Posted in: NJPW, Sports, TV | Tagged: new japan pro wrestling, Wrestle Kingdom, Wrestle Kingdom 19, wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom 19 Brings About More Change Than Usual

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 change

New Japan Pro Wrestling kicked off the first of two nights of wrestling in the Tokyo Dome overnight, as Wrestle Kingdom 19 held center stage as their annual January 4 show in the dome. Nine main card matches and one pre-show match were set for this event, but it also felt like one of the lesser-promoted shows. This happens on occasion; some years, the event just doesn't feel like it has a lot of heat behind it. This is one of those years where it felt like the build-up was lukewarm, and the real awesome things that happened for NJPW took place at the G1 Climax and King of Pro-Wrestling in October. In any case, this is the culmination of everything the company did in 2024 and the start of their 2025 plans.

Now, before we continue, we're just going to say this: THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD. So, if you don't want to know the results and want to watch the show on your own time, this lovely Wrestle Kingdom 19 poster 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 expect from a battle royale where you can be eliminated in multiple ways. This is the match where they put all of the old-timers, the ones just recovering from injury, those who have been away on excursions, or people who had nothing happening on the main card. Which is both fun and sad because you get a lot of talent who should be doing something, like Kenta, Sanada (who was literally the IWGP Champ last year), Taichi, Tomohiro Ishii, and more. The big additions to this were Josh Barnett, who basically showed up as the big beefy Gaijin, and Alex Zayne, who was the last person to come down the aisle. The match saw Ishii, Great-O-Khan, Hirooki Goto, and Zayne at the end (sorry, Toru Yano, not this year). After the usual array of close calls, Goto and O-Khan were the remaining two, who put on an impressive last three minutes of action before Goto hit him with a hard clothesline while O-Khan was on the apron for the win. He will get a shot at the IWGP Championship at a later time. The first time he'll have a shot at the belt in nine years, 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 car crash match of the night. For the first time in Wrestle Kingdom history, and a rarity in Tokyo Dome shows across all promotions, a Ladder Match to decide the Junior tag titles. Normally, this is the match NJPW uses to pump up the crowd, and it typically sees the winners of the Junior Tag League take on the champs. But a lot of wackiness ensued over the past two months, leading to the circumstances of having four teams fighting for the belts suspended over the ring. The benefit of this being an NJPW match is that, while it had its fair share of chaos and high spots, at least some of it made sense and wasn't just a bunch of senseless moves that looked like they hurt the person making the move more than the person taking it.

This was almost non-stop, aside from a few lulls to show off the carnage, but there were some impressive spots. For example, when Moloney sent Knight down to the floor from the top of the ladder after being crushed by one of the sides. But this was no TLC or spot fest; it was just something new to get the crowd hyped. In the end, Fujita stopped TJP from getting to the top, snagged the titles, and brought them home to TMDK. As it should be since THEY were the ones 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 matches ever added to the Wrestle Kingdom lineup, as AZM takes on one of the most well-known members of members of Stardom, Mayu Iwatani. We've actually watched some Stardom matches by both of them, and they are two of the more impressive wrestlers on the roster. But it's clear they were told they had to cram about 20 minutes of fighting into 10. These two didn't hold anything back as they drew blood, threw in a lot of fast-paced sequences, and pulled off spots some men would dread. Including AZM coming down from a high German Suplex, which made my teeth hurt watching it. Ultimately, Iwatani hit enough Germans to score the pinfall win.

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 belt looks like a waffle iron, it's not defending on every single TV show or PPV event (which, by the way, is the ENTIRE reason for having a TV Title, as it promises there will always be a title defense on every TV show), and having the belt held by Ren Narita means almost every single defense is just DQ or cheater's win away from ending since House of Torture can't not be involved. However, this match on paper looked really good as Cobb is always great, Oiwa is a fun powerhouse to watch, and El Phantasmo recently returned after getting a clean bill of health and saying he was now cancer-free. Plus, TV Title matches in NJPW are always 15-minute time-limit matches, so this was a chance to get some great action from all four in a short time.

The first half of the match was giving everyone but the champion a moment to shine, especially Cobb as the resident big man in the United Empire, as he performed a Topé con Hilo to the other three outside and gave a powerbomb-suplex combo to Oiwa and Phantasmo. Narita, as usual, went for his traditional push-up board, but Jado took it away from him before he could use it. The last few minutes saw everyone get in their own array of hits and combos, including Oiwa getting an impressive Doctor Bomb off on Cobb. Narita tried again with the board, but Cobb finally broke it in half over his knee. It looked to be over with a Tour of the Islands from Cobb, but El Phantasmo jumped in with a flurry of high-flying moves, hitting the Thunderkiss '86 on Narita, and walked out with the title. There's your feel-good story of the night.

Lumberjack Match – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil

This is the match that didn't need to happen 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 farewell tour (as he announced he'd retire at Wrestle Kingdom 20) versus Evil, a wrestler so ineffective when it comes to actually being a threat, there are multiple Japanese memes on social media about what a joke he's become. I've been watching NJPW, and I can't even remember how we got this match to begin with. All I remember is Evil made the stipulation that if Tanahashi lost, he'd have to retire tonight. Let's be honest here: that alone gave away the finish, making it the most predictable outcome of the night. Because they weren't going to retire Tanahashi with a year's worth of making money on his retirement. The one thing I liked about this match was Evil's entrance, as they have made him their Undertaker. But the only supernatural power he has is to have Dick Togo go turn the lights off as a distraction.

I don't even need to recap this in full because you already know what happened. They wrestled, and some of the lumberjacks were from House of Torture and beat up Tanahashi. Brawls happened outside the ring, a lot of overbooked gimmicks, and all hope looked lost. Then, the Ace of New Japan made a comeback and beat Evil with a quick pin out of nowhere. The one shocker of this entire thing was seeing Katsuyori Shibata return 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 night!)

With that said, it's over. Now, New Japan and WWE have one year to give us a REAL dream match: 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-title match with no clear winner, as they could easily slap both belts on either man. Plus, Takago and Takeshita both have that "I could beat the piss out of all of you" vibe going for them. Takeshita came out with Don Callis and got what felt like a megastar entrance and many cheers, which is impressive for an AEW/DDT star walking into an NJPW ring. (Sadly, no Callis on commentary, which was a missed opportunity.) This was a straight-up Hoss Match from start to finish, as they showed how hard they were willing to hit each other and gave a lot of offense that looked like it hurt as much giving it as it did to receive it.

Shingo had a ton of momentum from the fans, but throughout the night, Takeshita was winning them over. Especially when he pulled a Frankensteiner off the top rope. There was no point in which one man had an advantage over the other, as they traded blows back and forth for the majority of this match. The ending honestly felt like it came out of nowhere as Takeshita nailed Shingo with a knee to the face, followed by some quick hits that laid him out for the 1-2-3. Takeshita now holds both belts, with no interference from Callis, and is looking at Tomohiro Ishii to defend the NEVER title at Wrestle Dynasty tomorrow night.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match – Douki (c) vs. El Desperado

Another match I was looking forward to a lot, as the Junior Title has the chance to steal every single one of these shows. It is especially satisfying seeing these two men compete for the title on this show. El Desperado has been on fire for the past few years, and Douki has come into his own in the past year. But it wasn't always the case, as these two were usually the ones you'd see in massive stage team matches taking the pinfall for bigger stars to get their storylines across. Douki got the special treatment entrance with some help from Shido Nakamura, the highly acclaimed film and kabuki actor in Japan, which popped the crowd 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 barricade. The tale of this match, in many ways, was Desperado showing he was the better of the two, countering some of Douki's moves and locking him in an early Cloverleaf. He would walk away from several attacks until Douki hit him with a Douki-Bomb to the outside. However, that's sadly where it ended. When Douki hit the floor, there was a noticeable audible crack, and it was clear something had happened to Douki's arm. The referee called off the match and awarded Desperado the title, which you could tell no one, especially him, was happy to see. El Desperado cut a promo at the end as the crew looked after Douki, pointing out that this is what happens when you put your body on the line as a wrestler. He ended by saying they would do this again.

So yes, we got a title change, but not the way anyone wanted it.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match – David Finlay (c) vs. Yota Tsuji

In what felt like the second most predictable match of the night, we got Finley from Bullet Club: War Dogs defending the Global title against Tsuji of Los Ingobernables de Japon. This championship has gone through so many changes that it really doesn't feel like it means anything. It really should still be the original NJPW Intercontinental title before the company merged it into the current Heavyweight title, but then they made the U.S. title, which became the U.K. title, which then became this thing. Finley has done a pretty good job making it try to mean something as a defending champion and the leader of his faction, with Nic Nemeth having it for a cup of coffee. But there's only so much you can do with a belt few people have an interest in. Plus, it's called the "Global" Championship, which is dumb as hell because you already have a World title, so the belt really doesn't have an identity of its own, which makes it feel like a step below the main title. But all that aside, that's not why we're here.

Tsuji made his way to the ring dressed in a red hat to match LIJ's logo, while Finley came out to a Mad Max entrance, complete with a plastic gun that didn't even fire anything. The first half of this match was Finley showing how dominant he can be and how ruthless he is willing to be. This included a powerbomb through a table to the outside midway through the match, 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 continue to hit hard strikes and multiple variations of a powerbomb but couldn't put Tsuji away. Tsuji threw in a few moments of offense, but would continue to be put down. He got more offense going, including a modified Curb Stomp from the second rope, but got nailed with a Gun Stun and neckbreaker on the knee from Finley for a close two-count. Tsuji fought 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 got the three-count for the win.

The reason this match was so predictable at the start was that Tsuji had been branded as one of the new incarnations of the Three Musketeers of NJPW. They do this every few years as they compare a trio of wrestlers on the rise to the original three, Keiji Muto, Masahiro Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto. In the mid-2000s, they dubbed Tanahashi, Shibata, and Shinsuke Nakamura as the New version, and all three rebuked the comparison. Two years ago, they did it again with Tsuji, Narita, and Shota Umino, and that got about the same response from all three men. But because of that, they've been trying to make all of them a bigger deal to carry the company into a new era. Giving Tsuji this belt was the next step for him as they'll probably crown him as World champion in the next few years. Honestly, the company needs to change this belt and put more meaning behind it and its matches, or else it's just a prop that won't help Tsuji at all. As for Finley, if he isn't in the World title 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 matches. We got this match because the two won the World Tag League, and normally, those winners challenge for the Tag Titles at Wrestle Kingdom. But co-champion Henare had to vacate the belts with Great-O-Khan after being injured, so there wasn't going to be a Tag Title match anyway. This match almost didn't happen again here as Naito had surgery on his left eye and admitted he'd been seeing two (sometimes three) wrestlers in matches because of his vision and probably needs another surgery. That's dangerous as hell! Because how are you supposed to work with people when you don't know which one is real?! So, if he doesn't get that fixed after this event, he's playing with danger.

Hiromu came out dressed as a giant pop figure while several beach balls were passed through the crowd to play with, and the Ticking Time Bomb himself came out to a party. But that paled in comparison to the ovation Naito got as the defiant leader came out in a black and silver suit with a cobra-like mask. The first part of this match was pretty slow and was just the two jocking for position, which didn't feel like the kind of match they would have until it ended with Hiromu hitting a diving powerbomb to the outside on Naito. The two amped it up a little, but they weren't really doing a ton of high-profile offense, and the crowd felt quiet except for occasional screams. After a Destino that led to nothing, the two traded off until Hiromu got a missile dropkick, a Destino of his own, a Time Bomb, and a two-count.

Naito threw on a little disrespect and then nailed a spinebuster, followed by a proper Destino for a two-count. he almost went up top, but Hiromu stopped him and screamed at him. Naito looked unaffected by this and then nailed him within a third Destino for the win. Naito stood over Hiromu waiting for the fist touch he didn't give him at the start of the match. But Hiromu bowed to him first before doing the fist bump. The two of them promoted this match as "first time, last time" with the implication it won't happen again. Honestly… this match felt like a bigger deal than it actually was and ended with a dud finish. The crowd wasn't even excited for the result. I kind of saw the ending coming as Naito walked out with a baseball cap, which he always wears at the end of matches when he wins. We'll see if this leads to a change in LIJ, but we're guessing not much will come of it.

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match – Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Shota Umino

So… the main event. ZSJ won the G1 Climax 2024, the first Gaijen to do so since Kenny Omega won it in 2016. Instead of using his G1 win for a title match at Wrestle Kingdom 19, he immediately challenged Naito for the title at their King 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 right to challenge you later for any prize you may have. Umino got a win over ZSJ at the G1, so he decided to come out and challenge him for the belt, 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 fans also hate the comparison, as it's a sign they plan on making Umino a World champ at some point. Which is a bummer because it's clear he needs some seasoning, and fans don't view him as a legit contender yet.

Umino drove in on what looked like the safest motorcycle they could produce in Japan, which is very anti-Deathriders (since Jon Moxley trained him for a while). But hey, he got to drive a bike around the Tokyo Dome, so good for him. ZSJ was about to come out to his TMDK theme, but then it changed to a new "Young Punks" theme, with the rest of the faction behind him, as he was adorned in a pink/orange color scheme that looked like he just stepped out of a Dunkin' Donuts-themed night club. Gotta love Japanese pro wrestling!

The first part of the match was a tit-for-tat as they would trade offense to show they could put the other down and withstand attacks from the other. Umino had more of a grounded offense, while ZSJ showed more of his quick hit and technical combo practices. ZSJ switched things up to his submission game, working joints and body parts, but Umino managed to take things to the outside and used the guard rails to his advantage, including a spiked DDT that got him booed. He tried to sway the crowd's opinion by asking ZSJ to hit him harder, but the crowd seemed happier to watch him get hit. It's very clear at this point in time, not just the match but with NJPW's most loyal fanbase in the building, they had more respect for ZSJ as a wrestler and him as their champion. Especially when he started twisting Umino's body in different holds.

The two traded European Uppercuts, with Umino bleeding just a little from the mouth. Another sequence of traded offenses included a PK from ZSJ and a Tornado DDT from Umino, finishing with a Zack Driver for a close two-count. Umino went for a Deathrider DDT, but ZSJ caught his leg on the swing forward and twisted it between his legs. more manipulation of the joins led to an inverted Figure Four. Umino kinda won the crowd over a little crawling to the ropes for the break, which slowly built to another Tornado DDT from the corner as he worked on ZSJ's neck. He tried a Deathrider from the top rope, but it looked more like a Double-Hook Suplex. He started stomping on the neck to boos, and shoved his own father (the referee) Red Shoes Umino to the mat. More trading of blows led to a slapfest that got the crowd back into things. Umino was going to charge, but his legs gave 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 win. ZSJ holds one of the few Gaijen Tokyo Dome main event wins in pro wrestling history, and he did it as the IWGP champ.

Overall, I thought this was a solid card, but it was also lacking in a few areas. The stuff that didn't really go over well was balanced out by matches people 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 injury than people fighting through the pain injured. Almost every single belt changed hands, except the World Heavyweight and Women's Championships. We'll see what the NJPW/AEW shared Wrestle Dynasty show has to offer tomorrow night and if it can top tonight's showcase.

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