NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 - Everything You Need To Know

By John Bills /

3. Tomohiro Ishii (c) Vs. Katsuyori Shibata

This is going to be stiff, to say the least. Tomohiro Ishii has dominated the NEVER Openweight division with four title reigns over the last two years, and his defences have been characterised by their sheer brutality. Anyone in doubt should check out his matches against Goto and Makabe. Holy moly. At Wrestle Kingdom 10, Ishii comes up against Katsuyori Shibata, the man who pinned him on the opening and final days of the World Tag League tour. Shibata is as terrifying as they come in NJPW, a strangely handsome man who will find multiple different ways to completely destroy you. He wears black trunks, he doesn't give much away in terms of emotion. He is there to fight people, and fight people he does. As such, this will be the wincer of the evening. Expect chops to the throat, neck-breaking lariats and a whole lot of slugging. Expect Ishii to kick out at one towards the end. Expect requests for the opponent to hit harder. Expect it to be awesome.