A DEEPER LOOK:
NJPW’S DOUBLE GOLD DASH
By Jasmine Olan
NJPW’S DOUBLE GOLD DASH
By Jasmine Olan
One of the biggest parts of WRESTLE KINGDOM 14 was the story of four men all vying to become New Japan Pro Wrestling’s first ever dual champion. Fans and the wrestling world at large were wondering who it would be as NJPW’s biggest event of the year was drawing closer. Would it be reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada? Would it be G1 CLIMAX 29 winner, Kota Ibushi? Would it be Los Ingobernables de Japon leader, Tetsuya Naito or would be current IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Jay White? We would all find out when all four men had their dates with the legendary Tokyo Dome.
With WRESTLE KINGDOM being broken up into two nights for the first time ever, the Double Gold Dash would be serving as the main event for both nights. There were multiple stories being told heading into WRESTLE KINGDOM weekend. Each of the four competitors had their reasons for wanting to be the ultimate winner, and there were many questions as well. The biggest of them all was whether Tetsuya Naito would ultimately get his revenge on the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada for the loss he suffered in the main event of WRESTLE KINGDOM 12.
The journey to the Double Gold Dash truly begin in 2015 when CHAOS’ Hirooki Goto mentioned it as one of his big goals. However Goto was unable to make it happen. It came up again in 2019 when Naito made it known that he wanted to be the one to become NJPW’s first ever dual champion. After emerging victorious in his feud with Suzuki-gun’s Taichi, the ungovernable one found himself on the road to redemption. He had a very strong showing in G1 CLIMAX 29 despite not making it to the finals. At POWER STRUGGLE 2019, Naito issued a challenge to Intercontinental Champion, Jay White, stating that he was going to need that title back so he could continue working toward his goal.
This led to the Switchblade calling out G1 29 winner, Kota Ibushi and IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada. While Three of the four men stated their desire to become the first dual champion, Okada made it clear that his focus was on the heavyweight title alone. A fan vote determined that the Double Gold Dash would happen at WRESTLE KINGDOM 14. On night one it would be Ibushi vs Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and Naito vs White for the Intercontinental Championship. On night two, the winners from night one would go head to head in a winner take all match while the losers would face off in a special singles match.
Heading into night one, the big favorites were Naito and Ibushi. Many were pulling for Naito to get the Tokyo Dome win they felt he’d been denied, even spawning the hashtag #NAITOTWOBELTS. You could almost sense his moment was coming when he stepped into the ring to face Jay White. On night one, Naito defeated the Switchblade and regained the Intercontinental Championship in the co-main event. Meanwhile in the main event that night, Okada successfully retained his title against Ibushi. After that it would all come down to night two where it would be winner takes all between Naito and Okada. Naito was one step closer to his goal, and it was time to risk it all.
Could he really make this happen? The words on the back of his ring robe said it all. ‘Todo o nada’, ‘All or nothing’. With the support of the LIJ faithful, Naito was finally able to avenge his loss from WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 and make history while setting up a banner year in 2020. For Naito’s part, the Double Gold Dash was all about redemption. Naito was about to bounce back from a 2019 that was difficult at times and begin 2020 by making his dream a reality. For the other heavy favorite to win, his story was all about continuing his mission to change the wrestling world.
The Golden Star, Kota Ibushi had probably the best year of any wrestler in 2019. It started off rough with his loss of the NEVER Openweight Championship to Will Ospreay at WRESTLE KINGDOM 13 where he also suffered a concussion that sidelined him for several weeks. He began to rebound with a strong showing in the New Japan Cup then by winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden. Later that Summer, Ibushi made history by becoming the first man to win all three of NJPW’s major singles tournaments after defeating Jay White in the finals of G1 CLIMAX 29. His reason for wanting to become the first dual champion was that he wanted to broaden the landscape of professional wrestling and help take NJPW to another level. In the end Ibushi would be the one leaving both nights of WRESTLE KINGDOM 14 empty handed, but he put up an epic fight along the way. It was all about fighting for a dream that is bound to come true sooner or later.
For the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada the Double Gold Dash was about asserting his own dominance and emphasizing the importance of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 2019 was another great year for Okada as he won that year’s NEW Japan Cup then defeated Jay White in Madison Square Garden to begin his fifth reign as IWGP Intercontinental Champion. That summer, he had one of the best showings in G1 CLIMAX 29 before being defeated by eventual tournament winner, Kota Ibushi in the A block finals. His fifth title reign would continue until night two of WRESTLE KINGDOM 14. Even without a championship on him, Okada remains counted among the greatest champions New Japan Pro Wrestling has ever had.
As for Switchblade Jay White, he just wanted to prove his claim that he is the best NJPW has to offer. White is widely considered one of the best heel wrestlers of his generation as he can easily play the ultimate smarmy jerk who doesn’t care who he has to step on in an attempt to get what he wants. In 2019 he had a brief run with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship before dropping it back to Kazuchika Okada. He had some great rivalries throughout the year then won the B Block finals of G1 CLIMAX 29. After losing in the tournament finals to Kota Ibushi, White began a run with the Intercontinental title as his rivalry with Tetsuya Naito was being built up. That run would last until night one of WRESTLE KINGDOM 14. He would defeat Ibushi in the special singles match on night two and now looks to continue his run as one of the industry’s best bad guys.
In the end the Double Gold Dash gave NJPW fans two out of this world main event matches for WRESTLE KINGDOM 14. This helped elevate four of New Japan’s finest to another level as well as tell some great stories in the process. From Tetsuya Naito’s ultimate redemption to Kota Ibushi’s fight to live a dream, this historic event has set the stage for another huge year for New Japan Pro Wrestling. All four competitors have amazing futures ahead of them and will no doubt play important roles in NJPW’s main event picture. With so many great things sure to come for NJPW in the future, the fun will be in seeing how it all plays out. What can be said for sure is that history will continue to be made. Critics and fans the world over will just have to wait and see. When the momentum will stop, nobody knows.
