Wrestle Kingdom 13 Reactions *spoilers*

Hi guys,

Before I get into this exciting post and possibly very long ass post - HAPPY NEW YEAR (right, we've got the formalities out of the way). So, if you've been reading this blog recently, you'll know that NJPW always gets me very excited and on Friday 4th Jan, we had the biggest event of the year at the Tokyo Dome... Wrestle Kingdom 13. I got a day off work and sat my bum on the sofa from 7am (after getting up at 6:30am) to watch an event with one of the most stacked cards I've ever seen from a wrestling show! All I can say is, wow! It was the first WK I've watched where I was fully into the company and all the storylines (last year was just Ospreay's match and Kenny v Jericho) and I was at the edge of my seat for every single match, also my prediction tally at the end was 7-3 (which is pretty damn good considering my past records). 
So, here are my reactions to all 5 hours of Wrestle Kingdom 13 including the pre-show:

Wrestle Kingdom started with the gauntlet match where the winner is going to challenge BC OG's for the Never Openweight Tag Team titles at New Year's Dash. We started off with The Elite (Hangman, Scurll and Yujiro accompanied by Chase Owens) and the Taguchi Japan team of David Finlay, Jeff Cobb and Yuji Nagata. We got the first result by Finlay pinning Yujiro after Hangman accidentally hitting Chase Owens and then Yujiro - there's going to be some tension between these Elite! This was then followed by David Finlay pinning Best Friends and Goto, followed by Suzuki Gun pinning Finlay and then finally Yano (in the team of Yano, Makabe and Taguchi) of all people pinning Suzuki Gun to get the shot tomorrow. It was a great, fun way to start the match and set off the night amazingly with all my faves who didn't make it onto the main card.

We then kicked off the main card in one of the best ways possible: Kota Ibushi v Will Ospreay for the NEVER openweight title. It started off at full steam with counter after counter after counter and the odd flip in between - I mean it was the fastest start to a match I've ever seen. Initially I was a bit sceptical because there seemed to be a lot of breaks with both guys just sat trying to get some breath for the next move. But, after a while, I got that it just made the match even more nail biting - I mean we saw this fire in both their eyes and the need to outdo each other. We saw them both busting out moves that blow my mind and it just seemed like it was high risk move after high risk move. This match also brought out the more brutal side of both of them and after Ospreay basically KO'd Ibushi with that hit to the neck, it ended a whirlwind match where Ibushi got carried out on a stretcher. Even though it was an amazing match, I want to send my wishes out to Ibushi because NJPW have tweeted that he's got a serious concussion. It really shows that both guys were willing to put it all on the line to put on an amazing show for us all! Who knows, we might even be seeing the more brutal side to Ospreay who takes no shit because I saw a very different Aerial Assassin from the last few years!

It was a hard match to follow but they were all spectacular and what made it even better was the variety in terms of lengths, results and storylines. After the NEVER title match, the jr tag teams had a lot to live up too and I was so excited because the match at Power Struggle was amazing so I had massive high hopes. It was quick paced with each of the guys getting offence and it was awesome seeing all the different styles from Sho and Shingo's strength to the agility of Yoh and Bushi and Despy and Kanemaru's expertise. The only thing that upset me was that the match only lasted a little under 7 minutes (maybe because the NEVER match went on for so long) when it had the potential to be one of the best matches of the night. This was one of my wrong predictions as I prayed that Roppongi 3k would've won, but that doesn't mean I'm upset because I love me some LIJ and Bushi! Another match that was short but which worked perfectly was Juice beating Cody to get back his US title (about time). We had a great mix of Brandi getting involved, each of them doing the other's finishers and a really good ending with Juice hitting Cody with 2 Pulp Frictions for the 1, 2, 3. What intrigued me the most was Juice's reaction straight after the match - the look in the eye isn't what we see from our no.1 Babyface Juice Robinson, is it maybe foreshadowing a heel turn?

Then we had those matches that everyone just knew were going to be amazing. I know I, like loads of other people, were sceptical about the Bucks being added to the IWGP Heavyweight tag match but they didn't win and they added a lot! We had the athleticism of Sanada, Tama Tonga and Nick Jackson whenever they were in the ring with each other. We then had Evil being uber extra last night G.O.D being #GoodGuys - I mean it was a mix of great wrestling, funny moments and just amazing tag team wrestling. I wouldn't have minded who won but I was secretly really happy that it was Evil (my spirit animal) and Sanada. After the US title match, we were then treated to a Jr spectacle with Kushida (who had the coolest and weirdest entrance of the night) v Taiji Ishimori (who just looked bad ass). It perfectly showcased the amazing Jr division NJPW has with high risk but also the other things that makes this division so unique like Ishimori's strength and Kushida's submission skills. I was uber sad that Kushi lost but BC OG Girl 4 life so I don't mind - it just reiterates the factions dominance. I just hope it's not evidence that Kushida's going to WWE because #cries. One match which was amazing, but not quite as good as some of the others, was the no DQ IC title match between Chris Jericho and Tetsuya Naito. It was probably as brutal as they come and literally I didn't know which way it would go, I mean we had Naito getting out of the Walls of Jericho and Jericho kicking out of Destino (along with some table/kendo stick and chair action). In the end, the better man won in Naito and let's see what he's going to do with the title that's been pretty much vacant from NJPW but which Naito hated the last time he had it!

I think the matches that really were a highlight for me were the Ishii v ZSJ match for the Rev Pro Undisputed British Championship and obviously the IWGP Heavyweight title match between Kenny Omega and Tanahashi. I've seen the Rev Pro title get defended in Manchester between Ishii and Suzuki but this match was so different. After a bit of Taka time, I initially expected the match to be pretty straight forward with ZSJ using his submission skills and Ishii using his strength and big build. I was happily surprised because we saw the speed of ZSJ not only through his transitions into submissions but his strikes and then we saw Ishii show off with some of his own submissions (I mean obviously not on ZSJ's level). It was also a really fast paced and the match ended perfectly with ZSJ picking up the win and getting his Rev Pro title back with the amazingly named move Hurrah! Another year, surely this one will be better than the last; the inexorable march of progress will lead us all to happiness . How could I forget about that 39 min IWGP Heavyweight match? You know it's a good match when this amount of time passes in a match and you don't even bat an eyelid. It was an amazing mix of traditional wrestling, Kenny's innovative style and storytelling. We had points where it seemed like Tana was going to break his Japanese strong style but stayed away, Tana's Styles Clash, Kenny doing a high fly flow/ Slingblade, that spot where Tanahashi fell into the table and Kenny throwing Tana into Milano and finding it hilarious. We got a match of strikes, risk and brutality - so basically everything I love about wrestling mixed into one match. I know I predicted that Tana would win but I didn't actually think it would happen and I got semi emotional at the end when he held that title high.

So, that's what I thought of the Wrestle Kingdom 13 card. Some of you have maybe noticed that one match is missing and that's because it was my favourite of the night and deserves a special mention, especially because of the lack of interest a lot of people had in it (I mean some people even said that it was a demotion for Okada to be in a match against Jay). The build up to this match was probably one of the best of the entire card and as I've said in my post for Pro Wrestling Post (https://prowrestlingpost.com/whattoexpect-special-match-jay-white-v-kazuchika-okada-at-wrestle-kingdom-13/) dates all the way back to the 15th January last year! Jay came out all clad in white (I mean damn) and Okada came out in his old Rainmaker shorts (like damn) and the match was pure magic from the start. There were some amazing spots throughout like Okada jumping over the barrier onto Gedo and Jay, the Kiwi crusher from Jay and that amazing end sequence which led to Jay hitting Okada with his Blade Runner and getting the pin. What was even better for me was that it proved the haters wrong because, even though Gedo threw a chair in the ring, Jay won clean with no low blows or weapons involved. The amazing match teamed with the amazing storytelling from the both made it my match of the night with my small amount of bias for the two, my investment in the match and the overall story it told. The future is shining bright for Jay White and I also see amazing things from Okada who put his heart and soul into the match even though it wasn't the main event or for a title.

So, that's my quite brief (I mean imagine if I went into detail on the whole 5 hour show) of the WK13 card. It was the first time that all titles changed hands in a show and it meant that the company's champs went from being mainly Gaijins to predominantly Japanese which is always nice.

So what's next? Well we've just had New Year's Dash today where quite a lot has happened that can probably go some way to answering that question. Chase Owens and Yujiro are now back with the Bullet Club *yay*, Taichi is going after Naito's IC belt, Ishii v Nagata, Yoshi Hashi came back and lost, Roppongi 3k beat heavyweight Suzuki again and Jay White challenged Tanahashi for his IWGP Heavyweight belt. Phew, I think we've got a good few months ahead of us in NJPW and I'm so excited (it also means more time wasted watching NJPW).

So, what did everyone think about Wrestle Kingdom 13? - let me know in the comments or on social media (@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB) all your thoughts!

Until next time,

Bye!