NJPW/GFW Wrestle Kingdom 9 Predictions

Wrestle Kingdom 9, the long-awaited co-promoted pay-per-view from New Japan Pro Wrestling and Global Force Wrestling, has finally arrived.

Mere hours before the annual event inside Japan’s immaculate Tokyo Dome, I decided to take a look at the matches and offer up a few predictions:

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: reDRagon (C) vs. Forever Hooligans vs. Time Splitters vs. The Young Bucks

Potential show stealer alert.

This is a tough one to call. reDRagon are representing Ring of Honor, and aren’t contracted to NJPW. They’ve held the titles since NJPW Power Struggle on November 8th, and I think this is the time they lose it.

I can’t envision The Young Bucks taking the title here, because The Bullet Club can’t win everything.

As for Forever Hooligans, they are such a strong act, they don’t really need to hold the title.

That leaves Time Splitters. On December 7th, Time Splitters lost an ROH World Tag Team Championship Match on a Ring of Honor PPV, and I think they will get that win back here, and regain the tag title they lost to reDRagon in November.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Jeff Jarrett) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojimo and Tomoaki Honma

The first example of Bullet Club’s Wrestle Kingdom domination.

The Bullet Club will get the win here, and I expect Jarrett to get the pin.

Suzukigun (Shelton X Benjamin, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith, Jr. and Takashi Iizuka) vs. Toru Yano, Naomichi Marufuji, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste

With the renewed relationship of NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah, I’d expect the Noah guys (Marufuji, Nicholls and Haste) to go over.

This is part of a two-part, or two-match sequence, and I expect both matches to tell one large story.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Minoru Suzuki in a UWFI Rules Match

Under the UWFI Rules stipulation, this match can only end in KO or submission.

This match is going to be brutal. Sakuraba is fighting for Toru Yano, who will be in competition earlier in the night, as part of an eight-man tag team match, battling four members of Suzuki’s Suzukigun stable.

I think that Suzuki will pull this one out, just after watching his stablemates fall.

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NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Tomohiro Ishii (C) vs. Togi Makabe

NEVER is an acronym, which stands for “New blood”, “Evolution”, “Valiantly”, “Eternal”, and “Radical”. Though it is an “openweight” title, this belt is generally held and classified as a heavyweight title.

I’m going to take Makabe in this one. I just think that NJPW is going to try and present a few big moments in this one, knowing that they have a bigger audience than ever, and Makabe’s style is one that could generate interest in people watching him for the first time.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Ryusuke Taguchi (C) and Kenny Omega

Omega, the newest member of Bullet Club, is going to bring the title to his new group. Bullet Club last held the junior heavyweight title when it was in the possession of Prince Devitt, who lost the belt exactly one year ago, at Wrestle Kingdom 8.

Taguchi is merely in the wrong place at the wrong time here.

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) (C) vs. Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata)

More Bullet Club dominance here.

The IWGP Tag Team Championship hasn’t been held for a long reign in a couple of years. In fact, the last reign that lasted for a year-plus was 564 days, when the title was held by Bad Intentions (Anderson and Giant Bernard [WWE’s A-Train/Tensai]). When Anderson and Gallows step in the ring at Wrestle Kingdom 9, they will be on day 365, and I think they will see day 366.

AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito

Looking forward, I think that Styles is going to get a chance at the winner of Tanahashi/Okada. Styles never got a rematch for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, after he lost it to Tanahashi.

I think that they will have Styles get the win here, in order to keep him strong for that rematch.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura (C) vs. Kota Ibushi

This is a really tough one to call.

Nakamura, along with Tanahashi and Okada, is one of the three big faces of NJPW. Along with being a great wrestler, he is practically made of charisma, and it would not be shocking to see him retain in front of the biggest audience NJPW has ever had. (Sorry for being repetitive on that note, but it’s a big deal.)

Don’t count out Ibushi though.

Ibushi is a guy who could join that trio of Tanahashi, Okada and Nakamura, becoming a top guy in NJPW. He is a three-time IWJP Junior Heavyweight Champion, a former-IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion (w/ Kenny Omega), and won Best of the Super Juniors in 2011. He’s also no slouch in the talent department.

I think it’s tough to pick against Nakamura. He’s a star, and somebody you want to carry the biggest show of the year. Remember, he main evented this show last year, with this belt, against Tanahashi.

Regardless of the outcome, this is another match that could easily steal the show. Nakamura is on the short list of best wrestlers in the world, and Ibushi can do stuff like this. (Yes, that is Finn Balor.)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (C) vs. Kazuchika Okada

Since Okada’s “rebirth” as “The Rainmaker”, these two have participated in six singles matches. Okada has won three, Tanahashi has won two, the other ended in a time-limit draw.

Following their last match, in October of 2013, after Okada won to retain the heavyweight title, Tanahashi, approaching his 37th birthday, accepted that his time on top was over and said he would never again challenge Okada for the heavyweight championship. Instead, Tanahashi turned his focus to the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and was set to battle Nakamura for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom 8. NJPW put up a fan vote for which match should main event, Nakamura/Tanahashi, or Okada vs. Naito for the heavyweight title. Nakamura/Tanahashi won and Okada was furious.

Okada’s big title match at the Tokyo Dome was overshadowed by the fact that it did not main event, and a few months later, Okada was overpowered by Bullet Club, allowing AJ Styles to become heavyweight champion.

Styles would hold the belt until last October, when he lost it to Tanahashi.

So, even though Tanahashi said he would not challenge Okada for the title, the tables are now turned, and Okada is challenging Tanahashi, and I expect Okada to put an unofficial end to the series in this match.

Tanahashi is 38, Okada is 27. Some say Okada has already taken over as the face of NJPW, but there will be little doubt once he wins this match.

Either way, it’s possible that this match neutralizes any potential show stealers, and that Tanahashi and Okada put on a five-star effort.

Jim Ross said this may be “the greatest main event I ever call.” While I think that’s JR playing the PR game more than anything, I think that this match could be very high on that list. It’s Japan’s Rock vs. Austin, and it should be pretty magical.

Have any predictions for the show? Share them with us in the comments section below.

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