NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12: Was Kazuchika Okada Winning The Right Call?

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 more than lived up to the hype, and it’s safe to say that the company generated plenty of positive momentum with an excellent show. No match told a more poignant story than the main event bout between Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito, but was the Rainmaker’s win the correct call?

Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega was the main attraction for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 internationally, and why wouldn’t it be? Both are recognizable stars across the entire professional wrestling landscape, and Y2J is one of the biggest legends to ever step inside the squared circle. But while Jericho and Omega helped bring new eyes to the NJPW product, we all knew that the main event match between Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship would be the premier story of the show.

Okada and Naito had to follow some breathtaking matches from the likes of Kota Ibushi, Cody, Jericho, and Omega, but they managed to succeed in pulling off a masterpiece. This match had a build that was four years in the making, and most people assumed that Naito would come away victorious. After all, Okada is the longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight champion in history with a reign sitting at 564 days before their match in the Tokyo Dome.

The story arc between Okada and Naito has lasted multiple matches over four years, and includes Naito turning heel and joining the Los Ingobernables stable in CMLL. That’s where he cultivated a new attitude and a new character, and he brought this style of thought back to NJPW, forming Los Ingobernables de Japon, easily one of the best wrestling stables in recent memory.

Credit: NJPW1972 Twitter

It seemed like it was Naito’s time to win at Wrestle Kingdom 12. He finally had his main event at WK after the fans once voted he and Okada out of the main event in favor of an Intercontinental Championship match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi. More importantly, Naito was finally popular with the fans, and the 2017 G1 Climax winner seemed like the right guy to win.

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However, Okada retained. It was a result that shocked pretty much everyone, because Naito finally being the one to take the title off of Okada seemed like poetic perfection.

If there were a time to take the title off of Okada and give it to someone else, well, the time was at WK12 and the man to put the strap on was Naito.

After all, Naito is the most over wrestler in NJPW right now. His matches are incredible, such as his G1 Climax Finals win over Kenny Omega, and his character work is even better.

Everything about Naito just clicks, and his story just might be the most skillfully cultivated in professional wrestling today.

However, Okada retained. Naito couldn’t just go for the cover after one Destino. No, he had to go for a second one to put Okada away for good, because the resilient champion just wouldn’t go down to the move before. That decision proved costly for Naito, who also failed to his his second finisher successfully – the lovely Stardust Press.

Naito’s loss was a disappointment, because if the guy portrayed as Okada’s  greatest rival couldn’t end the longest championship run of all-time after throwing everything he possibly had at him, then who can? And will Naito ever get another chance? The moment seemed perfect, and some are worried that Naito is now hurt after being unable to win the title at a moment when the crowd was behind him the most.

But I can see the logic behind the Okada victory, even if it seems like a quizzical decision to some. Tanahashi is still considered the “Ace” of NJPW, and the promotion needs to cement Okada as the company’s next top guy. Okada is the longest reigning champion of all time and arguably the greatest champion of all time in any promotion ever, but aces are known for being practically invincible in Wrestle Kingdom main events. Heck, it took Okada his third attempt to finally dethrone Tanahashi.

So NJPW had to make Okada look beyond just “strong”. And speaking of Wrestle Kingdom main events, Naito never had one until WK12. So if you think about it, the part of his story arc with Okada that came full circle at WK12 wasn’t about the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. No, it was about finally proving that Naito was worthy of being in the main event, which is why his whole online feud with Jericho about the true main event of WK12 was so important.

Who’s to say that Naito won’t have another chance at Okada’s title? But, by the same token, whose to say that Omega won’t be the one to finally dethrone Okada? Naito’s loss definitely left more questions than answers, and it was still disappointing to see him lose despite sound logic (cementing his ace status, the finer details of the story being told) behind Okada retaining.

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing that there are more questions than answers, because it leaves a certain amount of intrigue. It also let a wider audience, perhaps one unfamiliar with Okada and more familiar with Jericho, know just how powerful Okada is in the realm of NJPW and how difficult it is to dethrone the top star in the promotion on the grandest stage for the biggest prize. Based on the Okada/Tanahashi story, I could easily envision Naito finally conquering Okada by Wrestle Kingdom 13 in 2019.

Next: Full Wrestle Kingdom 12 Review

I kind of want to cop out and not answer the, “Was it the right decision for Okada to retain the title?” question, but I’ll say, yes. NJPW made the right call for their company, even if it wasn’t the popular one – or the result that I was hoping for going into the match. I get what they’re trying to do, I get that there are still parts of the story that need to unfold, and I know that we saw one heck of a main event at Wrestle Kingdom 12 between two of the best wrestlers on this planet.