NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2018: 10 Points To Note

Change comes to New Japan with Justifiable consequence!

#4. The Ace-Switchblade Trilogy Ends on A High

It's an intriguing time as Ace for Hiroshi Tanahashi. The arc of his relevance builds as he cedes the ring to younger competitors while also seeing New Japan float into a different direction, under new leadership. This year, therefore, finds him on an intriguing crossroads, heading into the main event at the Tokyo Dome (spoilers!).

Within the year he has had two trilogies to signify it, bridging to a feud with Kenny Omega. The first is the reaffirmation of his rivalry with Okada that saw his rival surpass his title reign to a thrilling draw and finally beating him for the first time in over three years. It vindicates Tanahashi that he can still go.

On the other end is a trilogy that has grown in quality with the future of New Japan in Switchblade Jay White. With each successive match not only has White improved, but he's got a stronger grasp of his character that has also gripped NJPW with a together choke hold.

The back and forth match was there best yet with White psychologically trumping Tanahashi even in defeat, entering to gear paying homage to Ace's former great rival Shinsuke Nakamura. The end saw Tanahashi claim victory but a bigger story overshadows it, spoken about late.

About the author

A filmmaker and wrestling buff, who merges his passion for storytelling into his writing of pro-wrestling. The art (and it is an art) of pro-wrestling is one of the greatest devices of cinematic storytelling from soap opera in WWE to even the hard-hitting competitiveness of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Watches all forms and brands of wrestling and for the past few years has been a huge fan of NJPW to the point he finally made his way to Japan and the Tokyo Dome to enjoy Wrestle Kingdom 13 live!

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram