by Rob Goodwin @REALRobGoodwinThe New Beginning in Sapparo [Night 1]Match #1 - Michael Elgin vs. Katsuya KitamuraElgin’s very poor end to last year and start of 2018 was well documented by all wrestling journalists, starting with a poorly timed jibe at War Machine and his tag partner for the World Tag League, Jeff Cobb, leading him to be alienated by some members of the dressing room, and this is without the accusations being levied at him about ignoring sexual assault in his wrestling promotion. Kitamura conversely has had a very good year, winning the Young Lion cup and embarking on his best of 7 series against established talent in order to prove himself before his inevitable excursion to hone his talent. However, no matter how bad things have gotten for Elgin, I just don’t see a Young Lion getting a victory over him, no matter who it is, so I’m going for MICHAEL ELGIN here. Match #2 - KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask IV, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. SUZUKI-GUN [Taka Michinoku, Taichi, Kanemaru, El Desperado & Iizuka]The opening match is followed by a staple of NJPW - a multi-man Tag Match. Suzuki-Gun have very little to gain from winning this match and in fact, a quick beat down of their opponents and they have instantly got their heat back. So potentially, the match could be used to showcase KUSHIDA once again as he attempts to build credibility up again as he goes after the IWGP Junior Heavyweight strap. This could be the coup that starts it all, so I’m going to plump for TEAM KUSHIDA. Match #3 - CHAOS [Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano] vs. The Bullet Club [Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi]With the departure of War Machine to WWE, it has left the state of IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team division with a bit of an issue; how are they going to fill the division with no established teams? The answer may be found in this match, as singles stars with nothing on the horizon in a booking sense might be joined in Tag teams to pad out the division. I’m going for ISHII & YANO to win this as, if you look at the talent on display in this match, Ishii is the most established star. People would love to see him with a belt, and if it cannot be a singles strap, then why not a Tag belt? Match #4 - The Bullet Club (c) [Bad Luck Fale & The Guerillas of Destiny] vs. Taguchi Japan [Rysuke Taguchi, Toa Henrare & Togi Makabe] |
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