10 Big Predictions For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11
8. LIJ Survive The Gauntlet
The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships are a relatively new addition to NJPW. The belts made their debut at Wrestle Kingdom 10, and the past year has seen them bounce between champions like hot potatoes. Current champions Ricochet, Satoshi Kojima, and David Finlay won the belts when Kojima & Ricochet’s previous partner, Matt Sydal, was expelled from Japan for attempting to bring marijuana into the country in September, and their 95 days as champion represent the belts’ longest reign so far.
They’ll defend the gold against Chaos (Jado, Will Ospreay, and Yoshi-Hashi), Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, Bushi, and Sanada), and the Bullet Club B-team (Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page, and Yujiro Takahashi) in a gauntlet match, and it should be bags of fun. These 12 wrestlers will be lucky if they get 12 minutes on January 4th, but with characters like Ospreay and Ricochet involved, we’re all but guaranteed a breathtaking sprint between these four factions.
It’s tough to predict who’ll win, but LIJ look strongest on paper. The Bullet Club are represented only by Fale, the group’s enforcer, and a couple of also-rans, Chaos were greatly weakened by Tomohiro Ishii’s removal from the match, and Finlay has only just transcended Young Lion status. Among LIJ’s ranks are two former champions in Bushi and EVIL, and a future main eventer in Sanada. With group leader Tetsuya Naito and newcomer Hiromu Takahashi competing in title matches later on, a win here would set NJPW’s most rebellious faction up for a night paved with gold.