NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 live results:
The Tokyo Dome hosts New Japan’s largest concert of the year today (Jan. 4).
Wrestle Kingdom 18 will feature seven title bouts, with SANADA defending his IWGP World Heavyweight title against G1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito. That’s only one of three main event-type matchups, as Kazuchika Okada and Bryan Danielson will face off, while AEW’s Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay will face Bullet Club leader David Finlay in a Triple Threat for the new IWGP Global championship.
Mr. Ares has provided us with a preview of today’s event in the Tokyo Dome.
Wrestle Kingdom 18 is available to watch on NJPWWorld with either Japanese or English commentary. The main event begins at 4:30 p.m. JST/7:30 a.m. GMT/2:30 a.m. ET, with a kickoff program beginning an hour earlier.
Keep checking back for developments, and have fun discussing in the open thread.
PRE-SHOW
• New Japan’s King of Pro Wrestling 2024, Ranbo: There weren’t many surprises, but we did have Fujita “Jr” Hayato and Takashi Iizuka from Michinoku Pro Wrestling. Taiji Ishimori, YOH, Toru Yano, and Great O-Khan advanced to compete for the KOPW 2024 championship in tomorrow’s New Year Dash!!
MAIN CARD
• Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) defeated Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors) to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
TJP is making his debut as The Aswang, a monster from Filipino mythology, after losing NJPW’s first-ever Coffin Match as The Aswang. He added disturbing mannerisms to his ring action, biting, and once grabbed the referee by the arm to save himself from a pin. He and Akira defeated the War Dogs with a 2×2 tandem knee strike on Moloney.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi wins the NJPW World TV Championship against Zack Sabre Jr.
President Ace attempted a hasty finish, but ZSJ got his knees up on High Fly Flow. Submissions, counters, and pinning situations abound as the battle evolves into a catch-style bout. A Zack Driver counter resulted in a sequence of rolling pins, with Tanahashi getting the last one for three. Sabre Jr. bows and offers Tana the belt before departing with TMDK.
The new champion takes the microphone and delivers a brief new year’s statement before asking for continuous support for NJPW.
- Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
Two guys put up a good fight. NJPW aspires to develop future stars. Tsuji had the upper hand for the most part. Tsuji tried for a second curb stomp after Uemura kicked out of the first, but a series of suplexes finished it.
- Kaito Kiyomiya and Shota Umino vs. House of Torture (EVIL and Ren Narita)
Shooter made a fantastic motorbike entry, but we also got HoT hijinks right away. To get into Kiyomiya’s brain, they chopped up a NOAH shirt on the ramp. The ref was dispatched before we even allowed the entire faction to begin working on our heroes. When Unimo eventually got his hands on Narita (who had turned on him during the World Tag League), EVIL strangled him with his shirt. While the official was tangled up with one of his colleagues, Narita utilized a push-up bar as a weapon, then hit a double cross to pin his erstwhile comrade.
- Tama Tonga wins the NEVER Openweight Championship over Shingo Takagi.
Tonga played the Bullet Club’s biggest hits in a hard-hitting 13-minute bout (featuring Prince Devitt (aka Finn Bálor)’s Bloody Sunday, Karl Anderson’s Gun Stun, and AJ Styles’ Styles Clash). Takagi, on the other hand, was booted out of all of them. It was a DST that eventually put a stop to it, as well as Shingo’s rule.
• Before our next match, AEW’s Ryan Nemeth and free agent Nic “Dolph Ziggler” Nemeth take sets at ringside.
- The Guerillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo and Hikuleo) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshimi-Hashi) to retain the NJPW Strong Openweight and IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
After an early back-and-forth in which both teams attempted double-team maneuvers, GoD grabbed control, owing to Hikuleo’s size advantage. The tide was turned when ELP inadvertently struck his teammate with a superkick. Bishamon had ELP down for the count, but Hikuleo was able to break up the pin. Yoshimi-Hashi was taken down with a dive, and GoD’s tandem chokeslam/splash appeared to have killed off Goto, but he kicked out. He couldn’t, however, avoid the huge man’s splash.
- El Desperado wins the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship over Hiromu Takahashi.
Despy flew to knock out the champ on his arrival to gain the jump on his long-time rival. Takahashi battled his way back, but a submission attempt hurt his knee, and Desperado attacked the leg from then on. It prevented Taka from elevating his opponent to perform techniques like the time bomb. Strikes knocked Takahashi out, and repeated Pinche Loco (spinning sitout face-busters) added to the miserable night for those fighting for championships.
- IWGP Global Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay
- Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
- Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA (c) for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
