NJPW: What’s Next For The Golden Elite?
All Gold-en Elite
If I were to make a prediction right now, my money would be on Ibushi winning the G1. However, I think Okada, Naito, and Tanahashi all have great odds as well. In this scenario, Ibushi wouldn’t win it. Perhaps a draw with Kenny keeps him out of the final, and allows Naito to move on instead. Or Ibushi defeats Kenny, but goes on to lose to Okada or Tana in the final.
With Omega set to defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom against one of Okada, Naito or Tanahashi, Ibushi would need his own opponent.
Potential Wrestle Kingdom Opponents for Ibushi:
-vs: Cody, I’d bet that Cody will have the ROH Title back at this point, so maybe it could be a ROH World Championship Match like what originally was planned for WK12. The story is already entirely laid out for this
-Jericho, I mean, who wouldn’t want to see this. It would play nicely off of Jericho’s previous rivalry with Kenny, and if Jericho’s last match with NJPW is set for WK13, I could think of no better opponent for him than Ibushi (other than Okada of course). If Y2J still has the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at this point, then heck yeah it’s for the title. If not, non-title would still be legendary.
-Naito, Maybe Ibushi avenges last year’s loss to Naito by defeating him in the G1 this time around. Then, maybe Naito wins the IC Title back from Jericho at KOPW. Finally, maybe Ibushi challenges Naito for the belt at WK. Sounds fantastic to me.
-Tanahashi, It’s probably unlikely, but it would be absolutely massive for Ibushi if he were able to defeat the veteran Ace on January 4th.
-Okada, I mean… same as the last one (except even more unlikely)
-Goto, If Goto continues to run with the NEVER belt and put on great matches, his title reign will carry a ton of value by January. I would love a match between him and The Golden Star in the Tokyo Dome. Ibushi would have the opportunity to show off a more physical side of his offense, and it would leave the two top belts to be contested for by some combinations of Omega, Okada, Naito, and Tanahashi. This is the least flashy of the possibilities, but it also may be my favorite.
Again, What about The Bucks?
Again, The Bucks would just have a nice run with their Tag Team Championships, and compete in a top match against a great team at WK.
Note: Although Omega vs Ibushi wouldn’t go down in the main event of The Dome in this scenario, it could definitely still happen at King of Pro Wrestling. Say Ibushi defeats Omega in the G1, then Omega extends the challenge to his Lover for KOPW.
(Obviously, neither man would turn on the other if this were to happen. It wouldn’t be worth breaking up The Golden Lovers for anything less than Wrestle Kingdom.)