If the calendar has flipped to January and a few days have passed to let it sink in, that can only mean one thing: It’s time for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom. The annual Tokyo Dome show is the biggest event in Japanese wrestling each year, and it’s a pretty big deal for fans around the world provided they can set their schedules accordingly.
As is tradition, Wrestle Kingdom 18 is headlined by an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match, this time with a bit of a student vs. teacher vibe as Sanada tries to fend off Tetsuya Naito. The final match on any Wrestle Kingdom card tends to set the direction for New Japan for months, but that may be true this time around more than ever.
U.S. fans will get to see two very familiar and accomplished faces from AEW. Bryan Danielson takes on Kazuchika Okada in a non-title match that could outshine even the main event, while Jon Moxley tangles with both Will Ospreay and David Finlay for a brand new championship.
More title bouts are up and down tonight’s card — seven in all out of 10 matches (plus the traditional New Japan Ranpo to kick things off). It should be a long but very exciting show.
We’ve got our sleep schedule rearranged and consumed our caffeine, and will be recapping the whole event right here.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 results:
(please click on any match with a link for full details)
- Great-O-Khan, Taiji Ishimori, Toru Yano and Yoh win the KOPW 2024 New Japan Ranbo, meaning they head to New Year Dash to compete for the Provisional KOPW 2024 Championship
- Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP/The Aswang) def. Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, aided greatly by TJP’s transformation into The Aswang
- Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Zack Sabre Jr. by pinfall to become the new NJPW World Television Champion
- Yuya Uemura def. Yota Tsuji by pinfall
- House of Torture (Evil and Ren Narita) def. Shota Umino and Kaito Kiyomiya by pinfall, with the help of plenty of interference from the rest of House of Torture and a timely shot from a push-up bar
- Tama Tonga def. Shingo Takagi by pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion
- Nic Nemeth (known as Dolph Ziggler in WWE) and brother Ryan Nemeth are shown making their way to “VIP seats”
- Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) def. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions and retain the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
- El Desperado def. Hiromu Takahashi by pinfall to become the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion
- David Finlay def. Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley to become the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion
- On his way out, Finlay makes a point of stopping in front of Nic Nemeth, and after exchanging words, he shoves Nemeth; that touches off a brawl that continues until and even after they are pulled apart
- Kazuchika Okada def. Bryan Danielson by pinfall
- Tetsuya Naito def. Sanada by pinfall to become the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion
- After the match, Naito is attacked by EVIL and Dick Togo, but Sanada helps fight them off