Naito vs. Hiromu official for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom, match order set

With one last addition, the match order for the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 main card is now set.

NJPW has confirmed that Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi will take place at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. The match was booked after Naito and Hiromu — stablemates in Los Ingobernables de Japon — agreed to face each other at the Tokyo Dome following their World Tag League victory.

Naito vs. Hiromu will be the semi-main event of the Wrestle Kingdom card. It’s the first time they have ever faced each other one-on-one. The matchup was originally scheduled to happen at an NJPW anniversary show in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that from happening.

While the World Tag League winners traditionally receive an IWGP Tag Team title shot, NJPW has left it up in the air as to whether Naito & Hiromu will ever challenge for the titles. The belts are currently vacant after HENARE suffered a knee injury. New champions will be crowned at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5 when Great-O-Khan and a yet-to-be-named partner face The Young Bucks.

“I’ve never won a tag team title before, and challenging for a heavyweight title is definitely interesting,” Hiromu said at a press conference. But he noted that it “isn’t a rule that the World Tag League winners have to challenge.”

Naito also said he’s focused on this singles match and they may or may not continue as a tag team after that.

Though he will be undergoing surgery on his left eye before Wrestle Kingdom, Naito is still set to compete in this match.

Here is the updated Wrestle Kingdom card and confirmed match order:

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 (Saturday, January 4 airing live on NJPW World) —

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi
  • IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay defends against Yota Tsuji
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against El Desperado
  • NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Konosuke Takeshita (Takeshita’s AEW International Championship will also be on the line if he is still champion)
  • Lumberjack match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
  • Three-way match: NJPW World TV Champion Jeff Cobb defends against Ren Narita and Ryohei Oiwa
  • IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani defends against AZM
  • Four-way match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight defend against Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita, TJP & Francesco Akira, and Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney