10 HUGE NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 Predictions You Need To Know
7. Cody Earns Respect In Defeat
While Cody Rhodes deserves immense respect for making himself one of professional wrestling's most valuable players since departing WWE, Japanese success continues to elude him. The former Ring Of Honor Champion just isn't over in NJPW. His crowd reactions are non-existent, and aside from his match with Kazuchika Okada on last year's show in Long Beach, California, he has never felt like a valuable commodity to the world's second-biggest promotion.
This is likely why he has been positioned opposite Kota Ibushi for WK12. 'The Golden Star' is one of the most talented pure in-ring performers in the world, a potential megastar, and somebody the crowd has always adored. Thus, the company probably feel that a blow-away bout with Ibushi could be the tonic Cody needs to finally get over.
Whether or not he's capable of delivering such a performance is debatable. For all Rhodes' positive qualities, he remains a relatively one-dimensional in-ring performer, though he is paired with an incredible dance partner. We'll err on the side of optimism and predict a clash on par with Rhodes' career-best bout with Okada, and the Bullet Club man earning greater recognition in defeat.
Winner: Kota Ibushi