Wrestle Kingdom 13 Predictions

Written By Ben Hercik

It is time for one of my favorite events of the year, Wrestle Kingdom. I am like one of many newer New Japan fans, only really getting into NJPW when I first watched Omega vs Okada 1. I did take the time to watch a lot of older shows. I got to witness my first Best of the Super Juniors and G1 Climax this year. In this years Wrestle Kingdom, there is the lingering question surrounding the members of The Elite. They announced that they will be starting up All Elite Wrestling, and their is still a ton of questions to ask, the main one for me is will the promotion have a working relationship with New Japan, like Ring of Honor does. But that’s the future, lets start to look at the event at hand, Wrestle Kingdom 13. There is a lot to look forward to on this card. You have good wrestlers, great matchups, and New Japan doing something great for one of the companies that they work with. Revolution Pro Wrestling is being represented with Tomohiro Ishii defending that companies Heavyweight Championship on the show against Zack Sabre Jr. You have names like Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, Chris Jericho, Jay White, Tetsuya Naito, and so many more on just one card. I am really excited for this show so let's jump right into it.

Since I’m doing these predictions solo, and we don’t cover to much New Japan on here (hopefully changing that next year) I will try to go as in depth as possible with these matches. I won’t go over every detail but I will try to explain why each match is happening along with who I think will be winning each match.

Michael Elgin, Jeff Cobb & David Smith Vs. The Elite (Marty Scurll, Adam Page & Yujiro Takahashi) Vs. CHAOS (Chuckie T, Baretta & Hirooki Goto) Vs. Suzuki-Gyn (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith) Vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe Vs. Toru Yano (NEVER OPENWEIGHT 6-MAN GAUNLENT #1 CONTENDERS MATCH)

So Bullet Club Members Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Taiji Ishimori are the current 6 Man Openweight champions, and are all featured later on the card so they can’t defend these titles on this show. They need challengers and these are the contenders. This match is so stacked that I am surprised that it is on the pre-show. You have six wrestlers who competed in the 2018 G1 Climax and two that were in the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors. We also have most of the major stables in New Japan minus Los Ingobernables de Japon and Bullet Club. You don’t have an official entrant from the Taguchi Japan stable, but anything with Ryusuke Taguchi is considered Taguchi Japan so were good there. This is honestly between the teams of CHAOS and Suzuki-Gun. I think that NJPW likes what Beretta has to offer especially, as he has improved leaps and bounds since he left WWE. But when the final challenge is against the likes of Davey Boy Smith, Lance Archer, and the scariest man alive in Minoru Suzuki, it is hard to go against a team like that.

Prediction: Suzuki-Gun

Kota Ibushi (C) Vs. Will Osperay (NEVER Openweight Championship)

This is a dream match that independent wrestling fans have wanted to see for years. The NEVER Openweight Championship is one not restricted to a weight class. This allows for Heavyweights and Junior Heavyweights (the New Japan term for Cruiserweights) to wrestle outside of tag team matches. Kota Ibushi won the Openweight Championship from Hirooki Goto on the last night of World Tag League, where he was then challenged by Will Ospreay. Ospreay is currently transitioning from being a Junior Heavyweight to becoming a Heavyweight. To me, this is the perfect way to help Ospreay continue the transition process and allow him to look strong when he goes up against Heavyweights after Wrestle Kingdom.

Prediction: Will Ospreay

Suzuki Gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)(C) Vs. Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) Vs. Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships)

This one is loaded so here we go. Roppongi 3K won the Super Junior World Tag League over both of these teams. They are the best team in the Junior Heavyweight tag team that New Japan has and it is easy to see that considering just how well both are in the ring. Desperado and Kanemura won the titles from Roppongi 3K at the NJPW Anniversary Show back in March. LIJ member Hiromu Takahashi suffered a broken neck at the G1 Special in San Francisco, so that left BUSHI without a partner for Super Junior World Tag League, or so it would seem. Tetsuya Naito, the leader of LIJ, teased a new member joining them to team with BUSHI. That was revealed to be Shingo Takagi at King of Pro Wrestling, and they made it to the finals of the Super Junior Tag League. This is the first of the real toss ups in my opinion. I can realistically see all three teams winning the match here. I am taking LIJ simply because they have the newer team member, and if wrestling has taught me anything, its that companies are willing to put titles on new faces (I am already grasping for straws and were only three matches in)

Prediction: Los Ingobernables de Japon

Tomohiro Ishii (C) Vs. Zack Sabre Jr (RevPro British Heavyweight Championship)

This one is tough to explain since I haven’t seen any of the build done in RevPro, but I’ll try my best. So Tomohiro Ishii won the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship from Zack Sabre Jr at WrestleCon before losing it to Minoru Suzuki on Night 2 of Rev Pro Strong Style Evolved UK. Ishii would regain the title from Suzuki at the NJPW/Rev Pro combined event Global Wars. After Ishii defended the title against David Starr (very good wrestler, go look him up), Suzuki-Gun jumped Ishii and Sabre said that he was going to take the title back. ZSJ never got a rematch for the title and this is when it will happen. I think that right now, both guys have momentum, but Ishii is more valuable at the moment. With the uncertainty of the CHAOS stable, more on that later, it would be more beneficial for Ishii to come out of this match with the momentum of a win on the big stage. Sabre is going to be a big deal for New Japan in the future, and his time will come.

Prediction: Tomohiro Ishii

Guerillas Of Destiny (C) Vs. The Young Bucks Vs. EVIL & Sanada (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships)

The Guerillas of Destiny won the Heavyweight Tag Team Championships at Fighting Spirit Unleashed over the Young Bucks in September. G.O.D. then entered World Tag League, along with EVIL & SANADA while the Bucks stayed home for Thanksgiving. The two teams finished tied at 20 points when they met in the finals of the tournament. EVIL & SANADA were victorious and earned a guaranteed Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom. Then The Young Bucks came out and said that they never got their championship rematch. This is where I got mad at the Bucks because this could have just been avoided if the Bucks were just in World Tag League. I am ruling out the Young Bucks, because of All Elite Wrestling, as well as the fact that they didn’t compete in World Tag League. If they were to win then it would really diminish World Tag League. As for the other two teams, it’s hard to decide honestly. You want whichever team doesn’t win to look strong, but they can’t win the match. I see G.O.D. winning by pinning one of The Young Bucks, which allows EVIL and SANADA to look strong still, as I am holding out hope that NJPW has bigger plans for the two as single wrestlers.

Prediction: Guerillas of Destiny

Cody (C) Vs. Juice Robinson (IWGP United States Championship)

This one is a bit weird. So after Cody won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at All In, he faced Juice Robinson at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Cody also won the IWGP United States Championship from Juice. This is the rematch but with the announcement of All Elite Wrestling, it makes things a little bit tougher. I think that Juice has improved immensely since his release from NXT. I actually think he is going to win the title and go on to have a better title reign than he did the first time he held the belt. There really isn’t much of a story to this one.

Prediction: Juice Robinson

KUSHIDA (c) Vs. Taiji Ishimori (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)

After the unfortunate injury to Hiromu Takahashi, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship was vacated. New Japan held a 4 person tournament with Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay, Kushida, and BUSHI. Kushida would win the final over Marty Scurll. It irritated Ishimori that he wasn’t in the tournament, and he has a good reason for it. Ishimori returned as the mysterious Bone Soldier that Bullet Club had been teasing, and he had a great run in the Best of the Super Junior Tournament, only losing to Flip Gordon and Yoshinobu Kanemaru on his path to the finals. He lost to Takahashi in a great match that Meltzer gave 5½ stars. Ishimori felt like he deserved a spot in the tournament. A few shows after Kushida won the championship, Ishimori attacked Kushida and declared himself as the number one contender. I am taking Ishimori here not because of the WWE rumors surrounding Kushida, but because with Ishimori as champion, it would give Ishimori something to do after he and G.O.D. lose the 6-Man Tag Championships.

Prediction: Taiji Ishimori

Kazuchika Okada Vs. Jay White

This one has been building since last Wrestle Kingdom, and allow me to explain it. At New Years Dash, the day after Wrestle Kingdom 12 last year, Kenny Omega tried to recruit Jay White to Bullet Club. White declined and joined CHAOS the next day. His goal was to go back to the old way CHAOS was ran, as brutal dirty heels. He didn’t get that and was on his own in the group. While this was happening, Kazuchika Okada was the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, breaking the consecutive defenses streak after successfully defending it against Hiroshi Tanahashi, making it his 12th straight defense. He then went to Dominion and had a 2 out of 3 falls match with Kenny Omega, where he finally lost the championship. Okada then changed his gimmick from The Rainmaker and Ace of the company, to a guy that likes balloons. White and Okada both entered the G1 Climax, both either beat Tanahashi (White) or went to a time limit draw against him (Okada). After Okada lost his match against Tanahashi for the G1 Championship contract at the Destruction in Kobe event, White attacked Okada. Gedo, the leader of CHAOS, then came out and seemed to stop Jay from doing that, but then attacked Okada as well and both of them joined Bullet Club. That was a long one, so I am going to keep my explanation brief. I am taking Jay White because a win would help him a lot more than it would Okada. Also Okada deserves some time off so he can recharge his batteries and relax. The man deserves it more than anyone in the wrestling world.

Prediction: Jay White

Chris Jericho (C) Vs. Tetsuya Naito (IWGP Intercontinental Championship)

If you had told me two years ago that Chris Jericho would wrestle at 2 Wrestle Kingdoms in back to back years and he would win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, I would have called you crazy. After a great match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12, Jericho showed up at New Years Dash and attacked Naito. We all thought that it was just a small thing as he was back in WWE at The Greatest Royal Rumble event. Naito then won the Intercontinental Championship from Minoru Suzuki at Wrestling Hinokuni, and then Jericho returned and won the title from Naito at Dominion. After Jericho retained the championship at Power Struggle over EVIL, Naito challenged Jericho to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Picking Jericho matches in NJPW is hard, as we don’t know how long he will be there for. My head is telling me to take Jericho but my gut is saying to go with El Ingobernable, and I trust my gut more than my head on this one, so I am going with Naito.

Prediction: Tetsuya Naito

Kenny Omega (C) Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)

This is a really tough one to pick. Hiroshi Tanahashi is considered the ace of the company, which means that he is the top guy in the company. A while ago New Japan was in danger financially. Tanahashi was the man that brought the company back from the brink of possible bankruptcy. Tanahashi is one of the all time greats and if you watch him, you will see that for yourself. When you look at Kenny Omega, you see someone who offers the same things that Tanahashi offers. There is the storytelling that both bring, the pure wrestling ability that both have, the great crowd reactions that both get, and so much more. The reason that I am not talking to much about the story of the match is because there isn’t much really to talk about. Tanahashi won the G1 Climax tournament and Omega finally won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Dominion finally winning the title that he had been chasing for almost 2 years. This one is hard to predict. The biggest question for me is does Omega go or stay. It's a tough call honestly, but due a nagging feeling that I have, I think Kenny is going. Is he going to go with the rest of the Elite, is he going to WWE? I can’t say that I know for certain, and I honestly have so many different scenarios playing out in my head for Kenny, but it is something that we will be keeping an eye on after the event. I am going to take Tanahashi here, but just know I have absolutely zero confidence in this pick.

Prediction: Hiroshi Tanahashi