9 HUGE NJPW Power Struggle Predictions You Need To Know

1. Chris Jericho Vs EVIL

Chris Jericho is a man that, in 2018, has fronted up to Elias on an episode of Monday Night Raw, drunkenly called Tetsuya Naito a "f*ckin' moron" in a promo designed for global consumption and wrestled five of the most culturally significant wrestlers on the planet on a cruise designed in his image.

He's also been a key feature on NJPW's two biggest pay-per-views of the year, earned his first five-star match from Dave Meltzer and reimagined himself as a confirmed draw in the wake of huge increase in New Japan World subscribers around his January arrival.

What was once apparently a friendly relationship with Vince McMahon over his flexibility may have gone sour, but Jericho's riding the wave all the way to Wrestle Kingdom.

A Tokyo Dome spot looks assured for 'Y2J', presumably in which he drops the title back to a Tetsuya Naito ready to turn his fortunes around in the same venue his 2018 began to fall apart.

For EVIL, performance is key. A breakout match here stands him in good stead for the year ahead. Anything anonymous relegates him back to tag action.

Winner: Chris Jericho

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett