Regarding the relationship between AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, according to several sources at this point it is limited to a storyline involving a shot at the AEW World title in tonight’s Tokyo Dome match with champion Chris Jericho and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Jericho, Tanahashi, and Gedo had the idea to use the possible shot at the AEW title to add intrigue to the Wrestle Kingdom 14. The storyline is that if Tanahashi wins, he gets a title shot at a later date.
If Tanahashi wins, it would obviously mean a second step has been approved in this angle because Jericho has not lost a singles match anywhere in the world since Dominion to Kazuchika Okada. AEW has the idea of protecting its World title, like New Japan does with the IWGP Heavyweight title, in the sense the champion would not be allowed to lose working for another promotion unless it is an approved key storyline idea.
Tony Khan and Rocky Romero were also involved in this deal as far as Khan approving and working with Romero on the usage of the belt in the storyline. Khan made the decision to allow it for the New Japan show but that it won’t be used as part of AEW storyline, mentioned within AEW on television, or on social media by the company.
It is not clear if Jon Moxley’s IWGP United States Heavyweight title win earlier today over Lance Archer will be brought up on AEW television. Because of a lack of relationship between the sides, his previous US title reign was not acknowledged in AEW. The only outside titles AEW mentions are those of AAA, as those companies have a formal working deal in place.
Jericho and Moxley have it in their AEW contracts that they can work with New Japan as long as it doesn’t conflict with an AEW date.
– Attendance at the Tokyo Dome topped 40,000 fans for Wrestle Kingdom 14 night one.
NJPW announced a paid attendance of 40,008 for the show, up from the 38,162 for Wrestle Kingdom 13 last year. The number for Wrestle Kingdom 12 was 34,995 fans.
This year’s Wrestle Kingdom is split across two nights for the first time ever. NJPW had noted yesterday that they were opening part of the outfield stands for night one.
– Night one saw four titles change hands. Tetsuya Naito defeated Jay White to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, Hiromu Takahashi defeated Will Ospreay to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, Jon Moxley defeated Lance Archer for the IWGP United States Heavyweight title in their Texas death match, and Juice Robinson & David Finlay won the IWGP Tag Team titles from Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa.
Kazuchika Okada retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi on night one and will face off against Naito with both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles on the line in the main event of night two.
This is Moxley’s second reign with the IWGP United States Championship. He had to vacate the title in October when he couldn’t make it to King of Pro Wrestling due to travel issues associated with Typhoon Hagibis. Archer instead defeated Juice Robinson (who Moxley was originally supposed to face at King of Pro Wrestling) for the vacant title.
Moxley will defend his title against Robinson at Wrestle Kingdom 14 night two. The show will begin at midnight Eastern time overnight tonight.
– Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki defeated Hana Kimura & Giulia in Stardom’s dark match that took place at the Tokyo Dome before night one went on the air. Stardom wrote about the finish: “Giulia mistakenly hit Hana with a Missile Dropkick, and Mayu pinned Hana after a SS Cutter, Dragon Suplex and Moonsault.”
The original alternate has returned…and look who decided to show back up?
But before I take more time out for these messages about the Mid-Atlantic events coming to your area, Adam Summers and I give our thoughts on what we think will go down this weekend at the Tokyo Dome.
Before those 90 minutes get started, Adam takes us on a tour of the country, hitting everything there needs to be hit from All Japan, NOAH, Big Japan, Stardom, and everywhere else as we begin 2020.
It’s the radio show that still can’t believe sometimes that they won’t have to wait for the show to be uploaded in chunks a week from now; It’s the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE~!
It was announced in October that Bushiroad — the parent company of NJPW — had purchased Stardom. The promotions are being kept separately.
New Japan World is owned by NJPW and TV Asahi, while Stardom is on a rival network.
Wrestle Kingdom night one is taking place on Saturday, January 4, with the show being headlined by Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental title. The winners of those matches will face off on night two on January 5, with the winner becoming a double champion.
NJPW has announced the rules for Lance Archer and Jon Moxley’s Texas death match at Wrestle Kingdom 14.
It will be a no disqualification match that can only be won by 10-count knockout or via submission. There will be no pinfalls in the match.
Archer vs. Moxley will be part of the card for Wrestle Kingdom 14 night one on January 4. Archer’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship will be on the line.
Moxley vacated the IWGP US title in October when he couldn’t make it to NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling event due to travel issues associated with Typhoon Hagibis. Moxley was supposed to defend the title against Juice Robinson in a no DQ match at that show, and Archer defeated Robinson after being announced as his new opponent for the vacant championship.
Moxley had won the IWGP US title in his in-ring debut for NJPW. He defeated Robinson at June’s Best of the Super Juniors finals to become champion.
Coming out of King of Pro Wrestling, the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14 night one is set.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will defend his title against G1 Climax winner Kota Ibushi at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2020. Night two of Wrestle Kingdom 14 will then take place at the Tokyo Dome on January 5.
Okada and Ibushi both won their matches at King of Pro Wrestling this morning. Okada retained his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against SANADA in the main event, while Ibushi defended his title shot briefcase against EVIL.
Okada and Ibushi went face-to-face at the end of King of Pro Wrestling. Ibushi reiterated that he wants to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles. Okada told Ibushi it won’t be that easy and said he’ll have to go through him first.
Jay White is the current IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
Ibushi defeated White in this year’s G1 Climax finals. On his way to winning the tournament, Ibushi also defeated Okada when they faced off in the G1.
The formal announcement of Okada vs. Ibushi will likely come at a press conference regarding Wrestle Kingdom that NJPW is holding overnight tonight (2 a.m. Eastern time).
One of the most anticipated dates on the pro wrestling calender is here as New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual Tokyo Dome show takes place tonight.
Kenny Omega will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event. Tanahashi won last year’s G1 Climax to get the title shot.
In the semi-main event, Tetsuya Naito challenges for Chris Jericho’s IWGP Intercontinental title. A no disqualification stipulation has been added to the match, with Jericho powerbombing Naito through a table in an angle at their contract signing.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White, KUSHIDA vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, Cody vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP US title, two triple threat Tag Team title matches, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship, and Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay for the NEVER Openweight title round out the main card.
A pre-show gauntlet match with teams facing off to determine the number one contenders for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles will start things off at 2 a.m. Eastern time. The show is airing live on New Japan World with English and Japanese commentary available. The event is also available on iPPV via Fite TV.
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RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, TOGI MAKABE & TORU YANO WON THE NEVER 6-MAN NO. 1 CONTENDER GAUNTLET MATCH
First Fall: Yuji Nagata, David Finlay & Jeff Cobb defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Hangman Page & Marty Scurll
Nagata and Scurll began with some mat work. Scurll teased the finger break spot, but Nagata countered it with a kick to the hamstring and an inverted figure four. Cobb got a tag, and Scurll’s team tripled up on him.
Page hit a standing shooting star in the ring, a shooting star off the apron, and a buckshot lariat for a two count. Cobb came back with a fallaway slam, and tagged Finlay. Page tagged in Yujiro. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster for a nearfall.
Finlay hit a uranage, but Owens tripped him from the floor. Yujiro accidentally crashed into Owens, and Finlay rolled up Yujiro to win the first fall. They teased dissension between Page and his teammates after they were eliminated.
Second Fall: Yuji Nagata, David Finlay & Jeff Cobb defeated Beretta, Chuckie T & Hirooki Goto
Like most Beretta matches, they did a million intricate spots early. That’s not a knock, I’m always blown away by what he comes up with.
Chuckie hit a tope con hilo, and Beretta hit an Asai moonsault. Goto hit an ushigoroshi on Nagata for a nearfall.
Nagata ht an exploder and a belly-to-belly on Beretta, then both tagged out. Cobb hit a tour of the islands and a standing moonsault on Goto for a nearfall.
Finlay and Chuckie got tags. Finlay hit a back elbow. Chuckie hit a piledriver for a nearfall. Chuckie missed a top rope moonsault, and Finlay rolled him up for the pin.
Third Fall: Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer defeated Yuji Nagata, David Finlay & Jeff Cobb
Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell, as they have done a time or two before. Suzuki and Nagata traded strikes, and it was glorious. Cobb and Smith got tags. Cobb missed a standing moonsault, and Smith used a Saito suplex for a nearfall. Suzuki and Nagata continued to go at it on the outside. Archer got a tag, and Smith and Archer hit the killer bomb on Finlay for the pin.
Fourth Fall: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano defeated Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer
Suzuki-gun attacked Taguchi’s team in the aisle as they entered. Suzuki, Smith and Archer beat down Taguchi in the ring. Archer did the rope walk spot. Taguchi missed a hip attack, but tagged Makabe.
Makabe ran wild with ten punches in the corner. Makabe and Suzuki traded strikes. Suzuki got the upper hand. Makabe made a tag to Yano, who kicked out of several double team moves from Smith and Archer.
The match broke down and everyone went nuts. Taguchi hit Suzuki with a short hip attack to the stomach, and Suzuki sold it, which was quite something.
The finish saw Yano hit Smith with a low blow, and he rolled him up for the pin.
WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED KOTA IBUSHI TO WIN THE NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (18:15)
Insane. There were many, many flips, but perhaps not as many as you might have expected coming in. They had a very hard-hitting match, and both guys took a lot of shots to the head.
Ospreay hit a monkey flip for the first bit of offense that connected. Ibushi hit a dropkick. He went for the golden triangle, but Ospreay kicked him out of mid-air, then connected with a space flying tiger drop.
The pace slowed, and Ospreay decided to strike with Ibushi. Ibushi hit a snap rana, and Ospreay rolled to the floor. Ibushi hit a corkscrew moonsault, bouncing from the top rope to the floor. He followed with a springboard dropkick. Ibushi hit a bridging german for a nearfall.
Ospreay used a surprise cradle out of nowhere for a nearfall. Ibushi and Ospreay exchanged kicks. Ibushi hit a powerslam, but Ospreay no-sold it, and hit a cheeky nandos kick. They exchanged strikes again, and Ibushi dropped Ospreay with a palm to the chest.
Ospreay slipped out of a last ride attempt, they did a crazy series of counters and reversals, and Ospreay finally connected with a standing spanish fly. Ospreay kicked Ibushi in the head. Ibushi slipped out of a storm breaker.
Ibushi hit a bomaye, blasting Ospreay in the head with his knee. Ibushi used a last ride for a nearfall. Ospreay tied Ibushi to the tree of woe, and kicked him in the head repeatedly. Ibushi was bleeding from the nose and mouth.
Ospreay teased a top rope storm breaker, but Ibushi escaped and hit a double stomp on the top rope. Ibushi went for a german off the second rope, but Ospreay escaped. Ospreay hit a Robinson special, but Ibushi blocked an Oscutter, and hit a german for a nearfall.
Ibushi went for kamigoye, but Ospreay escaped. Ospreay hit a huge lariat. Ibushi hit a spike package piledriver for a nearfall. Ospreay landed right on his head on that one.
Ospreay hit another shot, an elbow right to the back of the head, then hit the storm breaker for the pin.
This seemed like an angle to me, but they took Ibushi out of the ring on a back board.
SHINGO TAKAGI & BUSHI DEFEATED YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & EL DESPERADO, SHO & YOH TO WIN THE IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (6:54)
All action match. A complete sprint. I wonder if they had their time cut?
Kanemaru and Desperado jumped everyone before the bell. SHO and YOH made a quick comeback and hit stereo dives to the floor. SHO and Shingo traded strikes, and the crowd was really into it.
SHO and YOH hit Shingo with some tandem offense. Kanemaru tried to spit whiskey, but escpaed.
Shingo hit a pair of pumping bombers on SHO for a nearfall. BUSHI did a dive to the floor on YOH, taking him out.
Shingo hit SHO with last of the dragon, and picked up the pin.
ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED TOMOHIRO ISHII TO WIN THE RPW BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSIP (11:38)
This ruled. I could have used another five, ten, thirty minutes of this. The story of the match was Sabre working over Ishii’s arms so he couldn’t hit him with his lariat and brainbuster.
Sabre hit an uppercut, and Ishii countered with a suplex. Sabre applied an armbar, looking to make good on his threat to tap Ishii out in under a minute. Ishii reached the ropes, thwarting him.
Sabre stomped on Ishii’s right arm, which was heavily wrapped. Sabre taunted Ishii with some short kicks to the chest, and used his legs to apply a head and arm choke on the ground. Ishii again rolled to the ropes.
Sabre used a northern lights, then switched ot an ankle lock. Ishii escaped, and applied an ankle lock of his own. Ishii hit a lariat in the corner. Sabre tried to apply a guillotine, but Ishii suplexed out of it. Ishii hit a superplex, but Sabre hooked Ishii’s arm on the landing, then torqued on it with his legs.
Sabre continued to work on the right arm with stomps and a wristlock. They did a crazy sequence of reversals and misdirections, ending with Sabre applying the octopus. Ishii slipped out after a struggle.
They exchanged shots, and Ishii hit a headbutt to the chest. Ishii hit a lariat for a two count. Ishii teased a brainbuster, but Sabre escaped. Ishii went for the brainbuster again, but Sabre jumped into a guillotine.
Sabre transitioned to an octopus, then a double arm octopus, and Ishii submitted.
EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA, THE YOUNG BUCKS TO WIN THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (10:16)
Another all action match. Good stuff, but could have used a few more minutes. I’m sure the top two matches will need a ton of time, but if there’s ever a time for a six hour show, it’s today.
EVIL and SANADA started on the apron, as Tonga and Nick started off the legal men. EVIL and Matt got tags, and EVIL sent Matt to the floor, then hit a running lariat on the ramp. Matt sold his back.
The Bucks hit a sequence of tandem offense on EVIL and SANADA. SANADA went down to the floor, selling. Matt and EVIL were the legal men. Nick hit an incredible springboard dive off the top rope to the floor, while Matt used a sharpshooter on EVIL. Loa came in to break it up, but Tonga stopped him, as they are selling the idea that they have turned over a new leaf this year.
EVIL tagged SANADA, who tied Matt up in the paradise lock. SANADA hit three pescados. Nick missed a dive to the floor, and SANADA hit his fourth consecutive pescado on to both Bucks.
It was pure bedlam from here.
SANADA applied skull end to Matt. Nick broke it up. Tonga hit a Tongan twist. EVIL and SANADA hit a magic killer. Matt hit a spear. They did a stacked up superplex spot, and Nick hit a 450 to SANADA.
Jado jumped in with a kendo stick, but Fale stopped him from interfering. Jado ate a double superkick. EVIL lariated Fale to the floor. SANADA hit a springboard into a superkick by the Bucks. Tonga hit a gun stun. EVIL and SANADA hit Matt with a magic killer, and SANADA hit a moonsault for the pin.
JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED CODY TO WIN THE IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP (9:04)
Not a good night for you if there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be in the territory in a month.
This was decisive. They built the match around the fact that they’ve wrestled in big matches before, so they knew each other’s moves, and tried to steal each other’s finishers.
Cody and Brandi’s gear was Jacksonville Jaguars themed.
Cody attempted a belt shot before the bell, but Juice ducked it. Juice took control early. Juice hit a juice box. He went to the top, but Brandi laid on top of Cody, and Juice wouldn’t jump on her. That allowed Cody to take over.
Cody went for a delayed vertical. Juice escaped. Cody took the ref, allowing Brandi to jump in and hit Juice with a spear. Referee Tiger Hattori ejected Brandi from ringside for that.
Cody used the distraction of Brandi’s ejection to hit cross Rhodes for a nearfall. Cody escaped pulp friction. Cody went for cross Rhodes, but Juice reversed it into one of his own for a nearfall.
Cody hit a disaster kick, then hit pulp friction for a nearfall. Cody took off his weight belt and whipped Juice with it. Cody slapped Juice and taunted him, and Juice fired up. Juice hit his series of jabs, but Cody cut off the left hand of god with a superkick.
Cody went for another disaster kick, but Juice hit him with left hand of god twice. Juice hit two pulp frictions for the decisive win.
TAIJI ISHIMORI DEFEATED KUSHIDA TO WIN THE IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (11:20)
This won’t do anything to squash those KUSHIDA to WWE rumors. A good match, and probably the first match all night that didn’t feel rushed in the slightest.
KUSHIDA did a Back to the Future themed entrance involving a child wearing a KUSHIDA mask that was absolutely terrifying in its realism.
KUSHIDA attacked Ishimori’s left arm with a kick at the outset. Ishimori recovered, and took over. He used a crossface, but KUSHIDA reached the ropes. Ishimori hit a seated senton. KUSHIDA came back with strikes, but Ishimori hit a sliding german.
Ishimori went for a 450, but KUSHIDA hit a flying armbar, then transitioned through a series of holds, ending with a kimura. Ishimori did some power stuff. He went for a lungblower, but KUSHIDA slipped out, and hit a ref-assisted kick.
KUSHIDA got rolling. He went for back to the future, but Ishimori countered with a lungblower, connecting this time. He went for the bloody cross, but KUSHIDA turned it into a hoverboard lock. Ishimori fought for the ropes, then slipped out and hit a DVD into a double down.
Ishimori hit double knees in the corner, then hit the bloody cross for the pin.
SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA (14:21)
Trunks for Okada. No more fancy slacks.
Hypothetically, if Kenny Omega’s future in NJPW is uncertain, Tanahashi is going to need someone to work with on top. Someone like Switchblade.
I am beyond surprised that this didn’t go longer, but it was excellent.
Okada hit a running low dropkick to White’s neck. Okada hit the ropes, Gedo tripped him, and White launched him into the corner pad. White suplexed Okada over the top to the floor.
White sent Okada into the security fence and the ring frame, repeatedly. Back inside, White hit a Saito suplex for a two count. White worked over Okada’s head and neck. This turned into a slap fight. Okada hit a pair of running back elbows, and hit a DDT for a two count.
Okada placed White on the top, then dropkicked him to the floor. White sold his leg. Okada sent White and Gedo over the security fence, then hit a running crossbody over the fence to the floor.
Back inside, Okada hit a top rope elbow. Okada hit his rainmaker pose. White popped up, hit a suplex, then hit a uranage for a two count. White went for the blade runner, but Okada slipped out.
Gedo took the ref, while White swung and missed with a chair. Okada hit Gedo with a dropkick, then hit one on White. Okada went for the rainmaker, but White turned it into a lariat. White hit a kiwi crusher for a nearfall. Okada hit a tombstone into a double down.
Both men sold exhaustion. White ducked a lariat and stepped away from a dropkick. White went for a blade runner, but Okada whipped him into the ropes, then hit a dropkick.
They did an insane series of finisher reversals, ending with Okada hitting a rainmaker. Okada went for a second rainmaker, but White reversed it into a blade runner, and got the 1-2-3.
TETSUYA NAITO DEFEATED CHRIS JERICHO IN A NO DQ MATCH TO WIN THE IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP (22:36)
This felt like an unremarkable street fight to me until they got into trading finishers and finisher kickouts. It was excellent by the end.
Naito jumped Jericho during his entrance. They brawled aorund ringside, with Naito gaining the upper hand. Naito hit a piledriver on the ramp. In the ring, Naito continued his assault with a turnbuckle pad and a flying headscissors.
Naito went for a suicide dive, but Jericho whacked him with a kendo stick. Jericho went after Naito with the stick in the ring. Jericho stomped on Naito’s throat, then sent him to the floor with a springboard dropkick.
Jericho hit a vertical suplex on the floor, then followed up with a DDT on a table. Back iniside, Jericho hit a high cross off the top for a nearfall. Jericho posed and taunted, then hit a lionsault for a two count.
Naito finally made a comeback, hitting a flying forearm, and a pair of neckbreakers. Naito went for the combinacion de cabron, but Jericho caught him coming in, and slapped on the walls of Jericho. The people were really into it here.
Naito flipped out of the walls. Jericho went for a codebreaker, but Naito turned it into a DDT. Naito hit gloria for a two count. Jericho got the walls again, but Naito grabbed a kendo stick, and fought Jericho off.
Naito hit several kendo stick shots. He went for another, but Jericho ducked, and hit a codebreaker for a nearfall. Jericho exposed a buckle.
Jericho tossed several chairs into the ring. Jericho hit Naito with chair shots, and Naito countered with a DDT onto the chairs. Naito hit a codebreaker of his own for a nearfall.
Naito went up top with a kendo stick, but Jericho threw a chair at him and cut him off. Jericho went for a superplex, but Naito hit a DDT on the chairs. Naito went for destino, but Jericho shoved him off into the ref, hit a low blow, and got a nearfall.
Jericho grabbed the title belt. He went for a belt shot, but Naito ducked. Jericho got sent into the exposed buckle, and Naito hit him with destino for a nearfall.
Naito hit a belt shot, then hit a second destino for the pin.
HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED KENNY OMEGA TO WIN THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (39:14)
A main event worthy of the biggest show of the year. A work of art. A masterpiece.
They began with some grappling. Omega backed Tana into the ropes, and broke cleanly, but Tana slapped him. Omega snapped, and got sloppy. Tana went to work on Omega’s legs. He used a cradle for a nearfall.
Tana continued working the legs, and the two exchanged slaps to the face. Tana tied up Omega’s legs, and Omega reached the ropes. Omega hit a knee lift and an elbow drop. Omega used stomps, then hit a backbreaker for a nearfall.
They exchanged forearms and chops, and Omega worked over Tana’s back with kicks. They brawled to the floor. Tana hit a dropkick, but Omega took control. He slammed Tana into, and then over, the barricade. It looked like Tana caught his lower back on the edge of a table as he went over the barricade, which must have sucked.
Omega hit a moonsault off the barricade. Omega set up a table, but Tana cut him off, and sent him back in to the ring. Omega ducked Tana’s slaps, but Tana connected with a flying forearm. Tana hit a dragon screw, then a second rope somersault senton for a two count.
Tana went for slingblade, but Omega cut him off, and hit a kotaro krusher. Tana rolled to the floor. Omega teased the terminator dive, but Tana cut him off. Omega hit a snap rana, sending Tana to the floor again.
Omega hit the rise of the terminator onto the ramp. Back inside, Omega hit a missile dropkick to Tana’s back and shoulder. Omega hit a snap dragon, but Tana popped right up. Omega hit a second dragon, but Tana popped up again. Omega blasted him with a v-trigger.
Omega went for you can’t escape, but tweaked his knee before executing the moonsault. With Omega perched on the top, Tana hit a dragon screw, as Omega sold the damage to his leg.
Tana hit twist and shout, then used a cloverleaf. Tana started to lose the hold, then transitioned to, and hit, a Styles clash. Tana went for high fly flow, but Omega got his knees up. Tana sat in the corner. Omega went for a v-trigger, but Tana escaped, and Omega’s knee crashed into the corner pad.
Tana hooked Omega’s leg over the middle rope and hit a dragon screw. Tana hit slingblade on the apron. Tana placed Omega on a table. He went for a high fly flow, but Omega moved, and Tana crashed through the table.
Omega wouldn’t take a countout victory, and rolled Tana back inside. Omega hit a double stomp as Tana was draped over the middle rope. Omega hit a series of powerbombs for a series of nearfalls.
Omega went for a v-trigger, but Tana countered with a slingblade. They did a double down, both men selling exhaustion.
They exchanged strikes and slaps. Tana slipped on a strike, and Omega hit him with a knee to the ribs. Omega hit a slingblade, then hit a high fly flow, but Tana kicked out at one.
Omega hit a v-trigger, and both men dropped to the mat. Omega was first up. They traded strikes. Omega hit a short v-trigger. He went for another, but Tana hit a low dropkick to the knee. Omega countered with a reverse rana.
Tana rolled to the ropes, and Omega nailed him with a v-trigger. Omega went for the one-winged angel, but Tana countered with a reverse rana of his own. Tana hit a dragon suplex for a two count.
Tana hit a high fly flow to a standing Omega. He followed with another, but Omega kicked out.
Tana went up top, and Omega hit a v-trigger while Tana climbed the ropes. Omega hit a dragon suplex off the top. Insanity.
Omega hit a v-trigger. He went for a one-winged angel, but Tana flipped out of it. Tana hit slingblade.
Tana went to the top, and hit high fly flow. This time, it was enough. 1-2-3.
Easily the best match on the show.
Tanahashi cut a promo after the match thanking his friends, the fans, and promising a new era. He played some air guitar, despite his exhaustion. He again thanked the fans, closing the show.
For the second straight year, Chris Jericho will be wrestling in a no disqualification match at Wrestle Kingdom.
A no DQ stipulation was added to Jericho’s IWGP Intercontinental Championship defense against Tetsuya Naito during an angle at NJPW’s pre-Wrestle Kingdom 13 Fan Festival. Jericho vs. Kenny Omega at last year’s Tokyo Dome show was also a no DQ match.
The stipulation was set up during a contract signing for Jericho vs. Naito. Jericho said he wanted it to be a no DQ match, and Naito accepted by writing “no DQ” on his contract. Jericho then attacked Naito and powerbombed him through a table.
Jericho won the IWGP Intercontinental title from Naito at Dominion 2018. Jericho defended the title once last year, defeating EVIL at Power Struggle.
Wrestle Kingdom 13 will begin at 2 a.m. Eastern time overnight tonight. Here’s the full card for the show:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defending against Tetsuya Naito in a no DQ match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA defending against Taiji Ishimori
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes defending against Juice Robinson
IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny defending against EVIL & SANADA and The Young Bucks in a three-way match
Revolution Pro Wrestling Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defending against Zack Sabre Jr.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defending against SHO & YOH and Shingo Takagi & BUSHI in a three-way match
NEVER Openweight Champion Kota Ibushi defending against Will Ospreay
Pre-show match: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, Beretta & Chuckie T vs. Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs. Hangman Page, Marty Scurll & Yujiro Takahashi in a gauntlet match to determine the number one contenders for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles
NJPW’s announcement read: “At this moment the number of tickets sold this year has exceeded the number of visitors (34,995 people) of ‘WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 in Tokyo Dome’ last year.”
This year’s January 4 Tokyo Dome show falls on a Friday, while last year’s Wrestle Kingdom was on a Thursday.
Wrestle Kingdom 13 will air live on New Japan World starting at 2 a.m. Eastern time this Friday (which is 11 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday night for those on the West Coast). Here’s the full card for the show:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defending against Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA defending against Taiji Ishimori
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes defending against Juice Robinson
IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny defending against EVIL & SANADA and The Young Bucks in a three-way match
Revolution Pro Wrestling Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defending against Zack Sabre Jr.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defending against SHO & YOH and Shingo Takagi & BUSHI in a three-way match
NEVER Openweight Champion Kota Ibushi defending against Will Ospreay
Pre-show match: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, Beretta & Chuckie T vs. Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs. Hangman Page, Marty Scurll & Yujiro Takahashi in a gauntlet match to determine the number one contenders for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles
Yuji Nagata will be replacing Michael Elgin in the Gauntlet pre-show match prior to Wrestle Kingdom 13.
New Japan announced this evening that Elgin is out of action with a left knee injury and will undergo surgery shortly. Yuji Nagata, who wasn’t on the show before, will now team with Jeff Cobb and David Finlay.
It isn’t currently known how serious the injury is or how long Elgin will be out for.
The pre-show match, which replaces the New Japan Rumble, will be a gauntlet match to determine the number one contendership for the NEVER six man tag team titles, which are currently held by Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori.
The other participants in the match include Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano and Togi Makabe, the CHAOS team of Best Friends & Hirooki Goto, the Suzuki-gun team of Killer Elite Squad & Minoru Suzuki, and the Elite team of Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page.
The top matches from NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 show at the Tokyo Dome will air on a same-day tape delay on AXS TV on January 4.
AXS has confirmed what had been expected in some form. This will be the first time AXS has had same-day coverage of a pro wrestling show from Japan.
In addition, with Jim Ross and Josh Barnett finishing up with New Japan commitments at the end of the year, the Tokyo Dome matches will use the New Japan World commentary team of Kevin Kelly and Don Callis. Kelly will be full-time on the AXS commentary team going forward.
Both the Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi IWGP Heavyweight Championship match and the Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito IWGP Intercontinental title match will air on January 4, on a two-hour show from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern time.
The rest of the Dome show will air with a two-hour show on January 11 in the same time slot, and a one-hour show on January 18.
“Same-day coverage of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 ushers in a new era of NJPW on AXS TV,” said AXS TV Fights CEO Andrew Simon. “Based on the tremendous growth of NJPW on AXS TV, we are making changes to reward wrestling fans by offering NJPW in prime time on Friday nights as close to when it takes place as possible.”
The company also announced that the new Beginning in Sapporo show will air in three one-hour installments on February 8, February 15, and February 22.
New Year’s Dash, the show that takes place on January 5 and features the angles that start the new year, will air on AXS on January 25 and February 1.
AXS TV will be televising three hours from Wrestle Kingdom 12 tonight, with the special airing from 8-11 p.m. Eastern time and again from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Eastern time, with the idea of it being prime time for both the East and West Coast.
The three-hour show was produced on Thursday after the Dome show ended with Jim Ross and Josh Barnett doing the commentary.
In order to air complete matches with video pieces building them up, there will only be four matches shown, which will be the IWGP title match with Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito, the United States title match with Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho, the IC title match with Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White, and the Kota Ibushi vs Cody match.
AXS will also be broadcasting matches from the Tokyo Dome in its usual Friday night at 8 p.m. time slot from January 12th to February 9th, so that every match on the main card will be airing.
AXS is currently doing an all-day New Japan marathon that started at Noon Eastern time.
The first three hours of the marathon will be built around Omega matches from 2017, in particular his US title win over Tomohiro Ishii, his G1 final match with Tetsuya Naito, and his US title defense against Juice Robinson.
They will broadcast the October King of Pro Wrestling show from Sumo Hall at 3 p.m. Eastern and follow with the top matches from Power Struggle in November from 6-8 p.m., which include Omega vs. Beretta for the US title and the classic Tanahashi vs. Ibushi singles match.
Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa return from the holidays to talk Tokyo Dome and some old school wrestling! After a few quick thoughts on Chris Jericho vs. Omega, we’ll discuss whether New Japan missed an opportunity by not having Tetsuya Naito win the IWGP title at Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome, finishes changed in matches on the fly, working with the different versions of the Andersons, the end of George Becker’s long run as booker of Mid Atlantic, and more.
The original alternate is coming in hot after the main event of today’s Wrestle Kingdom XII. We discuss the somewhat controversial finishes of the IWGP and IC title matches, and answer all the important questions like:
– Was this one of the best shows of all-time?
– Did you lose a Suzuki-Hiromu-White-Naito parlay?
– Can snow elephants break wind…and many more.
The 14 year legacy of talking DOMES lives on. it’s the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE!
Surprise entrants were Delirious, Cheeseburger, and Masahito Kakihara.
Chase Owens eliminated surprise entrant Delirious by pinfall. BUSHI was tossed out over the top. Leo Tonga was pinned by Nagata and Nakanishi. Nagata pinned Nakanishi, who then helped Owens and Kitamura pin Nagata. Owens hit a package piledriver on Kitamura for an elimination.
Taka Michinoku and Kanemaru were joined by Suzuki-gun stablemate El Desperado, and they triple-teamed Owens, throwing him over the top. Jushin Liger was in next, and Suzuki-gun continued their quest to unmask him. Tiger Mask jogged down for the save, and he and Desperado worked together, eventually unmasking each other, but they hid their faces. Mr. Juicy Gino Gambino was next in, and in the mask chaos, every other wrestler was eliminated.
Henare was in next, followed by YOSHI-HASHI and David Finlay. Henare and Finlay pinned Mr. Juicy after a cutter. Henare got tossed out, and Finlay rolled up YOSHI-HASHI for an elimination. Yujiro Takahashi and PIETER entered which was quite the entrance. Takahashi eliminated Finlay and danced and posed with PIETER until Cheeseburger rudely interrupted. Satoshi Kojima entered, and he and Yujiro did some clunky spots. Hiroyoshi Tenzan was in next, and Kakihara was the final entrant. Cheeseburger and Kakihara tossed Kojima and Tenzan over the top, leaving them as the final two.
Kakihara pinned Cheeseburger, and cut a promo after announcing that he has beaten cancer, and thanking fans for donating to a foundation raising money for Yoshihiro Takayama. This was a below average battle royal, but that doesn’t matter. The guy survived cancer and is trying to raise money for his injured friend. Happiness was the goal here, so mission accomplished.
The Young Bucks defeated Roppongi 3K to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Matt and Yoh applied sharpshooters on their counterparts in the first major spot of the match. Sho and Yoh hit stereo dives on the Bucks, and Yoh sold his back. Matt hit two power bombs on the apron on the injured back, and the Bucks superkicked and powerbombed Rocky Romero on the ramp. Yoh briefly fired up and sent Matt out over the top, and Matt started selling his back. Nick tagged in and worked over Yoh. While Nick took the ref, Matt tried to power bomb Yoh on the ramp, but Yoh countered. Nick went for a dive on Yoh, but missed and hit Matt.
Sho got a hot tag and hit a double German suplex on the Bucks. A superkick party broke out, leading to Matt and Yoh being the legal men, working each other’s backs. The Bucks hit a buckle bomb and a senton for a nearfall. Yoh survived a sharpshooter for a near-submission. Sho tried to bounce back from a superkick, but his back gave out. The Bucks hit a Meltzer Driver and Nick locked in the sharpshooter for the tapout. This was a very good opener, and a totally different style of match than a casual fan might expect from the Bucks.
Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano defeated Bullet Club, Suzuki-gun, Elgin & War Machine in a Gauntlet Match to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Elgin and War Machine started against the Suzuki-gun team of Iizuka, Taichi, and Sabre. Elgin ran wild, then Iizuka got the best of Hanson. Sabre and Rowe tagged in and the pace quickened significantly. Hanson missed a top rope moonsault. War Machine recovered and went for Fallout, but Iizuka ran wild with the iron glove, and Sabre choked out Rowe for the first fall. The team of Elgin and War Machine were eliminated.
Suzuki-gun jumped the Chaos team of Toru Yano, Beretta, and Tomohiro Ishii as they came down the ramp, but it was for naught. Yano hit a low blow on Taichi and rolled him up, eliminating Suzuki-gun.
The Taguchi Japan team of Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe, and Juice Robinson entered next. They ran wild on Yano with the highlight being a series of one million clotheslines on Yano in the corner. Taguchi began channeling Shinsuke Nakamura, but in his fervor, he got rolled up by Yano for the elimination.
The Bullet Club team was last in. Ishii ran wild on them and hit a suplex on Bad Luck Fale. The Tokyo Dome exploded for a vertical suplex of all moves. Tonga and Loa went to work on Beretta. Beretta went for a moonsault but ate a Gun Stun in mid-air. Tama Tonga went for a second Gun Stun, but Beretta turned it into a dudebuster for the pin. That was a good finish, but there wasn’t much to the first half of the match.
Kota Ibushi defeated Cody
The first major spot of the match saw Ibushi miss a dive on Cody and crash into Brandi. Ibushi picked her up to help her to the back, but Cody punched him in the face, and Ibushi dropped her. Brandi and Cody cackled at this together. Brandi passed Cody a chair, then diverted the ref’s attention while Cody hit Ibushi with it. Cody missed a fourth chair shot, and Ibushi recovered and hit the Golden Triangle. They traded counters on the apron, before Cody hit Cross Rhodes from the apron to the floor.
After teasing a countout from the Cross Rhodes, Cody hit a tope rope rana. He went for Cross Rhodes in the ring, but Ibushi reversed and launched Cody headfirst into the middle of the turnbuckle pad. Ibushi hit a Last Ride for a nearfall. Cody hit a lariat for a near fall. Cody missed a Disaster Kick, and Ibushi hit him with Kamigoye, setting up the Phoenix Splash for the pin. This was good, but didn’t come close to the show-stealer that it could have been if given more time.
EVIL and SANADA defeated Killer Elite Squad to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship
Killer Elite hit the Killer Bomb on EVIL for a nearfall in the opening seconds, but SANADA made the save. EVIL sold the move as though he was in fact dead. Killer Elite threw SANADA over the top to the outside and started attacking Young Boys. Archer chokeslammed EVIL from the apron onto a pack of boys on the floor.
The story of the first ten minutes of the match was that SANADA and EVIL refused to quit. Archer and Smith hit them with everything and they got no offense at all, but they would not stay down. Archer hit a superplex on EVIL which was a sight to behold. SANADA got a hot tag and did some flying, but Smith cut him off. SANADA kicked out of a Killer Bomb. EVIL cleared out Archer, and SANADA and EVIL hit a Magic Killer for a nearfall. SANADA hit a moonsault immediately after for the victory and another title change in an okay match.
Hirooki Goto beat Minoru Suzuki in a Hair & No Seconds Deathmatch to win the NEVER Openweight Championship
Suzuki brutalized Goto with hard slaps to the face and they teased a doctor stoppage after a hangman’s choke. Despite selling the slaps, Goto fired back with chops to the chest. Suzuki locked on a guillotine, but Goto was able to get out and nailed an Ushigoroshi. Seconds tried to interfere in this no seconds match as YOSHI-HASHI chased Taichi as he tried to run in.
Suzuki locked on a choke and the ref did the old arm check on Goto, but before the ref could stop it, Suzuki went for the Gotch. Goto powered out. More slaps and Goto was bleeding from the mouth. Goto put Suzuki up top and hit a super-Ushigoroshi for a nearfall. Goto hit Suzuki with forearm strikes, and hit the GTR for the pin.
The post-match was great. Suzuki-gun tried to hustle Minoru out of the ring, but he insisted on doing the honorable thing. He took his own chair and sat in the middle of the ring and shaved his own head.
Will Ospreay defeated Marty Scurll, KUSHIDA, and Hiromu Takahashi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
This was an excellent, state-of-the-art match. Ospreay is other-worldly. KUSHIDA did a senton from the top to the floor. Ospreay hit a moonsault off a light tower. Ospreay went for the Oscutter but Scurll caught him in the chicken wing. KUSHIDA broke that up. Takahashi hit a belly-to-belly on KUSHIDA. Scurll hit a neckbreaker on Ospreay for a nearfall, and an Oscutter for another. Scurll went under the ring and pulled out a bag of tape, and tied Takahashi to the barricade, then hit him with the finger break spot.
Scurll teased a double finger break spot on KUSHIDA and Ospreay, but KUSHIDA countered with a finger break on Scurll. KUSHIDA hit a flying armbar on Ospreay, transitioned to a gogoplata, then back to the armbar. Ospreay powerbombed his way out and sold his arm. Scurll threw powder in KUSHIDA’s eyes. KUSHIDA countered with Back to the Future. Ospreay broke up the pin. Takahashi broke free and hit sunset bombs on KUSHIDA and Scurll.
Takahashi got a nearfall on Ospreay. Ospreay and Scurll teamed up to try to take out Takahashi, but he countered. KUSHIDA hit a sunset bomb and Ospreay hit a shooting star to the floor on all three guys. Ospreay hit a 450 on Takahashi for a nearfall. Ospreay missed an Oscutter and Takahashi hit Time Bomb, but Scurll pulled the ref out of the ring and used an umbrella to take out KUSHIDA and Takahashi. Ospreay finally hit Scurll with an Oscutter for the pin and another title change. Best thing on the show to this point.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Switchblade Jay White to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Tanahashi got some offense in the early-going, but missed a plancha and White went to work on his bad right knee. Tanahashi recovered long enough to hit a summersault senton, then hit a pair of dragon screws, working over White’s left knee. Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow to the floor, but missed a sling blade inside. White hit a deadlift German, and then the pace slowed. It appeared as though they mave have had some miscommunication over a spot, as White went to the top, then climbed back down as Tanahashi rolled to the opposite corner.
White hit two suplexes and a DVD for a nearfall. White missed a missle dropkick and Tanahashi hit another dragon screw. White hit a dragon suplex, but Tanahashi countered with a pair of sling blades. Tanahashi hit High Fly flow and went for another, but missed, and sold his knee. White slapped on a choke, then hit a Kiwi Crusher for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a bridging dragon suplex for a nearfall. White got up as Tanahashi went up top, but Tanahashi slapped him down, and hit two High Fly Flows for the win.
This was good, but felt like it was just short of a star-making performance for White, and it was Tanahashi’s aura that carried the match.
Kenny Omega defeated Chris Jericho to retain the IWGP United States Championship
They traded punches and chops. Jericho got the Walls, but Omega escaped and sent Jericho outside. Omega sent Jericho outside and over the barricade, but missed a dive and crashed through the English announcers table. Jericho put some Young Boys in the Walls. They continued brawling through the broadcast area, and Omega hit a double foot stomp off a light tower onto a table and Jericho. Jericho teased a powerbomb through a table, but dropped Omega on the floor instead. Jericho was clearly having the time of his life, flipping off everyone, taking a photographer’s camera, just
Back inside, Jericho hit a spinning back elbow for a nearfall. They were completely working Jericho’s style and pace. Jericho hit a Lionsault for a nearfall, and a huge pop. Omega hit his Terminator dive, and Jericho begn selling his ribs. Back inside they teased finishers, before Jericho locked on the Walls again. Omega reached the ropes, then under the ring, and pulled out cold spray. He hit Jericho in the eyes with the spray, but Jericho countered by sending him into a chair set up in the corner, repeatedly. Omega bled.
Omega fired back with three dragon suplexes, but Jericho countered with a bunch of chair shots. Jericho teased coming off the top with a chair, but Omega sent him outside and through the Chekov’s gun table that had been set up earlier. Omega hit two V-Triggers and a underhook piledriver for a nearfall. He hit another V-Trigger and went for the One-winged Angel, but Jericho rolled through and applied the Walls. He tranisitioned to the old school Liontamer. Omega tased passing out, then tapping out, but reached the ropes. Jericho went for a Codebreaker, but Omega countered with two V-Triggers and a One-winged Angel. Jericho reached the ropes on an incredible nearfall.
Omega went up top but Jericho crotched him. Jericho teased a tope rope rana, but Omega escaped, dropping Jericho face-first on the turnbuckle. Jericho hit a Codebreaker for another nearfall. Jericho placed a chair on Omega and wen for another Lionsault, but Omega popped up, nailed him witht he chair, then hit a One-winged Angel onto the chair for the pin.
Jericho the character has been top-flight in recent years, but what was the last really good Jericho match you’ve seen? For me, it was this one. This might have been Jericho’s last true classic.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Naito took his time disrobing from his awesome suit. Okada worked in bell bottoms. Tokyo Dome-caliber wardrobe choices by both competitors. Okada did not take kindly to an elbow to the head, and sent Naito to the floor with a sweet dropkick, in the first big spot of the match. Outside, Naito hit Okada with a neckbreaker over the barricade. Back inside, Naito continued working on the neck with elbows, dropkicks to the back, and neckbreakers. Okada countered by going after Naito’s neck, and hit a draping DDT from the barricade to the floor.
Inside, Okada hit a flapjack and an inverted DDT. Okada hit an elbow drop and teased the Rainmaker, but Naito escaped. Okada locked on the Cobra Clutch, and his facial expressions were top-notch here. Naito reached the ropes, forcing Okada to regroup. Naito hit a reverse rana from the top, but missed with his old Stardust Press corkscrew off the top. Judging crowd reactions from television can be a tricky thing, but it appeared to me that they really got the crowd going with that one.
Okada landed a running dropkick, but Naito popped up and hit a flying forearm. Okada took a huge bump off a missed missile dropkick from the top. Okada hit a German, and a Rainmaker, but Naito kicked out. Naito escaped from a Tombstone, and seemingly out of gas, missed an enziguri. Okada went for the piledriver again, but Naito hit him with Destino. Naito was too exhausted to go for a cover. Okada sold Naito’s finish, while Naito sold exhaustion.
They traded finishers in an intense, crazy closing sequence. I am not doing this justice. Okada retained after one last Rainmaker. This picked up significantly after a very slow start, and the climax of this bout was the best thing on the show.
This felt like Naito’s time, but with the way the show was constructed, full of title changes, you could sense this result coming.
