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

Here we have the "YOU DE-SERVE-IT CLAP-CLAP-CLAPCLAPCLAP" match. Getting a singles match at Wrestle Kingdom is no small potatos, and usually, the heavyweight bouts are granted for the most high-ranking stars. However, after the 2018 both men had, it would have been criminal to deny either a singles match at the Dome, let alone against one another.

It's been known for years that ZSJ is a generational talent in regards to technical wrestling, however, it was in 2018, with his New Japan Cup win, stellar title performance against Okada, and standout run in the G1, where he really won over audiences not familiar with the British wrestling scene.

Ishii, meanwhile, is many's pick for 2018 MVP in New Japan. The Stone Pitbull has been the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Best Brawler for four years running (likely to be five soon), and he's been acknowledged for even longer as one of New Japan's more undervalued workers. In 2018, these realities became impossible to deny, and with matches against the likes of Hirooki Goto, Kota Ibushi, and Kenny Omega, everyone who watched him became a big-time Tomohiro Ishii mark.

Whatever the result of this British Heavyweight Championship match is, the victory is already with Ishii, Zack, and wrestling fans as a whole. They're going to put on a clinic, and we'll have the privilege of watching.