NJPW reveals full cards for first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16

New Japan Pro Wrestling officially announced the full cards for the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16.

A number of new title matches have been added to both cards. As a result of their wins at the Best of the Super Juniors/World Tag League finals, Hiromu Takahashi will officially challenge El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, while Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI will challenge Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi for the IWGP Tag Team titles. Both matches will take place on January 4.

Other matches set for January 4 include Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL for the NEVER Openweight title, Katsuyori Shibata’s return match against an unnamed opponent, and YOH vs. SHO. 

January 5 will have a IWGP United States title match, with Hiroshi Tanahashi facing KENTA. A NEVER Six-Man Tag Team title match has Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Yoh facing EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and SHO. For the first time, a Stardom match will also take place on the main card, with Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid facing Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani. 

The January 5 show will open with an IWGP Junior Tag Team title match, with champions Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask facing the teams of Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo and Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero

A kickoff match will take place on January 4, the annual New Japan Ranbo battle royal. The final four participants that night will advance to a four-way match on the main card on January 5 to determine the first 2022 KOPW trophy holder.

A third Wreslte Kingdom 16 show at the Yokohama Arena on January 8 will feature wrestlers from both both NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH. The full card for that event will take place on December 17 at 6 pm JST/4 am EST.

Here are the full cards for the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16:

January 4:

  • IWGP World Heavyweight title: Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight title: El Desperado vs.Hiromu Takahashi
  • IWGP Tag Team titles: Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi) vs. CHAOS (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI)
  • NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
  • Katsuyori Shibata vs. X
  • Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Will Ospreay
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Rocky Romero vs. KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, and El Phantasmo
  • YOH vs. SHO
  • Kickoff: New Japan Ranbo battle royal. The top four finalists will move to a four-way the next night to determine the KOPW 2022 trophy winner.

January 5:

  • IWGP World Heavyweight title: Either Shingo Takagi or Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
  • IWGP United States title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
  • SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man tag titles: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and YOH vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and SHO
  • Four-way match for the KOPW 2022 trophy
  • Stardom match: Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid vs. Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani
  • IWGP Junior Tag Team titles: Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask vs. Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero
  • A kickoff match will be announced at 4 pm local time.