The Natural Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) Seen as NJPW's confirmed three matches today for Wrestle Kingdom 15, a thread for it. I'll keep updating this post when more matches are added. https://www.njpw1972.com/84605 4th January, Night 1: IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan. IWGP Tag Team Championship: Taichi/Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Guerillas of Destiny. Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo. 5th January, Night 2: Jay White faces the winner of Naito/Ibushi for both titles. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu-ELP winner. NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb. SANADA vs. EVIL. Edited December 14, 2020 by The Natural Updated the card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) Dread to think what Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi will do to one another at the TOKYO DOME and IWGP's biggest show of the year considering the notorious Dominion 2019 match. 2012 introduced the G1 Climax winner defending the contract. At some point someone had to lose it and Kota Ibushi did to Jay White at Power Struggle this weekend. Despite that, Kota is still getting his shot. Losing the contract should have bigger consequences. If Wrestle Kingdom 14 was a one night event this year, I believe Kota Ibushi would have beat Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but it was Tetsuya Naito's time. Now it's Golden Star's. Edited November 9, 2020 by The Natural Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 I concur. I think Ibushi beats Naito and White. New Year's Dash will have EVIL kick White out of Bullet Club, especially after he mocked EVIL after Power Struggle. Wish we could get Moxley returning here but obviously with Covid restrictions that isn't happening. Which makes me question having two nights. Feels like we might get some filler this year if they can't bring in everyone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo2653 Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 If Mox wasn't AEW champ, I would say that he'd be there for WK but no way that happens now. I wonder how long they'll keep the US title on Mox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 This booking is asinine. They don't need two nights. And they don't need two double gold belts. Either unify them or separate them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teflon Turtle Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 (edited) I admit to some skepticism, but am taking a "wait and see" approach. From a booking standpoint, and a roster standpoint, they certainly don't need two nights. Even from a calendar point of view: I initially thought the whole point of the two-night WK from 2020 was that the 4th and 5th fell over a weekend for the first time in forever. I wasn't nuts about the Double Gold Dash idea. I remember Okada cutting a promo in the ring with the other three participants, and everything just seemed so...tepidly received. In my opinion, though, the wrestlers saved it when they actually got in the ring on the 4th and 5th. Of course I can say that as a Naito fan, but at the end of the day, the matches delivered. I'm starting to wonder how much of it is simple finances. I had read some speculation that the reason NJPW got through the first days of the pandemic relatively unscathed was due to the financial windfall that the two recent nights in the Tokyo Dome granted them. I can't help but wonder if the pressure is on to do two nights this year simply to refill the coffers as much as possible for an uncertain 2021, rather than any actual storyline need. I'm not envying the prospect of either being very short on sleep, or burning two days off right at the start of the new year just to watch pro-wrestling. Edited November 10, 2020 by Teflon Turtle I finally noticed my dumb typo and added a sentence. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Also, it's time to strip Moxley of the US title, this is getting ridiculous. He can't go to Japan right now, and AEW won't let him work NJPW in the US. They never should've put the belt back on him in the first place. Stripping him of the title last year was the perfect out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Should have made KENTA interim us champion. In ring I feel he's lost a step but on social media/heel work he's great. He's defended the us title shot briefcase against Cobb and Tanahashi, looks like on NJPW Strong he's defending against Finlay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teflon Turtle Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 (edited) The US title situation has been one of the weirder parts of it all. I don't know how/why you do a "right to challenge" tournament unless you know you have a way to follow through on that. Unless the whole thing was taped before anybody knew how bad things were going to get, it makes no sense. Then again, it is pro wrestling. "We need to kick the can down the road" is an accepted as a valid reason to book something. Dip in to the historical puroresu weirdness playbook: Mox v. KENTA in an Island Death Match, broadcast from international waters! No pesky public safety or immigration issues. EDIT: Kidding aside, it doesn't make much sense to even have a US title if you can't run actual shows in the US. I know NJPW Strong is a thing, but it seems like it's such a skeleton crew, and a lot of it seems to be/has been taped far in advance. It probably just makes more sense to seal the belt if or until NJPW can run shows in North America again. Edited November 10, 2020 by Teflon Turtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagan Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 I really don't like the idea of Jay White in the second night because it tells me the BULLET CLUB CIVIL WAR is gonna be a much bigger storyline in 2021 than I need it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Just waiting to see what they do with Chaos, Ospreay's group and Suzuki-Gun. I felt Taichi defeating him in the G-1 that he was being positioned to take over. Hoping for major realignment across the factions to spice things up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archibald Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 So what Tanahashi is going to do? I always assumed that with Kota he'd win WTL and win back tag titles at the dome so in that sense White winning wasn't surprising to me. But now I have no idea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, Archibald said: So what Tanahashi is going to do? I always assumed that with Kota he'd win WTL and win back tag titles at the dome so in that sense White winning wasn't surprising to me. But now I have no idea. I was also wondering about Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki in a Legends match? Both had a ***** brilliant match together at King of Pro-Wrestling 2012. The story told, the selling and how there's no near falls, none, the one pin attempt ended the match. Edited November 11, 2020 by The Natural Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 (edited) I could see Tanahashi matched with a young/newer guy similar to the White match a few years ago. Someone like O-Khan, Cobb or maybe even Henare depending on what happens in the tag league. A special match against Taichi or ZSJ could happen one night also given their history over the past year. Or maybe he challenges who ever wins the King of Pro Wrestling title for a match against the Ace to prove their worthiness. If they find a way to get Mox in for WK I think Tana/Mox will happen on which ever night Mox/KENTA doesn’t. Edited November 11, 2020 by Sublime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Tanahashi vs. Shingo? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 10 hours ago, TheVileOne said: Tanahashi vs. Shingo? Is that a first time ever match? That would work for the Tokyo Dome. Like Sublime's Zack Sabre Jr suggestion also. The Ace deserves a big spot on the Tokyo Dome for what's he's given to NJPW and pro-wrestling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 2 minutes ago, The Natural said: Is that a first time ever match? That would work for the Tokyo Dome. Like Sublime's Zack Sabre Jr suggestion also. The Ace deserves a big spot on the Tokyo Dome for what's he's given to NJPW and pro-wrestling. If indeed it's Takagi vs. Tanahashi, you have the story of Tanahashi going for the NEVER Openweight Championship. It's one of the few he's never held in NJPW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archibald Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 My suspicion is that Evil will go for Shingo at WK. You don't really go from being double champ and one of the main characters during the entire year to not having a featured match at WK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Could see something with Tanahashi-Sabre or Tanahashi-Shingo. I believe Ospreay still has the Revolution Pro title, could see that defended and/or his new stable challenge for the 6 man tag titles on the 2nd night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 18 hours ago, Archibald said: My suspicion is that Evil will go for Shingo at WK. You don't really go from being double champ and one of the main characters during the entire year to not having a featured match at WK. True but it was a poor reign as IWGP Intercontinental Champion and IWGP Heavyweight Champion. I can't see NJPW punishing EVIL for it like when Jinder Mahal's God awful WWE Championship reign ended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 I've just now thought of another potential opponent for Hiroshi Tanahashi...Tomohiro Ishii. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archibald Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 On 11/13/2020 at 6:57 AM, The Natural said: True but it was a poor reign as IWGP Intercontinental Champion and IWGP Heavyweight Champion. I can't see NJPW punishing EVIL for it like when Jinder Mahal's God awful WWE Championship reign ended. I'm not sure if it can be called poor (or good) considering that it was pretty much a filler for couple of months till we got to G1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 (edited) Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The one everybody thought Naito would win. Gedo's booking decision is debated to this day. I'd say this was Naito's popularity at his highest. I still rewatch his entrance. This also featured the debut of Kazuchika Okada's infamous pants. Edited December 14, 2020 by The Natural Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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