Potential double title match booked for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19
A potential title vs. title match is the latest addition to the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 card.
After being set up at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, NJPW has confirmed that Konosuke Takeshita vs. Shingo Takagi will take place at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. Takagi’s NEVER Openweight Championship will be on the line in the match. If Takeshita is still AEW International Champion, that belt will be up for grabs as well.
Takeshita defeated TJP at Fighting Spirit Unleashed last Friday and then issued a challenge to the NJPW locker room, leading to a confrontation with Takagi. Tomohiro Ishii also appeared — and NJPW has announced that the winner of Takeshita vs. Takagi will defend against Ishii at Wrestle Dynasty the next night (January 5). That will also be a double title match if circumstances allow.
Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty are both being held at the Tokyo Dome and will air live on NJPW World.
Here’s the updated Wrestle Kingdom card:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 (Saturday, January 4) —
- IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
- IWGP Global Champion David Finlay defends against Yota Tsuji
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against El Desperado
- Three-way match: NJPW World TV Champion Ren Narita defends against Jeff Cobb and Ryohei Oiwa
- 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
- NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Konosuke Takeshita (Takeshita’s AEW International Championship will also be on the line if still champion)