NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 Preview and Predictions
from njpw1972.com
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Chris Jericho(c) vs Tetsuya Naito
If you would’ve told me a year ago that Chris Jericho would be walking into the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 13 as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, I would’ve laughed in your face. It’s just such an insane reality we’re living in, but sure enough we’re living in it and it is absolutely wonderful.
Y2J has completely changed the landscape of modern wrestling with his appearances in NJPW over the last 14 months. He’s reminded us that anything is possible in this wacky world of professional wrestling, and inspired many western fans to expand their horizons and check out a product that provides a very different type of entertainment than what they may be accustomed to.
On the other side of this match is another man who deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest in wrestling at the moment. Tetsuya Naito didn’t have the smoothest 2018 at all, falling short against Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in a match many thought he was destined to win, struggling against Suzuki in a rivalry that never quite fulfilled fan expectations, and losing the IC title to Jericho at Dominion in a wild brawl.
Through it all, however, Naito has remained tranquilo. He reminded us all why he’s one of the best all around wrestlers on Earth with a slew of fantastic matches in the G1, and has really been able to show-off his amazing charisma and personality, playing the cool, calm, collected foil to an unhinged Jericho.
As entertaining as the clash of styles between Naito and Jericho has been, the outcome of this blow-off match seems extremely predictable. You never know, they may try to shock us by having Jericho retain the title, but the writing is on the walls as far as I can tell.
As unfortunate as it may be for the physical well being of the IWGP Intercontinetal Championship, It’s time for Naito to redeem himself and start 2019 on the right foot. As far as Jericho’s potential future with New Japan, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Prediction: Tetsuya Naito