8 NJPW Titles That Changed Hands At Wrestle Kingdom 13

8. NEVER Openweight Championship

JUICE US II
njpw.co.jp

A slightly more cerebral match than the suicidal spot-fest most envisioned with a lurching dread, this saw Ospreay, the guy who apparently cannot tell stories, pace his formal ascent to the heavyweight division superbly in a match that brought the pain, but allowed us to register that pain for maximum dramatic effect.

Slightly; both of these men are utter lunatics, and thought nothing of exchanging full-force strikes to the head (and the back of the head, can’t forget that!) and incredibly risky reversal sequences.

Ospreay wrestled a purposefully slower match than his norm to usher in the next chapter of a career you can’t imagine stops for long in the NEVER division, which he can elevate - but he's a main event-level star.

New Japan should elevate him.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!