Backstage News On Original Plans For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Headliner
NJPW
Dave Meltzer shared some news on Wrestling Observer Radio about the original plans for the main event of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 were different from what actually happened last weekend.
This year’s show saw Jay White, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada compete in the Double Gold Dash tournament. The winner of this tournament would hold the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles.
As seen at the shows, on night one, Naito beat White to win the Intercontinental Title and Okada retained the Heavyweight Title against Ibushi. On night two, Naito beat Okada in the finals to win both titles.
Meltzer noted the original plan for the final four was to have Ibushi, Okada, Naito and Kenny Omega. The belief was that if Omega didn’t leave for AEW then he would’ve beat Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom last year. Omega would have then wrestled Okada inside Madison Square Garden on WrestleMania weekend.
The idea was for Omega to retain the title while Okada was going to eventually win the Intercontinental Title to elevate it. This would have also led to Ibushi and Omega facing off on night one of Wrestle Kingdom 14 while Naito vs. Okada in the other contest with Naito winning it all.