NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019: Results, Highlights and Analysis

Kota Ibushi vs EVIL – IWGP Heavyweight Championship Right to Challenge Contract

EVIL has been on a great trajectory since his crisis before the G1, doubting himself and distancing himself from his stablemates. His G1 was, statistically speaking, about average, but he got the win over Ibushi (leading to this opportunity to challenge for the contract), his tag partner SANADA, and Zack Sabre Jr., who has given him not an insignificant amount of grief in the past.

Kota Ibushi, meanwhile, had a rough start to his G1, losing his first two matches to KENTA and EVIL, and making a lot of people panic. He blitzed through the rest of the G1 despite a lingering foot injury and defeated Okada for the final against White.

Anyway.

The Ibushi and EVIL dynamic is almost always full of heart, both being very strong and very able to take a lot of damage in order to prove a point. Especially in this match, put best by Rocky on commentary who called this a fight between a man with everything to gain and a man with everything to lose. In a high stakes match, these two are going to bring the best out of each other.

There’s an entire sequence where EVIL keeps Ibushi’s arms locked behind him with wrist control and Ibushi fights to get out of it for a solid minute and 30 seconds. EVIL has always been mindful of where and how to wear Ibushi down, especially demonstrated by his focus on his ankle during the G1 – cruel but effective.

EVIL almost takes Ibushi’s head off with both the ropes and a chair. Ibushi keeps getting up after every attack and finally rallies enough to catch EVIL in a hurricanrana off of the top rope. Within fifteen minutes they’re worn out enough to put each other down with incredibly strong moves and then fail to cover.

In the end it takes two completed Kamigoyes to put EVIL down, shutting down his hopes of facing Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14. Alternatively, shutting down his hopes of facing SANADA at Wrestle Kingdom should his tag partner defeat Okada in the next match.

Either way, Ibushi secured his place in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14 and while EVIL moves on without the contract, he can move on confident. It took two god killers to silence the King and he won’t stop until everything is shrouded in darkness.