11 Ups & 2 Downs From NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2018

9. Major Implications In Six-Man Tag

Tomohiro Ishii Minuro Suzuki
NJPW

As great as it would've been to see guys like Tomohiro Ishii, Minoru Suzuki, and Will Ospreay occupying bigger spots on 2018's last big card, the CHAOS vs. Suzuki-gun booking made sense. Banter merchant Taichi has lingering issues with Hirooki Goto after taking his NEVER Openweight Title. Ishii will challenge for Suzuki's British Heavyweight Title on an upcoming RevPro show in the UK. It worked.

It was a Suzuki-gun tag, so of course there were smoke and mirrors. Regular New Japan viewers have seen such things thousands of times. This makes it hard to care anymore, even with MiSu destroying his foes with chairs and Iizuka sinking his teeth into Goto's forehead.

The action varied depending on who was involved, with Suzuki's stiff sections versus Goto and Ishii a particular highlight, and Iizuka's crazy old man shtick the opposite. There was at least enough to suggest that the forthcoming Ishii/MiSu bout will bang. Reminiscent of their summer showdown in Altrincham, their mid-match strike battle drew big reactions, but fellow UK opponents Ospreay and Taichi couldn't quite muster the same heat.

A big late-bout momentum shift saw 'The Aerial Assassin' score a stunning pinfall on the NEVER Openweight Champion. This will buy him a future title shot, and the bout had enough positives to finish as an Up, despite our noted concerns.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.