Here’s a full and simple preview to tonight’s Wrestle Kingdom 11.
Just hours away, PWP Nation wanted to give fans an easy and simple guide to the layman about how they can understand, enjoy and watch New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 11. For those who aren’t familiar, Wrestle Kingdom 11 is the biggest show in Japanese wrestling for the year. It’s their WrestleMania.
This guide is basically for fans that have always wanted to emerge themselves into the culture of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but either had a difficult time finding how or haven’t seen a good opportunity to jump in. Well, Wrestle Kingdom 11 is the perfect chance to get familiar with NJPW.
So, if you’re prepared for what’s ahead, let’s begin with some frequently asked questions:
Where can I watch it?
You can watch tonight’s broadcast on NJPWWorld.com. This website is a subscription-based service, very similar to WWE Network. The monthly charge is 9.99 yen, which translates to about $8.50 in the United States. As a subscriber myself, I can assure you this service is well worth the money. The hurdle you’re going to face is that the website is in Japanese, so many have been turned off by that and find the website difficult to maneuver. But a solution I have used is to use Google Chrome as my browser. With Google Chrome, you can translate about 75% of the website to any language you prefer. It makes the wesbite much easier to understand and use.
When does the show start and end?
The show begins on NJPWWorld.com at 1:30 am (EST) on January 4th, 2017. The main card doesn’t begin until 3 am (EST). Last year here on the East Coast, the show didn’t conclude until 7:30 am (EST). It’s a long show, so grab something like a Red Bull or take a nap before hand.
What is New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Wrestle Kingdom?
NJPW was established in 1972 by WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki. It is the biggest wrestling promotion in the country of Japan and they have the second largest global audience after WWE.
Wrestle Kingdom is the biggest event of the company’s calendar year. The show is where all storylines, angles and feuds are concluded from the previous year. Many have compared it to WWE’s WrestleMania event.
Where is the show taking place?
Wrestle Kingdom 11 will take place at the Tokyo Dome located in Koraku, Bunkyo, Tokyo. Without any interruption, WK has run every year on January 4th since 1992. The arena holds anywhere from 42,000-50,000 people and is usually sold out for this event.
Now, that you know where to find the show, let’s get into the match card:
- Pre-Show: New Japan Pro-Wrestling Rumble: this match is usually not a “must-see” match. It contains some legends and surprise returns. It’s a fun match, but nothing special.
- Tiger Mask W vs. Tiger The Dark: the purpose of this match is to promote a new Tiger Mask anime show that New Japan Pro-Wrestling is producing. This match will likely be moved to the pre-show.
- IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (c) vs. Roppongi Vice: this is a change of pace to what we usually see from the Junior tag championships. Matt & Nick Jackson vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta will surely be an interesting and fun opening contest.
- NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships: Ricochet, Satoshi Kojima & David Finlay (c) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Jado, Will Ospreay & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Evil & Sanada): I can’t even understand how this match is going to work. With 12 guys total, I expect this match to be a total and complete clusterf*ck. The rules for this match are pretty simple: last team standings wins.
- Cody Rhodes vs. Juice Robinson: this is Cody’s debut in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and as a member of the Bullet Club. Robinson is formerly known as CJ Parker from WWE NXT, who has made big strides since leaving Orlando, Florida. I do have concerns for this match as it is two foreign born wrestlers, who aren’t entirely over with the Japanese fan base. But I expect a good match from two really good workers.
- ROH World Heavyweight Championship: Kyle O’Reilly (c) vs. Adam Cole: former partners turned enemies is the basics of this feud. I’m not entirely sure how much time this match will get on the show, as in past years, ROH’s title matches aren’t that special on New Japan shows. But I expect these two will make the best with what time they are given.
- IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma): this match will be one thing… hard-hitting. This match contains so many wrestlers that deserve better in my opinion, especially Ishii. But I expect this match to be fun either way.
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) vs. Himoru Takahashi: this match will be so much fun. Kushida has been the ace of the juniors for years now and I expect this match to be high-flying, with smart and impactful spots.
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Hirooki Goto: earlier I mentioned that the IWGP Heavyweight tag team title match will be hard-hitting, but it won’t hold a candle to this match. Goto and Shibata are considered to be two of the hardest-hitting wrestlers in the world today, and the NEVER Openweight title has now build up a reputation for having physical matches and I have no doubts this’ll deliver.
- IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: this match is the show’s co-main event, as the former ACE of the entire company Hiroshi Tanahashi is facing a man who has just recently broken through to the next level. Naito has really been on top of his game and has proven that he deserves the spot he’s in. This match could easily upstage the main event and steal the show.
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega: Okada is the new Ace of the company having finally defeated Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome last year at this very event, and regaining his championship from Naito halfway through 2016. There is a ton of pressure on this match and officials backstage are expecting a match of the year candidate.
Enjoy the show!
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