Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Preview: NJPW WrestleKingdom 18 (1/4/24)

NJPW WrestleKingdom 18 promotional graphic.

New Japan Pro Wrestling presents its annual WrestleKingdom 18 event on January 4, 2024, and the road up to this point has been quite a journey.

From Jay White departing the promotion in early 2023 to SANADA leaving Los Ingobernables de Japon and becoming the IWGP World champion, a big change of leadership occurred in Bullet Club with the sudden rise of a new turned-bad guy David Finlay, Mercedes Mone making a splash as IWGP Women’s champion and the heavy focus on their American based NJPW STRONG brand throughout 2023.

The promotion was devastated by a major loss with the passing of founder Antonio Inoki but many puroresu promotions came together during 2023 to honor the legacy of Mr. Inoki. But here’s the rundown for the full lineup regarding the WrestleKingdom 18 special show live in the Tokyo Dome next month.

Full NJPW WrestleKingdom 18 Match Card and Preview:

SANADA will make his 5th defense of the IWGP World Championship against the G1 Climax 33 winner, Tetsuya Naito in the headlining match. The 2 former NJPW dojo classmates have a long-established history together throughout the years but honestly, this WrestleKingdom match is a MUST-WIN for the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon.

Tetsuya Naito has been dealing with eye and knee surgeries for the better part of a year now and physically, the man seems to be slowing down. Time isn’t on the side of the former NO LIMIT member but now with the recent management change, a new World champion at the top of things heading into 2024 wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The highly anticipated rematch from earlier this year (AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2 ) Kazuchika Okada vs Bryan Danielson will have all eyes on them, a match now built around injuries suffered by both men ( Okada submitting for the first time since 2015 and Danielson working the eye injury caused during the October 25 AEW Dynamite episode.

Everyone in the world of pro wrestling will be seated for this match and rightfully well deserved, 2 of the best wrestlers walking Earth tearing the house down inside the famous Tokyo Dome.

So New Japan had their favorite rudo David Finlay destroy both the IWGP US Heavyweight & IWGP UK championships during the Power Struggle PPV last month, laying out Will Ospreay & Jon Moxley in the process. Since they aren’t gonna bring back the IWGP Intercontinental championship a decision was made to create a brand new title belt altogether.

The IWGP Global championship will be born and can’t realistically see Ospreay losing in his final WrestleKingdom match as a contracted New Japan talent but currently NJPW is still trying to cook something up with David Finlay as Bullet Club leader.

Haven’t mentioned Moxley yet because he never loses outside of All Elite Wrestling and also Bro’s not jobbing out to THE REBEL.

Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado are bringing their Jr singles feud to the big stage of WrestleKingdom 18, every time both men are across from each other fireworks explode expeditiously, and fully expect a chaotic fast fast-paced match.

Takahashi has been turning away many challengers during 2023 but it’s time for a new figurehead within the Jr heavyweights of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Both sets of tag team championships in the heavyweight division will be unified as reigning-time World Tag League winners, Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) face Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) with the IWGP tag team & NJPW STRONG tag team championships on the line in this rematch.

Whoever wins hopefully can gear the tag division into a new corner during 2024 but doubt that will happen. Not gonna lie, this match does sound boring but it’ll be decent in-ring-wise on the WK 18 undercard. 

Shingo Takagi will defend the NEVER Openweight championship against the “Good Bad Guy” Tama Tonga in a rematch from the recent NJPW STRONG Vegas IPPV (NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed – 10/28/23), fully expect another hot potato situation regarding the NEVER championship. It’s a recurring theme in the last few years of WrestleKingdom events during the undercards.

Kaito Kiyomiya & Shota Umino will join forces to face House of Torture in a tag team grudge match on the undercard. So during the World Tag League tour, former Strong Style member Ren Narita turned on Umino to join alongside EVIL within the Bullet Club sub-group known as House of Torture.

This match will be 2 days following the 12-man Elimination match on NOAH The New Year 2024. 

Los Ingobernables de Japon & JUST 5 GUYS will continue their feud as former young Lions turned rivals Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura will clash in a singles match during the WrestleKingdom undercard.

Both men will be looking to make big statements to kick off their respective years of 2024, but the sky is the limit for only one man within the ropes of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 

The newly appointed NJPW president and also one-third of the NEVER 6 man trios champions Hiroshi Tanahashi will be facing one of his best rivals Zack Sabre Jr for the NJPW World TV championship, this pairing always delivers in the ring and things will be extra incredible since it’s WrestleKingdom 18 this time around.

Zack Sabre Jr. has been dominant as the inaugural NJPW World TV champion but his time is up as titleholder. Need that Hiroshi Tanahashi all the titles run within New Japan Pro Wrestling since he’s saved the promotion countless times over.

Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors are defending the IWGP Jr heavyweight tag team championships against literally the only team who could beat them in kayfabe, Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP). Recently this month, both teams did a coffin match as a prelude to this title match but the status of TJP is in doubt here.

The promotion is teasing an injury but more than likely, see United EMPIRE jars are gonna make a big babyface comeback in the opener.

The pre-show will consist of the annual New Japan RANBO battle royale, entrants are usually a mystery but the last 4 remaining within the match move on the following night (New Year Dash on 1.5  to crown a KOPW provisional champion to start the year 2024.

WrestleKingdom 18 will be streaming live via New Japan World or the newly revamped Thriller TV streaming service. 

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling

Header photo – NJPW. Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.  You can rewatch all 2021 NJPW events and plenty more tremendous wrestling content from New Japan Pro-Wrestling on NJPWWorld.com; The King of Sports Streaming.

Kelvin Briggs

Kelvin Briggs

Kelvin Briggs is a writer with Last Word on Pro Wrestling and aspiring boxer , residing from Missouri. Briggs has future aspirations to make the world a safer place , and keep a positive mindset always.

Share:

More Posts

Send Us A Message