It's a busy wrestling weekend once again, as not only do we have an AEW PPV, but on Monday morning our time NJPW presents King of Pro-Wrestling 2024!
This show isn't the most stacked NJPW PPV but it does have some potential major impact on next year's WrestleKingdom, as the 2024 G1 winner Zack Sabre Jr. has opted to cash in his chips early. Instead of going after Tetsuya Naito's IWGP Title at the Dome, he's challenging here, in the hopes that he can bring the belt home for next week's Royal Quest PPV in the UK. Aside from that there are a bunch of title matches but not a ton of star power I would say. But let's get into it....
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mistico
This should be a very fun opener. The top Jr. star in NJPW vs. one of Mexico's biggest-ever box office attractions. Having this open the show seems odd to me, as it could easily fit in before the final two or three bouts. But if given ample time this could be a show stealer. I think Mistico probably wins here, as I think both he and CMLL are very protective of his win-loss record. Takahashi can stand a loss.
Pick: Mistico
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club War Dogs vs. Jett Setters
Should be a solid Jr. tag bout. The War Dogs have held these titles since February so I could see Kushida and Kevin Knight picking them back up.
Pick: Jet Setters
IWGP Tag Team Championship: TMDK vs. The Rogue Army
Wait, when did Bad Luck Fale come back? Haven't seen him in forever. And who's this Caveman Ugg fella? Anyway, not sure how good this will be but I think TMDK probably keep the titles.
Pick: TMDK retain
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi vs. Ryohei Oiwa
I don't know basically anything about Oiwa but I hear he's a big burly bruiser, so that should lend itself well to a NEVER Openweight Meat Special. Two big bastards slugging the tar out of each other? Sounds like fun. Oiwa is just back from excursion and this could be a defining match in his young career.
Pick: Shingo retains
NJPW TV Championship: Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji vs. Ren Narita
The quality of this all depends on how much House of Torture bullshit we have to suffer through. Cobb vs. Tsuji one-on-one sounds great. Add Mr. Outside Interference and this could suck. I think Cobb probably retains?
Pick: Jeff Cobb retains
Hiroshi Tanahashi/Shota Umino/El Phantasmo vs. House of Torture
Ugh, this is gonna be the drizzling shits. Evil, Yujiro and Kanemaru on a team? Pass.
Pick: Babyfaces win, probably by pinging Yujiro
IWGP Jr. Championship: Douki vs. Sho
Third House of Torture match in a row. For Chrissakes. Man does this division need an influx of new talent when Douki is the best you can do. Again, purely on paper this could be good, but it involves HoT, so it probably won't be.
Pick: I'll stick with Douki to retain
IWGP Global Championship: David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto
This one kinda screams "free TV match" to me. It'll be quality but Goto is such a glass ceiling guy at this point, does anyone think he's winning here?
Pick: Finlay retains
IWGP World Championship: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
These two generally work well together and ZSJ's style is low-impact so maybe it will hide Naito's laundry list of injuries. Man does this guy look old in that ring in 2024. He's been holding down the fort all year but it's way past time to populate the NJPW main event scene with new players. Zack is a good choice to bridge the two eras. Give this guy a healthy run against the younger generation of stars and let him help make them.
Pick: ZSJ finally wins the big one
So KOPW 24 is a decent lineup but yet another example of a company that desperately needs a major roster overhaul. They're taking an awfully long time to rebuild after losing basically all their major stars of the last decade (whether to other companies or to Father Time).
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