An injury has kept him sidelined for a couple of months now, but Tomohiro Ishii will be back in time for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20.
It’s been revealed that Ishii will have a spot on the Tokyo Dome card in the multi-team ranbo match for the NEVER Openweight Tag Team titles. He’ll be teaming up with Taichi & Satoshi Kojima. There was dissension between those two at Friday’s Road to Tokyo Dome event, but Kojima still volunteered himself to team with Taichi & Ishii in the ranbo.
YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano are defending their NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles in the ranbo. It’s a tornado match where eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. Once one member from a team is out, the whole team is eliminated.
Among the other teams set for the match are Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin; SANADA, Ren Narito & Yoshinobu Kanemaru; and Tiger Mask IV, Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi.
Kaisei Takechi — who competes for DDT Pro Wrestling and is a member of pop group The Rampage — will be part of the ranbo as well. His partners have not been announced yet.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 (Sunday, January 4, 2026 on NJPW World) —
Hiroshi Tanahash’s retirement match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
Winner-take-all match: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji
NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL defends against Aaron Wolf
IWGP Junior Heavyweight title number one contender’s match: El Desperado vs. SHO vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishiimori
David Finlay, Shingo Takagi, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, Henare, and two mystery partners
The card for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 officially has a new addition.
NJPW has confirmed that NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano will defend their titles in a multi-team ranbo at the January 4 Tokyo Dome show. The match was set up this week with an angle where YOH staged a protest at an NJPW show, demanding that his team get a spot on Wrestle Kingdom. YOH said they would take on any number of challengers.
The ranbo match has a tornado stipulation where there are no tags and eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. Once one member from a team is out, the whole team is eliminated.
“The NEVER Openweight 6 man Champions were created at Wrestle Kingdom 10, and their tenth anniversary is being marked in this first time ever team ranbo,” NJPW wrote. “In the match, an as yet unknown number of teams will make their entrances at one minute intervals. Tornado rules mean there are no tags, and when one member of a team is pinned, submitted or thrown over the top rope, that entire team is eliminated, with the last trio standing the NEVER 6 Man Champions. Who will be victorious in this new twist on a Ranbo Tokyo Dome tradition?”
In another Tokyo Dome announcement, NJPW has confirmed that Kaisei Takechi of DDT Pro Wrestling and pop group The Rampage will be competing at Wrestle Kingdom. It’s not been announced which match he’ll be wrestling in.
Here is where the Wrestle Kingdom card stands with more than a month to go:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 (Sunday, January 4, 2026 on NJPW World) —
Winner-takes-all match: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL defends against Aaron Wolf
A host of new champions were crowned in the Tokyo Dome at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19.
A new IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion was crowned in the penultimate title match on the show, with Yota Tsuji defeating David Finlay for the Global title on the first anniversary of its inception. Finlay won the inaugural Global title bout at Wrestle Kingdom 18 last year.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight title changed hands on an injury Saturday, as El Desperado was declared the winner over defending champ DOUKI after DOUKI suffered a left arm injury and was unable to continue.
Konosuke Takeshita retained the AEW International Championship, plus captured the NEVER Openweight title in his victory over Shingo Takagi on Saturday’s Wrestle Kingdom card. Takeshita will now defend both titles against Tomohiro Ishii on Saturday night’s Wrestle Dynasty show.
El Phantasmo won the NJPW World TV title in a four-way in the second match on the main card. The Vancouver native made his return to NJPW last month, medically cleared after a cancer scare. ELP defeated Jeff Cobb, Ryohei Oiwa, and reigning TV champ Ren Narita for the belt.
In the main card opener, it was Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita of Ichiban Sweet Boys who captured IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team gold in the Tokyo Terror ladder match, defeating KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney, and TJP & Francesco Akira for the titles.
On the pre-show, Hirooki Goto won the New Japan Ranbo to earn a future IWGP World Heavyweight title shot.
IWGP World Heavyweight Zack Sabre Jr. retained the IWGP World title in the main event with a win over Shota Umino, while Mayu Iwatani retained the IWGP Women’s Championship over AZM on the show in the other title matches at Wrestle Kingdom 19.
NJPW kicks off its biggest weekend of the year today with its biggest show of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome.
In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino.
This is undoubtedly the biggest match of Umino’s career, as the 27-year-old tries to establish himself as the leader of the next generation of NJPW stars.
For Sabre, the match caps a year where he won the G1 Climax, the IWGP World title, and established himself as the top foreign star in NJPW.
A Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi “dream match” is in today’s semi-main event position. Both are Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemates, but have agreed to a one-time dream encounter.
Today’s other title matches include David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Global title, DOUKI defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against E Desperado.
The AEW International and NEVER Openweight titles are on the line in a winner takes all match with Shingo Takagi vs. Konosuke Takeshita in a potential show-stealer.
Hiroshi Tanahashi puts his career on the line in a lumberjack match against EVIL. Ren Narita defends the NJPW World TV title in a four-way against Jeff Cobb, El Phantasmo, and Ryohei Oiwa.
Mayu Iwatani will defend the IWGP Women’s Championship against AZM. The main card kicks off at 3 a.m. Eastern time with a Tokyo Terror four-way ladder match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with Intergalactic Jetsetters vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys vs. Catch 2/2 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs.
The New Japan Ranbo to determine the number one contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is set for the pre-show.
**********
Pre-show
Hirooki Goto won the New Japan Ranbo
This year’s Ranbo featured the stipulation of determining the #1 contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Having relinquished and retired the King of Pro Wrestling Championship during the Road to Tokyo Dome tour, Great-O-Khan put on an Iron Man performance along the likes of SANADA, Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, and more.
The match came down to a seesaw struggle on the ropes between Khan on the inside and Hirooki Goto on the outside apron. Inevitably, Goto won the Ranbo, earning him the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at a later date.
Main Card
Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) defeated Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & Kushida) (c), Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira), and Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney)in a 4-way Tokyo Terror Ladder Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
With ladders and chairs in hand, the War Dogs got an early advantage by incapacitating everyone else. As they climbed to the top, Kushida propelled his body to the ladder at the last moment to deny them an easy win. TJP and Akira sent Moloney through a table, leaving Connors to contend with Knight and Eagles. Having already landed on a horizontally-hanging ladder, Eagles was once again dropped onto it by TJP. As Kushida held a recovered Moloney on the mat, Knight dived onto the War Dog, only to miss at the last second.
Inches away from grasping the belts, Knight careened off the ladder and out of the ring as Moloney lifted the bottom rung from his prone body. Atop two ladders, the members of Ichiban Sweet Boys and United Empire battled. With TJP and Eagles out of the picture, the hopeful Akira lost his momentum as Fujita held his body over the ladder while grabbing wildly for the hanging belts. Eventually, they were in grasp of Fujita’s firm hands.
Moloney and Connors wearing fur coats while flanked by women immediately sets the stage for the pageantry for this match. The match itself was fun, with plenty of tense moments. Though not as exciting as most ladder matches, this showed a lot of promise as NJPW stepped out of its comfort zone. I’m a sucker for the tag team ladder matches of the Attitude Era, and I’d love to see more of these in the cerulean blue.
Mayu Iwatani (c) defeated AZMfor the IWGP Women’s Championship
AZM’s speedy offense stunned Iwatani initially, who opted for the resilience of her patented zombie state. The champ withstood two Canadian Destroyers like it were a minor inconvenience. A gnarly suplex to Iwatani by AZM managed to earn a 1-count pin.
Despite a failed Tombstone Piledriver breaking her zombie mentality, Iwatani closed the match with a Closed Dragon Suplex for the win.
In some respects, this match was plotted like a horror movie—an unkillable force that would require luck to survive. Unfortunately for AZM, she was no final girl. As one of Stardom’s great young talents, however, she remains one to watch as her lengthy match catalog would suggest. Iwatani is forever one of the best women to step into a ring in the modern era.Much like Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr at Halloween Havoc 1997, Iwatani and AZM made the most of every second they had.
El Phantasmo defeated Ren Narita (c), Jeff Cobb, Ryohei Oiwafor the NJPW World Television Championship
Phantasmo immediately displaced Narita with a vicious tope. Meanwhile, Oiwa and Cobb locked horns like two angry wildebeests in a savannah. Narita bounced back, even throttling the still-weak knee of Cobb. Phantasmo, out-maneuvering Cobb, was sent flying to the flattened Narita and Oiwa on the outside; Cobb relished this opportunity to do the same with a Tope Con Hilo. A hopeful Phantasmo’s top rope aspirations onto Cobb were dashed by Oiwa, leading to a Tower of Doom spot with Cobb as a sturdy base.
Seeking out his handy board, a distracted Narita lost his weapon to Jado, leading to a combined beatdown. Mere breaths from victory, OIwa’s Doctor Bomb nearly earned a pinfall over Cobb had it not been for Narita. Cobb broke Narita’s reintroduced board and followed suit with a Tour of the Islands but couldn’t make the pin. Phantasmo, however, took out Narita with a Thunderkiss ’86 for the win.
Just as the previous match maximized their minutes, so did the NJPW World Television Championship match. I went into this match hoping that either ELP or Oiwa would walk away with the belt, but Cobb’s injury gave him an undeniable underdog status. Phantasmo’s work landed significantly, providing an entertaining battle to the top. All hail your new NJPW World Television Champion.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated EVILin a Lumberjack Match
Should Tanahashi lose, he would retire sooner than he originally planned. As such, EVIL dished out every dirty tactic he could devise, but the undeterred valiance of The Ace is a fire that refuses to go out so easily. Smashing Tanahashi with chairs and spray-painting colleagues like Master Wato, EVIL sought to ruin anything Tanahashi held dearly: his health, his career, his friends. EVIL sought to flee like a coward now Tanahashi stood with replenished vigor, but was dragged back by lumberjack Oleg Boltin.
House of Torture forwent the lumberjack formalities as they proceeded for Dick-to-Dick Contact. Tiger Mask, Wato, and Boltin came to The Ace’s rescue, giving him enough respite. Tanahashi made a rousing comeback, featuring a Sling Blade and a failed High Fly Flow, thwarted by Dick Togo. EVIL proceeded to throw everything at Tanahashi, confident that this would be it. After a Dead End, EVIL went for a pin, ending in a nearfall, reversed by Tanahashi. In this reversal, Tanahashi gained the pinfall victory.
— Post-match: House of Torture gave a cruel beatdown to the victorious Ace, stopping at nothing. Then, Katsuyori Shibata emerged to his rescue. Following the save, Shibata challenged Tanahashi for Wrestle Dynasty.
Evil’s special entrance rocked. The gothic vibes of the organ, transformed into a cyberpunk syntheziser coagulated wonderfully into an excellent musical presentation. He felt like The Kurgan from the 1986 film “Highlander”. Hard to be mad at any House of Torture interference, as this match welcomed it. Despite the later Togo interference, the last half of this match created an unreal atmosphere of adrenaline and hope. I was on the edge of my seat.I’m positively looking forward to Tanahashi versus Shibata.
On an important note, Tanahashi’s last year already feels special. This is a man who had saved a company through performance alone and steered the company into a golden age. His work is transformative, adapting to any match format while still retaining his Ace aura, from bloodbaths with Jon Moxley to working Kenny Omega’s unique modern style. When Tanahashi hangs up his boots on January 2026, professional wrestling will lose that important voice in the ring, but gains an incredible president and figure.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship and AEW International Championship
Two behemoths collided, with AEW’s International Champion delivering ruthless power. Takagi prevented a dive from Takeshita, turning the tide with a Death Valley Driver. Through an evenly-matched collision and standoff, Takeshita swung the trajectory to his favor, broken by a Pumping Bomber by Takagi.
Making a spirited comback, Takeshita nearly gained a pinfall with a Blue Thunderbomb, but Takagi soundly countered it with a Last of the Dragon. Lariats and clotheslines, one after the other, led to Takeshita clutching control of the match. With one last Blue Thunderbomb, Takeshita added the NEVER Openweight Championship to his collection of now two belts.
An adrenaline-pumping taste of what’s to come at Wrestle Dynasty. Warrior vs Hogan vibes, except I liked this much better. This has been a nice turnaround for Takeshita, having struggled to get anywhere in AEW for so long, to holding gold in among two big wrestling companies. Takagi as always was in superb form.
El Desperado defeated Douki (c)for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship(Injury)
From the first bell, Desperado sought to slow the flow of this match. Throwing everything (including himself) at the champ, Desperado maintained relative control. Douki attempted a top rope seated senton to Desperado on the outside, but landed his elbow nastily on the blue steel barricade. Officials declared Douki was unfit to continue. Desperado was visibly upset by this turn of events.
Shido Nakamura’s presence in Douki’s entrance made for a spectacle made possible by massive events like this. A fan of foreign cultures, I grinned stupidly at this treat.Having spent the last few months invested in Douki and El Desperado’s story, I was gutted to see this match cut short and the champion denied this big moment. All the best wishes to Douki in his recovery from this injury.
Yota Tsuji defeated David Finlay (c)for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Finlay’s underhanded tactics gained him an early advantage, with an impactful barricade bump to his challenger. Briefly losing control, Finlay regained it by tossing Tsuji into the ring post and through an abandoned table near the announcers. The champ could only look on with malicious glee as Tsuji crawled and tripped to a 19-count return to the ring. Three consecutive Dominators by Tsuji immobilized Tsuji, but could not get the job done.
Tsuji made a brief comeback, trounced by four consecutive powerbombs, once again to no avail. Tsuji pulled out a Gene Blaster, but Finlay countered with a Gun Stun into Oblivion. Tsuji successfully landed a Gene Blaster, and went for the pin but Finlay lifted his leg to the rope at the 2-count. Finlay threw everything else he could, but Tsuji reached deep within himself to deliver a Powerbomb and one last Gene Blaster to a pinfall victory to a thunderous Tokyo Dome crowd.
Both men had aesthetically pleasing special entrances, with Finlay’s machine gun syncing well with the tron behind him, much like Kenny Omega’s Final Fantasy entrance at Wrestle Kingdom 17.Following up on the Douki injury sapped the energy from the building, but the crowd gave it their best. And to their credit, it worked. I’ve not given Finlay enough credit, but he excelled here with fantastic chemistry to Tsuji.
What was my least anticipated match going into Wrestle Kingdom 19 quickly became my match of the night. Unreal stuff from Tsuji and Finlay, making the crowd happy after such a tragic moment. Now the stakes with Tsuji against Jack Perry at Wrestle Dynasty are raised.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Hiromu Takahashi
Five years of destiny denied. Takahashi’s face told the story all too well, that this match means more than friendship—it means graduating out of junior heavyweight competition. Naito’s prepared for any and everything Takahashi could think of. It won’t be easy. A Time Bomb to the outside finally granted Takahashi an opening, planting a Dynamite Plunger to his stablemate.
Naito began a comeback, but a failed second Destino returned the momentum to Takahashi courtesy a Time Bomb. Softening the neck of Takahashi with elbows, Naito’s efforts were countered with a Destino by Takahashi followed by another Time Bomb. Naito weakened Takahashi with holds and Destinos, leaving Takahashi on his knees. Eventually, Naito landed one that granted him a bittersweet pinfall victory.
For fans of the Yakuza series, the tension and relationship between Naito and Takahashi in this match gave me strong yet vague Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Mijima vibes. This wasn’t some sort of workrate classic, but something far more. The determination in Takahashi’s eyes, and the apprehension in Naito’s. Even when Naito won, there was a sense of regret as he lay on the mat. Sometimes the best storytelling isn’t solely in dialog or action, but reading between the lines and the emotions that lie therein.
Main Event
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Shota Uminofor the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Umino’s back, while not noticable at first, grew to being an important factor. While in Sabre’s realm of holds and submissions, Umino barely clawed his way out, but in terms of high-paced frenetic action, he surpassed the champion. Spiking Sabre’s head on the apron, Umino gained a moment to catch his breath, save for the fact his ankle has been weakened thorughout his landing. Propelling the champion into the guardrails, Umino is showered in boos, just like in Ryogoku. Throughout any swing in momentum, his eyes glare in reproach, eschewing the babyface heroics he’d adopted throughout 2023.
With spite in his arsenal, Umino had a modicum of control, but still Sabre did implore him to bring his best to this match, that he’s in the main event and should act like it. Wrenching back Umino’s arms, Sabre nearly put the challenger to sleep. A rageful Umino rampaged through the champion, but fell to a lariat. Both men frenzied, urgently exchanging stiff strikes until Sabre landed a Sabre Driver to a 2-count. Umino planted the champion with a Death Driver, also to a 2-count. An extended leglock hold on Umino brought Umino beyond his threshold of pain, yet he crawled to the ropes in sheer desperation.
Meekly throwing weak elbow strikes, Umino is fueled by the derisive laughs in the crowd. Slipping on his way to the top rope via his hurt ankle, Umino was ensnared by Sabre. A last-ditch effort by Umino saw a Death Driver from the top rope, leaving Sabre prone. Viciously, Umino kicked and stomped on the champ’s helpless body. Vitriol, no remorse. At last, Umino’s ankle caught up with him. Sabre, ever the opportunist, deployed Sabre Drivers and a Suzuki-esque Piledriver before one last Sabre Driver put Umino down once and for all.
Ebbs and flows through this entire bout. So many flashes of greatness, tainted by moments of lulls and a strong lack of urgency. Umino gaining some originality in his character was nice, certainly, and added much to the story. The same applies to his ankle.Umino needs to complete his character. I loved his ruthless side, sharing disdain for the audience.
Long story short, this match felt like being fed an incredible steak, only to take turns pouring hot tar into your mouth. Not a bad match, but not a Tokyo Dome main event match.
Overall, Wrestle Kingdom was a blast. Much like AEW World’s End, however, it’s main event suffered. Pretty much any other match is worth watching. My highlights were the last half of Tanahashi versus EVIL, Takahashi versus Naito, AZM versus Iwatani, and Finlay versus Tsuji.
– Right now our schedule, and this could change, is that Garrett Gonzales and I are doing a show covering the latest news and the 2024 Awards today. Bryan & Vinny are doing two shows tomorrow covering the Tokyo Dome. Right now I’ll be back with Bryan on Sunday night.
The end of Raw on cable television and a look back at the show, Prime Time Wrestling, where it stands among the longest running wrestling shows on television, what to expect from the Netflix audience, the first show, how much WWE was getting for Raw at its ratings peak plus the year that USA nearly canceled Raw.
2024 live attendance numbers for WWE and AEW and comparisons with this past year and historical.
Full coverage of Worlds End, including historical notes on aspects of the show, questions on the show, the decision to cut back on matches and what was left on the cutting floor, the best multiple match days in history, best openers in history, returns, PPV numbers and other business notes.
A look at both Tokyo Dome shows
A look at the career of Sweet Daddy Siki
President Jimmy Carter and he and his family’s connections with pro wrestling and Jim Barnett
Pro Wrestling NOAH Budokan Hall coverage and attempt to make a superstar in one night
Stardom’s big year-end show with one of the best women’s bouts of the year
Janel Grant’s attorneys looking at rewriting the lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE and the key reason why
2024 Observer Awards ballot, detailed descriptions of the categories, the criteria and who placed top three in each category last year
Notes from the funeral of Rey Misterio Sr.
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week
International TV ratings
Advanced ticket sales for all the major upcoming U.S. events including All In Texas, WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and more
CMLL huge business week
What promotion is spending January rematching the best matches as voted by fans for 2024
Major Japanese title changes as the year ends and starts
Two major companies losing U.S. TV this week and details of what happened
Shooting at independent wrestling arena
Deaths of two British stars of the ITV era, Tally Ho Kaye and their version of Blackjack Mulligan
Lots of notes on discussion points of Tony Khan’s press conferences this past week
What AEW idea got bounced because NXT did it first
Debut of Sakuraba’s son
Updates on WrestleMania
Updates of archival content on Netflix internationally and MAX in the U.S.
New WWE TV or streaming show being talked about
Survivor Series PPV number makes significant change and why
Notes on the must-read Inside the Ropes story on the late Axl Rotten’s days backstage regarding WWE and Mel Phillips
New WWE business deal
Full coverage of WWE holiday tour and how it compared with those the past few years
– We don’t have the Wednesday ratings numbers for Dynamite but do know the number was low. We also don’t know what it means because one would expect a low number on 1/1 against the football games, but also we don’t have info on how many regular TBS viewers chose to watch on MAX. The latter number is obviously very key as is what number if any gets out and if they are apples to apples numbers and not misleading numbers.
– The first three hour SmackDown is tonight from Phoenix. Three matches have been announced: The Usos & Sami Zayn vs. Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga, Nia Jax vs. Naomi for the WWE Women’s title, and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Andrade in a non-title match. The show will air on the WWE YouTube page in Canada and U.K. because the Netflix coverage of SmackDown in those countries debuts next Friday. In the U.S., nothing’s changed except the extra hour on USA. They had 8,600 tickets out as of last night.
– We’re looking for reports from Phoenix on any matches not on the live TV show and other live notes to [email protected]
– We are doing polls this weekend on both Wrestle Kingdom late tonight and Wrestle Dynasty tomorrow. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
– Wrestle Kingdom starts at 2 a.m. Eastern tonight and 11 p.m. Pacific on both New Japan World and Triller. Wrestle Dynasty starts at 10 p.m. Eastern (right after Collision ends on the East Coast) and 7 p.m. Pacific (head-to-head with Collision) Saturday night.
For tonight:
Mystery Rambo (Rumble) match. Nobody knows who is in it. The winner will get a shot at the IWGP world title, likely in February. This starts at 2 a.m. Eastern
Kevin Knight & Kushida defend the IWGP jr. tag titles against Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors, TJP & Francesco Akira and Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita in a ladder match. All four of these teams are great. Hopefully the ladder stip enhances rather than detracts. I expect some crazy chances being attempted before what may be a tough crowd.
Mayu Iwatani vs. AZM for the IWGP women’s title. Iwatani is a strong Women’s MVP candidate for this past year and had a feature movie at the theaters out on her life. AZM is great as well. I can’t imagine this not being great.
Ren Narita defends the New Japan World TV title against Jeff Cobb, El Phantasmo and Ryohei Oiwa.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil in a lumberjack death match. Tanahashi is one of the greatest wrestlers in history bell-to-bell. But I’m so not looking forward to this one.
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Shingo Takagi for the AEW International title and the New Japan Never title. To say expectations are high for this is an understatement.
Douki vs. El Desperado for the IWGP jr. title. These two are so underrated as workers. Because there are so many great ones, two like this often get overlooked. If you’ve never seen them, you’ll be surprised at how good both are.
David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji for the Global title. They had a killer match in G-1.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi. Naito is the most popular wrestler in Japan although long past his prime. Takahashi has always wanted this match and vowed this will be the only time the two meet in a singles match.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino for the IWGP World title. Sabre never has anything but strong matches and Umino is good, but this does not feel at all like a Tokyo Dome main event.
– The injury to Nigel McGuinness talked about in this week’s issue was a badly broken finger. He said at a recent magic show last week that the bone came through the skin. He said he got the injury by trying new things in the ring.
– Arena Mexico is loaded tonight with three match of the month winner rematches, well actually two but a third being called that. January’s Espiritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs. Akuma & Dark Magic match opens. March’s Neon & Futuro & Max Star vs Magnus & Rugido & Magia Blanca is second. That match was awesome. October’s Zandokan Jr. vs. Villano III Jr. match isn’t happening with Villano III Jr. suffering a serious knee injury. So Zandokan is facing his brother El HIjo del Villano III. Templario defends the CMLL middleweight title against Volador Jr. The main event is Atlantis Jr. & Mistico & Legendario vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Crixus. Legendario and Crixus are getting main events on a big show coming off the Gran Alternative tournament.
– Cain Velasquez was announced as being a team manager in the GFL, the new promotion that is paying huge money for former MMA stars to fight including even Wanderlei Silva at 48 and Frank Mir. Velasquez won’t be fighting. His team will also have Javier Mendez as the head trainer. The announcement is strange because Velasquez is expected to be sentenced to prison on 1/25. GFL also announced a women’s roster headed by Paige VanZant, Julia Budd, Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Aguilar, Pannie Kianzad, Tonya Evinger, Lvinha Souze and Olympic bronze medalist Natalie Kuziutine.
– The GFL will have a draft with the idea of coaches picking the men and women fighters for their 20-roster teams. The league is to debut in April.
– Jun Akiyama & Konoske Takeshita teamed up at today’s DDT show at Korakuen Hall beating Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya. In addition, Chris Harrington, the Director of Business Strategy for AEW, was at the show (he’s repping AEW for Wrestle Dynasty) and ended up as the Ironmetalweight champion, which is their version of the 24/7 title. He sprayed something in the eyes of promoter Sanshiro Takagi backstage and pinned him.
– Stardom earlier today in Tokyo:
Mizuki Kato & Yuma Makoto defeated Rian & Honoka
Lady C & Nanami defeated Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo
Hina & Ranna Yagami defeated Zones & Soy
Athena & Thekla defeated Mina Shirakawa & Tay Melo when Athena pinned Melo, in her first match in 22 months
Saki Kashime won a Battle Royal
Ruaka & Rina defeated Hanan & Manami
Chi Chi defeated Aya Sakura to keep the Sendai Girls jr. title
Syuri & Tomoka Inaba & Kiyoka Kottsu defeated Momo Watanabe & Azusa Inaba & Fukigen Death in a kickingmatch
Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki & Koguma defeated Mei Seira & AZM & Miyu Amasaki
Saori Anou & Natsupoi & Sayaka Kurara defeated Dump Matsumoto (the original) & ZAP & Natsuko Tora
Maika & Hanako defeated Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
Tam Naano defeated Sayaka Unagi so Unagi must leave Stardom forever
Starlight Kid & Suzu Suzuki defeated Saya Kamitani & Momo Watanabe when Suzuki pinned Kamitani, which likely makes Suzuki the top contender for Kamitani’s World of Stardom title
– After the show earlier today in Tokyo, Thekla challenged Athena to a match for her ROH women’s title.
– Utami Hayashishita beat Sareee to win the Marigold title at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo today. Already heard raves about this one.
– TNA has gotten TV on NESN on Saturday nights at midnight. It seems like it’ll be used as filler programming.
– AJ Francis will be on Memphis TV this weekend.
– Awesome Championship Wrestling tomorrow night in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Mid Hudson Civic Center has Thom Latimer vs. Tommy Dreamer for the NWA title, Nic Nemeth vs. Matt Riddle, as well as Anthony Greene, Crowbar, Little Guido, Richard Holiday and appearances by Tony Atlas and Rita Chatterton.
Following his victory at Worlds End, Konosuke Takeshita is officially set to defend the AEW International Championship at the Tokyo Dome.
Takeshita is challenging Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 on January 4. When the bout was announced, it was noted that it would become a double title match if Takeshita was still AEW International Champion. That is now official with Takeshita having no more title defenses remaining before Wrestle Kingdom. He successfully defended the belt by defeating Powerhouse Hobbs at Worlds End this past weekend.
The winner of Takeshita vs. Takagi will defend both the NEVER Openweight Championship and AEW International Championship against Tomohiro Ishii in another double title match at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. Both shows are being held at the Tokyo Dome and will air live on NJPW World.
After a successful defense Saturday at the Worlds End event against Powerhouse Will Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita will defend the AEW International Championship against Shingo Takagi’s NEVER title in a title for title match at Wrestle Kingdom.
Not only that, but the next night at Wrestle Dynasty, Tomohiro Ishii will challenge for both championships. Who will emerge with all the gold?
Takeshita became AEW International Champion by defeating Will Ospreay and Ricochet in a three-way match at AEW’s WrestleDream pay-per-view this October.
With one last addition, the match order for the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 main card is now set.
NJPW has confirmed that Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi will take place at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. The match was booked after Naito and Hiromu — stablemates in Los Ingobernables de Japon — agreed to face each other at the Tokyo Dome following their World Tag League victory.
Naito vs. Hiromu will be the semi-main event of the Wrestle Kingdom card. It’s the first time they have ever faced each other one-on-one. The matchup was originally scheduled to happen at an NJPW anniversary show in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that from happening.
While the World Tag League winners traditionally receive an IWGP Tag Team title shot, NJPW has left it up in the air as to whether Naito & Hiromu will ever challenge for the titles. The belts are currently vacant after HENARE suffered a knee injury. New champions will be crowned at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5 when Great-O-Khan and a yet-to-be-named partner face The Young Bucks.
“I’ve never won a tag team title before, and challenging for a heavyweight title is definitely interesting,” Hiromu said at a press conference. But he noted that it “isn’t a rule that the World Tag League winners have to challenge.”
Naito also said he’s focused on this singles match and they may or may not continue as a tag team after that.
Here is the updated Wrestle Kingdom card and confirmed match order:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 (Saturday, January 4 airing live on NJPW World) —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi
IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay defends against Yota Tsuji
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against El Desperado
NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Konosuke Takeshita (Takeshita’s AEW International Championship will also be on the line if he is still champion)
Lumberjack match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Three-way match: NJPW World TV Champion Jeff Cobb defends against Ren Narita and Ryohei Oiwa
IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani defends against AZM
Four-way match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight defend against Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita, TJP & Francesco Akira, and Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
The IWGP Women’s Championship will be defended at the Tokyo Dome at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19.
Mayu Iwatani is putting her belt on the line against AZM at the January 4 show. That match is now official after being set up over the weekend at NJPW & Stardom’s Historic X-Over event.
Iwatani made a successful title defense against Momo Watanabe at Historic X-Over and then declared that she wanted a match at Wrestle Kingdom. AZM, owning a victory over Iwatani from Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix tournament this year, made her way out to challenge the champion. AZM had been on the winning side of a six-woman tag match earlier in the night, teaming with Mei Seira & Miyu Amasaki to defeat Konami, Rina & Ruaka.
Following Kairi and Mercedes Mone, Iwatani is the third IWGP Women’s Champion in history. She’s held the title since April 2023. This will be the second time the championship has ever been defended at the Tokyo Dome.
Eight matches have now been confirmed for Wrestle Kingdom. The show will stream live on NJPW World.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 (Saturday, January 4) —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
IWGP Global Champion David Finlay defends against Yota Tsuji
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against El Desperado
Three-way match: NJPW World TV Champion Ren Narita defends against Jeff Cobb and Ryohei Oiwa
Four-way match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight defend against Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita, TJP & Francesco Akira, and Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Konosuke Takeshita (Takeshita’s AEW International Championship will also be on the line if still champion)
IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani defends against AZM
NJPW has revealed the Wrestle Kingdom 19 main event and added a total of five new matches to the January 4, 2025 card.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his title against Shota Umino on NJPW’s biggest show of the year in the main event, a bout set up at Power Struggle this week when Umino confronted Sabre.
The match was officially announced on Wednesday at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom presser.
Four more title matches have also been added to the lineup for Wrestle Kingdom.
IWGP Global Champion David Finlay will defend his title against Yota Tsuji in a Bullet Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon matchup.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight title holder DOUKI will put his title on the line in the Tokyo Dome against El Desperado in another title bout added.
A three-way is set for the NJPW World TV title at Wrestle Kingdom with Ren Narita defending against Jeff Cobb and Ryohei Oiwa.
Also added, a four-way for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles, with KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight defending against Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney, and TJP & Francesco Akira.
Already announced for the show, Hiroshi Tanahashi will take on EVIL.
The Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty lineups:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19, Saturday, January 4, 2025 —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
IWGP Global Champion David Finlay defends against Yota Tsuji
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against El Desperado
NJPW World TV Champion Ren Narita defends against Jeff Cobb & Ryohei Oiwa in a three-way
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight defend against Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita, TJP & Francesco Akira, and Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney in a four-way
The first match is official for NJPW’s biggest show of the year in the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2025.
After all-time great and company president Hiroshi Tanahashi was challenged to a Wrestle Kingdom bout by EVIL earlier this week, NJPW has officially announced the bout in a website post and news release.
At King of Pro-Wrestling earlier this month, Tanahashi made the surprise announcement that he will be stepping away from the ring effective January 4, 2026 with his retirement match planned for Wrestle Kingdom 20. EVIL then stated his intention to retire “The Ace” ahead of time and threw down the gauntlet for the Tokyo Dome.
The Wrestle Kingdom 19 lineup remains in flux after the 2024 G1 Climax winner Zack Sabre Jr. cashed in his IWGP World Heavyweight title shot at KOPW instead of waiting for the Tokyo Dome and Wrestle Kingdom as has been tradition.
The Wrestle Dynasty event on January 5 also set for the Tokyo Dome further clouds the forecast for the Wrestle Kingdom card, as all of NJPW’s partner promotions being included in that event opens the possibility of a lot of interpromotional dream matches.
The card so far for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 set for Saturday, January 4, 2025:
New champions were crowned in all seven title matches at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 in Tokyo Dome on Thursday.
In the main event, Tetsuya Naito defeated SANADA in 25:42 to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Naito, the G1 Climax 33 winner in August 2023, won this iteration of the top prize in NJPW for the first time after hitting Destino and beating his former LIJ stablemate via pinfall.
After the main event, EVIL attacked Naito with help from Dick Togo to establish himself as the likely first challenger of Naito’s reign. SANADA helped Naito dispatch EVIL and Togo before leaving the ring to Naito for a roll call and celebration.
The first IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion was also crowned on the show as David Finlay pinned Will Ospreay in a three-way also involving Jon Moxley to christen the new title. The debuting Nic Nemeth and Finlay had a skirmish after the match to set up Nemeth as Finlay’s likely first challenger.
El Desperado pinned Hiromu Takahashi in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match to win the title and kick off his third reign with that belt.
NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Hikuleo & El Phantasmo defeated IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI on the card in a double title match to win IWGP gold.
Tama Tonga captured the NEVER Openweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome for the second consecutive year, defeating Shingo Takagi to begin his third reign with the NEVER title.
New NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi is once again a champion after defeating Zack Sabre Jr. to win the NJPW World TV Championship in the second match of the main card. Tanahashi becomes just the second man to hold the title as Sabre was the lone champion in the title’s first 365 days after its inception at Wrestle Kingdom last year.
In the main show opener, Catch 2/2’s TJP & Francesco Akira regained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, defeating Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney of Bullet Club War Dogs.
On the pre-show, Toru Yano, Great-O-Khan, Taiji Ishimori, & YOH were the final four in the New Japan Ranbo and will now do battle in a four-way at New Year Dash to crown the first KOPW 2024 Champion.
NJPW returns to the Tokyo Dome today for its biggest show of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 18.
In the main event, SANADA will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight title against G1 winner Tetsuya Naito.
In the co-main event, AEW’s Bryan Danielson travels to Japan to face Kazuchika Okada in a rematch from last June’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
The inaugural IWGP Global Champion will be crowned in a triple threat match featuring Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay, and David Finlay.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends his title against El Desperado.
In a double title match, IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI face NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Champions Hikuleo & El Phantasmo.
Shingo Takagi defends the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tama Tonga.
Shota Umino & Kaito Kiyomiya face EVIL & Ren Narita.
Yota Tsuji faces Yuya Uemura in a special singles match.
NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles against TJP & Francesco Akira in the main card opener.
The pre-show kicks off at 1:30 a.m. Eastern time with the traditional New Japan Ranbo. The final four competitors advance to tomorrow’s New Year Dash where they will square off for the KOPW 2024 title.
Ishimori, Owens, Yano, and O-Khan win King of Pro Wrestling 2024 Rambo
Another year, another rambo. That said, this was better than most Rambos. Michinoku Pro’s Fujita “Jr” Hayato and Takashi Iizuka we’re the surprises.
This year’s rambo opened with Chase Owens and Great-O-Khan. The first person to enter the match after the opening was Gabe Kidd, who attacked Owens, his faction mate, and O-Khan. As soon as Kidd had a lead, the second War Dog, Alex Coughlin, entered the match. Jeff Cobb was next to enter, helping the others, especially his faction mate O-Khan, challenge the War Dogs. HENARE followed, giving United Empire an even more significant advantage. Together, United Empire eliminated Kidd and Coughlin.
With three members of United Empire standing strong, Ishii made his way to the ring. Mikey Nicholls entered next, followed by Shane Haste, both of TMDK. Yujiro Takahashi joined the match after TMDK. TMDK eliminated Cobb and Henare as Master Wato walked to the ring. Yoshinobu Kanemaru followed.
YOH sprinted to the ring only to be attacked with his own shoes as soon as he made it inside. SHO entered next, but YOH met him on the ramp and attempted to take his wrench. YOH, in his socks, slipped while fighting SHO, allowing SHO to choke him with the wrench. Fujita “Jr” Hayato from Michinoku Pro stopped SHO and YOH from fighting and carried them to the ring. Taiji Ishimori entered as Ishii eliminated Haste. Yujiro then eliminated Ishii and Nicholls. DOUKI joined the match but was eliminated alongside Fujita Jr. shortly after entering.
Toru Yano walked to the ring next, but he refused to enter the ring. Takashi Iizuka, who retired three years ago, joined next, fighting off a wave of men on the outside of the ring before meeting House of Torture on the inside. HoT offered him a shirt, which he put on and immediately ripped off before attacking them. Taichi came to the ring next, backing up Iizuka and passing him the iron finger gifted to him by Iizuka. They then worked together to eliminate a lot of the field before shaking hands. Taichi went in for a hug, but Iizuka bit him, opening the door for the rest of the competitors to eliminate them.
The final five, Ishimori, Owens, Yano, YOH, and O-Khan, worked for eliminations. O-Khan eliminated Owens by dropping him on the apron, leaving Ishimori, Owens, Yano, and O-Khan as the winners. Tomorrow, they advance to challenge for the KOPW 2024 title.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) (c)
This was a creative, fast-paced match. A fun way to open the show.
TJP emerged from the casket he was sealed in on December 21st. He dressed as an Aswang, a Filipino cryptid. Akira was also in special attire, with his body painted in green flames. The War Dogs’ entrance was also unique, as they debuted the new, all-white Junior tag belts.
The challengers started the match by rushing the champions, but the War Dogs gained advantage on the floor. Connors attached a collared chain to TJP, choking him against the barricade while Moloney beat down Akira. Back in the ring, the War Dogs continued the attack on a completely isolated Akira.
TJP eventually freed himself, saving Akira with a tag while taking out the War Dogs with intensity. The rally was short-lived as the War Dogs bounced back fast. They hit TJP with the Drilla Killa, but TJP broke the count by grabbing the hand of the referee. TJP then bit Moloney before spraying him with mist à la Muta. Catch 22 then hit Moloney with tandem knees to win the match and the belts.
NJPW World Television Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
This was another fast-paced match, bordering a sprint at times. An excellent outing from both men.
ZSJ tried grappling early, but Tanahashi answered with two quick twist and shouts, a slingblade, and a crossbody before attempting High Fly Flow. ZSJ blocked Tanahashi’s finish with his knees and transitioned into a bridging pin that nearly won him the match. Tanahashi tried to rebound with a dragonscrew and a Texas cloverleaf, but ZSJ caught him again, taking control of the arm.
After a short strike exchange, the pair traded trap pins. Once ZSJ escaped, he secured a sleeper before transitioning to an octopus hold. ZSJ stuffed a dragonscrew, opening the door for two neck cranks and a penalty kick. ZSJ attempted to follow up with a Zack Driver, but Tanahashi reversed into a quick pin. The pair then rolled back and forth, trading pins. After a slew of attempts, Tanahashi pinned ZSJ to the mat for three, winning the match and the NJPW World Television Championship.
Yuya Uemura defeated Yota Tsuji
This was a rock-solid match with some quick sequences that the crowd ate up. Uemura got the win, which he desperately needed.
This match opened with a collar-and-elbow that transitioned into some typical chain wrestling. Once separated, Uemura tried running at Tsuji, but Tsuji caught him with a sudden spinebuster followed by a tope to the floor. Back in the ring, Tsuji scored a nearfall with an electric chair drop.
Tsuji maintained his control until Uemura landed an arm drag and a dropkick. A backdrop allowed Uemura to climb to the top, but he missed the crossbody, leaving Tsuji free to hit Uemura with a backbreaker, retaking control.
Tsuji attempted a Gene Blast, but Uemura reversed with an arm drag. Tsuji transitioned into a pin and followed up with a curb stomp once Uemura kicked out. Uemura avoided the second curb stomp and landed a suplex to score a nearfall in response. Uemura didn’t let this opportunity pass, following up with a deadbolt suplex into a pin, winning the match.
House of Torture (EVIL & Ren Narita) defeated Kaito Kiyomiya & Shota Umino
This match was very enjoyable ahead of the frustrating finish. Oh, well. Umino looked like a star. Kiyomiya was fantastic (as always). A significantly better-than-average HoT match.
HoT attempted to take advantage early, but Kiyomiya responded with a firey attack. He fought off Kanemaru on his own while maintaining control over EVIL. Narita eventually hit the ring, prompting Umino to stop him. The babyfaces tied up HoT with submissions, prompting the heels on the outside to ring the bell. This distraction led to HoT rushing the ring and overwhelming the faces.
After a short period of isolation, Kiyomiya tagged out to Umino, leading to a strong rally. Umino took out Narita and the HoT soldiers on the floor. Back in the ring, Umino continued his advance with help from Kiyomiya.
HoT tried to rush the ring again, choking the babyfaces as they did at the press conference yesterday. Kiyomiya held them off momentarily, but a distraction allowed Evil to land Everything is Evil, leaving Narita in control of Umino.
As Umino gained control back, Yujiro distracted the referee, allowing Narita to strike Umino with his pushup bar. Narita then hit Umino with the double cross spike and pinned him to win the match.
NEVER Openweight Title Championship: Tama Tonga defeated Shingo Takagi (c)
This match opened with shoulder blocks, testing each other’s footing. Tama was the first to strike landing a dropkick and a pair of suplexes, putting Shingo on the backfoot. Shingo fired back, hitting a shoulder tackle, a slam, and a tope con hilo to gain the lead.
A Tama neckbreaker reset the match, leading to a strike exchange in the center of the ring. Shingo fought into the corner, landing a superplex to re-cement his lead. A sliding lariat seemingly furthered this lead, but Tama answered with a Tongan twist moments later. Then, supreme flow from Tama scored a nearfall.
Shingo stuffed the gun stun, leading into a quick back-and-forth exchange. Shingo won out, landing a powerbomb that turned into another nearfall. Shingo then hit Tama with the pumping bomber before attempting Made in Japan; Tama reversed into a gun stun, taking the lead back.
Tama dropped Shingo with Bloody Sunday, but Shingo kicked out at one. Tama followed up with a lariat before attempting a DST. Shingo escaped but ate a forearm. Tama attempted another gun stun, but Shingo hit one of his own. Shingo then hit a pumping bomber and Made in Japan; Tama kicked out.
Shingo unloaded on Tama, dropping him with strikes before attempting Last of the Dragon. Tama freed himself and hit a Styles Clash. Tama tried to close, landing another gun stun; Shingo kicked out. Finally, Tama hit the DST, winning the match. Tama Tonga is a four-time NEVER openweight champion.
Nic Nemeth (formerly Dolph Ziggler) and Ryan Nemeth Appear
In between matches, the Nemeth brothers walked to the VIP section while on camera, seemingly to watch the tag team title match. What this appearance means is to be seen.
IWGP / NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (c) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c)
Bishamon gained an early lead by double-teaming ELP. They attempted to do the same to Hikuleo, but his strength proved to be too much. GoD then established control by using double team moves of their own.
A suplex to ELP allowed Bishamon to fight back into the match, but a rana from the top rope sent both members of Bishamon to the floor. Hikuleo furthered this lead for quite some time.
A miss from ELP allowed Bishamon another opportunity. After a prolonged offensive sequence, Bishamon hit ELP with Shoto, forcing Hikuleo to break up the pin. ELP then used head-scissors to throw Bishamon into each other, buying him some time.
ELP dropped Goto with a superkick. Hikuleo then landed a chokeslam, leaving ELP free to land a super Thunderkiss 86; Goto kicked out. ELP then hit Goto with CR3 as Hikuleo climbed to the top rope. Hikuleo hit Goto with a splash and pinned Goto. GoD now controls both tag team titles in New Japan.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado defeated Hiromu Takahashi (c)
Desperado started the match by diving onto Hiromu as he made his way to the ring. Back in the ring, the pair traded moves until a dropkick sent Desperado from the floor into the barricade. Hiromu, now with the lead, drove Desperado into the corner.
Desperado retook the lead, using a stretch muffler to focus Hiromu’s leg. Once Hiromu escaped, Desperado continued to focus on the limb. In an attempt to damage the leg further, Desperado leapt towards Hiromu, but Hiromu sidestepped the attack.
Hiromu gained some footing, but Desperado caught him in the stretch muffler again moments later. Hiromu powered out into a destroyer to regain the lead. Hiromu followed up with Timebomb for a two-count. Hiromu tried for Timebomb 2 but failed, forcing Desperado into the corner instead.
On the top rope, Hiromu attempted to fling Desperado but was caught. Desperado, now in control, slammed from the top to the mat. Hiromu tried to power up, but Desperado hammered him with strikes to keep him grounded. Hiromu dodged a punch, landing a lariat to regain advantage momentarily. Desperado fired back, landing Pinche Loco for a nearfall.
Desperado attempted Pinche Loco again, but Hiromu reversed into his unnamed roll. Desperado kicked out and landed another Pinche Loco. Instead of trying for the pin, Desperado hit Desperado with another Pinche Loco. This time, it was enough to win the match.
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: David Finlay defeated Will Ospreay & Jon Moxley
Moxley and Ospreay opened the match by rushing Finlay as they promised to do at yesterday’s press conference. They beat him up, inside and outside the ring.
After taking care of Finlay, Ospreay and Moxley traded suplexes in the middle of the ring. Ospreay attempted the OsCutter, but Moxley stuffed it before delivering another suplex. Ospreay tried for a Spanish fly, but Moxley reversed into an armbar, which he transitioned into a choke. Ospreay powered out, powerbombing Moxley in the corner but Moxley popped up and dropped Ospreay with a lariat.
Moxley attempted a Death Rider on the apron, but Ospreay stuffed it. Once Moxley was clear, Finlay attacked Ospreay. Ospreay tried to fight off Finlay with a cutter, but Finlay stopped him with a shillelagh.
Back in the ring, Finlay focused a bloody Moxley. Once Ospreay re-entered the match, he took out both men. Finlay was thrown to the outside and dropped with a tope from Moxley. Ospreay then took out both men again with a dive to the floor.
Back in the ring, Ospreay lept towards Moxley, but Moxley caught him with a forearm, followed by the death rider. Ospreay kicked out, but Moxley immediately transitioned into the choke. Once Ospreay was free, Finlay hit the ring, only to eat a piledriver into Ospreay.
Moxley exited the ring to grab chairs, which he threw back inside. He sat up the chairs, but Finlay drove him into the backs. Finlay then hit Ospreay with a dominator onto Moxley. Finlay then hit Ospreay with a backbreaker, but Moxley responded with a quick knee.
Moxley turned his attention to Ospreay, hitting another deathrider. Ospreay ate the move and hit Moxley with a hidden blade. Finlay then threw Ospreay to the floor and attempted to pin Moxley. Once Moxley kicked out, Finlay hit him with a dominator, prompting Ospreay to breakup the pin with another hidden blade, this time to Finlay.
Once the men returned to their feet, they took turns trading strikes. Moxley and Ospreay focused on Finlay again. When Finlay looked to be out, Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin, the Bullet Club War Dogs, hit the ring, attacking Moxley and Ospreay.
Ospreay and Moxley managed to fight back, driving both War Dogs through tables with a crazy dive. Back in the ring, Moxley dropped Finlay with a pair of deathriders before eating two hidden blades. Ospreay hit Moxley with Stormbreaker, but Finlay stopped the pin. Finlay then landed Oblivion, a curb stomp, and a new variant of his previous finish before pinning Ospreay to win the match. David Finlay is the first IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion.
After the match, Finlay taunted Nic Nemeth. Finlay pushed Nemeth, leading to a short scuffle.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Bryan Danielson
This was one of the greatest matches I have ever covered. It was focused, vicious, and emotional. This is what professional wrestling is all about.
The opening tie-up saw Okada trying to bait Danielson into striking. Instead, Danielson took Okada to the mat and began going for Okada’s arm. Once they returned to their feet, Okada caught Danielson with a couple of strikes, flooring Danielson. Okada landed a dropkick to Danielson’s eye before landing a DDT on the floor.
Okada attempted a running dropkick, but Danielson cut him off with a leaping knee strike. Danielson then placed Okada against the barricade, slamming his arm into the metal. Back in the ring, Danielson continued his focused attack, brutalizing Okada’s rainmaker arm.
After minutes of torture, Okada caught Danielson with a big boot. The follow-up air raid crash left Okada in a relatively strong position. Okada tried climbing to the top, but Danielson cut him off with a barrage of uppercuts. Danielson then hit a butterfly suplex from the top and continued his wear-down attack.
Danielson carried Okada to the apron, but Okada surprised Danielson with a scary piledriver. Back in the ring, Okada taunted Danielson with flat foot kicks to the eyepatch. Okada then ripped off Danielson’s patch and drove his foot into Danielson’s bad eye.
Okada landed an elbow drop from the top rope, but this further injured the arm of Okada. Okada then tried for the rainmaker, but the injury-induced hesitation gave Danielson the time duck. Danielson followed up with a kick and his signature elbow strikes. After eating a slew of elbows, Okada powered up, but Danielson answered with a busaiku knee and the Labell lock. Danielson transitioned into the hold he used to submit Okada at Forbidden Door, forcing Okada into the ropes.
Once Okada escaped, Danielson stomped his head into the mat. Danielson pulled to a standing position, where Okada fired back with a sudden rainmaker. Okada fell in pain and was unable to follow up.
Danielson pulled Okada to the ground, but Okada fought back with strikes on the mat. Once standing, Okada tried another rainmaker, but Danielson stuffed it. Danielson hit one busaiku knee but didn’t go for the cover, instead opting for another. Danielson missed, leaving Okada an open opportunity. After dropping Danielson, Okada landed another rainmaker and collapsed onto Okada. The referee counted to three, leaving Okada with the win.
After the match, both men showed their respect for one another.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito defeated SANADA (c)
A great main event here. This was a feel-good match if there ever was one.
Naito gained control on the mat early and tried sending SANADA to the floor. SANADA reversed, sending Naito to the floor before doing his own version of the Naito taunt. Back in the ring, Naito began wearing down SANADA’s neck with strikes and a slam. Naito maintained control standing and on the mat, focusing on the neck.
SANADA fired back with a plancha. A fireman’s carry cutter left SANADA with a two count. After a little bit of work on the neck, SANADA locked in skull end. Once Naito escaped, SANADA attempted the moonsault, but Naito avoided it. A dropkick from Naito sent SANADA to the ground, leaving Naito free to focus the neck once more.
A neckbreaker from the barricade to the floor left SANADA outside high into the referee’s count. Once SANADA made it back, Naito dropped SANADA’s neck onto his knee, followed by a frankensteiner.
SANADA reveresed Naito’s tornado DDT into a magic screw. He followed up with a poison rana and a shining wizard before attempting another moonsault. This time, Naito stuck out his knees to block the finish.
Once standing, Naito landed a barrage of strikes on the neck of SANADA. Naito followed up with Esperanza and Destino. Naito, knowing one Destino wouldn’t be enough, tried for a second, but SANADA reversed into a TKO.
SANADA tried for a moonsault again; this time he overshot by a hair. SANADA tried again, landing it this time, but Naito kicked out anyway. Naito then interrupted SANADA’s follow-up with a spinebuster.
SANADA tried hoisting Naito up again, but he dropped him. Naito hit Destino once, but, again, was forced to try for another. This time, SANADA slipped free, making the move partially land. After SANADA kicked out, he hit Naito with a sudden Deadfall, forcing a match reset.
SANADA hit a Destino of his own, but Naito stuffed the Deadfall. Naito then landed the tornado DDT. SANADA fired back briefly but could not hold on to any lead. Naito’s own Deadfall left Naito uncontested into another Destino. This time, it proved enough to pin SANADA and win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
After the match, Naito grabbed a microphone. Just as he was going to speak, Evil and Dick Togo attacked him. Evil told him he wouldn’t let him have his roll call as he propped him up for a belt strike. Before Evil could take him out, SANADA made the save, dropping Evil with a shining wizard.
Once the ring was cleared, Naito thanked SANADA with blood pouring from his head. He thanked the fans for their support and delivered the LIJ role call after winning the main event in Tokyo Dome. His goal is complete.
Four matches have been added to NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 set for Thursday, January 4, 2024 at the Tokyo Dome.
As was expected following an angle at Saturday’s Power Struggle event, AEW’s Bryan Danielson will take on Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom in a rematch from this past June’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view. Danielson issued a challenge to Okada for the rematch in a video promo played Saturday and Okada quickly accepted the challenge in a follow-up promo.
AEW’s Jon Moxley is also set for action at Wrestle Kingdom, as he will challenge IWGP US/UK Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, as well as Bullet Club’s David Finlay in a three-way for the US/UK title. There had been speculation that this match would be for a resurrected Intercontinental title after Finlay destroyed the US/UK title belts at Power Struggle, but the match is officially billed as a US/UK Championship bout at the moment.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi will defend his title at the Tokyo Dome against career rival El Desperado in a bout that was all but announced at Power Struggle as Hiromu called out Desperado as his next challenger.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship will be defended as Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) defend against United Empire’s Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira) after the latter duo won the Super Junior Tag League finals at Power Struggle.
A change in start time has also been announced for the show which will begin at 4:30 PM local time/2:30 a.m. Eastern time, a half hour earlier than originally announced.
The official lineup for the show thus far:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18, Thursday, January 4, 2:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against G1 winner Tetsuya Naito
Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
IWGP United States/United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defends against Jon Moxley & David Finlay in a three-way
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against El Desperado
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) defend against United Empire Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira)
Bryan Danielson was reportedly unable to fly to Japan for NJPW Power Struggle.
During Saturday’s show from Osaka, Danielson appeared via video and challenged Kazuchika Okada to a match at Wrestle Kingdom. Sports Illustrated is reporting that the original plan was for Danielson to appear live at the event but he was unable to fly due to the broken orbital bone he suffered during his October 21 match against Andrade El Idolo.
The original plan for Power Struggle, multiple sources confirmed to Sports Illustrated, is that Danielson was scheduled to issue the challenge in-person to Okada. Yet the injury prevented him from flying to Japan. Given these set of circumstances, an audible was called and the decision was made for Danielson to challenge Okada through a video.
Tony Schiavone confirmed on the November 1 AEW Control Center that Danielson had undergone surgery for the injury and was expected to be out until “later in the year.”
Danielson’s status for Wrestle Kingdom on January 4 was addressed last week on Wrestling Observer Radio by our own Dave Meltzer.
“It may be touch and go if he had surgery for January 4,” Meltzer said. “Hopefully, he can do it. Hopefully, he can finish the next however many months it is. He didn’t put a timeline on exactly when next year he’s going to be done. In theory, his contract would be over in September. Obviously, Tony could extend it but he’s not going to be a dirty guy in this situation if Bryan wants to be finished.”
