14 Things We Learned From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11

by John Bills

1. New Japan Pro Wrestling Is The Best Pro Wrestling Promotion On The Planet

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Of course, such a lofty statement must come with qualifiers and elements of subjectivity, but it is difficult to dispute. Wrestle Kingdom 11 was such an incredible spectacle from top to bottom, and one that truly did provide something for everyone.

The pre-show Rumble provided light hearted comedy mixed in with hearty portions of nostalgia. The Junior Heavyweight tag match showed that cruiserweight wrestling excels when in-ring psychology is introduced. Cody and Juice Robinson showed that there is probably a lot more talent in WWE than we realise, it is just that the talent is somewhat restricted.

The heavyweight tag match provided enough 'effin and jeffin' to last a lifetime. Hiromu Takahashi and KUSHIDA put on a match that would have stolen the show on any other card, yet merely provided a taster for the main dish here. Shibata and Goto produced a war, and Naito and Tanahashi told a story that many forget was being told.

And the main event, what a main event. A first time match on the biggest stage, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega was everything that a major main event match should be and then some. Both men came out looking like bigger stars, with Omega confirming his place at the New Japan top table and Okada confirming his future spot as a New Japan legend.

Once again, NJPW has set the bar for the year immensely high with Wrestle Kingdom. The rest of the professional wrestling world is going to need a whole lot of luck.

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Contributor
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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.