The Jerker & The Brain are back to give you their Wrestle Kingdom 13 predictions, so lets get into it…
Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi -IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The Wrestling Brain
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Kenny Omega – IWGP Heavyweight Championship match In the main event of NJPW biggest show of the year, the IWGP Heavyweight champion Kenny Omega takes on the ‘Ace’ of NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Omega who has been champion for 7 months now is regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world and his plans for 2019 are completely up in the air and the result of this match will no doubt decide his future with NJPW. Could Kenny join WWE, or will he be apart of the rumoured AEW promotion, or does he just stay in NJPW and help towards their continued push to be a success in the Western world?
Hiroshi Tanahashi who was the winner of the G1 Climax, is one of the biggest names in NJPW history and he is no stranger to main eventing in the Tokyo Dome, after headlining on numerous occasions against the likes of Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura. I expect Kenny to retain, it makes more sense for him to retain and continue NJPW’S goal to be a force to be reckoned with in USA.
Also with the ROH/NJPW Supercard Of Honor taking place at MSG over Wrestlemania weekend, Omega in the main event as World Champion will be a draw.
Brain Picks: Kenny Omega
The Curtain Jerker
I have said this match is for the heart and soul and the future direction of New Japan Pro Wrestling. We have the “western” champion Kenny Omega, along with his friends Kota Ibushi and The Young Bucks, trying to change the world and change the world of professional wrestling with their style.
Then we have the challenger, Hiroshi Tanahashi, the standard bearer of Japanese wrestling, seemingly doing everything he can to hold onto the style that he came up with. I believe that the whole “western expansion” deal has been pretty successful business-wise for New Japan, and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.
I don’t believe that Omega has had the greatest of reigns as champion these 6+ months, and I always thought he was better in the role of chasing the champion, but he is the key to New Japan getting North American exposure. Like Callum said, it makes sense to have a North American champion headline the ROH/NJPW Supercard of Honor show over WrestleMania weekend.
Jerker Picks: Kenny Omega
Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada
The Wrestling Brain
Over the past year, a lot has happened to ‘Switchblade’ Jay White. At Wrestlekingdom 12, he was defeated by Hiroshi Tanahashi, joined Chaos, defeated Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship, dropped it to Juice Robinson, joined Bullet Club and seemingly became their new leader.
Kazuchika Okada will not be in the main event of the Tokyo Dome show for the first time since Wrestle Kingdom 8. White defeated Okada during the G1 Climax, then in October alongside Gedo he would assault and turn on Okada. White is obviously going to be a future Heavyweight champion in NJPW and a victory over Okada on the biggest stage will mark a new era in NJPW, that’s why I think he’ll win this Friday, and I anticipate he will become IWGP Heavyweight Champion at some point in 2019.
Brain Picks: Jay White
The Curtain Jerker
Ever since Jay White has come back from his U.S. excursion, New Japan has put him in the deep end of the pool, putting him in feuds with Hiroshi Tanahashi (at Wrestle Kingdom in his first match back no less!) and against Kenny Omega, now he is the leader of the Bullet Club OG’s.
He is one of only a couple of people to have a winning feud against Omega. Now he faces his biggest challenge yet, a Kazuchika Okada in the prime of his career. I believe both men are going to factor in heavily into New Japan’s plans for 2019 and we will get an Okada-Omega 4 at some point this year, but Jay White is red-hot right now. I think White will win, doing so by nefarious means, and set up Omega vs. White in February.
Jerker Picks: Jay White
Kota Ibushi Vs Will Ospreay – NEVER Openweight Championship
The Wrestling Brain
This could be match of the night and even be an early candidate for match of the year, I think every wrestling fan has been begging to see Kota Ibushi Vs Will Ospreay. Ibushi who won the NEVER Openweight Championship during the World Tag League final against Hirooki Goto, is highly regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world currently, and his in ring style is outstanding.
Ospreay is one of my favourite wrestlers in the world, he is a phenomenal athlete, but also a great storyteller, over the last few months Ospreay has began to compete in the heavyweight division, and I for one think he could have incredible matches against Omega, Naito and Tanahashi.
I think Ibushi will likely retain, as I can’t see him only having a month title reign, and Ospreay could then be built up more in the Heavyweight division, and go onto to feud with Jay White and Kenny Omega.
Brain Picks: Kota Ibushi
The Curtain Jerker
At first, I was shocked to see Will Ospreay making the move from junior heavyweight to heavyweight due to a couple of reasons, his health and his propensity to take risks. A guy that is getting hurt on a frequent basis, I thought, couldn’t be able to withstand the rigors of a New Japan heavyweight schedule.
It’s early, but so far he has proved me wrong. Ospreay has put on close to 20 pounds of muscle that will help him out tremendously. Kota Ibushi is the new OPENWEIGHT champion, having defeated Hirooki Goto for the title during the World Tag League tour. Both men are out of their freaking minds when it comes to their in-ring (and in Ibushi’s case, even out-of-ring style), so this is going to be the craziest matches you’ll see in 2019, only 4 days into the year.
It is going to open up the main card of Wrestle Kingdom and it is going to exhaust us all right away. Ibushi will win because he is, perhaps, the #1 babyface in all of New Japan, and they have to have him in their main event plans for 2019.
Jerker Picks: Kota Ibushi
Tomohiro Ishii Vs Zack Sabre Jr – Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship
The Wrestling Brain
This match will be hard-hitting, brutal and exciting. Ishii defeated Minoru Suzuki at RevPro/NJPW Global Wars in October. For a title that is regularly defended in the UK, for it to be on the line in NJPW’s biggest show of the year is a big deal.
Sabre Jr who held the title for over a year between March 2017 to April 2018, has had a solid year in NJPW and other wrestling promotions, he had a IWGP Heavyweight title shot at the start of 2018 and won the Progress Strong Style tournament. I’m assuming Sabre Jr will win back the title, it makes more sense for a British wrestler to hold the British Heavyweight Championship, plus with a match against PAC on the horizon, having a title on the line will just make that match massive.
Brain Picks: Zack Sabre Jr.
The Curtain Jerker
This is a match that I’m especially looking forward to. Two men who always deliver great matches, getting to face off at the Tokyo Dome. Even though they have much different styles, both Ishii and Sabre Jr. mesh well with anybody and they will come together to put in a performance we could be talking about for a whole year.
Ishii has brought an aire of worldwide legitimacy to the RevPro British title as he is bringing it to be defended on New Japan’s biggest show, and arguably the 2nd biggest wrestling show of the entire year in the world. Sabre Jr. had an incredible 2018 going up against all the big names in New Japan and not just holding his own, but thriving by winning the New Japan Cup and taking Kazuchika Okada to his limit in April.
I’m going with Zack Sabre Jr. here because of the major roll he has been on the last 18 months and his ability to be a world-traveler, possibly taking the belt with him to the United States as a part of Ring of Honor, or Mexico for CMLL. And I also believe that while Ishii is great, he’s much more interesting without a belt and that will be the case for him after January 4th.
Jerker Picks: Zack Sabre Jr.
Chris Jericho Vs Tetsuya Naito – IWGP Intercontinental Championship
The Wrestling Brain
It’s still a surreal feeling to see Chris Jericho in a company that isn’t the WWE, for the last 12 months Jericho has once again reinvented himself and has proved that he is a genius and is one of the best wrestlers ever.
Tetsuya Naito dropped the IC Title to Y2J at Dominion last June, and despite Jericho’s protests, Naito gets his rematch this Friday. Nobody knows what Jericho will do next so predicting this match is tough, imagine Jericho wrestling in the USA at Madison Square Garden for ROH/NJPW over Wrestlemania weekend? Jericho being the risk taker that he is I could see him doing it, however I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up at the Royal Rumble.
Naito has had a somewhat indifferent 2018, he lost at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in the main event to Kazuchika Okada, held the IC Title only for a few months until Jericho defeated him. I’m willing to take a risk here and say Jericho retains and goes onto defend his title at MSG in what could be one of the biggest matches of that whole Wrestlemania weekend.
Brain Picks: Chris Jericho
The Curtain Jerker
For me, this is by far the most difficult to predict. Nobody could have predicted that Chris Jericho was going to continue wrestling in New Japan or even be mid-card titleholder. Heck, we have no idea if he’s going to stick around after Wrestle Kingdom.
He may retire, he’s got enough money and jobs to never wrestle again. He also may wrestle a more full-time schedule in New Japan and main event the joint ROH-NJPW MSG show.
The feud he has been in with Naito has seen Jericho at his most-bloodthirsty he’s been in his career. He attacked Naito at last year’s New Year’s Dash, attacked him in April, beat him bloody and took his Intercontinental title in June, beat his LIJ stablemate EVIL in November and attacked Naito again in December. At no point has Tetsuya Naito gotten the upper-hand on Chris Jericho…until now.
The booking in this feud has made Naito an even bigger babyface, which I didn’t think was possible. Naito will get his biggest win of his career and regain the Intercontinental title, if not, then what hope is there going forward for him?
Jerker Picks: Tetsuya Naito
There are The Brain & The Jerker’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 Predictions, but what are your? Do you agree? Let us know below.
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