5 Best NJPW Wrestlers Who Won’t Be At Wrestle Kingdom 12

Credit: NJPW1972 Instagram

After such a stellar year, New Japan Pro Wrestling are riding their momentum to all the way to the Tokyo Dome. Over the course of 2017 however, too many performers have shined, meaning spots on the January 4th megashow have been hard to come by. Who is undeservedly missing out on the biggest NJPW show of the year?

Wrestle Kingdom 12 is going to be huge. Of this, we can be certain.

However, with more and more fans following New Japan’s developments throughout the year, it’s not just the headline acts who are gaining a following. With their various yearly tournaments, lower-tier wrestlers are given an opportunity to take centre stage. Many have used these platforms to raise their stock, hoping to climb the NJPW ranks.

When the Tokyo Dome show rolls around however, many of these surging talents will come to a standstill. The bottleneck becomes so tight that only the very best get a featured spot, with many others shoehorned into multi-man matches.

A separate list could be created for wrestlers who deserve more than a spot in the NEVER Openweight Six-Man gauntlet (Stone Pitbull, please stand up). This list will only cover the performers who have had a big 2017, but failed to even make the main card.

Bear in mind, we may see all of these guys in the New Japan Rumble. But performing in the pre-show in front of a sparse crowd is not what any of them had in mind for their Tokyo Dome experience. This list also won’t cover injury absences like Shibata and Honma; only active wrestlers who have been overlooked.