The new year has arrived for New Japan Pro Wrestling, which means it is time for another Wrestle Kingdom. This event marks a big transitional period for NJPW, following the coronavirus pandemic affecting the promotions booking plans.
Wrestle Kingdom 16 will take place over three nights. The first two nights will be centered around the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Shingo Takagi, the current champion, will face Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Night One for the title. Okada won the G1 Climax for the third time to earn the right to fight for the title. Night One will also feature the return of Katsuyori Shibata, who has been out of action since 2017 because of a subdural hematoma. It is unknown who he will face until the event starts.
Night two will feature the finals to determine the Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy winner. It will also feature a STARDOM special attraction bout, as Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid face Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani. The main event will see the winnier of Takagi-Okada defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Title against Will Ospreay. Ospreay was the champion before vacating the title because of a neck injury.
Night three will feature matches pitting wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling against wrestlers from Pro Wrestling NOAH. Every match except one will be a multi-man match.
What time is Wrestle Kingdom 16?
- Date: Wrestle Kingdom Night One - Tuesday Jan. 4
- Time: 6pm AEDT pre-show | 7pm AEDT main card
- Location: Tokyo Dome in Tokyo
- Date: Wrestle Kingdom Night Two - Wednesday, Jan. 5
- Time: 6pm AEDT pre-show | 7pm AEDT main card
- Location: Tokyo Dome in Tokyo
- Date: Wrestle Kingdom Night Three - Saturday, Jan. 8
- Time: 6pm AEDT pre-show | 7pm AEDT main card
- Location: Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 will air live on Tuesday, Jan. 4 and Wednesday, Jan. 5. The pre-show is scheduled to start at 6pm AEDT on both days and the main card will begin at 7pm AEDT. The third show, featuring NOAH talent, will take place on Saturday, Jan. 8.
How to watch Wrestle Kingdom 16?
Network: NJPWWorld.com, FITE.tv
Price: $42AUD for FITE.tv
Fans in Australia looking to watch Wrestle Kindgom 16 will have to tune into NJPWWorld.com or FITE.tv. The cost to purchase the event on FITE.tv will be $42. You can sign up to NJPWWorld.com for 999 yen per month, which is about $12 per month.
Wrestle Kingdom 16 match card
Night One
- Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
- El Desperado (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
- Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship
- Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr.) (c) vs. CHAOS (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
- Katsuyori Shibata vs. TBA – Catch Wrestling Match
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and Bushi) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Rocky Romero vs. Bullet Club (KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, and El Phantasmo)
- Yoh vs. Sho
- New Japan Ranbo
Night Two
- Shingo Takagi or Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
- KENTA (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – No Disqualification match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
- Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
- SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
- House of Torture (EVIL, Yujrio Takahashi, and Sho) vs. CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, and Yoh)
- TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD for the Provisional King of Pro Wrestling 2022 Trophy
- Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid vs. Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani
- Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask) (c) vs. Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team (Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo) vs. The Mega Coaches (Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
- TBA vs. TBA
Night Three
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Sanada, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke, and Aleja)
- Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Mutoh and Kaito Kiyomiya
- House of Torture (Evil and Dick Togo) vs. Go Shiozaki and Masa Kitamiya
- Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, and Taka Michinoku) vs. Sugiura-gun (Takashi Sugiura and Kazushi Sakuraba) and Kenta
- Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Naomichi Marufuji and Yoshinari Ogawa
- Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi) and Six or Nine (Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi) vs. Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura, and Kinya Okada
- Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Douki) vs. Los Perros del Mal de Japon (Yo-Hey and Nosawa Rongai)
- Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori and Gedo) vs. Stinger (Hayata and Seiki Yoshioka)
- Sho vs. Atsushi Kotoge
- Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) and Yuji Nagata vs. Funky Express (King Tany, Muhammad Yone and Akitoshi Saito)
- Kosei Fujita vs. Yasutaka Yano
