The NJPW vs Pro Wrestling NOAH Wrestle Kingdom Show Explained

So this weekend there was a special pay-per-view where New Japan Pro Wrestling went head to head with Pro Wrestling NOAH. It was branded as “WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 in YOKOHAMA ARENA” and here’s what you need to know. It started with a very nice tribute to the late Jay Briscoe from both locker rooms. I appreciated that. Now the main narrative for this event was Los Ingobernables de Japon vs Kongo. Kongo is the most prominent faction in NOAH right now. They have some heel tendencies but never cheat or break the rules – they’re really more like anti-heroes. A lot like LIJ. There were five singles matches between the two factions, all of which were very good but with one standing head and shoulders above the rest: Shingo Takagi vs Katsuhiko Nakaijima. No surprise here really. Shingo is quietly among the best wrestlers in the company if not the world in my opinion and Nakaijima IS strong style. He’s not on the New Japan Roster he’s NOAH, but there is perhaps no wrestler today who better represents that style. But the real show stealer of the night turned out to be Kaito Kiyomiya and Kazuchika Okada going absolutely nuclear on eachother. What started as a tag team match involving the GHC heavyweight and IWGP world heavyweight champions turned into a brawl filled with shots that will make you wince. You might have seen the kick that started it on social media already. They two of them now have a singles match in February for Keiji Muto’s retirement show and I hope it’s the beginning of an amazing feud. And let’s not leave out the main event – Tetsuya Naito took on Kongo leader Kenoh and while the match was good, it’s what happened afterwards that really matters. Naito will face none other than Keiju Muto in the Tokyo Dome in February for that Muto retirement event. The stardust genius vs the genius of pro wrestling. Not a bad consolation prize for Naito not main eventing wrestle kingdom again this year. #njpw #prowrestling #wrestlekingdom