8 NJPW Titles That Changed Hands At Wrestle Kingdom 13

3. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

JUICE US II
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Even for a sprint, this felt rushed - time constraints rendered this well below the company's recent, incredible Junior Heavyweight output - but this was still a match pitting KUSHIDA against Taiji Ishimori, and was thus still a match of lip-pursing strikes - with those lips parted to make wowed 'O' shapes when these two athletic phenoms traded their big bombs.

Another predictable result you cared about in the moment because the action was so blinding, KUSHIDA left the Dome - and, per the rumours, New Japan altogether - without the Junior Heavyweight Title.

Not his greatest swansong, his immense contributions to New Japan were such that, if you want to remember the best times, there can be found about 50 on New Japan World.

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!