10 Early Wrestling Predictions For 2018

10. Kenny Omega Vs. Chris Jericho Won't Set The World On Fire

Chris Jericho hasn't wrestled an unequivocally brilliant match since Payback 2013.

In the four years since, wrestling's David Bowie has excelled in the character department - but has failed to evolve in-ring. That's the problem: Jericho all too often wrestles as if he forgets he isn't ten years younger. Sloppy in submission transitions, his hubris obscures his advancing years. Ominously, this hubris is the very foundation of the match: Jericho at Power Struggle referred to himself as the "best in the world" which, while a marketable enough WWE nickname, is a veritable gauntlet-thrower in the context of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Jericho in 2018 is a ***3/4 performer entering a ****** arena.

Wrestle Kingdom isn't WrestleMania. New Japan Pro Wrestling isn't WWE. At TLC, fans knew Kurt Angle wasn't at his physical peak, and managed their expectations accordingly. The goodwill carried him through. Jericho's experience with New Japan was fleeting, ranging from widely-panned disaster to an only-decent BOSJ run. The hype is there; the currency with the crowd is not.

Yuji Nagata, three years Jerichio's senior, is the frame of reference here. He excelled in this year's G1 Climax tournament by performing to a consistently brilliant standard that has eluded Jericho, even with the luxury of a reduced schedule. Jericho needs to perform to that standard at a minimum to reach such lofty expectations.

The match will be very cool, at the very least - but hyping it as Alpha Vs. Omega might be its undoing.