Earlier this year, New Japan Pro Wrestling made one of the best choices they’ve made in years. Instead of being one epic show, their annual January 4th Tokyo Dome show was two. It was split over January 4th & 5th, and those are still two of the best shows this year has seen. We got the double gold dash, the retirement matches of Jyushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, and more. It was a great time, so why not do this once again?
Two Year Wrestle Kingdom Was Confirmed During The G1 Climax Finals
Before our Wrestle Kingdom main event was decided, we got the confirmation that once again, Wrestle Kingdom will be split over two nights. This year, Kota Ibushi got his IWGP Heavyweight Championship match on January 4th, the main event of the history date of Wrestle Kingdom. We can likely expect things to remain the same next year, but after the IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships were unified on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14, will both titles be defended against Kota Ibushi?
Tetsuya Naito Wants To Defend The Championships Separately
Tetsuya Naito has expressed interest in starting to defend the championships separately, and Wrestle Kingdom being two nights will give him a chance to do just this. January 4th is the home of Wrestle Kingdom, the night everyone has looked forward to for years. This is when it makes sense to do the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match, keeping with tradition. Naito can then defend the IWGP Intercontential Championship on Night Two against someone like SANADA, who won a title shot by beating Naito in the G1.
Other Matches We Can Expect At Wrestle Kingdom?
While Wrestle Kingdom 15 is a few months away, it’s not too hard to predict a potential card. We obviously have Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi after the G1 Climax finals. The winner of Best of Super Juniors will face IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Taiji Ishimori and the winner of World Tag League will face Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi).
KENTA has a shot at the IWGP United States Champion, Jon Moxley, which could fall on one of these nights as well. Minoru Suzuki has a list of challengers after a horrible G1, but his best potential match is his Suzuki-Gun ally, Taichi, who might pull double duty for the chance to walk out draped in gold. Kazuchika Okada just entered into a feud with Will Ospreay, an easy Wrestle Kingdom grudge match. Another grudge match could be Jay White vs. EVIL for control of Bullet Club.
These are just the likely matches at this time, but anything could happen between now and Wrestle Kingdom 15. Are you excited for this epic two night event to return? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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