NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM TONIGHT AT 3AM EST
- 01/04/2016 (12:04:28 am)
- Bob Mulrenin
…
Over 40,000 fans are expected to
attend the New Japan Pro Wrestling extravaganza, Wrestle Kingdom 10 on January
4th. The show will air live on NJPWWorld.com and the broadcast begins at 3am
Eastern. Not only is this the biggest NJPW event on their calendar but it is
also a huge source of pride and enthusiasm for Ring of Honor and their stars
who will compete
at Wrestle Kingdom 10, most of whom will make their Tokyo Dome
debuts.
Here is a preview of the card.
For more information on Wrestle Kingdom 10, visit NJPWWorld.com.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
- Kazuchika
Okada (Champion) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
This will be Tanahashi’s 8th
Tokyo Dome main event with seven reigns and more days as IWGP Heavyweight
Champion than any other man in history. He is the 2015 G1 Climax Tournament
winner and in his NJPW career, Hiroshi Tanahashi has a list of accolades miles
long but he will never stop pushing to be the best. The “Ace” of New Japan looks
to win again on the
biggest stage of them all.
The 3-time IWGP Heavyweight
Champion, Okada was brought to tears after being unable to beat Tanahashi once
again in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 9 last year. This year, “The
Rainmaker” comes in as champion but has the mindset of a challenger with
something to prove. Can Okada finally defeat Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome? Their
series of matches is tied 3-3
with 1 draw.
IWGP Intercontinental
Championship - Shinsuke
Nakamura (Champion) vs AJ Styles
A
first-time singles match between two of the biggest stars in the world, meeting
for a championship that AJ has never held but Nakamura has virtually owned.
Styles comes off a defeat to Jay Lethal at Final Battle as Lethal retained the
ROH World Championship but what kind of condition is Styles in following that
brutal encounter?
“The King of Strong Style” will
dazzle the over 40,000 in attendance with what is sure to be a spectacular
entrance but once the bell rings, the 5-time Intercontinental Champion will look
to crush AJ’s spirit and body with the “Boma Ye”. Ring of Honor fans anxiously
await the return of Nakamura in 2016 but can he beat “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles
at Wrestle Kingdom 10?
NEVER Openweight Championship
- Tomohiro
Ishii (Champion) vs Katsuyori Shibata
“The Stone Pitbull” vs “The
Wrestler” and this match features two of the most hard-hitting athletes in NJPW.
Ishii finally defeated Togi Makabe for the NEVER Openweight title in October at
“King of Pro Wrestling” while Shibata has yet to hold a singles title in New
Japan. The challenger, however, holds a couple of recent victories over the
champion in tag team action but what will happen with the title on the
line?
Ring of Honor fans learned this
week that Tomohiro
Ishii will make his ROH debut during the 14th Anniversary weekend in Las
Vegas. Look for more announcements of NJPW stars coming to Las
Vegas soon!
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team
Championship - "Machine Gun”
Karl Anderson and “Doc” Gallows (Champion) vs Togi Makabe and Tomoaki
Honma
“Guns
and Gallows” return to Ring of Honor in Asheville and Atlanta and
they look to bring their titles with them on January 22nd and 23rd but they will
have their hands full with the 2015 World Tag League
Champions.
Makabe and Honma have been
friends for years and share a penchant for a throwback style that long-time NJPW
fans love. While Makabe is a multi-time champion, Honma has never held a title
in New Japan and has been an underdog favorite. Now can they win the titles in
this once-in-a-career setting?
On
January 4, 2015, Karl Anderson will make his 8th Tokyo Dome appearance, settling
the record for most by an American. He was previously tied with former partner,
Giant Bernard. Anderson and Gallows will also look to represent Bullet Club as
champions well into the New Year.
ROH World
Championship Jay Lethal
(Champion) w/ Truth Martini vs “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin
This marks the first time that
the ROH World Championship will be defended at the Tokyo Dome and both men make
their Dome debuts as well. But the challenger Elgin may have the advantage as he
is not only a former ROH World Champion but he also just recently completed his
second tour of New Japan, teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the World Tag
League.
Elgin has connected with the
NJPW crowds like no other but Lethal comes in as a dominant champion. His
victory over AJ Styles at Final Battle cemented 2015 as a history-making
campaign for Lethal with no signs of slowing down. Can Elgin become a two-time
ROH World Champion at Tokyo Dome?
NEVER
Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship - Toru Yano and the Briscoes vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama
Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi)
“The
Baddest Tag Team on the Planet” joins the outlandish attraction, Yano in a
six-man battle for newly created tag team titles. Mark and Jay make their Tokyo
Dome debuts but are more than familiar with Bullet Club. Their war with Anderson
and Gallows at “War of the Worlds” in 2014 is still talked about. Yano, who has
the most popular DVD in Japan, has been the victim of many Bullet Club attacks
recently and has enlisted #DemBoys to join the fight.
Tama Tonga
is the son of the legendary Haku. Bad Luck Fale is the “Underboss” of Bullet
Club and is one of the biggest and baddest ever to compete in New Japan.
Takahashi defected from CHAOS to join Bullet Club and has been an integral part
of the group’s dominance.
Who will
go down in history as the first NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team
Champions?
IWGP Junior Heavyweight
Championship - “The Cleaner”
Kenny Omega (Champion) vs KUSHIDA
Last year, at Wrestle Kingdom 9,
Kenny Omega defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to become the IWGP Junior Heavyweight
Champion and in July, he and KUSHIDA began to trade this prestigious crown back
and forth. Omega has used his Bullet Club buddies to his advantage in title
matches in the past so can KUSHIDA overcome the odds to regain the title he
believes is rightfully his?
KUSHIDA has proven to be one of
the most popular NJPW stars for ROH fans and KUSHIDA
returns to Las Vegas in February for the “14th Anniversary”
weekend.
IWGP Junior Tag Team
Championship - reDRagon
(Champion) vs The Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice vs “Reborn” Matt Sydal and
Ricochet
The current champs, the two
previous championship teams and the current Super Junior Tag Tournament champs
in a landscape built for high-octane, fast break offense like no other. Look for
Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly to try and slow down the momentum of the Young
Bucks while Rocky Romero and Beretta will look to ground Sydal and
Ricochet.
This match features 8 of the
finest athletes in the world and you’ll have the opportunity to see them
redefine tag team wrestling like from the Tokyo
Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 10.
Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki
Goto
This is the only match without a
title at stake at Wrestle Kingdom 10 and features one of the most startling
transformations in NJPW history. Frustrated in his career, Naito joined “Los
Ingobernables” in the CMLL promotion in Mexico and brought the dark anger back
with him. Since then, Naito has alienated everyone and disrespected his home
promotion.
Goto, the former
Intercontinental Champion, has a tremendous sense of honor so this appears to be
a natural rivalry, even though no titles are at stake.
The stage is set for one of the
biggest events of all time, as New Japan Pro Wrestling presents Wrestle Kingdom
10, live on NJPWWorld.com at 3am Eastern on Monday January 4th.
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