10 Early Predictions For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13

3. IWGP Intercontinental Championship - SANADA (C) Vs. Minoru Suzuki

SANADA Los Ingobernables De Japon
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I was torn between putting Minoru Suzuki or Kota Ibushi into this match, but it is easier to imagine a Wrestle Kingdom without Ibushi than Suzuki at this point. Kota Ibushi could well be wrestling on Mars in the future, you can never tell with the Golden Star. Suzuki is likely sticking around for a while yet, and another high profile match awaits.

Minoru Suzuki has been around for what may well be forever, but his Wrestle Kingdom 13 opponent is undoubtedly the future of the company. SANADA is a babyface megastar in waiting, and 2018 will see him pick up big singles win after singles win. The biggest of those singles victories will come at King of Pro Wrestling, when he defeats Suzuki for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship (Minoru having wrested the title away from Hiroshi Tanahashi earlier in the year).

SANADA vs. Suzuki would be a clash of styles, a clash of ideologies, a clash of haircuts and all the rest. The future against the past, through two men who have a lot to say about the present. SANADA is a Wrestle Kingdom main event waiting to happen, and it would be no surprise to see him across the ring from Okada, Naito, Omega and the others on a more frequent basis going forward. A date with Minoru awaits first.

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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.