14 Things We Learned From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11

14. Michael Elgin Is Back

Wrestle Kingdom Michael Elgin
njpwworld.com

The New Japan Rumble is a whole lot of fun, provided you don't take it too seriously. It is a way to warm up the early arrivers in the Tokyo Dome, with a whole lot of nostalgia mixed with the odd moment of comedy, so if you're expecting barnstormers you are in the wrong place. 2017 was no different.

The big story from the Rumble is that Michael Elgin is back, his Tetsuya Naito-influenced broken orbital bone now fully healed. Elgin ran the gauntlet in the Rumble, entering at number one and going all the way to win the whole thing. Big Mike has been a huge success in Japan, so here's hoping he can build on that goodwill ahead of a busy 2017.

The Rumble gave us plenty of highlights once again. The procession of old dudes limping down the ramp never fails to please, and Steve Corino & Kevin Kelly provided plenty of jokes on commentary. Cheeseburger is strangely popular in Japan, entering at four and going all the way to the final two.

We also had Scott Norton pinning Taguchi with a palm and a hooked leg, Billy Gunn being way too fun for his own good and Yuji Nagata's great t-shirt. The match however, belonged to Elgin.

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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.