10 Major Predictions For NJPW Dominion 2018

Chris Jericho faces a monumental task.

His match opposite Tetsuya Naito will likely find itself scheduled between the Junior Heavyweight and Heavyweight Title clashes, both of which don't so much promise brilliance as guaran-d*mn-tee it. Unable to match the former in terms of athleticism, nor the latter in terms of its absurd mega-aura, we will see another display of smoke and mirrors sh*thousery that will invariably see both men juice a gusher to create one of several dramatic shortcuts.

Tetsuya Naito is not without something to prove, either. His match with Minoru Suzuki at Wrestling Hi no Kuni was, by some distance, the weakest New Japan big show main event in recent memory.

Still, only a fool would them off, given that both men have defined their careers through languidly laughing at their detractors.

The massive popularity of Naito and the roaring Osaka crowd should converge to compensate for the lack of novelty - and, since Jericho is a master of invention, the prospect of the Alpha improving upon his blackly hilarious Wrestle Kingdom 12 heel game is glorious. Jericho is no mere garbage wrestler; he will create anticipation for his reckoning through mere body language alone. Expect Jericho to brutalise Naito into unleashing his inner fire - after he sells as if lying on a sun lounger - in a novel war as psychologically rich as it is physically bruising.

Prediction: Naito wins; Jericho must be preserved through not appearing at a G1 Climax tournament Naito must be strengthened ahead of.