The final match in the legendary career of Hiroshi Tanahashi takes place in the Tokyo Dome as part of tonight’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20.
Tanahashi takes on longtime NJPW rival and current AEW roster member Kazuchika Okada on a night that will also feature a retirement ceremony.
IWGP World Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji in a winner takes all bout.
Olympic judo gold medalist Aaron Wolf makes his pro wrestling debut against NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL.
In another winner takes all match for the IWGP Women’s Championship and NJPW Strong Women’s Championship, Saya Kamitani goes one-on-one with Syuri.
NJPW TV Champion El Desperado defends against Chris Brookes while El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Sho will decide the next IWGP Junior Heavyweight title challenger.
In a 10-man tag, the Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Drilla Moloney) and Unaffiliated (Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) take on Andrade El Idolo and United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Henare & TBA).
The show will also feature a Ranbo match for the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles.
Our live coverage begins at 1:15 PM Eastern.
**********
Pre-Show
Katsuya Murashima & Masatora Yasuda defeated Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Matsumoto
Murashima and Matsumoto began grappling to a standstill in the Tokyo Dome. Yasuda gained control following two suplexes. Kato quickly recovered with a suplex to Murashima. Three consecutive bodyslams saw Kato maintain an edge over Murashima. He bounced back with a Back-Body Drop. and a Murashima Stampede. Through gritted teeth and applied pressure, Murashima’s Boston Crab tapped Kato.
(Crisp match with a quick pace. While the Young Lions were hungry, they stayed coloring in the lines, so as not to take any unwanted risks. Just enough to have a serviceable match.)
El Phantasmo (c) defeated Chris Brookes for the NJPW World Television Championship
Phantasmo and Brookes wrestled to a standstill. Employing sportsmanship with a handshake, Phantasmo earned a kick to the midsection as recompense for his good deed. Attacking Phantasmo’s ally, Jado, Brookes exploited the confusion and the environment using his DDT cohorts to inflict whiplash via a brightly colored rope.
Brookes from the top rope landed a senton that rattled the champion. Phantasmo slingshot himself from the ropes to deliver a Thunderkiss 86. His UFO attempt nearly finished the match. Brooks regained control, sneaking his knees up to disrupt another Thunderkiss 86. The challenger’s Brainbuster resulted in a nearfall. Phantasmo’s CR2 preceded a final Thunderkiss 86 that secured a title retention over Brookes.
(Phantasmo and Brookes had chemistry. The Dome sizzled with this one, and I imagine Brookes will revisit this bout with Phantasmo in the future to build something else. There’s something here, but not enough to go nuts over. Solid affair.)
Main Card
TMDK eliminated Oleg Boltin & Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) in the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Rambo
House of Torture (SANADA, Ren Narita, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) promptly went to work on Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, & Kaisei Takechi. They bounced back, however, flinging Narita into the corner as War Dogs (Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, & Clark Connors sauntered to the ring, accompanied by AEW’s Thekla. Narita unwisely took this time to sneak up on Umino, Uemura, and Takechi and was stomped out. War Dogs barreled into the standing babyfaces.
Thekla distracted House of Torture so Connors could batter them with a tire. TMDK emerged next, featuring Zack Sabre Jr, Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson. Oiwa and Yuto-Ice clobbered each other with forearms. Connors punctured Sabre with a Gore to allow Yuto-Ice more breathing room. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Togi Makabe joined the four teams as Oiwa battled OSKAR and Yuto-Ice in the ring. Oiwa flung OSKAR out, thereby eliminating War Dogs. They were replaced by Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Oleg Boltin.
Team 100 (Taichi & Satoshi Kojima) & Tomohiro Ishii were the new entries as Boltin eliminated Tiger Mask via pinfall. Boltin and Ishii teetered in a vertical suplex standoff, which the latter gained the upper hand in. The champions Toru Yano, Master Wato, & YOH rounded out the participants; YOH came out emulating “Toru YOH-no”. Taichi and Uemura tumbled into the ropes, each spilling outside, therefore eliminating their teams.
YOH singlehandedly stood his own against the challengers. Wato and Yano saved YOH from elimination. However, House of Torture pulled him off the ropes after nearly toppling SANADA, who fell out as well. Bishamon and Boltin coordinated well to disorient TMDK. Sabre outwrestled Boltin’s Kamikaze attempt to secure a pinfall with a bridged pin.
(This Rambo Match felt like a party. It won’t be for everyone, but the chaos was a part of the charm. I genuinely didn’t expect TMDK or Bishamon & Oleg Boltin to be the final two.)
Syuri (c) defeated Saya Kamitani (c) for the IWGP Women’s Championship & NJPW Strong Women’s Championship
Despite the swift agility of both champions, each woman evaded the other’s lethal strikes to a stalemate. Syuri trapped Kamitani’s arm, but a rope break was her salvation. Kamitani used the referee as a shield to break up Syuri’s momentum. H.A.T.E. pulled Syuri out of the ring, allowing Kamitani to dive at her into the steel blue barricade.
Kamitani weakened Syuri following a spiteful forearm exchange. A Bridging Northern Lights Suplex lent the Strong champion more momentum. Syuri swung a comeback as she dragged Kamitani over the top rope and cranked back on her opponent’s arm. The terrified and panicking Kamitani squirmed to a rope break, even though both of her arms were within Syuri’s grasp. A confident Blue Thunderbomb placed Kamitani inches from victory, as did a Star Crusher. Syuri grounded Kamitani with a Fujiwara Armbar, followed by a knee to the face. Kamitani garnered some steam, but Syuri caught her with a roundhouse kick. A Buzzsaw Kick dazed Kamitani. Syuri became a double champion by use of her signature Syu-Sekai.
(To the surprise of absolutely no one, this match was a classic. A hard-hitting bout with close nearfalls, this added poignancy to the seriousness of tonight. If this match doesn’t land in the conversation of match of the year in most, if not all, circles, then I’d be surprised.)
United Empire (Jake Lee, Andrade El Idolo, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & HENARE) defeated War Dogs (David Finlay, Drilla Moloney & Gabe Kidd) & Unaffiliated (Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi)
Finlay quickly went to work on Lee. Meanwhile, Kidd contended with Idolo, whose conditioning overwhelmed the madman, resulting in a Flying Crossbody. Takagi and HENARE collided, two bulls clashing in tackles, the former gaining an upper hand with a DDT. HENARE withstood most of Takagi’s offense, but couldn’t survive a lariat. Moloney outcircled him, leading to a dropkick. Reunited with Takagi, HENARE fell prey to an elbow from him and Moloney.
Takagi’s lariat and Moloney’s Gore continued to rock the Maori wrestler. Finally, HENARE snagged a comeback with a Berserker Bomb. Finlay and Newman’s hate boiled over in their hot tags; a backbreaker crushed the latter. Lee joined in, powerslamming Finlay. Takahashi and Finlay used each other as a weapon, flinging the other into Lee in the corner. By way of Finlay’s Dominator, Takahashi landed on Lee in a 2-count pin attempt. Moloney endured Newman’s onslaught to return fire with a Drilla Killa. Finlay tossed Takahashi into the sea of War Dogs and United Empire members. Irate, Takahashi flipped him over onto all their partners and opponents.
The jubilant Takahashi, now isolated, looked at the lights after Lee’s Facebreak Shot awarded him the pinfall victory.
Post-match: Jakob Austin Young joined the group in a white-collared shirt and tie. A masked figure also joined the United Empire’s celebration, revealed to be Francesco Akira.
(This match had some unhinged energy to it, with so much going on. I loved the chaos. Social media may be divided on Jake Lee, but the overall storytelling and action in this match was truly something to behold.)
El Desperado defeated Taiji Ishimori, SHO, Kosei Fujita for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Contender
SHO found himself on the receiving end of everyone’s ire, absorbing everyone’s kicks. He pointed into a random corner and scurried away. Desperado and Ishimori formed a temporary alliance toward Fujita. SHO returned to the fray and promptly fell to a drop toe-hold from Fujita (with a Desperado and Ishimori assist). Ishimori left Desperado reeling with a La Mistica. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI swarmed Ishimori with stomps and a lead pipe from the latter. SHO almost struck Ishimori with a wrench when Robbie Eagles, Robbie X, and Kuukai came to his rescue.
Fujita would have helped them, had it not been for SHO striking him with a black sheet pan. He followed up with a Shock Arrow. Desperado usurped him, nevertheless, with a Pinche Loco.
(Thrilling Junior Heavyweight action here, don’t get me wrong. But this match was so disorganized in the end. Though I’m excited to see the Robbies and Kuukai involved, I could have sworn the House of Torture interference had resulted in a bell being rung, so I thought this had already ended in disqualification with a wild post-match angle. Whatever. It should’ve been Fujita with the win, though.)
Death Vegas Invitacional and further event dates
An April 16, 2026, show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, was revealed to be titled “Death Vegas Invitacional”. Further shows revealed were the New Japan Cup, Sakura Genesis, Wrestling Red Zone in Hiroshima, Wrestling Dontaku, and G1 Climax 36 (with U.S. dates).
Aaron Wolf defeated EVIL (c) for the NEVER Openweight Championship
Wolf emerged with a shaved head and black trunks, eschewing his judogi.
EVIL and Wolf wasted no time, sharing forearms. The fiery Wolf used EVIL’s headlock against him, hurling him every which way. An elbow drop left EVIL fleeing to the outside. Propping a chair on Wolf’s neck, EVIL swung like he was famed baseball player Ken Griffey Jr in 1997. The arrogant EVIL taunted Wolf after an Irish Whip into the corner wrecked the former judoka.
Another whip into the corner devastated Wolf. EVIL tried several pinfalls to no avail. Using his judo experience, Wolf overcame the flood of House of Torture members with relative ease. EVIL swung powder in his face and sank in a deep Texas Cloverleaf. Tokyo erupted as he crawled to the bottom rope. EVIL regained dominance as he bullied Wolf with strikes. Wolf found his spirit with an Olympic Slam. He rocked EVIL with a Splash. House of Torture stole the referee before he could get a pin. Preventing further aid, the team wiped out YOH, Master Wato, and Toru Yano, who stormed in on Wolf’s behalf.
Don Fale erected a wooden table and splashed Wolf through its unforgiving structure. Miraculously, Wolf kicked out of EVIL’s lariat. Wrapping his legs around EVIL’s neck, Wolf stretched EVIL’s arms until he was left unconscious. Wolf became the new NEVER Openweight Champion.
(Tokyo was not ready for, yet hotly anticipated, Aaron Wolf. The long build to his debut and the overall execution made for a special moment and atmosphere. EVIL was actually in good form here, and the House of Torture antics added to the drama to give a superhuman performance. Wolf is a made man, and I hope the booking has the vision to ensure he is a successful prospect.)
Yota Tsuji defeated Konosuke Takeshita for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Exchanging headlocks, both men remained remarkably calm. Reaching a standstill, Tsuji paintbrushed Takeshita in the face. He sent Takeshita reeling courtesy of a hurricanrana. Slowing the match to a crawl, Takeshita took a stroll to regain composure. The audience audibly grimaced, hearing the thud of Tsuji’s chest from Takeshita’s chops.
Tsuji rocked Takeshita with the double-knee Gut Buster. The World Heavyweight Champ retaliated with a vertical suplex. Takeshita dropped Tsuji with a DDT onto the apron, to head-crunching effect. He sent Tsuji outside with a Frankensteiner. Tsuji countered a Power Drive with a backbreaker and a stomp to grasp a comeback. Tokyo clamored for Tsuji following a well-executed Fosbury Flop.
Takeshita’s Power Drive hit its mark on Tsuji, and he hit his own version of the Gene Blaster. Escaping Takeshita’s forearms, Tsuji was devastated with an elbow low blow. Takeshita lay dizzied on the mat after suffering a Destroyer. Though he suplexed Tsuji, Takeshita still ended up on the receiving end of a Gene Blaster. Readying for another Blaster, Tsuji withstood Takeshita’s knee, a Blue Thunderbomb, and a Raging Fire with a rope break. Takeshita found some wiggle room with a Poisonrana. Tokyo became unglued after a top rope Blue Thunder Bomb and Power Drive failed to put Tsuji away. Aiming for one last Power Drive, Takeshita instead fell victim to a Gene Blaster. Tsuji sank in a Boston Crab and lowered it further to keep Takeshita grounded. Ultimately, Takeshita acquiesced, tapping out to Tsuji’s pressure.
Post-match: Tsuji celebrated, enjoying sportsmanship from Takeshita and expressing his pride as the new World Heavyweight Champion, as well as retaining his Global Heavyweight Champion. Jake Lee attacked him from behind and tossed his title carelessly into his lap.
(Yes. I agree with this. The absolute correct call, and I am a Takeshita fan. But man, this match’s intensity became so stressful, so compelling that any meandering spots were meaningless to the overall spots that elevated it to another level. Takeshita and Tsuji have such gripping chemistry that reliably results in instant classics.)
Main Event
Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tanahashi soon wrestled control of the match in his favor. Okada wrenched it to his with a relentless headlock, taunting him by saying, “Go, Ace!” Tanahashi retorted with an elbow drop and a senton. Slamming his opponent to the mat, he teased a High-Fly Flow when Okada dropkicked him to the ringside. The Rainmaker faced Tokyo with a cheesy grin as he tormented Tanahashi with a knee to the barricade and a DDT off of it.
Bullying his old rival in the corner, Okada planted him with a DDT. Fighting back with punches, Tanahashi dazed Okada with a slam and a senton. Okada flung Tanahashi over the top rope, but he ricocheted back, replying with a Dragonscrew Leg Whip. Recuperating on the outside, Okada returned to the floor upon a top rope High-Fly Flow. Giving the camera the middle finger, Okada hinted at a Rainmaker Lariat, only for Tanahashi to flop him around with three successive Twist ‘n’ Shouts. A Tombstone from Okada was The Ace’s reward. The crowd pleaded with Okada not to drop Tanahashi with a Tombstone on the ramp, but he did it anyway. With the weight of the world and the match crushing his body, Tanahashi narrowly slipped back in the ring at a close 19-count.
Okada greeted him with a series of Rainmakers, with a third one eliciting a fire from The Ace. Wrist control firmly locked, Okada resumed his unloading of Rainmakers. With a second wind, Tanahashi reversed one with a Rainmaker of his own. Okada employed one more Rainmaker with some extra emphasis added to it. Changing strategies, Okada targeted Tanahashi’s knees with a Boston Crab. As though holding his last breath to savor life itself, Tanahashi refused to give in, grasping for that rope break. Distancing himself from another of Okada’s Rainmakers, Tanahashi pulled out a Slingblade.
Sitting Okada down with a sleeper hold, Tanahashi evoked Katsuyori Shibata with a Penalty Kick. He then paid homage to Shinsuke Nakamura with a Bomaye. While he did land a High-Fly Flow, Okada denied him a successful pinfall. Once more, Tanahashi reversed a Rainmaker with a Slingblade. At the last second, Okada lifted his knees to rupture Tanahashi’s midsection to disrupt a High-Fly Flow. Tanahashi absorbed a series of uppercuts, doling out forearms in return. Battling for leverage, Okada stole Tetsuya Naito’s Destino, followed by a Cobra Flowsion. Visibly exhausted, he struck with a stiff Rainmaker. Using a classic Rainmaker pose, Okada followed suit with his patented lariat and retired Hiroshi Tanahashi in the middle of the ring.
Post-match: Okada bowed to Tanahashi, and on the microphone, he said, “Thank you.” Officials gifted Tanahashi his flowers. Former NJPW talents Jay White, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and a tearful and agonized Kota Ibushi gave The Ace more flowers, embracing him with a hug as the locker room joined at ringside.
Katsuyori Shibata, playing heel, wearing an Opps t-shirt, handed Tanahashi his own bouquet, and they locked up one last time before hugging. Keiji Muto also gave his flowers, as did Tatsumi Fujinami. Just when it seemed everyone had their moment, BUSHI and Tetsuya Naito surprised Tokyo with his presence as he gave his own flowers, taking his time as he did so, as is his wont. He took the microphone and said that even if he didn’t ever wrestle in an NJPW ring again, he’d hope to meet Tanahashi again someday. Tanahashi concluded the evening’s proceedings, giving a heartfelt thank you and a couple of air guitar solos. As was the case throughout the last dates of his run, Tanahashi greeted every fan he could feasibly reach.
(Okada was exceptional here; trying to be a heel, delighting in mischief, only to give in to his emotion for a memorable last encounter. A bittersweet finale for a wrestler who changed the game. Tanahashi, even in his final year, contributed so much. Elevating younger talent, earning accolades (such as his 100th G1 Climax victory), all while embodying the spirit of The Ace. I watched this match, as I had all his other matches in 2025, holding in each moment in my mind so as to remember the feeling of a Tanahashi match. Inevitably, we all have to let go. In the end, it was an honor covering Tanahashi’s final bout on this platform. Thank you, Ace.)
Final Thoughts
While I think poorly of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship contender match and was unmoved by Jake Lee’s return, I found social media’s reactions to the show to be exaggerated. Plenty of matches were either satisfying or good. Great, even. Saya Kamitani and Syuri had an incredible workrate display. Aaron Wolf and EVIL moved the entirety of the Tokyo Dome in a feel-good debut. Yota Tsuji and Konosuke Takeshita thrilled in a dramatic match that could easily be taken as a message of Japan placing its homegrown talent first. But everyone likely was here for Tanahashi and Okada running it back one last time.
And to that effort, they did exactly what they were supposed to do. All emotions on the line. Okada, breaking away from his Don Callis Family persona over time, ended the match on that cathartic note.
NJPW sold the Tokyo Dome out on this night, January 4. I hope the company learned the right lessons from the show. Japan may still be struggling economically, but if it pivots correctly, the lion crest may find its bearings and become a driving force in 2026. This is the year to be forward-thinking. The Ace won’t be here this time to turn things around as he did against Inoki-ism.
Once more, thank you, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
