Wrestle Kingdom 12 [Archived]

Post here, nerds

New Japan Rumble starts at 2AM EST
Main card starts 3AM EST

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 card
All matches have a 60-minute time limit unless otherwise indicated.

New Japan Rumble (Opening Match): This bout is similar to WWE's Royal Rumble in terms of format except participants must be pinned or submitted to be eliminated as opposed to thrown over the top rope. The participants have not been announced ahead of time, though one can expect it to consist of wrestlers not on the main Wrestle Kingdom 12 card along with some legends.

IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship -- Roppongi 3K (c) vs. The Young Bucks: The newest version of the Roppongi team won the titles earlier this year and more recently ran through the NJPW Super Juniors tag team tournament, proving itself the best in the land. But there's one problem: The Young Bucks were not part of that event. As such, the Bucks challenged Roppongi for the titles to prove they are the best in the world.

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship -- Bullet Club (c) vs. Chaos vs. Michael Elgin & War Machine vs. Suzuki-gun vs. Taguchi Japan: This will be fought as a gauntlet match. Bullet Club will be defending the titles for the first time in a major setting in a match that is expected to be War Machine's last in NJPW.


Cody vs. Kota Ibushi (Special Single Match): As Cody duels with Kenny Omega to be seen as the true leader of the Bullet Club, he goes up against Omega's former tag team partner in Ibushi, one of the most exciting wrestlers in NJPW. The rivalry between the two began in November after Ibushi lost a match for the intercontinental title only to be mocked afterward by Cody. This was initially set to be for Cody's Ring of Honor heavyweight title, but he lost it in December, hence the special billing for this bout. Will Cody prevail as he continues his ascent since leaving WWE, or will Ibushi get a bump just seven months after "returning" to NJPW as himself after wrestling under a mask for nearly a year?

IWGP Tag Team Championship -- Killer Elite Squad (c) vs. SANADA & EVIL: After dropping the 6-man titles earlier this year, SANADA & EVIL went on to win the World Tag League tournament and earn an opportunity at the title holders. The Los Ingobernables de Japon members have been on a roll after showing out in a major way at the G1 Climax last year.

NEVER Openweight Championship (Hair vs. Hair Match) -- Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Hirooki Goto: Suzuki-Gun will be barred from ringside in this bout as the former NEVER champion (Goto) looks to get his title back from Suzuki, who held the title throughout most of 2017. Goto already had a rematch against Suzuki that he lost, but a recent tag team pinfall victory over the champion put him back in contention for the strap. Goto offered to put his hair in the line in order to get the opportunity, and Suzuki agreed he would do the same.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship (4-Way Match) -- Marty Scrull (c) vs. Will Ospreay vs. KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi: A number of rivalries come together in this bout as Scrull defends his title against three worthy challengers. He most recently took the title off Ospreay, who gets his rematch here, but a long-time rivalry between Ospreay and KUSHIDA gives the latter a claim for a title opportunity as well. Takahashi has his own ill will against Ospreay following his own long rivalry with KUSHIDA, setting this match into motion.


IWGP Intercontinental Championship -- Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Switchblade: The former top star of NJPW who has main evented Wrestle Kingdom for six straight years, Tanahashi has moved into the mid-card picture and enters the match nursing an injured knee. Switchblade, a former young lion (developmental wrestler) known as Jay White, took out Tanahashi after the champion defended his intercontinental title against Kota Ibushi over the summer, setting their rivalry into motion. Tanahashi is looking to maintain his claim as one of the top performers in the company, whereas Switchblade is attempting to make a name for himself on the company's biggest stage.

IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship (No Disqualification Match) -- Kenny Omega (c) vs. Chris Jericho: A surprise addition to the card and suddenly part of a double main event, one of WWE's biggest stars in Jericho takes on Omega, arguably the top wrestler in the world today and certainly NJPW's biggest cross-over star to the United States and English-speaking world. Omega spent the last year putting on some of the best matches of all-time against Kazuchika Okada before winning the inaugural U.S. title. He then fell in the finals of the G1 Climax to Tetsuya Naito. Now he goes up against Jericho, who is no longer under a WWE contract, in a dream match for wrestling fans. This one will be brutal, and it all stems from Omega's claim that he's the best wrestler in the world, something Jericho has touted for most of his career. In the "Alpha vs. Omega" showdown, we should find out who deserves the crown now. A biggest question: Will this be Jericho's only appearance in NJPW before he eventually re-signs with WWE?

IWGP Heavyweight Championship -- Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito:Champion for the entire calendar year of 2017, Okada defends against Naito, winner of G1 Climax and NJPW's fastest rising star. After being overlooked and pushed out of the main event scene years ago by fans who turned their back on him following Naito's remark that he was the company's new top star, Naito has reclaimed a strong following with his new "tranquilo" persona, developed after spending time down in Mexico finding himself. Even though Naito was no longer catering to fans with a high-energy persona and athletic moves, they quickly came around to cheering for him again as they could relate to the frustrations that built throughout his career. Okada is NJPW's crown jewel and has held the title for more than 560 days after winning it from Naito on June 19, 2016, making him the longest-reigning IWGP champion of all-time. Naito's reign of 70 days was the shortest for an IWGP heavyweight champion since 2009.

 

here for it

 

So excited for this entire card.

 

into it

 

I'll probably sticky this night of

 

i'll be watching, not live, but definitely watching

 

I'll probably make a day of watching it. I can never sit through the TD shows in one sitting.

 

Gonna try to watch through it all when I get home from work Thursday night. Almost thinking of leaving my phone at home that day so I can guarantee I don't come across spoilers, haha.

 

So ready for this. Going to bed as soon as I get home from work tomorrow afternoon. Bought some food for it, can't wait to stay up all night.

 

I really, really want to stay up and watch it live, but, like, I also have to drive around 200 miles on friday morning.

 

It's Wednesday night into Thursday morning

 

Also, anyone use a firestick to watch NJPW or anything really? Debating on getting one tonight/tomorrow, would like to hear some pros/cons if any

 

ayoo


Thinking of starting my NJPW sub just for the month (canceled to save money since I wasn't really watching much back catalogue or anything live), but I'm also worried that their stream will shit the bed because they've probably never had an event anywhere near this big

 

I didn't have a problem streaming WK11 on demand like an hour after it was over last year, granted WK12 is probably bigger overall than WK11 was, but I think it'll be fine

 

Contrary to their first show in the US earlier this year, I don't think they'll fuck this up. They'll be ready. Ticket sales are high and I think they really want to capitalize on the attention they're getting.

 

i'll be watching Thursday night and skipping most of it, probably. i'm sure the whole show would blow my mind but i can't afford to get hooked enough to have more wrestling to keep up with haha. what are considered "big" matches here outside of Naito/Okada and Omega/Jericho?

 

Unfortunately both Thurs/Fri are big travel days for me potentially due to some recent news. Gonna have to catch it after the fact I guess.

 

So it’s wednesday but in the states it starts at Thursday 2AM?

 

Tanahashi vs Jay White is the other big match on the show. Other than that, Cody vs Ibushi might be decent, and the 4 way for the JR Heavyweight title will probably be good if given the time

 

Hopefully Ibushi will make Cody not look boring

 

Last four matches are what I'm really interested in.

 

The four way match looks awesome

 

I might be more excited for that match than the main events. Considering the matches those guys had in the super juniors tourney, it should be a barn burner.

 

I'm excited for Terry Funk entering the rumble and winning the whole damn thing.

 

I hope Cody loses tomorrow, Ibushi is just too good