The primary occasion for NJPW’s greatest present of the 12 months, Wrestle Kingdom 19 on January 4, 2025, has formally been confirmed, as Zack Sabre Jr. will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship towards Shota Umino. Nevertheless, the hype across the match would not appear to be as excessive in comparison with earlier years, and within the newest Wrestling Observer E-newsletter, Dave Meltzer broke down why he believes the upcoming fundamental occasion is the weakest NJPW has booked in a while.
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Meltzer admitted that the match does make sense from a matchmaking perspective, as Umino defeated Sabre within the 2024 G1 Climax match, however from a enterprise perspective, the match is a big danger. For the champion, Meltzer believes that he’s an ideal wrestler however hasn’t absolutely confirmed himself as a attract NJPW, whereas Umino is likely one of the subsequent technology of stars the corporate is trying to recover from with the followers, however Meltzer merely would not consider that Umino is prepared for such a giant spot on the cardboard.
Talking of the followers, Meltzer famous that NJPW followers have began to activate Umino for being pushed too closely, and forward of stars some consider are extra deserving. The boos that he acquired when he challenged Sabre to a title match weren’t as extreme as those he acquired at NJPW’s two earlier main occasions, however Meltzer claimed they had been extra groans than boos, which at instances may be even worse. Total, Meltzer understood why the match was made, however contemplating NJPW is at a low level with regards to recognition, he questioned why the corporate did not go for a much bigger, or extra mainstream title with extra drawing energy to headline their greatest present of the 12 months for his or her most coveted prize.
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