5 things that need to happen at Wrestle Kingdom 12

With Vince McMahon and WWE busy planning for the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, a good portion of the wrestling community will be turning their attention towards New Japan Pro Wrestling tomorrow night, and their twelfth annual Wrestle Kingdom event.

With some mouth-watering matches on the card, including Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jay White, Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito and Cody vs. Ibushi, it might not have taken much for the western audience to fork out for a New Japan World subscription.

But with the huge announcement that WCW and WWE legend Chris Jericho will be making his return to Japan to face Kenny Omega, New Japan pretty much guaranteed themselves an army of first time viewers.

What will be going through the minds of Vince McMahon and Triple H come Thursday night, and just how much of an impact will this show have on the wrestling landscape? All remains to be seen, but for our money, here are 5 things that need to happen at Wrestle Kingdom 12...

5. Minoru Suzuki needs to have his head shaved

With all the hype surrounding the three signature matches on the card at Wrestle Kingdom 12, one meeting that has gone somewhat unnoticed is the Hair vs. Hair match for the Never Openweight Championship between Hirooki Goto and Minoru Suzuki.

For anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of seeing Minoru or Goto perform before now, let me tell you, this bout has the potential to be the proverbial show-stealer come Thursday night.

In order to convey the appropriate image of these men to first time American/British viewers, the temptation would be to draw some parallel between pair and a similar duo over in WWE. But it is to the credit of the men that, at least at present, the McMahon led promotion does not possess equivalents.

Minoru Suzuki, in particular, is one of the most fascinating characters in the entire industry. He evokes the same level of non-kayfabe dread and fear into you as Brock Lesnar, but with twice the likability factor.

The two will come to a head tomorrow night and one person will be losing their hair. While it would be both amusing and terrifying to witness Suzuki with a pair of electric clippers in his possession, the scene will be so much more satisfying and entertaining with him as the victim.

Apart from anything else, who wouldn't want to see where Minoru Suzuki goes after his dignity and title are ripped from him?

4. The Brits need to perform like Vince McMahon is watching

The WWE might have finally opened itself up to the British wrestling scene in 2016/17 with the creation of the WWE United Kingdom Championship and a planned corresponding WWE Network special on the horizon. But it has undoubtedly been NJPW who have truly given the Brits a platform to showcase their skills to the rest of the world.

At present, almost every major NJPW faction contains a British wrestler. Will Ospreay has been a signature part of the Chaos faction ever since Okada invited him to become a member back in 2016.

The Bullet Club acquired the services of 'The Villain' Marty Scurll last year at an ROH show, and Suzuki Gun are represented by the submission specialist Zack Saber Jr. Los Ingobernables are yet to recruit a Brit, but with Neville's status still very much in the air, maybe this is something worth thinking about?

As for Wrestle Kingdom 12, Ospreay, Scurll and Saber Jr. could potentially experience a life changing evening. They will likely have more eyeballs on them than in any previous time in their career, so a good night on Thursday could mean huge paycheck promises come Friday.

And while all three seem pretty comfortable with their roles over in Japan and on the ROH scene, there's no doubt the WWE will be on their minds at some point in the near future.

With the high possibility of Vince or Triple H tuning into WK12, this undeniably is their best opportunity to show what they can do.

3. LIJ need to earn a clean sweep

As far as NJPW factions go, Tetsuya Naito's Los Ingobernables de Japon is, in this writer's humble and admittedly limited opinion, the most exciting and intoxicating of them all. While Bullet Club might still be the most well-known outside of Japan, and Chaos may still boast the most star-studded personnel, 2017 was the year of LIJ.

Not only has their leader risen to the very highest levels of popularity with the domestic audience, but midcard stars like Evil and Sanada have also taken huge strides to becoming New Japan's next generation of main event talents.

Over in the Juniour division, Hiromu Takahashi has been busy spreading his brand far across the globe, performing at the WCPW World Cup in England and globetrotting further afield with his mascot Darrell.

How successful a night do LIJ deserve on Thursday? At the very least they need to pick up a title, but many would argue that given their contribution to the faction over the past 12 months, Wrestle Kingdom 12 could be the night they clean house.

Takahashi and the Juniour Heavyweight Championship go together like hand and glove, and it would be a delight to witness him regain his gold against Kushida, Ospreay and Scurll.

Evil and Sanada, for their part, will be challenging for the IWGP Tag Team Championships against the Killer Elite Squad which could prove to be another stepping stone for the pair on their way to the upper eschalons of the promotion.

As for the main event pitching Naito against Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, well, i'll get back to that.

2. Jericho vs. Omega needs to be a blood-fest

Whether or not you agree with the notion that Wrestle Kingdom 12 is coming across, at least for a good portion of the audience, as a one-match show, you can't deny that the acquisition of Chris Jericho has increased the status of the event, particularly for the non-Japanese wrestling community.

In genuinely shocking scenes late last year, the likes of which we thought were no longer possible post Monday Night Wars, the self-proclaimed Alpha of the wrestling world made his intentions known that he wished to challenge the leader of Bullet Club, Kenny Omega for his United States Championship.

Just how many new viewers Y2J will tempt over is a question we will have to earmark for after the event on Friday morning. In the meantime, we still have the match itself to look forward to. How the two Canadians approach it will be potentially very important.

We know that WK12 has the potential to produce numerous match of the year contenders. Okada vs. Naito, for example, is quite possibility the most delicious sounding match up in the entire industry at present. Should New Japan by relying on the veteran Jericho to put on a similar display?

The signs so far certainly indicate that this is going to be a physical encounter, more akin to a street fight than a wrestling match. This is something New Japan typically shy away from, preferring instead to showcase their 'strong style', athletic performers going toe to toe for 20+ minutes.

If NJPW is serious about using the likes of Omega and Jericho to break into the Western scene, the two need to put on the kind of show we are more used to. Let these fellow countrymen beat each other to a pulp and allow the Western viewers to relive the days of Attitude Era WWF and ECW.

1. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship needs to change hands

Put simply, Tetsuya Naito needs to walk away from Wrestle Kingdom 12 as the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Kazuchika Okada might be in the middle of one of the most impressive title reigns of the modern era at present, and given the amount of challengers that have come his way, it would certainly not be a terrible sight to see him defeat yet another would-be usurper to his crown.

But the story line surrounding this match is simply too perfect not to play out to its logical conclusion. Wrestle Kingdom 12 is, more than anything else, about the redemption of Naito.

Ever since missing out on the chance to main event Wrestle Kingdom by having the viewers vote for the Intercontinental Championship match between Nakamura and Tanahashi to take his place, the man has been on a tear, vowing to exact revenge.

Since returning from Mexico, Naito has embraced a 'Tranquillo' lifestyle approach and generally stuck two fingers up to authority wherever he can find it. His reign as the Intercontinental Champion last year was superb, treating the belt with utter disdain and making numerous enemies both inside and outside the ring in the process.

Now the stage is finally set for Naito and Okada to have the match that was taken from them all those years ago. There can be no better form of triumph for Naito than to be crowned the company's champion as the Tokyo Dome explodes with confetti and adulation.

It is Naito's time.

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Edited by Riju Dasgupta