Tag: Wrestle Kingdom 20

NJPW announces huge ticket milestone for Wrestle Kingdom 20

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 has reached a huge ticket milestone.

It was announced overnight that tickets to the January 4 Tokyo Dome show have officially sold out. NJPW sent out a message thanking the fans for making this happen but did not provide an exact number of tickets sold. There are expected to be more than 50,000 fans attending the show.

Wrestle Kingdom 20 will feature the retirement of all-time great Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is facing off against his longtime rival Kazuchika Okada. The other top match on the card is Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji in a winner-take-all match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that this will be the best-attended Wrestle Kingdom ever and the best NJPW crowd since the late 1990s.

“The 1/4 Tokyo Dome has now sold out every possible ticket they could sell. It already broke the attendance and gate record for a Wrestle Kingdom show,” Meltzer wrote. “From a legitimate attendance mark it would be the biggest since the Antonio Inoki retirement show in 1998. It was said to be one of the three most in-demand tickets (along with that show and the 1995 Keiji Muto vs. Nobuhiko Takada IWGP title match) in company history.”

The match order for Wrestle Kingdom 20 has not been revealed yet. The show is set to stream live on NJPW World and has the following matches booked so far:

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 (Sunday, January 4, 2026) —

  • 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
  • Winner-take-all match: IWGP Women’s Champion Syuri vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Saya Kamitani
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight title number one contender’s match: El Desperado vs. SHO vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishiimori
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano defend in a multi-team ranbo
  • Kaisei Takechi in action

New title match booked for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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
  • Winner-takes-all match: IWGP Women’s Champion Syuri vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Saya Kamitani
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight title number one contender’s match: El Desperado vs. SHO vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishiimori
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano defend in a multi-team ranbo
  • Kaisei Takechi in action

Pacific Rim: Fumi Saito on the life, career & upcoming last match for Hiroshi Tanahashi

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: Fumi Saito

The storied career of Hiroshi Tanahashi comes to an end in mere weeks when he retires following his last match at Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome.

In this episode of the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast, Fumi Saito and Jim Valley talk about the life, career and influence of the man Fumi calls one of the top two most influential wrestlers of this century, who he best compares with, his key moments, Scott Hall’s opinion and more.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Saya Kamitani’s opponent for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 revealed

Posted on by Ian Carey

Saya Kamitani’s opponent for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 has been revealed.

Kamitani successfully defended both her NJPW Strong Women’s and World of Stardom Championships on Monday against Momo Watanabe at Stardom Crimson Nightmare. After the bout, she was confronted by Saori Anou and IWGP Women’s Champion Syuri, leading to two future title matches.

Anou will challenge Kamitani for the World of Stardom title on December 29 at Dream Queendom 2025. Then at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, Syuri and Kamitani will go one-on-one in a double title match with both the IWGP Women’s and NJPW Strong Women’s Championships at stake.

The updated lineup for the show is below.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 advertised lineup:

  • Champion vs. Champion: Konosuke Takeshita (IWGP World) vs. Yota Tsuji (IWGP Global) in a double title match
  • Aaron Wolf vs. EVIL
  • Champion vs. Champion: NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Saya Kamitani vs. IWGP Women’s Champion Syuri in a double title match
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi Retirement match

Champion vs. champion match set for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20

Posted on by Ian Carey

The main event for Wrestle Kingdom 20 is set.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita successfully defended his title against former champion Hirooki Goto on Sunday at Hiroshi Tanahashi Final Homecoming in Gifu. After the match, Takeshita cut a promo asking who his opponent at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4 would be. IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji, who had defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the semi-main event, came out to answer the challenge. Takeshita demanded that Tsuji put his title on the line as well, and Tsuji accepted.

NJPW wrote on X (translated):

“After the match, GLOBAL Heavyweight Champion Tsuji declares his challenge! TAKESHITA demands a ‘double title match’ at the 1.4 Tokyo Dome, but gets the response, “Of course! You ready for it?!”

Also set for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 is Aaron Wolf’s debut match, Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match, and a bout featuring World of Stardom and NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Saya Kamitani.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 advertised lineup:

  • Champion vs. Champion: Konosuke Takeshita (IWGP World) vs. Yota Tsuji (IWGP Global)
  • Aaron Wolf vs. EVIL
  • Saya Kamitani vs. TBA
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi Retirement match