10 HUGE NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 Predictions You Need To Know
3. Kazuchika Okada Vs. Jay White
When Jay White rejected Kenny Omega's Bullet Club offer in favour of Kazuchika Okada's CHOAS faction last January, he did so with a lingering threat the over-confident 'Rainmaker' failed to heed.
The sinister 'Switchblade' promised to take the group for himself, but the major landscape shift caused by Okada's Dominion loss to Omega changed everything. His manipulative reappraisal of the situation was just as devious, but even shrewder. Witnessing the collapse of Okada's psyche and fragile relationship with Gedo, White preyed on one and destroyed the other. With Gedo by his side, he abandoned what remained of CHAOS and deepened the wounds within Bullet Club to take leadership of that too. From unevening footing as a solo star between the groups, he became the benefactor from the backward benevolence of the both.
This match informs not just the year White has just had, but the one he wants to have next. Kazuchika Okada is still the best wrestler in the world, but it's as if he still doesn't quite know it, and it's this insecurity White can and will target. His Wrestle Kingdom 12 loss to Hiroshi Tanahashi had most doubting if he even belonged in New Japan Pro Wrestling - a victory over Okada here will confirm just how big a part of the future he intends to play.
Winner - Jay White