10 HUGE NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 Predictions You Need To Know

9. Kota Ibushi Vs. Will Ospreay

Kenny Omega Hiroshi Tanahashi Shinsuke Nakamura
NJPW

2018 has a funny relationship with the "Dream Match", but Kota Ibushi and Will Ospreay seem keen reevaluate and revalidate the term when the first potential one of the year opens the first major card of 2019.

Expectations here are as high as the balconies the 'Golden Star' likes to leap from. As high as Will Ospreay gets when he propells his body into the heavens for a shooting star press. As high as your annoyance levels if you continue to read similes like these. F*cking high. Sky high.

It's probably the way they like it.

Ospreay has batted away (or bottled up) worries that he'll one day end up in a state of physical disrepair like other famous flyers before him, instead chasing all the same dragons they did in hope of finding yet more unexplored pro wrestling futurescapes. The 'Golden Star' in many ways did just that in 2018 by virtue of his reunion with Kenny Omega, but is now wrestling to ensure his entire legacy isn't defined only by their complex relationship.

An electric tag team battle pitting the two against one another alongside main event partners Omega and Hiroshi Tanahashi was one of the best matches of 2018 despite it being NJPW's final fight of the year. Quality wasn't dividing the openers from the headliners there, and Ibushi and Ospreay will look to achieve the same result on January 4th.

Winner - Will Ospreay

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett