10 Reasons To Be Excited About Wrestle Kingdom 11
5. Former Allies Collide
It was two years ago at Wrestle Kingdom 9 that the team of Shibata and Goto, having just run through the World Tag League, defeated Gallows and Anderson to become the IWGP Tag Champions. A lot can happen in two years, and since then Shibata has returned to being a lone wolf while Goto has joined the Chaos faction.
Goto has had an up-and-down year since winning at Wrestle Kingdom 10 before losing his subsequent title opportunity, but he is still a big-time player in the promotion, hence being booked with Shibata. The NEVER Openweight champion may not have the same hype surrounding his ascent as Naito or Kenny but make no mistake, he is ascending.
This match will likely draw on the background between these two former classmates, and it shouldn't take long before it descends into barbarism. The real intrigue will come in the aftermath, as it's almost possible that whoever walks out without the belt has a greater chance of making a world title push in early 2017, and that could realistically be either man.