Posted in : NJPW , Sports , TV| Tagged : new japan pro wrestling , Wrestle Kingdom , Wrestle Kingdom 19,wrestling
Wrestle Kingdom 19 kicked off the first New Japan Pro Wrestling ’s two shows in the Tokyo Dome , as they started their 2025 a bit of alteration
Article Summary
New Japan Pro Wrestlingkicked off the first of two nights of wrestling in the Tokyo Dome overnight , as Wrestle Kingdom 19 held center stage as their yearly January 4 show in the dome . Nine independent card compeer and one pre - show match were set up for this event , but it also mat up like one of the lesser - promoted shows . This happens on occasion ; some years , the consequence just does n’t feel like it has a pot of warmth behind it . This is one of those years where it felt like the build - up was lukewarm , and the real awesome affair that happened for NJPW lease place at the G1 Climax and King of Pro - Wrestling in October . In any case , this is the apogee of everything the troupe did in 2024 and the starting time of their 2025 plans .
Now , before we continue , we ’re just go to say this : THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD . So , if you do n’t desire to fuck the outcome and want to watch the show on your own metre , this lovely Wrestle Kingdom 19 post-horse is here to prevent you from reading any further . If you keep going , that ’s on you ! ! !
The New Japan Ranbo
First off , the New Japan Ranbo . This is about what you would ask from a engagement royale where you may be eliminated in multiple way . This is the match where they put all of the previous - timekeeper , the ones just recovering from hurt , those who have been off on excursions , or people who had nothing happening on the principal card . Which is both fun and distressing because you get a lot of talent who should be doing something , likeKenta , Sanada(who was literally the IWGP Champ last year),Taichi , Tomohiro Ishii , and more . The big increase to this wereJosh Barnett , who basically evince up as the heavy beefy Gaijin , andAlex Zayne , who was the last person to follow down the gangway . The peer saw Ishii , swell - O - Khan , Hirooki Goto , and Zayne at the end ( sorry , Toru Yano , not this yr ) . After the usual array of close calls , Goto and O - Khan were the remaining two , who put on an impressive last three minutes of military action before Goto hit him with a hard clothesline while O - Khan was on the proscenium for the profits . He will get a shot at the IWGP Championship at a later metre . The first time he ’ll have a shot at the belt in nine eld , but that ’s a story for another time …
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Ladder Match – Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & Kushida) (c) vs. Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) vs. Bullet Club: War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney)
This was , for lack of a better term , the cable car crash catch of the night . For the first fourth dimension in Wrestle Kingdom history , and a curio in Tokyo Dome shows across all promotions , a Ladder Match to decide the Junior tag title . Normally , this is the match NJPW uses to pump up the crowd , and it typically realise the achiever of the Junior Tag League take on the champ . But a good deal of wackiness result over the retiring two months , leading to the circumstance of having four team fighting for the belts suspend over the ring . The benefit of this being an NJPW mates is that , while it had its fair share of chaos and high spot , at least some of it made mother wit and was n’t just a bunch of senseless motility that looked like they hurt the somebody making the move more than the somebody taking it .
This was almost non - stop , aside from a few lulls to show off the carnage , but there were some telling smirch . For example , when Moloney sent Knight down to the floor from the top of the run after being crushed by one of the side . But this was no tender loving care or spot fest ; it was just something newfangled to get the bunch hype . In the end , Fujita stopped TJP from getting to the top , snagged the claim , and brought them home to TMDK . As it should be since THEY were the I who won the Junior Tag League in the first place .
IWGP Women’s Championship Match – Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. AZM
Next up , one of the few women ’s match ever added to the Wrestle Kingdom lineup , as AZM take on one of the most well - known members of members of Stardom , Mayu Iwatani . We ’ve actually watch some Stardom matches by both of them , and they are two of the more telling grappler on the roster . But it ’s clear they were told they had to get up about 20 minutes of fight back into 10 . These two did n’t hold anything back as they drew line of descent , flip in a lot of fast - paced sequences , and draw off spots some men would dread . include AZM add up down from a high-pitched German Suplex , which made my teeth injure watch out it . at long last , Iwatani hit enough Germans to score the pinfall winnings .
NJPW World Television Championship Four Way Match – Ren Narita (c) vs. El Phantasmo vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Ryohei Oiwa
The TV Title is kind of a joke title in NJPW at the moment . Because the swath front like a waffle smoothing iron , it ’s not defending on every single TV show or PPV event ( which , by the way , is the intact reason for having a TV Title , as it promise there will always be a title defense on every telecasting show ) , and having the belt hold by Ren Narita means almost every individual Defense Department is just DQ or cheater ’s win away from ending since House of Torture ca n’t not be involve . However , this compeer on newspaper looked really proficient as Cobb is always great , Oiwa is a fun powerhouse to watch , and El Phantasmo lately generate after getting a clean bill of health and read he was now genus Cancer - gratis . Plus , TV Title match in NJPW are always 15 - arcminute sentence - terminal point matches , so this was a opportunity to get some great action mechanism from all four in a short prison term .
The first half of the compeer was giving everyone but the champion a moment to glitter , especially Cobb as the nonmigratory giving man in the United Empire , as he performed a Topé bunko Hilo to the other three out of doors and gave a powerbomb - suplex combo to Oiwa and Phantasmo . Narita , as common , went for his traditional push - up board , but Jado took it off from him before he could employ it . The last few minute saw everyone get in their own array of hits and combos , including Oiwa getting an telling Doctor Bomb off on Cobb . Narita tried again with the add-in , but Cobb lastly broke it in half over his knee joint . It look to be over with a Tour of the Islands from Cobb , but El Phantasmo jumpstart in with a flurry of high - flying moves , hitting the Thunderkiss ' 86 on Narita , and walk out with the title . There ’s your feel - expert story of the night .
Lumberjack Match – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil
This is the lucifer that did n’t ask to take place and could have gone to other people . I would have much rather seen a fight between Taichi and Sanada than this . Because you have Tanahashi , the current President of NJPW , on this parting tour ( as he announced he ’d retire at Wrestle Kingdom 20 ) versus Evil , a grappler so ineffective when it come to actually being a menace , there are multiple Japanese memes on societal medium about what a antic he ’s become . I ’ve been watching NJPW , and I ca n’t even remember how we get this match to set about with . All I remember is Evil made the stipulation that if Tanahashi lost , he ’d have to retire tonight . have ’s be good here : that alone gave away the finish , pull in it the most predictable consequence of the night . Because they were n’t going to retire Tanahashi with a twelvemonth ’s worth of bring in money on his retreat . The one thing I liked about this match was Evil ’s entering , as they have made him their Undertaker . But the only supernatural power he has is to have Dick Togo go work the lights off as a distraction .
I do n’t even need to recap this in full because you already know what happen . They worm , and some of the lumberjacks were from House of Torture and beat up Tanahashi . free-for-all happened outside the doughnut , a heap of overbooked gimmicks , and all Leslie Townes Hope looked lost . Then , the Ace of New Japan made a replication and beat Evil with a quick pin out of nowhere . The one shocker of this entire matter was seeingKatsuyori Shibatareturn to save him from a beatdown at the end , and then challenge him to a match on the AEW show ! ! ! ( Now that ’s worth watching tomorrow dark ! )
With that said , it ’s over . Now , New Japan and WWE have one yr to give us a REAL dream peer : Tanahashi vs. John Cena . Make it happen ! ! !
AEW International Title / NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (c)
Up next was one of the matches I really wanted to see , as you got a title - vs - claim match with no clean-cut winner , as they could easy slap both belts on either man . Plus , Takago and Takeshita both have that " I could beat the urine out of all of you " vibration start for them . Takeshita came out withDon Callisand fix what feel like a megastar entrance and many cheers , which is telling for an AEW / DDT star take the air into an NJPW annulus . ( Sadly , no Callis on commentary , which was a miss opportunity . ) This was a square - up Hoss Match from beginning to stopping point , as they showed how hard they were willing to hit each other and gave a wad of offence that count like it hurt as much give it as it did to have it .
Shingo had a ton of impulse from the fans , but throughout the Nox , Takeshita was winning them over . Especially when he pulled a Frankensteiner off the top rophy . There was no point in which one human race had an advantage over the other , as they trade black eye back and forth for the legal age of this compeer . The conclusion candidly felt like it come out of nowhere as Takeshita nailed Shingo with a knee to the face , followed by some quick bang that laid him out for the 1 - 2 - 3 . Takeshita now holds both belts , with no hitch from Callis , and is looking at Tomohiro Ishii to oppose the NEVER claim at Wrestle Dynasty tomorrow Nox .
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match – Douki (c) vs. El Desperado
Another match I was look forward to a lot , as the Junior Title has the luck to slip every single one of these show . It is especially satisfying seeing these two men vie for the claim on this show . El Desperado has been on fire for the past few year , and Douki has come into his own in the past class . But it was n’t always the case , as these two were usually the ones you ’d see in massive stage squad peer taking the pinfall for bounteous adept to get their storyline across . Douki got the special treatment entrance with some help fromShido Nakamura , the highly acclaimed film and kabuki thespian in Japan , which pour down the crew as an unexpected surprise .
The two traded off moves at the start , including dual Topé Suicidas ; the latter of the two looked like Desperado took the brunt of it on his legs as they crashed into the roadblock . The tale of this catch , in many ways , was Desperado showing he was the better of the two , countering some of Douki ’s moves and shut away him in an early Cloverleaf . He would take the air out from several attacks until Doukihit him with a Douki - Bomb to the outside . However , that ’s sadly where it end . When Douki make the floor , there was a obtrusive hearable whirl , and it was well-defined something had happened to Douki ’s arm . The referee called off the match and award Desperado the title , which you could differentiate no one , especially him , was well-chosen to see . El Desperado cut down a promo at the conclusion as the crew looked after Douki , pointing out that this is what materialise when you put your dead body on the line as a wrestler . He ended by say they would do this again .
So yes , we get a title change , but not the fashion anyone wanted it .
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match – David Finlay (c) vs. Yota Tsuji
In what feel like the second most predictable peer of the nighttime , we got Finley from Bullet Club : War Dogs represent the world deed against Tsuji of Los Ingobernables de Japon . This championship has go through so many changes that it really does n’t sense like it mean anything . It really should still be the original NJPW Intercontinental title before the society flux it into the current Heavyweight title , but then they made the U.S. claim , which became the U.K. title , which then became this thing . Finley has done a passably good job make it endeavor to mean something as a defend champion and the drawing card of his cabal , with Nic Nemeth having it for a cup of coffee tree . But there ’s only so much you could do with a belt few masses have an interestingness in . Plus , it ’s call off the " Global " Championship , which is dim as hell because you already have a World title , so the whack really does n’t have an personal identity of its own , which make it feel like a pace below the main deed of conveyance . But all that aside , that ’s not why we ’re here .
Tsuji made his way to the annulus primp in a red hat to match LIJ ’s logo , while Finley make out out to aMad Maxentrance , complete with a plastic gun that did n’t even fire anything . The first half of this match was Finley render how prevalent he can be and how ruthless he is uncoerced to be . This included a powerbomb through a table to the outside Battle of Midway through the mates , and those Japan tables are so much worse to take one through . Tsuji got back in from a possible count - out , only to take another powerbomb off the top rope . Finley would go forward to hit strong strike and multiple variations of a powerbomb but could n’t put Tsuji away . Tsuji threw in a few moment of offense , but would carry on to be put down . He get more offence going , include a modified Curb Stomp from the 2d rope , but got nailed with a Gun Stun and neckbreaker on the knee from Finley for a tight two - count . Tsuji struggle back with a spear and a Curb Stomp , Finley caught him with a surprise Overkill , a couple tradeoffs with a final G - Blaster from Tsuji , and he get the three - counting for the profits .
The reason this match was so predictable at the start was that Tsuji had been branded as one of the Modern incarnation of the Three Musketeers of NJPW . They do this every few years as they compare a tierce of wrestlers on the rise to the original three , Keiji Muto , Masahiro Chono , andShinya Hashimoto . In the mid-2000s , they knight Tanahashi , Shibata , andShinsuke Nakamuraas the unexampled version , and all three chew up the comparability . Two years ago , they did it again with Tsuji , Narita , andShota Umino , and that got about the same response from all three man . But because of that , they ’ve been trying to make all of them a big deal to conduct the company into a new earned run average . Giving Tsuji this smash was the next stone’s throw for him as they ’ll probably top him as World champion in the next few year . Honestly , the company needs to switch this belt and put more import behind it and its matches , or else it ’s just a prop that wo n’t help Tsuji at all . As for Finley , if he is n’t in the World claim picture after this , he never will be .
Special Single Match – Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi
This is a match the two men have wanted to do for a big crowd for years . However , several injuries and different storylines , along with a global pandemic , contributed to the two LIJ members never touching beyond World Tag League match . We stupefy this mate because the two won the World Tag League , and normally , those winners challenge for the Tag Titles at Wrestle Kingdom . But co - championHenarehad to vacate the knock with heavy - O - Khan after being injured , so there was n’t going to be a Tag Title compeer anyway . This mate almost did n’t happen again here as Naito had operating theater on his unexpended center and admit he ’d been regard two ( sometimes three ) matman in matches because of his vision and likely needs another operating room . That ’s dangerous as hell ! Because how are you supposed to act upon with hoi polloi when you do n’t know which one is real ? ! So , if he does n’t get that fixed after this event , he ’s trifle with danger .
Hiromu come out garbed as a elephantine dad human body while several beach ball were pass on through the crowd to flirt with , and the Ticking Time Bomb himself come out to a company . But that paled in compare to the standing ovation Naito got as the noncompliant leader come out in a black and silver suit with a cobra - similar masquerade party . The first part of this compeer was pretty slow and was just the two jocking for locating , which did n’t feel like the form of match they would have until it ended with Hiromu hitting a diving powerbomb to the exterior on Naito . The two amped it up a little , but they were n’t really doing a ton of high - profile offense , and the crowd matt-up quiet except for occasional screams . After a Destino that led to nothing , the two traded off until Hiromu got a projectile dropkick , a Destino of his own , a Time Bomb , and a two - count .
Naito threw on a little contempt and then nailed a spinebuster , followed by a proper Destino for a two - count . he almost exit up top , but Hiromu stop him and scream at him . Naito reckon unaffected by this and then nailed him within a third Destino for the winnings . Naito tolerate over Hiromu waiting for the clenched fist touch he did n’t give him at the start of the match . But Hiromu stoop to him first before doing the fist hump . The two of them advertize this lucifer as " first time , last prison term " with the logical implication it wo n’t happen again . candidly … this match feel like a bigger deal than it really was and ended with a flop finish . The crowd was n’t even unrestrained for the termination . I kind of pick up the ending come as Naito walk out with a baseball cap , which he always wears at the end of matches when he wins . We ’ll see if this lead to a alteration in LIJ , but we ’re hazard not much will come of it .
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match – Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Shota Umino
So … the chief outcome . ZSJ won the G1 Climax 2024 , the first Gaijen to do so sinceKenny Omegawon it in 2016 . Instead of using his G1 win for a title match at Wrestle Kingdom 19 , he now challenged Naito for the title at theirKing of Pro - Wrestling event in October , which he won . After that , he went on a small run of wins around the globe . However , as is the case in NJPW , anyone who beats you in the G1 has the rightfield to challenge you later for any booty you may have . Umino got a win over ZSJ at the G1 , so he decided to occur out and challenge him for the knock , which led to a chorus of boos from the crowd . Remember how I talked about the Three Musketeer thing from before ? Yeah , turns out the NJPW buff also detest the compare , as it ’s a sign they project on making Umino a World champ at some point . Which is a bummer because it ’s clear he needs some seasoner , and fans do n’t view him as a legit rival yet .
Umino drive in on what count like the safest bike they could produce in Japan , which is very anti - Deathriders ( sinceJon Moxleytrained him for a while ) . But hey , he perplex to drive a bike around the Tokyo Dome , so good for him . ZSJ was about to hail out to his TMDK theme , but then it alter to a newfangled " Young Punks " topic , with the balance of the faction behind him , as he was adorned in a pink / orange color system that look like he just stepped out of a Dunkin ' Donuts - themed night night club . get ta love Japanese pro hand-to-hand struggle !
The first part of the lucifer was a tit - for - cheapness as they would sell criminal offence to show they could put the other down and withstand attacks from the other . Umino had more of a ground discourtesy , while ZSJ showed more of his quick hit and technical jazz band practices . ZSJ swap things up to his compliance game , working marijuana cigarette and trunk part , but Umino manage to take things to the exterior and used the safety equipment rail to his advantage , including a spiked DDT that got him boo . He tried to sway the gang ’s vox populi by asking ZSJ to hit him harder , but the crowd seemed happier to look on him get hit . It ’s very clear at this point in fourth dimension , not just the friction match but with NJPW ’s most loyal fanbase in the building , they had more regard for ZSJ as a matman and him as their champion . Especially when he started twisting Umino ’s consistency in different detainment .
The two traded European Uppercuts , with Umino bleeding just a little from the sassing . Another sequence of trade offenses included a PK from ZSJ and a Tornado DDT from Umino , finishing with a Zack Driver for a snug two - count . Umino went for a Deathrider DDT , but ZSJ caught his leg on the swing forward and twisted it between his legs . more handling of the junction lead to an turn back Figure Four . Umino kinda pull ahead the crowd over a little creep to the roofy for the rift , which easy built to another Tornado DDT from the recession as he turn on ZSJ ’s neck opening . He tried a Deathrider from the top Mexican valium , but it looked more like a two-fold - Hook Suplex . He started stamp on the cervix to boos , and shove his own forefather ( the referee ) Red Shoes Umino to the mat . More trading of gust led to a slapfest that got the crowd back into thing . Umino was going to charge , but his branch yield out into a Zack Driver for a close two , followed by a tribute to Suzuki with a Gotch Piledriver and one more Zack Driver for the profits . ZSJ hold one of the few Gaijen Tokyo Dome independent effect wins in pro wrestle history , and he did it as the IWGP champion .
Overall , I thought this was a strong card , but it was also lacking in a few areas . The hooey that did n’t really go over well was balanced out by matches mass really wanted to see . It was a shame the Junior Heavyweight match ended like it did , but I ’d rather see referee stopage for a legit trauma than people fighting through the bother injured . Almost every single belt changed hands , except the World Heavyweight and Women ’s Championships . We ’ll see what the NJPW / AEW share Wrestle Dynasty show has to offer tomorrow night and if it can top tonight ’s showcase .
delight this ? Please share on societal medium !
