NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 13 Hype Videos, Match Contract Signing, Ticket Sales, Kazuchika Okada

Several Hype Videos for Wrestle Kingdom 13 Matches Released

New Japan Pro Wrestling recently released new videos hyping up three of the matches on the card of this Friday’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event.

These were for the NEVER Openweight Championship match between Will Ospreay and Kota Ibushi (c), the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match between Taiji Ishimori and KUSHIDA (c), and the Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White singles match.

Official Contract Signing for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

NJPW also recently released a new video featuring the official contract signing for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega (c) at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Ticket Sales for Wrestle Kingdom 13

Ticket sales for this year’s Wrestle Kingdom event were officially announced to have surpassed the overall total of last year’s event at the Tokyo Dome. Last year’s event was stated to have sold almost 35,000 tickets.

Translation (via the Wrestling Observer):

“At this moment the number of tickets sold this year has exceeded the number of visitors (34,995 people) of ‘WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 in Tokyo Dome’ last year.”

Kazuchika Okada Comments on His Upcoming Match Against Jay White

NJPW’s English website NJPW1972.com held a recent interview with Kazuchika Okada and some of the topics discussed included his upcoming match against Jay White at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

When the Wrestle Kingdom match was announced, you said that Jay wasn’t at your level. How do you feel, revisiting that statement now?

Okada: I don’t think I’m on an island here. The fans as well are now thinking ‘holy sh*t, this guy is something else’. He’s very impressive and only 26. He’s going to grow from here. It’s scary, honestly.

It says a lot that Kazuchika Okada finds someone ‘scary’

Okada: Well, to have these young, hungry, fiercesome talents, that’s one of the great things about NJPW. And that’s what makes Kazuchika Okada a great opponent for Jay White to try and make his name off of.

Tanahashi and Okada are two huge stepping stones. That was a situation nobody could have expected.

Okada: Well, he’s got a big chance to make his name off of me. But I want to remind him, making your name off of me isn’t such an easy task. It’s all going to make for a hell of a match at the Tokyo Dome.

These tag matches have really made things more exciting.

Yeah. I feel that Jay White is the toughest foreigner in New Japan right now. I really do. Tougher than Jericho, tougher than Omega.

There’s amazing potential there.

Okada: It’s more than potential. I think he’s the toughest right now. The world might not know it yet, but they just might after he faces me January 4th.