NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13: Every Match Ranked By Level Of Hype

The IWGP United States Championship has yet to really live up to the goals it started out with. The belt was introduced to be the symbol of New Japan's transition from a regional promotion into a global company, starting with the wrestling hotbed that is the United States. Canadian Kenny Omega, being the most popular westerner in New Japan, was the logical inaugural holder of this belt. However, after his stellar Tokyo Dome defense against Chris Jericho, Omega dropped the title to Jay White, whose title reign was a footnote as New Japan's meta-narrative centered around the apex and end of Okada's historic title reign, as well as the in-fighting in Bullet Club.

In July, Juice Robinson, a genuinely over American babyface, won the US title from White in an upset, and many thought this to be an effective reboot of the championship. Unfortunately, Juice had a terrible showing in the G1, and in his first title defense in Long Beach, he lost his belt to The American Nightmare.

In this straight rematch for the title, which is also a retread of Cody's New Japan debut in 2017, no one's expecting this to steal the show, as Cody and Juice still have much of what we would call the "WWE style" in their DNA. Hopefully, however, if Robinson has a decisive victory to regain the title, we can truly see the US Championship be what it was meant to be.