10 Things NJPW Got Right At Wrestle Kingdom 12

10. The Perfect Pointless Rumble

Masahito Kakihara Cheeseburger Satoshi Kojima Hiroyoshi Tenzan
NJPW1972.com

Before the main show began, the New Japan Rumble once again provided a treat for those wise enough to turn up early. The 21-man affair was the perfect mix of comedy, action, and story, as new faces got to shine while older ones got their signature spot in. Chase Owens was particularly impressive through the first half, before the juniors of Suzuki-gun brought an end to his run.

The Rumble itself ended on a truly heartwarming note. The final entrant was Masahito Kakihara, a former Best of the Super Juniors winner (2003) and a man whose biggest victory saw him defeat cancer. Kakihara and Cheeseburger combined to eliminate TenKoji, before Kakihara finished off Burger. Cheeseburger remains strangely popular in the Tokyo Dome.

Kakihara cut a promo after the match, dedicating the victory to the legendary Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama suffered a career-ending and life-threatening injury in May 2017, and his music played to end this pre-show battle royal. This was a great way to start the night, a heartwarming opening to a long evening of drama and excitement.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.