NJPW Destruction in Kobe Predictions

I've never done any predictions for any non WWE show but I felt like this would be a cool time to try it. With me getting more and more into New Japan, I'm going to try some predictions for their big show tomorrow. I'm only going to be doing the four major matches though as the rest of the card is full of multi-man tag matches that work as previews for other future matches and such.

At the G1 Climax finals, reDRagon captured the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships from the Young Bucks. That was just over a month ago and this is, I believe, their first title defense. Normally, I would say that means they were a lock to retain here but the Jr. Tag Team Titles change hands incredibly often. This year alone they've gone from reDRagon to the Young Bucks to Roppongi Vice back to the Bucks and back to reDRagon. With KUSHIDA dropping the singles Jr. Heavyweight Title at Destruction in Okayama, I can see the Time Splitters walking away with the belts here and that's what I'm picking.

Winners: The Time Splitters

Of the entire card, this is the match that I want to see the most. During the G1 Climax, I became a huge fan of both Katsuyori Shibata and Tetsuya Naito. Their match early on in the tournament was one of my favorites and the build to this has been fun. Shibata with his "fuck you" attitude and Naito's attitude of "I don't give a shit" makes for a great contrast. The brawls they've had have been good and I see this stealing the show. As much as I like Shibata, I sense Naito winning here. First, Shibata won their G1 match and seond, Naito is one of two men that beat Hiroshi Tanahashi during the G1 so he wins here before going on to face Tanahashi for the Tokyo Dome title shot.

Winner: Tetsuya Naito

Speaking of Hiroshi Tanahashi and defending his Wrestle Kingdom 10 title shot, he'll be doing it here. Besides Tetsuya Naito, the other person to defeat him in the G1 was Bad Luck Fale. In fact, going back to the G1 24 in 2014, Fale also beat Tanahashi in that tournament. It would seem that he kind of has Tanahashi's number. That is one of the main reasons I can't see Fale winning. He's not going to beat Tanahashi again. Not only that but there is no way Fale gets the biggest title shot of the year. Expect a solid match as Tanahashi seems to get the best out of Fale, and a win for the ace of New Japan.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi

The main event of this show will be an Intercontinental Title match as Hirooki Goto defends the strap against Shinsuke Nakamura. There is obvious history here as Goto won the belt from Nakamura earlier this year. Goto then defeated Nakamura in the rematch at Dominion in July. Nakamura got one of those wins back during the G1 Climax, earning him this championship match. Honestly, Goto isn't going to go 3-1 against Nakamura this year is he? The IC Title and Nakamura have become synonymous, so I say he wins it back here, building to a big defense in the Tokyo Dome. Maybe against AJ Styles?

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura