The card for NJPW vs. NOAH at night three of Wrestle Kingdom 16 has been set.
NJPW and NOAH held a press conference today and announced eleven matches for the card. All of the matches will have NJPW vs. NOAH talent. The match order has yet to be announced, but two matches were designated pre-show bouts.
Most notably, NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada will face Keiji Muto and Kaito Kiyomiya. Muto is no stranger to NJPW, having held the company’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship four times. Kiyomiya is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and a two-time GHC Tag Team Champion.
In an all-star 10-man tag, Los Ingobernables de Japon takes on Kongo (Diamonds), as Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI of NJPW face NOAH’s Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke and Aleja.
Just two singles bouts have been announced, as NJPW’s SHO faces NOAH’s Atsushi Kotoge, and NOAH’s Yasutaka Yano takes on NJPW Young Lion Kosei Fujita.
In an interesting twist, NJPW’s KENTA will team with NOAH talent on the show, as Taichi, Minoru Suzuki and TAKA Michinoku face Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba and KENTA.
NJPW’s IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi and NOAH’s GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima were on hand for today’s presser, which can be seen below.
All told, nine tag bouts and the two singles contests were announced for the event.
Here is the full lineup:
Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three, NJPW vs. NOAH, Saturday, January 8, 3 a.m. Eastern time on Abema pay-per-view —
New Japan Pro Wrestling officially announced the full cards for the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16.
A number of new title matches have been added to both cards. As a result of their wins at the Best of the Super Juniors/World Tag League finals, Hiromu Takahashi will officially challenge El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, while Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI will challenge Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi for the IWGP Tag Team titles. Both matches will take place on January 4.
Other matches set for January 4 include Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL for the NEVER Openweight title, Katsuyori Shibata’s return match against an unnamed opponent, and YOH vs. SHO.
January 5 will have a IWGP United States title match, with Hiroshi Tanahashi facing KENTA. A NEVER Six-Man Tag Team title match has Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Yoh facing EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and SHO. For the first time, a Stardom match will also take place on the main card, with Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid facing Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani.
The January 5 show will open with an IWGP Junior Tag Team title match, with champions Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask facing the teams of Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo and Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero
A kickoff match will take place on January 4, the annual New Japan Ranbo battle royal. The final four participants that night will advance to a four-way match on the main card on January 5 to determine the first 2022 KOPW trophy holder.
A third Wreslte Kingdom 16 show at the Yokohama Arena on January 8 will feature wrestlers from both both NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH. The full card for that event will take place on December 17 at 6 pm JST/4 am EST.
Here are the full cards for the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16:
January 4:
IWGP World Heavyweight title: Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada
IWGP Junior Heavyweight title: El Desperado vs.Hiromu Takahashi
IWGP Tag Team titles: Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi) vs. CHAOS (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI)
NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
Katsuyori Shibata vs. X
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Rocky Romero vs. KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, and El Phantasmo
YOH vs. SHO
Kickoff: New Japan Ranbo battle royal. The top four finalists will move to a four-way the next night to determine the KOPW 2022 trophy winner.
January 5:
IWGP World Heavyweight title: Either Shingo Takagi or Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
IWGP United States title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
NEVER Openweight Six-Man tag titles: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and YOH vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and SHO
Four-way match for the KOPW 2022 trophy
Stardom match: Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid vs. Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani
IWGP Junior Tag Team titles: Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask vs. Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero
A kickoff match will be announced at 4 pm local time.
Stardom will take part in NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom for the third consecutive year.
NJPW announced that Stardom talent will take part in night two of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome on Wednesday, January 5, 2022. It was not stated whether this would be a main card match or a pre-show bout, but Stardom’s inclusion on NJPW cards in the past has been limited to the pre-show.
Stardom and NJPW share the same parent company in Bushiroad. In addition to the Wrestle Kingdom pre-show bouts, Stardom matches also took place on the Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome pre-shows on September 4 and September 5 of this year.
At Wrestle Kingdom 14, Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki defeated Giulia and the late Hana Kimura. Two pre-show bouts were held on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 15, as AZM, Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita defeated Himeka, Maika and Natsupoi in a trios match, plus Giulia and Syuri defeated Iwatani and Tam Nakano in a tag bout.
The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 that became a major news story this week led to Japan closing its borders.
The announcement was made that as of 11/30, travelers could not come to the country, but it is not what it sounds like.
This will have some effect on the pro wrestling business. Basically, wrestlers who have already obtained working visas will be able to return, and it’s been confirmed that Will Ospreay will be working the Tokyo Dome in the main event on 1/5 against the winner of the Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada IWGP title match the night before. There was a one-day period where New Japan officials were trying to get clearance for this and there was no answer regarding those leaving the country or those not in the country.
Those who have been in Japan over the past year, people like Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, KENTA, and announcer Kevin Kelly (who will be staying in Japan from January through March and doing live English broadcasts of all the major shows until the end of the New Japan Cup) will all be allowed to come to Japan or in some cases stay in Japan.
NJPW is still expecting Will Ospreay and other foreign talent to be allowed to enter Japan for Wrestle Kingdom 16.
In an interview with Tokyo Sports, NJPW president Takami Ohbari stated that new travel restrictions implemented in Japan due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant will not apply to talent that already have visas.
“Under the current rules… I’ve heard that (regular foreign wrestlers) have visas to work in Japan, so they will be treated as re-entry. This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Ohbari said (translation provided by Google Translate).
A ban on new, non-resident foreign nationals entering Japan went into effect today. Those who are permitted to enter the country will have to abide by the 14-day quarantine that has been in place for some time, as the plan to reduce the quarantine to three or ten days has been suspended, according to the United States Embassy Japan.
In response to Ohbari’s statement, Ospreay tweeted:
“Shingo can’t stop me.
Okada can’t stop me.
Covid can’t stop me.
January 5th 2022, I’ll be there.”
Ospreay is scheduled to face the winner of the January 4 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between title holder Shingo Takagi and challenger Kazuchika Okada on January 5. Ospreay vacated the IWGP World title due to injury in May, but never lost the title in the ring. He returned to NJPW in Los Angeles at Resurgence in August and has since been wrestling on NJPW Strong shows in the United States, as well as RevPro shows in the United Kingdom.
Wrestle Kingdom 16 will be a three-night event, with nights one and two taking place on January 4 and January 5 at the Tokyo Dome and airing on NJPW World. Night three will take place on January 8 at the Yokohama Arena and will feature NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH talent. That show will air on Abema pay-per-view.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, Biggest Box Office draw of 2021 and the rest of the wrestling and MMA news tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]
New regulations are starting soon regarding allowing people into Japan. As best we can tell as of this morning, Kevin Kelly was still going to be able to go to Japan for WrestleKingdom. As for Will Ospreay, who was scheduled to main event on 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome, that question has not been answered yet.
The high quarter for AEW Dynamite was the Punk-MJF quarter which did 968,000 viewers and 474,000 in 18-49. AEW killed its previous Wednesday before Thanksgiving ratings but they still skewed older than for a normal week.
I saw the NOAH Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kenou match from yesterday at Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo wit both the GHC and National titles at stake. If you like hard hitting wrestling, this could be your match of the year. I could also see a lot of people not liking it, as its’ very different from the American version of pro wrestling and really most Japanese versions as well. The two went to a 60:00 draw. We’re also doing polls on both Saturday’s Stardom show and Sunday’s NOAH show at Yoyogi Gym so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re also looking for live reports from Raw at the UBS Arena in Long Island, NY with dark match results and Main Event match results to [email protected]. It is the debut wrestling show in the arena that just opened a little more than a week ago. The story about ticket sales struggling has been noted for weeks, but with all kinds of moves being made including discounts and adding Smackdown talent and Roman Reigns in particular, it will end up okay. It will be well below what AEW will draw on 12/8, but WWE has outdrawn AEW in several markets of late as well. Edge returns tonight, plus Big E vs. Kevin Owens theoretically non-title, Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor and Randy Orton & Riddle defend the tag titles against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode and Damien Priest vs. Apollo Crews for the U.S. title. Locally advertised is Roman Reigns & Usos vs. Drew McIntyre & Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods for the dark match. They also advertised Big E vs. Owens vs. Lashley vs. Rollins in a four-way but who knows if that will happen.
Tonight’s NFL game is the Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Football team, which are two teams with sub .500 records.
AAA and FITE have confirmed that the TripleMania Regia PPV on Saturday will air at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and that the last six matches on the show will air. It is available with both English and Spanish commentary.
New Japan at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow on New Japan World from Kasukabe:
Yuto Nakashima vs. Kosei Fujita
Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taka Michinoku
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase owens
Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Great O’Khan & Aaron Henare
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano vs Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi
Tetsuya Naito & Sanada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
AEW
Jim Ross had his first of 22 radiation treatments today in Jacksonville. As he noted several days ago, he is targeting the 12/29 show for his return.
AEW is taping Dark on Friday with sessions from 2-5 p.m. and again from 7-10 p.m. at Universal in Orlando. Limited seating is available. Those advertised are Eddie Kingston, Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, Jade Cargill, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks and Wardlow.
OTHER NOTES
ESPN has reported that Bellator has signed Keri Taylor-Melendez to a multi-fight contract. She has been with the company for five years and is 37 years old with a 5-0 record. She also did kickboxing many years ago. She is married to former UFC star Gilbert Melendez.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix tomorrow in Omaha, NE at the Waiting Room Lounge.
Sanctuary Fight Club from last night in Hamtramck, MI: Krimson b Kenny Urban, Juntai b Mysterious Movado & Sherman Walker, Jason Hotch won over Lord Crewe, Ren Jones and Joe Demaro, Jody Threat b Kyler Coleman, Sam Beale b Dickie Bronson, Joe Coleman & Idris Abraham b Rohit Raju & Karam (thanks to Leonard Brand)
AIW on 12/18 in Cleveland, OH at the Odeon Concert Club featuring Ethan Page. They also ran 1/13 in Lakewood, OH at the Winchester Music Tavern with Max Caster.
OTT will be doing a Will Ospreay vs. Session Moth Martina match on 12/5.
The Wrestling Collector store in Stockholm, NJ is advertising Jake Roberts for Saturday from 2-5 p.m.. selling autographs and photos, plus The Berzerker and Scott Putski appear from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dragon Gate on Wednesday at Korakuen Hall has a rematch of what many consider the company’s best match of the year, with SB Kento vs. Jacky Funky Kamei for the Open the Brave Gate title and Dragon Dia & Shun Skywalker vs. Dia Inferno & Diamante where the loser of the fall gets his head shaved.
The 2021 Survivor Series was a show built around non-title matches that had little storyline build-up and traditional matches with no interaction between brands.
It was a paradox. The show, on 11/21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, was, from a television standpoint, one of the weakest builds to a PPV to date. Because the name Survivor Series is traditional and it’s supposed to be an A show, no doubt viewership was higher than most B shows. But aside from Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair building a match based on a legit disagreement during the belt trading angle on Smackdown and their former friendship, and a minor situation where Big E vowed revenge for Roman Reigns and the Usos feuding on Smackdown with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, there was little to build the matches.
On the flip side, there was more mainstream media done related to the show than just about any show other than WrestleMania. The main characters, Lynch, Flair, Paul Heyman, and Roman Reigns in particular, were visible all over the place promoting the show and the brand.
Night three of Wrestle Kingdom 16 will feature talent from both NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH. The announcement was made in a joint press conference with the two promotions.
NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shingo Takagi and NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya, Keiji Muto and Katsuhiko Nakajima have been announced for the event on Saturday, January 8, 2022 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, at 3 a.m. Eastern time. No matches have been made official as of yet.
The card will air live on Abema pay-per-view and have an English language option for the broadcast. The cost will be 3960 Yen. The show will be made available on NJPW World and NOAH’s Wrestle Universe streaming service one week after the air date. A portion of proceeds from the event and PPV will be donated to Japanese Red Cross.
Tanahashi and company president Takami Ohbari represented NJPW at the presser, while CyberFight director Akihiro Takeda and Kiyomiya represented NOAH. Comments from the card’s other announced participants were shown via video.
“The match card is yet to be announced. NJPW and NOAH wrestlers have their own histories and backgrounds. It’s up to them whether they want to face off, or even join together…
This is a rare opportunity, and it would be a somewhat of a waste not to have the two companies face off across the whole card.”
The press conference can be seen below with English subtitles.
While Shingo Takagi will face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight title on January 4, Will Ospreay wants the winner on January 5.
After Okada defeated Buddy Matthews on tonight’s NJPW Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California, Ospreay came out and congratulated Okada on winning this year’s G1 tournament. He said that as the winner, Okada could challenge the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, referring to himself. Okada said that he wouldn’t challenge Ospreay, but Ospreay could challenge him. Ospreay then declared he wanted the winner of Shingo Takagi vs. Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 4 to face him on the Wrestle Kingdom show on January 5. Okada said that he would make it rain.
Ospreay had originally vacated the IWGP World Heavyweight title back in May after suffering a neck injury. He returned in August, appearing at NJPW’s Resurgence event in Los Angeles, saying that he was still champion as he never lost the title. He said he would remain in America and has since appeared on several NJPW USA events including tonight’s show, where he defeated Ren Narita.
A match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship has been made official for Wrestle Kingdom 16.
NJPW confirmed this morning during a press conference that champion Shingo Takagi will defend against Kazuchika Okada on January 4. During this morning’s press conference, Takagi promised that he would retain the championship against Okada. He then mentioned that when he won he would take the IWGP Heavyweight title that Okada is carrying and would give it to “the appropriate IWGP advocate”, mentioning that 2022 is NJPW’s 50th anniversary.
Okada has been carrying the IWGP Heavyweight title since winning the G1 Climax last month, with the title representing his IWGP World Heavyweight title shot at Wrestle Kingdom. He successfully defended his title shot at Power Struggle this past weekend, defeating Tama Tonga.
Wrestle Kingdom 16, for the first time, will be held across three days. January 4 and 5 will be held at the Tokyo Dome, with a third Wrestle Kingdom event taking place on January 8 at Yokohama Arena.
NJPW has announced Wrestle Kingdom 16 as a three-night event for January 4, January 5 and January 8, 2022.
Nights one and two will be in the Tokyo Dome, while night three will be in Yokohama Arena. The announcement was made at intermission during today’s Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome event.
New Year Dash has been held the day after Wrestle Kingdom every year since 2014, but no announcement was made as to what the three-night format means for the future of that show.
NJPW ran Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4 and January 5 of this year, then returned to the venue for a Wrestle Grand Slam show on July 25.
Traditionally a one-night show, Wrestle Kingdom became a two-night event beginning with Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020. Tetsuya Naito defeated Jay White for the IWGP Intercontinental title on night one of that event, then defeated Kazuchika Okada on night two to win the IWGP Heavyweight title and complete the Double Gold Dash.
While 2020 was a tough year to say the least, we are all looking forward to brighter days ahead and going to see wrestling in person once again.
With that in mind, we are excited to announce that Wrestling Travel is going back to Japan for Wrestle Kingdom 16 in January 2022, a sequel to the very successful Wrestle Kingdom 14 trip last January.
Two fully protected ticket packages are now available that include round-trip airfare, an eight night hotel stay near the Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom 16 tickets, airport transfers, guided tours, and an exclusive Q&A session with our own Dave Meltzer at the legendary Toudoukan Wrestling Store.
To secure your spot and to get $50 off your booking, head to Wrestling Travel and use the code ‘observer50’. Next year will be here before we know it, so reserve your spot now.
Join Dave and Wrestling Travel in Japan for Wrestle Kingdom 16 next January!
