Ten years ago I sat down to watch a pro wrestling PPV event from a company that was entirely new to me. I had heard great things about this company from sources like Wrestling Observer and noticed that a few familiar faces were plying their trade over there, and I was excited to check out something new and fresh. After 28 years as a wrestling fan I was long overdue for a product that actually excited me, something WWE had been failing to do since 2002 and Ring of Honor had stopped doing around 2010. I figured I'd give this other thing a try, and subscribed to NJPW World to watch their flagship event, WrestleKingdom 9. And I was treated to one of the greatest wrestling shows I'd ever seen. From there NJPW became my new favorite wrestling product (till about 2021) and their stellar matches ate up my annual Top 10 ranking. Hard to believe that was already a decade ago. New Japan changed the business in a big way around the time of that event, exposing WWE-weary fans to a whole new philosophy and style of what a wrestling show could look like. Over the next few years they gained so much ground in North America and inspired so many fans like me who needed an alternative, that a whole new company was spawned. NJPW has seen tumultuous times since their 2012-2019 golden age, but January 4th at the Tokyo Dome will always feel special.
With that in mind let's look at this year's WrestleKingdom 19 show. This lineup finally feels like a fresh start, from a company that desperately needs one. Most of the top stars from the aforementioned golden age are either nearing retirement or have moved on to other companies, and it's way past time for New Japan's next generation to show us what they've got. This show feels like that moment has finally arrived.
**Side note**: Every year the preshow consists of a Rumble (or Ranbo as they call it), where everyone not on the main card gets a few minutes of fun. This year though, the winner of the Ranbo gets a World Title shot, so for the first time there's actually something at stake. No idea who's in this thing but maybe someone will either return from excursion or they'll bring in an outside guest from AEW to set up a PPV match.
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship: Intergalactic Jet Setters vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys vs. Catch 2/2 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs
Just like old times. Back in the mid-teens WrestleKingdom used to always kick off with a 4-way Jr. Tag match that got the crowd going, and it was always a lot of fun. This was the Young Bucks' specialty match every January. I'm glad to see this tradition brought back, as it gives this lineup that 2015 feel. Three of these teams have had a stranglehold on these belts since June of 2022, so I'll be adventurous and say the Ichiban Sweet Boys break that streak. Total shot in the dark.
Pick: ISB
IWGP Women's Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. AZM
This is only the second time this title has been defended at WrestleKingdom, and the first was only given a scant five minutes or so. I really hope this gets a good amount of time because it could be one of the highlights. Mayu has had this thing for over 600 days so I could see a title change here, but then again they could just be establishing her as The Star of the Division and want to give her a title defense on their biggest show. I guess I'll stick with the champ to retain.
Pick: Mayu retains
NJPW TV Championship: Ren Narita vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Ryohei Oiwa vs. El Phantasmo
Very glad to see ELP is healthy again after his cancer scare. This should be good, depending on how much Ren's buddies interfere. No idea who wins this, maybe ELP as a Welcome Back gift?
Pick: ELP
Lumberjack Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil
This one I'm not so much looking forward to. Evil matches mostly stink, and Tana is so beaten up now it's sad to watch him. Like John Cena, Tana is on his retirement tour, and if he loses here he's all done. I don't think he's losing here.
Pick: Tanahashi
NEVER Openweight Championship/AEW International Championship: Shingo Takagi vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Holy shitballs this is gonna be great. This could be the Match of the Night in fact. Give them 17 minutes and let 'em beat the snot out of each other and I'm a happy guy. The winner of this match gets Tomohiro Ishii the following night and I'm here for that as well. I think Takeshita's collecting belts and I'm all in favor of it.
Pick: Takeshita
IWGP Jr. Championship: Douki vs. El Desperado
Not sure how good this will be; Desperado is always game but I haven't seen a Douki match I've liked much thus far. But then it's been a while since I've seen one. Hopefully they'll surprise me, as they have big shoes to fill as far as Tokyo Dome Jr. Title matches. I think Despy wins the title back.
Pick: El Desperado
IWGP Global Championship: David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji
Fucking FINALLY Yota Tsuji has a major title match at WrestleKingdom. I've been waiting for this guy to get another big chance for 18 months or so. Give him a ball to run with, he's a big, athletic dude with a ton of natural charisma. I think this is finally his moment, as Finlay's been Global Champ since May. I hope I'm right.
Pick: Yota Tsuji
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Sooo, these guys won the World Tag League together but aren't wrestling for the Tag Titles? I know the belts are vacant because Henare got hurt but.....this is weird. Takahashi has always wanted to main event a WrestleKingdom show, so I guess this is the next best thing, to wrestle his mentor? Both these guys are super over and sell a ton of merch so this could go either way. I think Takahashi should win this as Naito is just as beat up as Hiroshi Tanahashi and moves like a 50+-year old despite only being 42. But I'm not sure if they'll use him to put over someone below him on this big a stage. Another reason is Takahashi should probably move up to heavyweight since he's done all there is to do in the Jr. division. A win over Naito would be a big step for him.
Pick: I could be totally wrong but I'll go with Takahashi
IWGP Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino
This should be fantastic and a return to Tokyo Dome main event form; the last two WK main events have been underwhelming at best. Finally we're back to a champion at the top of his game vs. a fresh challenger. When ZSJ won the G1 in August I was honestly flabbergasted, as I thought it was Tsuji's time and thought it meant a dull Naito vs. ZSJ Tokyo Dome main event. But fortunately Zack opted to challenge Naito at King of Pro-Wrestling instead and here we are. ZSJ just became the first gaijin since Bob Sapp to win Tokyo Sports' MVP of the Year, so I think he's holding onto this title for a while longer, and I'm not mad about it.
Pick: ZSJ retains
So there's the lineup, and a very promising one at that. I hope this show lives up to its potential and restores that 2013-2020 feeling I used to get every January 4th.
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