We don’t even know who’s in it, so anyone could win it. But I wanted to look at the roster of guys who aren’t booked for Wrestle Kingdom and kind of get an idea of who realistically will be in contention of winning it and getting a world title shot.
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Sanada. I think he’s the favorite. The biggest name not booked on WK. Sanada vs ZSJ or Shota could work.
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Taichi. This is the one I’m rooting for the most. Taichi vs ZSJ for the world title needs to happen.
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Goto. Goto had a great 2024 in singles. Particularly in the NJC and G1. I could see him getting a shot especially if Shota walks out as champion he could be a good first challenger for Shota to beat
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Oleg. This one is a dark horse but could be a huge win for Oleg and catapult him up the card.
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Suzuki. I know he isn’t with NJPW anymore but could see him return and win this. I also know he doesn’t take a lot of bumps anymore but a one off against ZSJ a former member of Suzuki Gun could be really good and he wouldn’t have to bump much in a match with Zack.
Guys wrestling on WD but not WK. I figured I’d lump these guys together since I feel they will likely not be in the match since they have big matches the following night. But Gabe. Ishii. And GoK all deserve a mention
Other names on the roster that could be in the Ranbo but I don’t think have much of a shot at winning.
Other heavyweights: Yoshi Hashi. Yano. Kenta. Chase. Newman. Yujiro.
Juniors: Ishimori. Wato. Taguchi. Bushi. Yoh. Sho. Kenemaru. Tiger mask. Young (I think he’s a jr and not a YL but unsure)
Dads: Kojima. Tenzan. Nagata. Honma. Makabe.
Not sure if the young lions would get a spot.
Not sure if they’d bring in guys like Haste, Nichols, Jackson, Fale, or any of the NJ strong guys.
Not sure if guys like Taka. Jado. Togo. Or Gedo would be in it. I think they’ll likely just be managers
Also some of these guys may not be in it and they’ll just be Lumberjacks for Tana vs Evil.
Jake Lee, Henare, and Yuya Uemura are all injured. I doubt they return in this match. But just wanted to mention them.
There may be some names I’m forgetting. And of course we could have surprises show up or guys from other companies be in this. But I think the top 5 I listed are most likely.
TLDR: Sanada. Taichi. Goto. Oleg. Suzuki.
by Adampro123