It’s almost time for the biggest show on New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s annual schedule. Wrestle Kingdom 18 is set to take over the Tokyo Dome on Thursday, Jan. 4, once again offering a full (and we mean full as it tends to run very long) slate of matches that includes the best NJPW has to offer plus some top stars from North America as well.
At the heart of it all will be an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship between Sanada and Tetsuya Naito. The story connecting these two men is a good one, as both were former teammates in Los Ingobernables de Japon. However, Sanada felt the need to leave the group to ascend to the next stage in his career, which has proven a good move so far.
Beating his former stablemate would be a validation of his reign. Meanwhile, this may be the final chance Naito has in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom, so he’ll be highly motivated aside from the personal angle. The winner figures to be the person who leads NJPW into 2024 in earnest.
Another title match with plenty of implications beyond the event is the three-way IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship match where Will Ospreay will try to fend off both AEW star Jon Moxley and Bullet Club leader David Finlay.
Though Ospreay is off to AEW in 2024, he’s suggested he wants to continue working with New Japan and might keep his title as a result. A Finlay victory could be a sign the promotion wants to build even more around him, and with the strong working relationship between NJPW and AEW, a Moxley victory can’t be ruled out either.
Unlike some of the past few years, Wrestle Kingdom 18 is being promoted as a one-night affair. We’ll add more matches as they are confirmed, but here’s a look at the full card as it stands now.
Latest update: Dec. 29, 2023, 11:15 a.m. ET.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 card:
- New Japan Ranbo for a shot at the Provisional KOPW 2024 Championship at New Year Dash (pre-show match)
- Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) (c) vs. Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match
- Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – NJPW World Television Championship match
- Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
- Shota Umino and Kaito Kiyomiya vs. House of Torture (Evil and Ren Narita)
- Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Tama Tonga – NEVER Openweight Championship match
- Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) (c) vs. Guerillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) – IWGP Tag Team Championship and Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship match
- Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Desperado – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match
- Will Ospreay (c) vs. David Finlay vs. Jon Moxley – IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match
- Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
- Sanada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match