Here’s my personal scenario:
Will Ospreay is the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and decides to challenge Liger and is willing to put the title on the line at the Dome. And Liger beats Ospreay in all-time classic match and retires as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and then abdicates the title and then is decided upon in a tournament.
What better way to end your career like that?
Except that doesn’t help will. Should you lose on your way out like Shawn Michales ?
I saw Will beats him after a competitive match
I don’t know what tradition is in Japan, but in the US it’s pretty much a given that a retiring wrestler (especially a legend) does the favors for somebody else on his way out.
And by “pretty much a given”, I mean there are probably 100 examples of this not happening. But it is tradition. Austin, HBK, Flair, Funk, Trish Stratus… not that most of those ended up being actual retirements, but whatever. Wrestlers are weird.
Agreed, it was always my understanding that a wrestler goes out on his/her back putting someone else over.
I am not sure that is a rule all over the world, but it should be. I wasn’t watching Liger until my somewhat recent introduction to NJPW but I see why he is so beloved. A loss in his last match to someone on the up’ n up won’t tarnish his career, and only stands to make the talent on the other end gain some real credibility.
I would stack him against Sho from Rappongi 3K. He is young, he doesn’t run a crazy fast offence so Liger could get his spots in and not be overshadowed and it would go far to push him into the singles spot light which I think could help Sho way more than Will.