NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

7. Tag Team Gauntlet: The Elite Vs. Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay Vs. Chaos Vs. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi

Result: Toru Yano rolls up Davey Boy Smith Jr. to make himself, Makabe and Taguchi the #1 contenders for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (27:47).

Rating: This was a fast-paced, meaty pre-show match to kick off the night. The first fall was probably a bit too quick, though, and having both opening falls be Finlay roll-ups was a pretty odd, uninspired movie.

The obvious highlight here was the car crash final phase, with Smith and Lance Archer looking like the absolute stars they never were in the west, so it's a shame they didn't actually pick up the win.

Overall this was a solid mixture of styles, with everyone getting their licks in for at least a moment. Did it need to be almost a half-hour long? Probably not, but for a kickoff match it was surprisingly high-effort. 7/10