10 Early Predictions For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13

9. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships - Roppongi 3K (C) Vs. The Young Bucks Vs. Taguchi & ACH Vs. Los Ingobernables De Japon

Roppongi 3K young bucks
NJPW

Once upon a time, a four way for the junior tag titles was a lock for every Dome show. The trend has been bucked (pun intended) over the last couple of years, but I predict that NJPW will revert to type at the beginning of 2019. The idea doesn’t fill me with enthusiasm, but we can’t always have what we want.

It will depress me even more when Hiromu Takahashi partners BUSHI in the match. The Ticking Time-Bomb should be the number one guy in NJPW’s junior division, but the second half of 2017 saw him take a step back as Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll came to the fore. Hiromu will always be a factor in the division, but he may have to make do with a tag match at 2019’s Wrestle Kingdom.

As for the other three teams, it is a safe bet that Roppongi 3K and The Young Bucks will take part. You have to venture all the way back to Wrestle Kingdom 7 before you find an opening match without Nick or Matt Jackson involved. Unless something very strange happens, the Bucks will be featured. Roppongi 3K may have lost the titles at Wrestle Kingdom 12, but they will be an integral part of this division for many years to come.

The team of Ryusuke Taguchi and ACH will make up the final tandem in the match. ACH is one who many predicted would become a major star, yet still seems relatively undiscovered. He always brings the goods when performing in Japan, and he deserves a major spotlight. A winner? Your guess is as good as mine.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.