It’s almost time for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 at the Tokyo Dome. The biggest show of the New Japan year is also a great way to kick off 2024 in wrestling.
As is usually the case, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is on the line in the main event. Current champ Sanada faces his former LIJ teammate Tetsuya Naito in a match that could either help legitimize the former or prove the latter is still close to his prime.
Another big title bout will pit Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay, with the winner crowned the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. Five other championship matches are also on the card.
Wrestle Kingdom almost always delivers, and is a great value too: It only costs $9.99 to catch the event, and you get a month of the NJPW World streaming service with that price to boot. There will also be live English commentary for the show, perfect for fans in the U.S.
What might not be so great is the start time thanks to the time difference between the U.S. and Japan. It’s an afternoon start in Tokyo, but that still makes it a late night/early morning affair in North America. The Wrestle Kingdom 18 start time is 1:30 a.m. ET on Jan. 4/10:30 p.m. PT p.m. on Jan. 3.
With 11 matches on the card and several of them likely to go quite long, the show should go well into the morning on the east coast and end in the middle of the night out west. Can’t summon your inner night owl even for this kind of pro wrestling treat? No worries, as we’ll have you covered with full results and other tidbits here on Wrestling Junkie that will be updated live so you can check in on it whenever you might be awake.
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