WrestleKingdom 12: Analyzing the match card for Tokyo Dome Showdown!

#9 The grand tale of redemption

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito, for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

This is it, the big one! Whether it's dubbed as a double main event or not, this match closes out the show and is the true main event of WrestleKingdom 12.

See who is stunned by Hulk Hogan's words HERE

Four years ago, a young and hungry Tetsuya Naito was denied the main event spot despite contending for the world title because of fan apathy towards him. He got beaten by Okada and went on to reinvent himself as the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon.

Shunning the fans and their attitude towards New Japan, Naito wrote the textbook on how to play by his own rules. Once more winning them over through his rise, his pitch-perfect G1 Climax win now primes him for an epic title rematch. This time he is the main event.

On the other end is Kazuchika Okada, after exorcizing his own demons by defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi at the even two years ago; Okada has been on an unbelievable tear. Match after match, defence after defence, he has created classics and looked just a little closer to defeat.

The end of the road is coming and the perfect story can be told. It depends whether Gedo feels it's the right time to pull the plug on a title change. I'm on the fence about this, at the time it feels like Naito's story will be fulfilled with just the main event redemption. However, there will be extra juice added to it, if he vanquishes Okada and completes both arcs as well.

We'll find out on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome.

Who Should Win: Naito/Okada...the fans win either way!

Who Will Win: Tetsuya Naito

Edited by Shruti Sadbhav