10 Things NJPW Got Right At Wrestle Kingdom 12

7. The Coming Of CODY

brandi rhodes cody rhodes
NJPW

CODY has experienced remarkable success since leaving WWE in 2016. The American Nightmare has succeeded where other former WWE employees failed, and he is now a true brand and one of the biggest stars on the professional wrestling circuit. If the former Intercontinental champion ever returns to WWE, he will do so in a strong position.

Despite this, CODY still had plenty to prove going into Wrestle Kingdom 12. For all his superstar histrionics, the former ROH World champion still felt like a step below the quality of in-ring performer that this company demands. The match with Okada aside, CODY had done little to justify his relatively lofty status.

It is easy to say that the quality of his Wrestle Kingdom 12 match was down to Kota Ibushi, but CODY more than held his own here. He was step sharper inside the ring, and he didn’t seem to be relying on the posturing and theatrics in order to make an impression. The match was genuinely great, the best of CODY’s career to date, and should see him further established as a top guy in NJPW.

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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.