Chris Jericho Vs. Tetsuya Naito II & MORE Set For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13

Huge matches announced for NJPW's 4 January Tokyo Dome spectacular.

by Andy H Murray
Chris Jericho Tetsuya Naito
NJPW1972.com

Chris Jericho will defend his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against the most popular wrestler in Japan, Tetsuya Naito, at New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom 13, the promotion have announced.

This comes on the back of a successful Power Struggle pay-per-view for both men. 'Y2J' successfully defended his belt against Naito's Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate, EVIL, in the night's main event, with the former 'Stardust Genius' overcoming Zack Sabre Jr. earlier on.

A post-main event confrontation saw Jericho bail as Naito charged the ring, and now, the 47-year-old must defend the IC strap against the man he defeated for it at Dominion 6.9 back in June.

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Three additional bouts have also been added to the lineup, with IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA defending his gold against Bullet Club's Taiji Ishimori, CHAOS leader Kazuchika Okada facing off against his BC equivalent Jay White, and an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title three-way between El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Roppongi 3K, and Shingo Takagi and BUSHI.

These matches join IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega versus Hiroshi Tanahashi, which was made official after October's King Of Pro Wrestling pay-per-view, making for a stacked 4 January card.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.