11 Ups & 2 Downs From NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2018
5. IWGP Title Match (Largely) Delivers
There's an awkwardness to three-way wrestling matches. The format often forces one wrestler to hide on the outside while the other two go to work, so it's not uncommon for these bouts to feel formulaic. Such was the worry heading into King Of Pro-Wrestling's main event, which placed three of the world's ascendent wrestlers in the ring at the same time, but brought significant format-based concerns.
Were Kota Ibushi, Cody, and Kenny Omega able to transcend them? To an extent. This wasn't your typically MOTY-level NJPW main event, but it largely delivered.
Three friends went to battle with high steaks and wobbling unity, with Cody's opportunism, the increasingly complex Golden Lovers dynamic, and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship highlighting the narrative. There were high spots, with Kenny putting Cody through the announce table and Ibushi flipping to the outside. There was heat, as the Lovers continued the themes established in their brutish G1 Climax clash. There was high-level athleticism, because Kenny and Kota. And yes, there were "you wait outside" spots, but they didn't detract.
A very good (if not great) main event concluded with Omega finishing Ibushi with the One Winged Angel, returning his G1 receipt while an anguished Cody grasped fresh air, unable to break the fall.