Dave Meltzer Reveals Wrestle Kingdom 18 Match Ratings
Dave Meltzer has shared his match ratings for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18.
On January 4th, New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s annual spectacular was held at the Tokyo Dome. The card was headlined by the IWGP World Heavyweight Title clash between Tetsuya Naito and Sanada, but it was the semi-main event between Kazuchika Okada and Bryan Danielson that captured international fans’ attention.
The bout was a rematch from Forbidden Door II where Danielson got the win despite breaking his arm. Elsewhere, Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay, and David Finlay went to war over the IWGP Global Championship, and Dolph Ziggler made a surprise NJPW debut.
Dave Meltzer Match Ratings – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer shared his match ratings for the show, and unsurprisingly, it was the top of the card that scored highly.
- Great-O-Khan, Taiji Ishimori, Toru Yano, and Yoh won New Japan Ranbo **
- Catch 2/2 def Bullet Club War Dogs (c) – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles ***1/2
- Hiroshi Tanahashi def Zack Sabre Jr. (c) – NJPW World Television Title ****
- Yuya Uemura def Yota Tsuji ****
- House of Torture def Shota Umino Kaito Kiyomiya **3/4
- Tama Tonga def Shingo Takagi (c) – NEVER Openweight Title ****1/2
- Guerrillas of Destiny def Bishamon – IWGP Tag Team Championship & STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship ***3/4
- El Desperado def Hiromu Takahashi (c) – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title ****
- David Finlay def Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay – IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship ****3/4
- Kazuchika Okada def Bryan Danielson *****1/4
- Tetsuya Naito def Sanada (c) – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship ****1/2