A Star Shining In The Rain

The Road to the Tokyo Dome is upon us, and it is truly paved in gold, with the final destination of Wrestle Kingdom 14 being the epicenter of a “first” and a “last”. Along with the historic final matches of Jushin “Thunder” Liger’s legendary career, we are also going to bear witness to the culmination of what’s been called the “Double Gold Dash”: for the first time ever, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion will face-off with the IWGP Intercontinental Champion with the winner walking away with both championships. So, how did we get here? What made this unprecedented event into a reality, and how did the four men discover this path to eternal glory?

This is the second part of a three-part thread series, chronicling the stories of the four man involved in NJPW’s historic “Double Gold Dash” to Wrestle Kingdom. The first part of the series covered the path of the Intercontinental Championship, led by Jay White as the Champion with Tetsuya Naito as his opposition and the man behind the concept of the “Double Gold Dash”. This segment will cover the paths of the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and, as tradition would dictate, the winner of the G1 Climax as we head toward the final destination: the Tokyo Dome on January 4th and the 5th. For this particular clash, however, the history is more intertwined than at first glance, and to understand how far back this goes, let us first follow the path of the challenger to the Tokyo Dome.

Kota Ibushi: Haunted by Ghosts

Kota Ibushi’s road to the Tokyo Dome, ostensibly, begins at the New Beginning in Osaka, when Kota Ibushi shocked the crowd in Osaka with an unannounced appearance. After rumors had circulated regarding his future in the wrestling industry, including such rumors as him going to follow his Golden Lover, Kenny Omega, to the soon-to-be-formed All Elite Wrestling, Ibushi had returned to New Japan to announce that, for the first time in his career, he would be signing full-time with the company, signing a two-year deal and bringing a halt to the “Ibushi Research Institute”. In that same announcement, Ibushi would also declare himself as the first participant into the New Japan Cup of 2019, meeting Tetsuya Naito, a consistent rival of his through their years in NJPW and the at-the-time Intercontinental Champion, in the first round. He would go on to eliminate him in their match-up before succumbing to the Submission Master, Zack Sabre Jr. However, due to Ibushi’s victory of the IC Champion, this would earn him a title shot, which he would take at the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden, capturing the Intercontinental Championship for the first time. For Ibushi, this was a monumental achievement.

To him, the IC Championship represented an accomplishment that his “gods”, Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi, put on a certain pedestal, elevating the Intercontinental Championship to heights equivalent to the Heavyweight Championship…and on that merit, they had succeeded as the IC Title had main-evented over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with those two men competing for the title back at Wrestle Kingdom 8. With his return to NJPW, Ibushi would begin paying tribute to one of his gods, adopting Shinsuke Nakamura’s Bombaye into his moveset, usually to set up the “Kamigoye” finishing blow, and now, Ibushi held onto the gold that was synonymous with the King of Strong Style. His run would not last long, however, before Naito would reclaim what was once his at the following Dominion event.

After his loss at Dominion, Kota Ibushi would go on to compete in the G1 Climax, claiming several important victories along the way. He would avenge his loss at that year’s Wrestle Kingdom event against Will Ospreay, take another step above his “gods” by defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi, and finally, secure his place in the finals of the G1 by defeating the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada. Ibushi would then proceed to the finals against Jay White after his defeat of Naito allowed him to take B Block, and in a spectacular display of perseverance, Ibushi would leave the Switchblade dull, defeating him to claim the G1 Climax contract. It was at this event’s post-match interview, however, that Ibushi would finally speak on his true feelings on a particular subject.

When asked about Jay White having the Bullet Club in his corner, complete with their newest recruit in KENTA, Ibushi simply said that he “always felt that he was alone out there”, indicating a certain “rift” between the two Golden Lovers as time went on. In the past, Tanahashi, the former Ace of New Japan and a man that Ibushi reveres deeply, had stated that Ibushi has a lot of latent potential, but due to him constantly being in the shadow of Kenny Omega and choosing to stand beside him, he would be unable to show that side of himself, but with Omega now gone from the NJPW roster, Ibushi’s aggressive side had begun to surface more and more, perhaps showing some truth to Tanahashi’s words. Ibushi’s own words in regards to Omega also seem to indicate perhaps how one-sided the situation was in its own right as Kenny Omega would be the man to dethrone the Rainmaker’s legendary 720 day championship reign, with Ibushi there to celebrate with his Golden Lover, watching on as Kenny Omega would achieve immortality within NJPW. To further display this, Ibushi would only have one prior opportunity for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship prior to his G1 Climax victory against the then-leader of the Bullet Club, AJ Styles, and in the closing moments, Omega’s allegiance to the Bullet Club would prove to be Ibushi’s undoing, a timely distraction costing Ibushi his lone shot at the Heavyweight gold.

In winning the G1 Climax, Ibushi would begin to carve out his own path, becoming the first man in NJPW history to win a “Triple Crown” of tournaments, having won the Best of Super Jrs, a New Japan Cup, and now, a G1 Climax tournament over the course of his career. After successfully defending his contract against KENTA and Evil, the two men who defeated him during the course of the G1, Ibushi’s fate was sealed, having earned and defended his opportunity to confront Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 14…and yet, to Ibushi, this wasn’t enough for him. Ibushi had begun to take interest in White and Naito’s feud over the Intercontinental Championship, and before long, Ibushi voiced his desire to also claim both championships in order to “create a new legacy” of his own. For so much of his career, Ibushi had been chasing those ahead of him. Whether it was the ambush and subsequent match against Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 9, his admiration of Tanahashi as a “senpai”, or even the love of his partner in Kenny Omega, Ibushi had simply always been in another man’s shadow, so to Ibushi, participating in the “Double Gold Dash” would only be a furtherance of his own desire to carve out his own legacy. Before he can cut through to destino, however, the Golden Star must find a way to shine through the Rainmaker…

Kazuchika Okada: Drowned by Failure

The Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada, has become synonymous with utter excellence in NJPW throughout his remarkable, history-making run with the company, propelling the brand to unforeseen heights on an international scale. Putting on classic match after classic match became the M.O. of the Rainmaker for quite some time as every single title defense would be a Match of the Year candidate on their own in a bubble, with his trilogy against Kenny Omega reaching global recognition for both men and the brand of New Japan Pro Wrestling as a whole. However, it came to an end one fateful night, as Okada would celebrate breaking the record for most successful title defenses, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi, the previous record holder, to claim the new record. In doing so, however, Okada sought to settle a score with Kenny Omega, realizing that their record stood at an even 1-1-1. As a result, Okada would challenge Omega, with Omega uping the ante and making the match 2-out-of-3 Falls. Okada would accept, and at Dominion 2018, the match was signed. In an all-time classic match, Omega would dethrone the Rainmaker, ending 720 days of rain.

After his loss, Okada would change greatly, seemingly cracking under the pressure of having held the title for so long and, now, beginning to relax and enjoy himself, sinking into the background in tag-team matches, allowing his stablemates to come out to their music rather than his own, and changing his demeanor as a whole, showcasing a more “erratic” and “fun-loving” side of the normally cocky, serious Rainmaker. Okada would begin to dye his hair red, changing his gear to the black-and-red colors of his stable, and even alter his entrance, the Rainmaker pose vanishing from his walkouts, and his familiar entrance theme being remixed into a more “down tempo” version. Okada would briefly revert back to the old Rainmaker on occasion, and even so, something would still be missing as his entrance coat would be half-done in this new “red and black” color scheme, his entrance walk lacking the energy of the old Rainmaker. This more “confused” and “nonchalant” form of the Rainmaker, while still a deadly competitor in the ring, would create an opening as their newest recruit, Jay White, saw the weakness in Okada and, as a result, would begin asserting himself as the leader of Chaos. Despite opposition from all members of the unit, Jay White would claim an edge by defeating Okada at that year’s G1 Climax, giving White all of the leverage he needed. Okada would finish the G1 Tournament that year short of the Finals, and during the night of the G1 Finals, Okada would announce parting ways with his mentor of 6 years, Gedo.

This split of the Rainmaker and Raintaker would create perhaps the biggest ripple effect within the stable. At the Destruction in Kobe event, Okada would go on to challenge Tanahashi for the G1 Climax Winner’s Contract, ultimately coming up short in a sign that this current Okada simply could not measure up to the heights he once did, unable to beat the man he bested at Wrestle Kingdom 10 to become the Ace. After the match, White would hit the ring, taking out Tanahashi as he was next-in-line for a shot at the briefcase before going after Okada. Gedo would hit the ring to make an apparent “save” of his old friend and protege, but, in a shocking move, Gedo would align himself with Jay White, taking a chair to the back of his pupil. It wouldn’t be long before the true depth of this betrayal would be realized, as Jay White, Gedo, and Jado of Chaos would defect and join the Bullet Club, ushering in the “Cutthroat Era”. In response, Okada would be forced into an unexpected alliance, putting aside the many years of animosity between the two Aces, and shaking hands with Tanahashi, forming an alliance between Chaos and the New Japan Main Unit. After the alliance was formed, Okada would begin to climb out of his peculiar state, slowly but surely showing signs that the Rainmaker of old still lie within, and at Wrestle Kingdom 13, lightning would strike…

The Rainmaker: Driven by Success

Wrestle Kingdom 13 featured a match between the Switchblade and the Rainmaker, the animosity building to a fever pitch over the previous months between Jay White hindering the growth of Chaos from within, Gedo and Jado following Jay White to the Bullet Club, and even a singles match against Gedo for Okada to reclaim some factor of revenge, but at Wrestle Kingdom 13, Okada had returned to form. His music, once dulled and hollow, had now been restored to a more familiar vibrance and fullness. His entrance walk had gotten back its old energy. Money had rained from the sky once more, and perhaps best of all, Okada’s hair and gear returned to their old colors, with his bellbottom pants from the previous run replaced by his older short-tights much to the elation of the crowd in attendence. Despite this show of form, however, Okada would still struggle with the crafty Switchblade before finally, in a shocking display, succumbing to the Blade Runner for a three-count as Jay White claimed victory from the rejuvenated Rainmaker…but perhaps he wasn’t rejuvenated just yet?

After all, his match against Jay White was one merely of revenge, and in the past, Okada wrestling a match for vengeance’s sake has, more often than not, backfired as it did in the cases of Kenny Omega or even Hiroshi Tanahashi. There needed to be something more to the match itself. A goal other than personal revenge, and as such, Okada would go on to declare for the New Japan Cup, finding his stride through the tournament, with the promise of an IWGP Heavyweight Championship opportunity at Madison Square Garden, a venue that Okada had long dreamed of competing in and bringing NJPW to the US to the hallowed halls of the legendary arena. With this goal in mind, Okada would find the strength he was missing before to push through the New Japan Cup and claim his prize. As fate would have it, Tanahashi would defeat Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 13 to claim the IWGP Championship…and then, almost 7 years to the date of Okada’s “Rainmaker Shock”, Jay White would defeat Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, setting the stage for a rematch between the Switchblade and the Rainmaker at MSG. This time, however, Okada would be ready, marching into MSG as the favorite and, after a grueling contest, he would walk out of his dream venue with a dream scenario: defeating Jay White to claim the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the belt that he would go on to hold through the reminder of 2019, locking him in for Wrestle Kingdom 14 against Kota Ibushi on January 4th.

With the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his possession, Okada would begin to feel his old confidence radiate back into his persona, showcasing the cocky arrogance that painted his earlier title reigns in full effect, culminating in his “participation” by default in the “Double Gold Dash”. As Okada himself stated, “The man who wins the gold medal doesn’t also want the silver medal”, chastising the other men for focusing on the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. In Okada’s eyes, all three men opposite of him were wasting their time as he was the target they all should’ve been focusing on, noting that they weren’t focused on the true prize. To add, Okada would also go on to “apologize” for “being so good” as Ibushi claimed that it was simply “lame” seeing Okada in the main-event so often. Okada would even go one step further, mocking Naito and the poll results from Wrestle Kingdom 8 and suggest that there should be a poll if the fans wanted to see the “Double Gold Dash” at Wrestle Kingdom 14. However, this bit of arrogance would backfire as the fan poll, while much closer than the poll 6 years ago, would lend itself toward the Winner Take All scenario proposed by Naito. As a result, Okada was now locked into the “Double Gold Dash” despite his lack of care for the “lower” championship. Okada’s eyes remain focused on Kota Ibushi, the man who defeated him on the final night of A Block at the G1 Climax and the eventual winner of the tournament, and on January 4th, the stage is set. Will the Rainmaker’s torrential downpour create overcast conditions, or will the Golden Star shine through the clouds and dazzle in the raindrops?