From the NJPW Rumor Mill: Chris Jericho's next opponent confirmed?

Big things are afoot for NJPW's US show!
Big things are afoot for NJPW's US show!

What's the story?

Chris Jericho is set to take on Tetsuya Naito at Strong Style Evolved. At least, such is the speculation from Sports Illustrated, as reported in the Rumor Roundup section of Cageside Seats.

For those who are unaware, Strong Style Evolved is an NJPW show, that will take place on 25th of March at Long Beach in the United States. This will be Jericho's second major match for NJPW (in his most recent run), since Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January this year.

In case you didn't know...

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega had a great match at the Tokyo Dome, that received rave reviews from across the world. The very next night, at the New Year Dash!!, Chris Jericho made headlines by attacking Tetsuya Naito.

This led to speculation that the WWE legend and NJPW's hottest star were on a collision course, very soon.

The heart of the matter

The tickets for Strong Style Evolved sold out in a matter of minutes. This is a great indicator of just how popular and hot the New Japan brand is, right now. Yet another big match on the lineup pits Rey Mysterio against Jushin Thunder Liger.

As for Chris Jericho, he's perhaps the biggest star in the NJPW roster at this moment, and a match with Naito would be a match certainly worthy of the event. Even though he's not American, he's certainly an icon in America that the crowd will certainly be familiar with.

What's next?

If this match is on the cards, we're certain that it will be announced in a very big manner. Jericho does not do anything half-heartedly. Neither does Naito.

Author's take

Anything Jericho touches does turn to pure gold. I am enjoying his NJPW run so much that I don't care if he doesn't return to WWE anytime soon.

I wonder if he will do the job for Naito like he did for Omega.


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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav
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