Inside Wrestle Kingdom 14 looks at the featured matches from both days of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) upcoming Wrestle Kingdom events on January 4th and January 5th. This article highlights the matches that will go under further investigation during the series. Matches with yet to be determined participants will feature in another series.
On December 9th, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) held a press conference where NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi announced the full cards for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 14. Soon after, NJPW announced their ticket sales for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 14 are ahead of the pace for the one night Wrestle Kingdom 13. Per the NJPW website.
Even with the event taking place over two days for the first time ever, Wrestle Kingdom 14 tickets are selling at record pace! Don’t be disappointed by a sellout; get your tickets now for both nights and be a part of the Pinnacle of Strength and Birthplace of Legend!
While it’s unsure how many seats the Tokyo Dome sits for wrestling, as it depends a great deal on the venue setup. However, it’s realistic to believe NJPW could sell 45,000 tickets on both Wrestle Kingdom nights. When also considering the hot-selling New Years Dash show from Ota City Gymnasium, NJPW could sell 93,000 tickets before the first seven days of 2020 are complete. For comparison, only several other promotions in the world sell 90,000 tickets over an entire calendar year. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Lucha Libre AAA (AAA), and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) are the only other promotions likely to do so next year.
Night One Headlines
Jyushin Thunder Liger’s first retirement match sees him team with 6x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Tiger Mask, former J-Crown (1996) winner The Great Sasuke; former G1 Climax (1993), NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and 6x IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami against Best of the Super Juniors (2012) and 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Ryusuke Taguchi; Best of the Super Juniors (2000) and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa, former WCW Cruiserweight Champion and J-Crown Champion Shinjiro Ootani, and former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Naoki Sano. El Samurai will be the second for Liger’s team, while Kuniaki Kobayashi will second the Taguchi team.
While the first match on the card, the significance of being the second to last match of Jyushin Thunder Liger’s career holds significant weight. The match is full of allies and rivals from Liger’s historic career and will be a spectacle for fans.
The fourth match on night one is Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) defending their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in their v8 defense against 2019 World Tag League Tournament winners FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay).
The fifth match is a highly anticipated IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match that will see champion Lance Archer make his v2 defense against Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match.
In his first singles match after returning from a scary neck injury, Hiromu Takahashi makes the v4 challenge to Will Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in what should be a match that has all of the Tokyo Dome on its feet.
In the first match in the Double Gold Dash tournament, Jay White makes his v2 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against the man he defeated for the title, Tetsuya Naito. The winner of this match moves on to face the winner of the co-headlining main event.
Kazuchika Okada makes his v5 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2019 G1 Climax, Kota Ibushi in the second match in the Double Gold Dash tournament. The recent fire shown by Ibushi gives the match a new life, as he presents himself as a legitimate threat for Okada, who has proven to be the best big match wrestler on the planet.
Night Two Headlines
Naoki Sano and Jyushin Thunder Liger against Ryu Lee and Hiromu Takahashi will lead off night two of Wrestle Kingdom in what will be Liger’s final match as a professional wrestler. He teams with the man who was his first major rival against two men who could lead the NJPW junior heavyweight division for years to come.
The second match of the night sees Roppongi 3k make the v2 challenge against IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori of the Bullet Club. Roppongi 3k earned their right to challenge for the tag team championship at Wrestle Kingdom after winning their third straight Super Junior Tag League tournament victory.
The third match sees RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr defend his championship against Sanada. The two are expected to have a brilliant chain wrestling display.
KENTA makes his v3 defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hirooki Goto, in what has turned into a blood fued. While not announced, Katsuyori Shibata is likely to be in the corner of Hirooki Goto as battles the Bullet Club member in a fight about honor and respect.
Hiroshi Tanahashi against AEW World Champion Chris Jericho is a match against two legitimate wrestling legends. Tanahashi is an 8x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and was the pillar of NJPW as they climbed out of their ‘dark age’ into an international promotion. Chris Jericho is a 7x World Champion in total and is the first match the two have ever been in together.
Inside Wrestle Kingdom 14 Series:
1. Both Nights On Better Pace Than Last Year, A Look At The Featured Matches
2. Jyushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match I
3. G.O.D. Face FinJuice For The IWGP Heayweight Tag Team Championship
4. Lance Archer and Jon Moxley IWGP US Heavyweight Texas Death Match
5. Will Ospreay Defends His IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Against Hiromu Takahashi
6. Double Gold Dash, Jay White And Tetsuya Naito For The IWGP Intercontinental Championship
7. The Tanahashi and Jericho Match Has An Added Stipulation
8. Double Gold Dash, Kazuchika Okada And Kota Ibushi For The IWGP Heavyweight Championship
9. Jyushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match II
10. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Contest
11. Zack Sabre Jr And Sanada For The RevPro British Heavyweight Championship
12. KENTA And Hirooki Goto Battle Over The Never Openweight Championship
