8 NJPW Titles That Changed Hands At Wrestle Kingdom 13

2. IWGP Intercontinental Championship

JUICE US II
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A nasty as f*ck match - which is to say, bloody great - Tetsuya Naito redeemed last year's Dome disappointment by suffering and overcoming truly disgusting neck-first punishment in the sort of attraction that, for all its weaponry and spots and blackly comedic character work, maintained an awesome illusion of realism.

An athletic, twisting finishing sequence saw Chris Jericho and Naito improve on their wild brawl at Dominion last year, which was some achievement on Jericho's part. He took shortcuts here and delivered a great physical performance - really, this was closer to the brilliance of last year's unexpected über-banger.

Naito enters 2019 with the Intercontinental Title once more - and, given NJPW's decision to make Wrestle Kingdom 14 a two-night affair, one he can't not headline in some capacity, he should enjoy better storyline fortunes.

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!