NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 Preview and Predictions

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 will go live from the Tokyo Dome at 2 am ET on January 4th with a stacked, unpredictable card that is sure to leave fans buzzing…

NEVER Openweight Championship: Kota Ibushi(c) vs Will Ospreay

Fans have been clamoring for a match between the Golden Star and the Aerial Assassin in NJPW for years, so when the pair first teased an encounter back in September, the internet wrestling community took notice. Now, after a lengthy buildup with plenty of twists and turns due to Ospreay’s recent rib injury, the dream match is set to kick off Wrestle Kingdom 13’s main card on January 4th.

Traditionally, NJPW have opened their Tokyo Dome shows with some of the least anticipated matches on respective cards. However, they’ll continue their recent pattern of throwing tradition out the window by beginning the new year with guns blazing.

Thankfully, this year’s lineup should pack enough variation and firepower throughout the card to keep fans interested even after Ibushi and Ospreay bring us all to tears of joy. Still, for better or worse, there’s a very good chance that Wrestle Kingdom 13’s best bout will come at the beginning of the night.

On top of the incredible talent possessed by both competitors, this match also has a high level of unpredictability going for it. It’s easy to see either guy coming out on top.

Ibushi enters as the holder of a championship in desperate need of consistency after changing hands six times in 2018, while Ospreay could use a big championship win in the Tokyo Dome to kickstart his apparent transition to the heavyweight division. With that being said, strangely enough, I actually expect the loser of this match to be set up for a more eventful 2019- contending for more important championships and potentially career-altering victories in the New Japan Cup and/or G1 Climax 29.

Prediction: Will Ospreay