5 Best NJPW Wrestlers Who Won’t Be At Wrestle Kingdom 12
Credit: NJPW1972 Instagram
2. YOSHI-HASHI
The harsh reality is that not too many people will be up-in-arms about this oversight. That said, Tacos’ 2017 has had plenty of highlights.
The CHAOS foot-soldier has challenged for the ROH World Championship, the NEVER Openweight belt, and Kenny Omega’s US title. Three major title bouts is a strong indicator of Yoshi-Hashi’s standing in the company.
新日本プロレス G1 CLIMAX 27～仙台～
— Murajun38 (@konamuran) July 27, 2017
リングインし、名前をコールされてポーズを決めるYOSHI-HASHI選手（・∀・）#njpw #njpwg1 #YOSHIHASHI#CHAOS pic.twitter.com/J0vyS3Sn3D
CHAOS’ six-man team for the Tokyo Dome consists of Ishii, YTR and Baretta. The Stone Pitbull should be nowhere near this low on the card. They shoe-horned him into a bigger bout at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom, but there’s simply no room for manoeuvre this time around. Had he had a more prominent role, Y-H would have been right there to fill his shoes.
Instead, Yoshi-Hashi has been benched in favour of the group’s newest Heavyweight, Baretta. It’s an interesting call given how they often feature Y-H, but they may see more potential for the gaijin star. In all likelihood, Yoshi-Hashi will be our rumble winner, and find himself right back in the title mix soon.