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NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 Review: The Retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi

New Japan Pro Wrestling held Wrestle Kingdom 20 overnight, as we saw the final hurrah for the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi and more

In the middle of the night for those of us in Europe and North America, New Japan Pro Wrestling held their annual Tokyo Dome show on January 4, Wrestle Kingdom 20. The show was headlined by the retire match of Hiroshi Tanahashi, who was doing his own tour like John Cena, except he showed up to more matches and didn't turn heel for shock value. His final match was against one of his greatest rivals, Kazuchika Okada, which was such a major draw that it caused TV Asahi to air the show on public television for the first time since 2004. We were not interested in staying up until the morning to watch it, so we slept in and watched the replay this morning for this shorter recap.

WARNING: There are spoilers ahead, so if you want to watch the show first, this is your only warning!

Katsuya Murashima and Masatora Yasuda vs. Shoma Kato and Tatsuya Matsumoto

The first of two matches that people paid for in Japan on the pre-show, this was your Young Lions showcase of the night. In case you're not familiar, these are wrestlers training in the New Japan Dojo to make it to the main roster, who are limited by what kind of moves they are allowed to do in the ring since they're still inexperienced. This was about what you would expect from four men coming up through the ranks, with Yasuda and Murashima coming out on top after the predictable Boston Crab finish.

NJPW World Television Championship: El Phantasmo vs. Chris Brookes

The story for this is that El Phantasmo, having returned from a cancer diagnosis and becoming the TV champ, was holding open challenges for any and all comers for a title with 20-minute time limits. (The belt still llooks like a waffle iron, it deserves a better design.) The challenge for the Tokyo Dome was answered by Brookes from rival promotion DDT. The early part of match started with the usual amount of schenanigans you would expect from DDT's heel, including an extra-long strap snapback from the Tokyo Dome ramp. Once they got all that out of their system the last four monutes of the match were a pretty good exhibition of how good these two really are, ending in El Phantasmo retaining the belt.

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship – Rambo Session

The first match of the main card was a combination of elements we hadn't seen together before. Usually, the Rambo is on the pre-show as part of a battle royale for the KOPW title, which they retired last year. So to keep the gimmick going, they married the concept to the Six-Man belts as a way to get as many people on the show as possible while still keeping this card under five hours for a national TV broadcast. The big item of note is that the two men who main-evented Wrestle Kingdom 19, Shota Umino and Zack Sabre Jr., are now in the opening chaos match, which to us shows us how unsure the people planning the company have been in the past two years, as neither man is in the main event picture.

Two teams started, and then every minute, a new team of three came out to join them. This was essentially too chaotic to convey in a succinct manner, so here's how it all unfolded. The team of Clark Connors, Oskar, and Yuto-Ice was eliminated first, followed by the team of Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, and Ryusuke Taguchi. Third and fourth out were the teams of Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi, and Satoshi Kojima; and Kaisei Takechi, Shota Umino, and Yuya Uemura; after both were eliminated at the same time. We saw Toru Yano, Master Wato, and Yoh eliminated next by House of Torture, who were then soon eliminated themselves, taking out Ren Narita, Sanada, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, which assured new champions to be crowned. After a few team-built exchanges, ZSJ got the pin on Oleg, meaning Boltin Oleg, Hirooki Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi were eliminated, as TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson) took the belts.

IWGP Women's Championship: Syuri vs. Saya Kamitani

The build for this wasn't big, but it was a simple story to tell. Saya Kamitani has risen through the ranks at both Stardom and NJPW Strong to become a double champion, and the first woman ever to win the MVP Award in Tokyo Sports. (A title which is bestowed upon an individual through voting from journalists, photographers, and peers in the Japanese wrestling community. So for her to win as the first woman to ever do so says a LOT about her talent.)  She came in to face Syuri, the IWGP Women's Champion, the first two-time holder of the current belt's lineage, who was only medically cleared to be on the card two days prior, looking to take the title from her by putting the Strong title on the line as well.

Usually, the women's matches at Wrestle Kingdom get shafted on time, but not this year, as they went over ten minutes in what was one of the hardest-hitting matches of the night. These two proved why they were at the top of their game across multiple promotions, with everything being pretty even throughout the match. From our POV, Saya put on a better clinic and showed off what she could do and why she got MVP. Whenever the day comes that she goes ot North America, you'll know why from this match. But in the end, it was Syuri who scored the pinfall to become a double champion.

Ten-Man Tag Match

For some reason we cannot explain, the Tag Team Championships were not defended on this show following the World Tag League tournament. You'd think with five hours, there'd be a spot! Instead, they were pushed off to the New Year's Dash show tomorrow night. Again, we assume this match was done to get as many people on the show as possible, as we had a ten-man tag match featuring a mishmash of people. On one side we got a mix of David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney from the Bullet Club War Dogs, with Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi, both formerly of Los Ingobernables de Japón. They faced what we would eventually find out was a reformed United Empire, as Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Henare were joined by Andrade El Ídolo and the unmasked partner, Jake Lee (who apparently left Bullet Club after only joining them the previous year).

This was another match that was full of chaotic carnage as people shifted in and out all the time, with tags meaning little to nothing until moments when it actually mattered to keep track. Considering Lee just left Bullet Club, it was pretty elementary that he was going to have a role in the ending. After a running foot on the outside to the face of Hiromu, followed by a second in the ring in the corner (shades of Sami Zayn), Lee picked up the win for his team, followed by a rejuvenated United Empire celebrating in the ring (with Jakob Austin Young and the returning Francesco Akira).

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – #1 Contender's Match

Not trying to hammer this home, but again, another match designed to get as many people on the card as possible. The Jr. Heavyweight title left off this card as well, giving the current champ Douki the night off, as he said he didn't want to "overshadow" the retirement match. (Also leaving the Jr. Tag Titles off the show as Douki holds that title as well with Sho.) Speaking of Sho, he was in this four-way match, facing El Desperado, Kosei Fujita, and Taiji Ishimori. Considering the title holders in this match are part of the House of Torture, the early part involved the other three punishing Sho, which included putting him in a submission hold while holding his arms and mouth so he couldn't give up.

The match went on for a hot minute as a normal four-way, until Douki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru got involved, followed by Fujita's fellow TMDK member Robbie Eagles, Ishimori's War Dogs partner Robbie X, and Kuukai (a tag partner of El Desperado) coming in to help even the score against the faction. This is where the match really became a display of what the Junior division was like these days, with several aerial displays. Sho looked like he was going to make off with the wiu after using a metal plate to the head of Fujita, but El Desperado broke it up with a stiff hit to the jaw, followed by a Tiger Driver and the Pinche Loco for the win to make him the #1 contender.

NEVER Openweight Championship – Evil vs. Aaron Wolf

While Tanahashi's retirement match was the highlight, this match was the other big reason it got free TV time on TV Asahi. Aaron Wolf, a multiple-time medalist in Judo, including winning the gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, is one of Japan's most prominent sports heroes. He decided he wanted to give professional wrestling a try, and has worked hard in training to debut at Wrestle Kingdom 20. His first match is against what we can only describe as one of the most annoying heels the company has going today: Evil. The feud sparked a few months ago when Wolf ran in and cleared the ring when the House of Torture was doing their usual schtick, leading to this match for the NEVER Openweight title he currently holds.

Evil said if Wolf lost the match, he'd have to shave his head and never wear a judo gi ever again. Wolf showed up with a buzzed head, dropping the judo gear and wearing the Young Lion trunks right out the gate, showing he has nothing left to lose. Evil showed up with Kenji03 playing him into the arena with his own Undertaker-like entrance. The match came with its usual array of heel interference we've come to expect from every single match Evil has ever had for the past four years, to the point where it isn't just predictable, it's becoming boring, because we know the real finish of the match won't come until Dick Togo tries to choke someone out.

Wolf exacted some vengeance on the group as a whole, and after some more shenanigans and trade-offs in action, Wolf made his comeback. But not for long as they pulled the referee for more bag guy tactics, including having Bad Luck Fale jump off the second rope to put Wolf through a table. Even with all that, Wolf found his fighting spirit and countered the finishing blow with a triangle leg submission for the win and the title. As much as we give crap to Evil for his gimmick and everything that comes with it, they chose the perfect opponent for him to get a win over. There was no way people were going to root for Evil, even if Wolf wasn't good. But he shone in his debut and took a title to boot. No better way to get the rocket ship strapped to your NJPW career, but will he soar or fall into the ocean remains to be seen.

IWGP Global/World Heavyweight Championship – Yota Tsuji vs. Konosuke Takeshita

In any other show, this would be the main event. But again, with the retirement match happening, the company's biggest championship takes a back seat. Takeshita won the G1 2025 tournament and followed what seems to be the new pattern of not waiting until Wrestle Kingdom for a title shot but taking it at the very next event, where he took the title from Zack Sabre Jr. in October. Since then, he's rarely been in Japan with the belt, mostly starring on AEW television. Meanwhile, Tsuji has spent most of 2025 as the Global Champion (which has basically become their new Intercontinental title, but with a dumber name), gaining more popularity as one of the rising stars people are actually excited to see. Tsuji says ever since they changed the IWGP title in 2021, it has been cursed, and he looks to lift it by returning it and bringing more of NJPW back to its roots.

Both men made their entrances, and surprisingly, no Don Callis in Takeshita's corner, but instead accompanied by Rocky Romero. The match started slowly with some crowd work, as it was a full Tokyo Dome in front of over 46k fans in attendance. The match eventually spilled outside, with Takeshita using the guard rails and more to his advantage, fully defining himself as the heel to beat while the crowd rallied around Tsuji. This was a match of waves, as they went into multiple changes between slow submissions and quick action sequences, including Takeshitsa taking a cue from Kenny Omega and executing a Terminator Dive to the outside. The two even made some tributes to classic matches and fights in the Dome's past before getting to the end, which saw Tsuji hitting a headbutt to Takeshita, followed by a Blaster Tackle and a Boston Crab for the win and both titles.

These two were given all the time they needed to tell this story right, as Tsuji fought back again and again from near defeat, while also getting in some high-risk moves into the mix. I wasn't sure how these two would work together in the ring, but it's clear they complement each other well, and if they did a rematch down the road, I wouldn't be mad. Tsuji didn't get to celebrate long as Jake Lee, who appeared in the ten-man tag match earlier that night, blindsided him nd made his intentions known as the next challenger.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

Finally, we reached the end of the road. Somewhere in the history books, people will judge the retirement tour of Tanahashi against Cena's with time and retrospective eyes. But for the time being, in the here and now, Tanahashi did more in our opinion to end his career and give everyone in Japan a chance to see him perform on the way out the door, ending it with a high-profile match worthy of his final chapter. Facing off against Okada, who arguably has given him the best matches of his entire career. These two are literally the Rock and Austin of their era. Okada made his entrance first, accompanied by his old manager Gedo, giving us a pretty good throwback vibe even though he was decked out in his AEW gear and music. Followed by Tanahashi, who got what was essentially an anniversary entrance of his career.

As much as they wanted to boo Okada, it was clear that the crowd missed him and was cheering him on for his return. Maybe not as loud as Tanahashi, but hey, we know why. The last time these two men locked up in the Tokyo Dome was ten years ago, and much of the match's first half was these two slowly playing to the crowd and milking every moment of their time in the ring. Okada quickly made sure to get the boos and turned back into the jerk he's become as a heel in AEW, but Tanahashi countered his crap with some classic hits, including a High-Five Flow to the outside. In fact, it was about ten minutes into the match that it felt like we were getting a greatest hits pack of their previous championship fights. Except for the Rainmaker pose, where Okada flipped off the crowd, which got nothing but disdain from the crowd.

Okada took Tanahashi to the ramp for a tombstone piledriver, but he willed his way back to the ring to beat the 20 count. Okada took control to put him down, but Tanahashi made his comeback fighting off multiple Rainmaker closelines. Tanahashi hit one of his own before getting another for a close pinfall, which led Okada to put on a Boston Crab to try and humiliate him with a Young Lion submission. After getting to the ropes, Okada played with him a bit before Tanahashi made another comeback. It was here Tanahashi channeled his other rivals, first with a Sleeper/PK combo from Katsuyori Shibata, then a hand motion and corner pose with the Kinshasa from Shinsuke Nakamura. He tried for the High-Five Flow to a close pin, which led to a series of counters and close calls for both men.

Both rose up to trade strikes in the middle of the ring, but Okada closed it out with a perfect dropkick. Okada attempted the tombstone again, but after a tradeoff of reversals, Okada hit a Destino, channeling Tetsuya Naito. Okada came back with another Rainmaker, a diving elbow from the top, and one last Rainmaker to end the match for the win, with Tanahashi going out on his back, looking at the lights. Okada posed, gave some parting words for Tanahashi, a thank you and a bow, and left him in the ring for his own curtain call.

And damn, this was a call, as Tanahashi received his flowers, literally. A parade of old faces came out to bid him farewell, along with many of the current roster at ringside. With each one, you could see emotion painted across his face, which he did his best to hide. After the company management shook hands, the first one out was Jay White, then came Will Ospreay, followed by Kenny Omega to his old "The Cleaner" music with a still healing Kota Ibushi (walking on a broken femur, holy crap dude), giving us a Golden Lovers reunion for a moment to say goodbye. Shibata came out next, refusing to do a traditional goodbye, he took off his shirt so the two could lock up one last time with a couple of slaps and a final hug. Keiji Muto entered next, who was already at ringside to watch the match and pay respects, followed by Tatsumi Fujinami, who had been sitting right next to him.

After a group photo, they faked Tanahashi out by bringing out Naito, who milked the entrance for as much as he could (bragging he was now a Tag Team champion in NOAH on the way down). A few words of tribute to Tanahashi, and he gave him the fist in the air, signifying they were now both tranquilo. Finally, Tanahashi was given the mic to bid farewell to the fans with a passionate speech. I won't bastardize it in a recap; this is one you should look up yourself. But he did leave, giving the fans one last air guitar concert before a giant wave in the Tokyo Dome, a ten bell salute, a walk around the ring to adoring fans, then back up the ramp, a drive around the arena in an "Ace Mobile," a final goodbye, and his time came to an end. A farewell that lasted nearly an hour, which the crowd ate up until he faded into the fog.

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