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| Ibushi got the first part done, can he get the rest? Photo Credit: NJPW1972.com |
What Happened in 2019: Kenny Omega entered the year with the International Wrestling Grand Prix World Heavyweight Championship. By the end of the day on January 4, he would not only not have the title anymore but be on his way out of the company. Hiroshi Tanahashi, the Ace and 2018 G1 Climax winner, took the title, the first time since New Japan used the G1 to decide the challenger to the IWGP Championship at the Dome that the challenger came out on top. Tanahashi's reign would be short, as in one-day short. Jay White, the nascent, and with Omega leaving, unquestioned leader of Bullet Club, defeated the Ace at New Year's Dash, marking his arrival as one of the top antagonists in the company. White's reign might as well have been one day long; he had zero successful defenses. At the joint-branded show WrestleMania weekend with Ring of Honor, White fell to, who else, Kazuchika Okada, winner of the New Japan Cup.
Okada's reign is still going strong, although it wasn't without event. He's defended the title against a bevy of opponents who've tested him and come close to knocking him off. He beat SANADA, Los Ingobernables de Japon's resident thirst trap, at Wrestling Dontaku. He fended off Chris Jericho at Dominion. He bested Minoru Suzuki in England after the G1. However, that pesky tournament did not leave the Rainmaker unscathed. He didn't even win his block, losing matches to both SANADA (at the buzzer, no less) and eventual winner Kota Ibushi. As is custom, a wrestler who beats a Champion in the tournament gets a title match after. SANADA once again gave Okada all he could handle at King of Pro Wrestling, but Ibushi will get his shot at the Dome.
The Golden Lover who stayed behind ended up ending his freelancer deal and signed full-time with New Japan as Omega started his own wrestling company. He took some lumps, literally if you want to rekindle that stupid debate over the apron thing with Tetsuya Naito from Dominion (please don't), and those lumps continued in the first two matches of his G1 campaign. He dropped his first match to KENTA (after rolling his ankle badly) and his second to EVIL. After that decision, he wouldn't lose again, toppling White in the finals.
After losing the title, White started making predictions that for the most part started to come true about himself. He predicted that he'd win the G1 Climax, even after starting out 0-3 in his block losing to all his former teammates in CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano), the stable he left behind to join Bullet Club. He would win his block, including a win in his final match against Naito, which became a de facto block championship match. Even though he didn't win the tournament, he parlayed his victory over Naito in the G1 into an Intercontinental Championship, beating the leader of LIJ once again.
Of course, 2020 will see WrestleKingdom expand into a two-day fete. Ibushi vs. Okada will headline the January 4 show, but after winning the G1, The Golden Star proclaimed that he wanted whoever held the Intercontinental Champion on January 5. Naito baited White into giving him a rematch, hoping the third time will be the charm. Ibushi/Okada and White/Naito have now comprised the semifinals of a mini tournament in which the winner will take both belts.
The prospect of winning two titles wasn't the only bit of good fortune for Bullet Club. In advance of the G1, Katsuyori Shibata, who has been the head trainer at the Los Angeles Dojo and who hasn't wrestled since suffering a subdural hematoma against Okada at Sakura Genesis in 2017, brought his friend KENTA into New Japan. While the Pro Wrestling NOAH legend and WWE refugee started out with four strong wins in the tournament, he ran into Okada on night nine and did not win a single match after that encounter. On the final day of the tournament, KENTA teamed with Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI against the Bullet Club team of the Guerrillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale. KENTA spent the match on the apron until it came time for Ishii to make a tag to him. He hopped off the apron, and then attacked the CHAOS team, revealing his allegiance to the Club. Shibata, feeling betrayed, ran out to accost his friend, but he caught a beatdown. He would catch at least one more gang beating at the hands of Bullet Club before the year was over.
Of course, KENTA wasn't the only noted surprise entrant in the G1. Jon Moxley, fresh off leaving WWE and debuting in All Elite Wrestling at the end of Double or Nothing, entered New Japan with a spraypainted leather jacket and a meanstreak. He defeated Juice Robinson for the United States Championship in his first match. In his second match, he adopted Young Lion Shota Umino as his second. He also went on a tear to start his G1, although he petered out at the end, thanks in no small part to Toru Yano nabbing him with the okey-doke of the century and Robinson getting himself a pound of Mox's flesh. He surrendered the title without ever losing it due to weather preventing him from making it to King of Pro Wrestling. Robinson couldn't win the title either, as Lance Archer, the ornery brute who had something of a breakout in the G1, won the vacant belt in a no-disqualifications match. Mox didn't take quite well to the development, and now he's angling to get that championship back in a Texas Death Match on January 4.
This past year wasn't just notable for debuts in the company. Jushin "Thunder" Liger, perhaps the greatest junior heavyweight of all-time, announced his retirement. He would tour both New Japan and other companies one last time and retire January 5 at the Tokyo Dome. The retirement tour didn't go completely smoothly, however. Suzuki, an all-time miserable grump, decided he would tempt fate and remove Liger's mask. Now, New Japan history shows that when someone blatantly disrespects Jushin Liger, his demonic alter ego Kishin Liger comes out with a bloodlust. Kishin reared his head and wrought havoc on Suzuki, but unlike most people, the PRIDE legend did not bat a single eye. While Liger could not overcome Suzuki at King of Pro Wrestling, he earned what few people ever get from him, respect.
2019 MVP: As much as it pains me to say it, the MVP of New Japan in 2019 was "The
What Will Happen in 2020: The picture will become eminently clearer on the fourth and fifth days of the year. WrestleKingdom 14 will be the culmination of 2019's build and break the dam for all the developments for the upcoming year to take shape. Obviously, the title picture is the biggest thing. It's winner take all, and the stage seems to be set for Ibushi to rise up and take the banner for himself to wave. White as the winner feels like it would be too much of a downer, even for head booker Gedo. Okada taking both titles would feel like overkill. Naito? Now that's the interesting alternative, one that I think is even more viable even with the fanfare surrounding the Golden Star. I'm not only rooting for Naito to win; I think he's the smartest choice. Gedo has often gone the route counter to common wisdom of Americans such as myself in the past though. All will be revealed on January 5.
Whether or not he wins both titles at the Dome, Naito will be at the center of an interesting paradigm shift in LIJ. More and more, crowds are getting behind SANADA, and tension has been teased within the group. If there is a faultline in the group and it is rendered asunder, where will the pieces land? Naito's only real true ally feels like the group's most recent addition, Shingo Takagi. New Japan made sure to hammer that home during G1 season, that the two were inextricably bound. Of course, that might be fodder for a heel turn, but for now, I think he stays with Naito. Conversely, EVIL feels like SANADA's closest ally due to their IWGP Tag Title reigns. That would leave BUSHI and a recently returned Hiromu Takahashi as the wild cards. I think another realistic scenario if the group splits is that SANADA may just leave the group, whether amicably or otherwise, and join up with Ibushi. They celebrated in the ring together after their match in the G1, and handsome folks tend to stick together, mainly to mock people they think are ugly.
The other big thing to watch is when, not if but when, Shibata reenters a ring for the purposes of competing. There is absolutely no way he takes the bumps he takes if he's just going to be a cheerleader for best friend and surrogate Hirooki Goto. The money is in Shibata facing off against KENTA in one final battle, or several (I wouldn't mind seeing a series between the two). I guess the other question is whether he comes back full-time, part-time, or for a one-off. No matter what, Shibata coming back would close the loop and maybe get some closure after that match with Okada at Sakura Genesis made him retire way before he wanted to.
Five Wrestlers to Watch in 2020: David Finlay - After spending most of the year on the shelf, Son of Fit will look to fulfill his potential, whether alongside Juice Robinson or as a solo star. Look for the team to win the tag titles early in the year, possibly at the Dome. Finlay should also get some play in the G1, especially if Moxley is too busy doing AEW television to join in 2020.
Hirooki Goto - You know who stands to benefit from Shibata's return other than Shibata and possibly KENTA? Goto. He will more than likely resume his partnership with Shibata, working with him as a tag partner at interstitial shows. While he may not raise his profile as high as getting a good-faith push to the IWGP Championship, he could slide aside his CHAOS partner Tomohiro Ishii as someone who is a great match machine gatekeeper in high-profile situations.
Shota Umino - This group of Young Lions, both in the Japanese and American Dojos, looks mighty impressive, but Umino might get a leg up because he's been personally adopted by Jon Moxley himself. If the Purveyor of Violence can't make it over, perhaps Umino could carry on his "father's" mission and become one of the wildest and gnarliest wrestlers in the company (despite his little baby face).
Ryu Lee - The former Dragon Lee has signed a one-year deal with New Japan after his acrimonious split with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Being full-time in Japan means he will be able to explore deeper feuds, whether with his forever rival Hiromu Takahashi, or with any number of interesting wrestlers across both weight classes. A Ryu Lee NEVER Openweight Title reign sounds too good not to speak into existence.
Taichi - He's a sleeper candidate to take over Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre, Jr. is probably the favorite), and he'd do quite well. He's better than ZSJ at garnering boos from the crowd with his overly theatrical entrance, his use of Miho Abe as a human shield, and reliance on Yoshinabu Kanemaru hitting opponents with the Suntori Surprise. If I had to pick an effective heel to deliver on the big stage against someone like Okada or Ibushi, I'd put more money on Taichi being able to deliver a great match than White, to be quite honest.
Three Things I Want to See in 2020: STARDOM on New Japan World, Please - With Bushiroad acquiring STARDOM, possibilities for crossover between New Japan and the foremost joshi company have arisen. I don't care as much about women on New Japan shows as I do the possibility of having another quality promotion available for the price of my New Japan World sub. Even if there's tiered pricing, I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for joshi, better than shelling out two ¥999 subscription fees a month.
End Partnership with Ring of Honor - Honestly, the partnership is on its last legs anyway with CMLL seemingly bailing out, but there's no reason why New Japan should pal around with the wrestling department of Donald Trump's Personal Propaganda machine. I don't even need them to partner with AEW. It would be nice, but both New Japan and AEW can exist with heft in the marketplace without teaming together. Rather, a robust slate of New Japan America shows without need for worry about stepping on ROH's toes would be the best thing the company could do.
Stable Shakeup, Please - I like that nearly everyone in New Japan is in a different faction, but even Los Ingobernables de Japon has been around for close to five years now. What excuse does CHAOS have when its purpose for existing expired before the turn of the decade and its basically just a housing for tag match pairings? It feels like some shakeup has to happen with the stables. If Shibata coming back is real and not just for one match, why put him in bloated CHAOS and keep Goto in there when they could be their own thing? Does Bullet Club need to exist anymore? Does anyone think someone not named Suzuki leading Suzuki-gun makes sense? I'd like to see some, pardon the pun, chaos in New Japan in the coming year, just to make the alignments and alliances a little fresher.
