10 Early Predictions For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13
7. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships — The Young Bucks (C) Vs. Suzuki-gun
EVIL and SANADA could just as easily feature in this title match as opposed to the gauntlet, but New Japan must keep a lid on the number of multi-individual matches on the biggest show of the year. Wrestle Kingdom 12 should have acted as the launching pad for the LIJ duo to dominate the tag division, but the elevation of The Young Bucks put paid to that.
The challengers for these belts will be decided by the year-ending World Tag League. The heavyweight tag stocks are undoubtedly healthier than the junior equivalent, and a number of teams could find themselves in contention here. Will Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa find success and take their feud with the Bucks to the Dome? What about the reigning champions going into WK12, Killer Elite Squad?
Despite the abundance of established teams, I’m going with a somewhat part-time team to wrestle the titles from the hands of the Brothers Jackson come 4 January. It is a clear sign of the strength of New Japan’s roster that Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. will have to make do with a tag team title match in the Tokyo Dome. Will the Suzuki-gun team add IWGP straps to their RPW British Tag Team Championships?