NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 Review
Growing up in Hawaii, I became very accustomed to things starting at weird hours. Sporting events, wrestling shows, and so on all aired at different times than the average fan was used to.
As I sit here at 11:53pm, waiting for Wrestle Kingdom 20 to begin in seven minutes, I’m very thankful for my upbringing getting me used to things like this. I won’t lie, though… it does feel juuuuust a little weird to tuck my daughter in, say goodnight to her, and then head off to my office to do column prep work for a wrestling pay-per-view.
New Japan Pro Wrestling is about to present the 20th edition of Wrestle Kingdom (under that name, but their 35th overall January 4th show at the Tokyo Dome), the promotion’s biggest show of the year. That’s big enough, but this year’s event will feature the retirement match of Hiroshi Tanahashi, widely considered one of the greatest puroresu stars of all-time.
This is a special show for me, because it’s Tanahashi that was the “ace” of New Japan when I really became a fan of the promotion, and Tanahashi’s feud with his opponent tonight, Kazuchika Okada, was my real introduction to Okada, who would also go on to become one of my all-time favorite wrestlers.
Enough talk. Let’s have some fun.
Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura & Kaisei Takechi vs Ren Narita, Sanada & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Clark Connors, Oskar & Yuto-Ice vs Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson vs Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi & Boltin Oleg vs Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi & Satoshi Kojima vs Toru Yano, Master Wato & Yoh – New Japan Ranbo for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Titles
The annual Ranbo at Wrestle Kingdom is a bit different this year, switching to the six-man format. Instead of a solo winner earning a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, the winners will be the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Two teams will begin the match, and a new team will enter in one-minute intervals. Eliminations can take place via pin, submission, or being tossed over the top rope.
Takechi and RoughStorm are starting the match off against House Of Torture (Sanada, Narita, and Kanemaru). One-minute intervals don’t allow for much to happen before the next entrants, and sure enough, we don’t get a ton of action before our next entrants arrive. Next up, Bullet Club War Dogs (Connors, Oskar, and Yuto-Ice) are on their way to the ring, accompanied by the “Toxic Spider” herself, Thekla.
Zack Sabre Jr. and his TMDK brothers are out next. There are 12 men involved in the match already, so there’s a lot going on, and it’s impossible to keep track of it all. Tiger Mask, Makabe, and Taguchi are out next, and this is Tiger Mask’s final Tokyo Dome match. He is set to retire in June after a legendary career.
Connors is sent over the top rope, and the Bullet Club War Dogs are the first team to be eliminated. Within seconds, we get the countdown for our next team, which is Oleg and the duo of Bishamon.
Boltin pins Tiger Mask during the entrance of Ishii, Kojima, and Taichi. We have two eliminated teams, and we have one team still to make their entrance. The final team to enter the match is the current NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions… Toru Yano, Master Wato, and Yoh.
Uemura and Taichi both go tumbling over the top rope, eliminating both of their teams.
Yoh is eliminated, and there are people being thrown over the top rope not on-camera. This is a mess. We’re guaranteed to have new champions, though, with Yano and Spiritech being eliminated.
We’re down to Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson taking on Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Boltin Oleg. That doesn’t last very long, though, as ZSJ pins Oleg with a beautiful bridge. TMDK are the brand new champions.
There was a lot going on, and not much going on, all at the same time. It was impossible to follow. It was mainly designed to get 24 men on the card, though, so mission accomplished. WWE fans know all about that, with Battle Royals and multi-person/team matches thrown in to get as many people on the WrestleMania card as possible.
I’m not grading that, but I guess it was cool to see a bunch of names, both big and small, in the same match.
Syuri vs Saya Kamitani – Winner Takes All Match for the IWGP Women’s Title (Syuri) & the NJPW Strong Women’s Title (Kamitani)
If this is given a good amount of time… and that’s not a guarantee for a women’s match in New Japan… this could be an absolute blast. A week ago, in my year-end Hussy Awards column, I named Saya Kamitani as the winner of the #Craftmaster Award for the 2025 Wrestler Of The Year. She has been on an incredible run for Stardom and NJPW Strong. Meanwhile, all Syuri has done is have year after year after year of high quality work, making her one of the best women in the world today.
As I would expect, these women are going wild to start things off. We’re seeing a fast pace to the action, and they’re looking to lay the lumber in with their strikes. Syuri hits Saya with a stiff kick to the back that literally makes Saya scream out in pain.
This has been non-stop from the opening bell. No wasted movements, no posing, no stalling. Just two women giving it their all in front of an appreciative Tokyo Dome crowd.
Syuri wins! Saya Kamitani simply doesn’t lose in singles competition very often, making this an extra special moment for Syuri, who is now a double champion.
Very good stuff here. I don’t have the exact time, but it was in the 12-minute range, simply based on me looking at my clock. They were able to pack a ton of action in that span. Like I said, there was non-stop action from start-to-finish. I would’ve loved seeing them get another ten-ish minutes to work with, but for what it was, I’m going 4 Stars there. Entertaining match.
Andrade El Idolo, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Henare & ??? vs Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Drilla Moloney – Ten-Man Tag Team Match
This is Andrade’s first match for New Japan since January 2015. Speaking of people’s first match in a while, Jake Lee is revealed to be the mystery partner for the United Empire squad. After almost 16 months on the shelf with a leg injury, Lee is back. This is newsworthy because Lee is a member of the Bullet Club War Dogs… who feature three members on the opposing team in Finlay, Kidd, and Moloney. He has betrayed his teammates, and they’re not happy about it.
I’ve mentioned this on numerous occasions in the past, but Shingo is one of my all-time favorites. I enjoy getting to see him wrestle, no matter the situation. He just turned 43, so who knows how much longer he’s going to be doing this.
Commentary mentions that over 45,000 fans are in attendance for this show. If that number is legit, it would mark the biggest number for a January 4th New Japan show since Toukon Festival: Wrestling World in 2005, a show main evented by Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the IWGP U-30 Openweight Title against Shinsuke Nakamura. The fans are out in droves to see the end of Tanahashi’s legendary career.
In a very hard-hitting affair, Jake Lee gets the pin on Takahashi after drilling him with a Face Breaker Shot (Helluva Kick) in the corner. Nothing earth-shattering here, but again, it was hard-hitting and fun to watch. Guys like Henare, Shingo, and Gabe Kidd were looking to land kill shots each and every time. Chaotic action here. 3.5 Stars
El Desperado vs Kosei Fujita vs Sho vs Taiji Ishimori – Four-Way Match to crown a #1 Contender for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
Before the entrances for the competitors, the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Douki, makes his way to the ring. The last time he was in the Tokyo Dome was at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom show, when he dropped the title he currently holds to El Desperado after he legitimately dislocated his elbow during the match and had the Referee call for a stoppage.
I’m expecting pure insanity in this one, and I will accept nothing less than that.
So far, so good on the insanity front. We’re only a couple minutes in, but these guys are flying all over the place.
We have a Ref Bump, and Douki uses the opportunity to get in and hit Ishimori with a steel pipe. While the Ref is apparently dead, we get a bunch of other men running to the ring, including Robbie Eagles and Robbie X, and it’s breaking down here. Sho hits his opponents with a steel plate, and then wakes the Referee up.
El Desperado hits back-to-back Tiger Drivers on Sho to win the match. I really could’ve done without the 813 extra people getting involved and having that take up such a big chunk of the match time, but at least what we did get was fun. It’s just unfortunate that there wasn’t more of it. 3.25 Stars
Evil vs Aaron Wolf – NEVER Openweight Title Match
Wolf is a World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Judo, and he is making his pro wrestling debut here. This is getting a good amount of mainstream sports hype in Japan, and for good reason. It’s not often you get Olympic Gold Medalists running around in pro wrestling, after all.
In the press conference for the show, Evil told Wolf that he had to forever drop his judogi (traditional judo uniform) and shave his long hair when he lost the match. How did Wolf respond? He shows up for his entrance with an already shaved head and ditches his judogi to reveal the traditional “Young Lion” wrestling attire of all-black trunks, pads, and boots. Mind games!
Naturally, House Of Torture are here to accompany Evil to the ring. It wouldn’t be a House Of Torture match without 279 people at ringside, and I have a sneaking suspicion that there’s going to be some interference in this one, further pissing off the fans that are beyond tired of HoT shenaniganery.
Hey, that didn’t take long. Wolf chases Evil to the outside, but Evil gets back in the ring and distracts the Referee, allowing for all 284 members of House Of Torture to put the boots to Wolf on the floor. The heel heat for Evil is clearly the loudest noise that the Japanese fans have made for anyone on the show so far, so there’s that, I guess.
Master Wato and Yoh have made their way to ringside, and even though it won’t even the odds, at least there’s someone at ringside to counter HoT. It also means that there’s more likely to be even further interference and nonsense.
So far, the rookie doesn’t look bad at all. He’s certainly very green, as you would expect, but his offense is relatively crisp and his selling is solid. As the match goes on, we’re seeing what his stamina and conditioning are like, but it’s not bad to this point.
The Referee is pulled out of the ring during a Wolf pin attempt, and of course, all 287 members of House Of Torture are now in the ring and are putting the beating on Wolf and other wrestlers at ringside. While the Referee remains in a coma at ringside, Wolf is placed atop a table in the ring, and the 350-pound Don Fale splashes him from the middle rope to put him through it.
Allllllllll of that interference was for nothing. Wolf locks Evil in an arm triangle, and Evil is out. In his pro wrestling debut, Aaron Wolf becomes the brand new NEVER Openweight Champion. He looks like he has a very bright future as a pro wrestler if he continues down this path. I’m very impressed. Outside of a spot or two where he didn’t lock a move in as quickly and as cleanly as a veteran would, he certainly didn’t look like someone in their very first pro match. All that interference, though… man… that kind of thing always brings the ratings down for House Of Torture matches. I’m sick of it, and I know I’m far from the only one who feels that way. 3.25 Stars
Konosuke Takeshita vs Yota Tsuji – Winner Takes All Match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title (Takeshita) & the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title (Tsuji)
Recently, Tsuji made news by speaking negatively about AEW and the working relationship between AEW and New Japan. He basically said that New Japan hasn’t gained anything from the relationship. I mean… he’s not wrong. It was reported that Tsuji’s comments were not made in-character, but it seems like most fans believe the whole thing was a work. I’m also of the thinking that he was working. Sure, he might genuinely feel that New Japan would be better off not having this business relationship, but he probably wasn’t out there shooting (pew pew) and looking to piss off the bosses of both companies.
Slow pace here to start, which tells me that we might be getting a lengthy match. Makes sense to me, and I’m all for it.
Takeshita with a chop to Tsuji’s chest that sounded like a shotgun blast went off in the Dome. Tsuji looked like he was trying to muscle his way through the pain, but immediately dropped to a knee to sell the shot. My goodness.
The pace is picking up, and both men have now taken big risks with dives to the outside, including a beautiful Fosbury Flop from Tsuji.
Takeshita hits Tsuji with his own finishing move, nailing him with a Gene Blaster Spear, and the impact nearly sends Tsuji multiple feet in the air. “The Alpha” is one of the hardest-hitting wrestlers in the business. My goodness, part deux.
Back-to-back STIFF forearm shots to the stomach by Tsuji. Again, it sounds like someone is inside the Tokyo Dome with a gun. These guys are on a mission.
SUPER Blue Thunder Bomb from the top rope, and the Referee sells it perfectly, BOUNCING in the air upon the impact of Tsuji’s body hitting the mat. That was absolutely gorgeous.
Takeshita goes for a Power Drive knee strike, but he is intercepted in the middle of the ring by a Gene Blaster, causing the damnedest collision you’re ever going to see on a Spear. My goodness, part ekolu. Tsuji then locks Takeshita in a Boston Crab, and Takeshita fights and fights, but it isn’t enough, and he is forced to tap. Yota Tsuji is the brand new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
What a beautiful, beautiful match. There was a ton on the line here, and it showed in the performances of both Tsuji and Takeshita. They hit each other with absolutely everything they have, and both men kept coming back for more. So much heart. Fantastic stuff. We’re going to be talking about this one all year. 5 Stars
As Tsuji is cutting an in-ring promo, thanking Takeshita and the fans, he is attacked from behind by Jake Lee, who leaves the new champion in a heap before leaving the ring. Well, damn, bro, you didn’t have to do him like that.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada – Tanahashi’s Retirement Match
Main event time. We have come to the end of one of puroresu’s greatest careers. Tanahashi’s body is broken down, and he’s nowhere near the in-ring performer that he once was, but I have to think this one is going to be full of all the emotion, bells, whistles, smoke, and mirrors needed to make the match as special as it can be.
One of the largest crowds to ever witness pro wrestling at the Tokyo Dome is loud for Tanahashi as he makes his entrance. They’re showing a ton of respect to the returning Okada, for sure, but they LOVE the “Ace.”
This is the fourth time a January 4th Tokyo Dome show has seen Tanahashi vs Okada in the main event. What a legendary feud.
Okada looks like he’s going to have a clean rope break, then hits Tanahashi with a boot to the midsection, drawing the biggest heel heat of the night.
Okada, who owns one of the best-looking dropkicks that the sport has ever seen, hits Tanahashi with a picture perfect one, knocking Tanahashi from the top turnbuckle and crashing to the floor, but not before hitting the ring apron on the way down.
Man, it’s painful to watch Tanahashi run on Irish Whips. After nearly 3,000 matches over a 26-year career, the man is 49 years old with 89-year-old knees. He hobbles and limps along with every step.
Tanahashi has hit Okada with two nasty looking Dragon Screw Legwhips. He seems determined to let Okada feel his own pain. Pretty soon, both men will be hobbling along.
More heel heat for Okada as he hits Tanahashi with a Tombstone on the ramp. Okada really is loving this heel persona. He seems to be having the time of his life.
We’ve hit the “Okada absolutely destroys Tanahashi and is looking to have the fans beg Tanahashi to stay down” portion of the match. Tombstone after Tombstone after Tombstone, and throw in a Rainmaker Lariat for good measure, but he keeps picking Tanahashi’s head up to break up his own pin attempts. Tanahashi has taken a beating so far.
Tanahashi with the tribute to Shinsuke Nakamura, complete with “YEAH-OH” pose and Bomaye (known as the Kinshasa in WWE) knee strike. Wonderful moment that the crowd loved.
Tanahashi’s knee pad has “Thank You To Everyone From Tanahashi” on it. I love it. My only concern is that it’s 3 something in the morning right now, and I have no idea why someone is cutting onions at this hour.
Okada hits another Rainmaker, and the crowd WILLS Tanahashi to kick out. He does so at 2.99999 and it pops the crowd huge.
Another Rainmaker, complete with the full Rainmaker pose for the first time in what seems like forever, is enough to put Tanahashi away. The crowd falls silent. Okada falls to his knees and bows to Tanahashi as they exchange words. He then gets on the mic to quickly thank Tanahashi before he heads to the back.
Tanahashi is on the mat, and he is openly weeping as he struggles to get back to his feet. As he gets to his feet, it’s time for the retirement ceremony. He is handed a bouquet of flowers as he continues to fight back tears. There’s a second bouquet of flowers, and more tears.
“Switchblade” Jay White is here! He hands another bouquet of flowers to Tanahashi, bows to him, and Tanahashi breaks down in tears yet again.
Will Ospreay is here! Ospreay is fighting back tears as he, too, hands a bouquet to Tanahashi and bows to him.
Kenny Omega is here! Kota Ibushi is with him! Both men appear to be fighting back tears as they make their way to the ring. Ibushi is struggling badly to make his way down the ramp, recently having surgery for a broken leg. He made his way down that long ramp with no crutches and no real assistance from anyone. To keep with the trend, both men hand bouquets to Tanahashi, bow to him, and cause him to cry again.
Katsuyori Shibata is here! The sound of his music causes Tanahashi to break down in tears again. Shibata gets in the ring and strips down. Both men have a faux “match” and hit each other with a couple strikes before hugging, and Shibata is crying, too.
Keiji Muto is here! To be fair, he was at ringside already, but the point remains. Another bouquet of flowers for Tanahashi, another bow of respect, and we move on.
Tatsumi Fujinami is here! Like Muto, he was also at ringside already. Both he and Muto would’ve taken forever to get down the ramp, so it makes sense to have them nearby. Yet another bouquet of flowers, yet another bow of respect, and we move on.
The lineup of stars and legends poses for pictures from the huge amount of Japanese media at ringside, and everyone leaves the ring, with Tanahashi being the only one left. Just when you think it’s over, Tetsuya Naito’s music hits. Naito takes forever to walk out, and Tanahashi hilariously motions to his wrist, motioning for things to move along. It has been seven months since Naito was seen in New Japan, but he finally makes his way out. Tanahashi again points to his wrist as he smirks at the camera. Naito is accompanied to the ring by Bushi, who hands Tanahashi another bouquet of flowers. Commentary makes a lot of jokes about just how long it is taking Naito to enter the ring, saying that they have to fit everything on the show quickly or the feed will be cut.
Naito cuts a brief promo, thanking Tanahashi for everything, before he leaves Tanahashi in the ring again. Tanahashi is then given a mic, and it appears the cavalcade of tributes is over. The retirement ceremony has been going on for just as long as the match itself, if not longer, at this point. He cuts a very brief promo, thanking everyone in attendance, and he is thrown an air guitar, which he rocks out on, much to the delight of the sold out crowd. The crowd calls for an encore, and Tanahashi gives it to them before throwing the air guitar into the crowd. To their credit, there is actually a scramble in the crowd for the air guitar, but Tanahashi calls for it back. After getting it, he rocks out yet again before destroying the air guitar. He gets on the mic again and asks the crowd to do a wave, which they do, and it goes around the Dome multiple times as he cheers it on.
We move on to a ten-bell salute to his career, and he fights back tears yet again as he stands in the middle of the ring, soaking it all in.
Tanahashi leaves the ring after waving to the fans as he stood in every corner of the ring, and I’m amazed this is still going. It’s not really a complaint, mind you. I just think we’ve reached the 30-minute mark of this ceremony, and it’s still going, as Tanahashi walks around the ringside area and shakes hands with fans. Actually, we’re probably close to 40 minutes by now.
I just realized that I forgot to give a grade to the match because I was so caught up in the post-match happenings. It was never going to be a technical classic, as Tanahashi’s body just isn’t capable of that anymore, but he and Okada did a masterful job of riding the waves of emotion and telling a story in the ring. Experts in their craft, doing expert things in their craft. 4.5 Stars
The ceremony finally comes to an end, and we go off the air with Tanahashi being wheeled around the floor area in the Ace Mobile, allowing him to wave to the fans as he breaks down in tears again.
Okay, I lied. We didn’t go off the air yet. After multiple trips around the Dome, Tanahashi gets on the mic again to tell the crowd how happy he is that he fell in love with professional wrestling. He thanks everyone again, and now we actually do go off the air.
Was it an amazing show overall? No. It had a Match Of The Year contender, two other great matches, and a newsworthy debut for Aaron Wolf, but the rest was good, albeit perhaps on “this is our biggest show of the year” level.
None of it matters, though, because the good will be all that is remembered from this show. Syuri vs Kamitani, Aaron Wolf, Takeshita vs Tsuji, Tanahashi vs Okada, and a hilariously long retirement ceremony that clocked in at over 50 minutes in length… that’s what we should all focus on.
If you get the opportunity to watch Wrestle Kingdom 20, I give it a recommendation for you to do so.
Go. Ace. Forever.
