5 things that need to happen at Wrestle Kingdom 12

3. LIJ need to earn a clean sweep

The team of the moment.

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.