay White, who was revealed as the mysterious “Switchblade.” Going against the Ultra Ace of Tanahashi may seem like a loss waiting to happen, but New Japan’s bookers have done a decent job of establishing White as the next big thing (the hair and leather jacket help). There’s no need for Tanahashi to retain — he’s been injured for sometime, and taking some time off would do some good. He can go out using all that lion-esque charisma to help establish White as a menacing gaijin who crushed NJPW’s most perfect babyface. Going over a true legend would make White’s career for years to come; a loss would be as if he’d never even returned.

Winner: White

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship (No DQ Match)

Without even the slightest bit of hyperbole, this may be the most eagerly anticipated match of the last 5 years (maybe even longer). Omega is already king in Japan, especially after a dynamic performance in the G1. Jericho, meanwhile, is like a returning hero, breaking away from the wasteland that is the WWE (a hellscape I still adore) and returning to the shores of an overjoyed Japan. Omega’s winning seems obvious: it gives him some huuuuge momentum, and sets him up for a big run with Okada or Naito down the line. But why not give the W to the Ayatollah instead? Take Kenny out of the U.S. title picture (a place he never needed to be in the first place), and let him get right back into contention for the IWGP title — maybe even that same night (if we want to get crazy with the fantasy booking). Jericho, meanwhile, has found a whole new life since attacking Kenny just a couple months back, turning himself into this foul-mouth, bloodthirsty villain we haven’t seen in his entire lengthy career. The fact that this is a No DQ match means Kenny could get screwed over, thus making him even more engaging, while furthering Jericho’s heel-dom. Just make sure you’re properly hydrated for this modern-day bunkhouse masterpiece.

Winner: Jericho

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

While most of the wrestling world may be salivating over Omega/Jericho, there’s no denying the prestige surrounding the main event. Naito’s been to the IWGP mountaintop before, but Okada has been atop those glowing peaks for the better part of the last several years. Yet while Okada’s been The Man, some might argue that it’s Naito that’s helped pack seats and even generate a resurgence among American wrestling fans. There’s something about Naito that makes him so compelling. Plenty of heels have been beloved in the past, but his style and persona and dynamic with L.I.J. has put him in a league all his own. Obvious match finishes have always felt a little depressing, stifling the creative energy from wrestling and revealing its rigid and fixed nature. But Naito being the de facto winner feels right — a validation earned through years of hard work and a series of increasingly engaging and entertaining matches. There’s no better person than Okada for him to march through on the way back up. While there remains a chance Okada retains, that’ll only make Naito’s eventual win feel all the more delicious in the long run.

Winner: Naito