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Imp: The dust settles as the lights go down on the Tokyo Dome. Another year another Wrestle Kingdom delivers and knocks it right out of the park!
22,000 fans across two days in attendance to witness NJPW’s grandest spectacle. To watch Tanahashi murder KENTA, to be there the first time STARDOM wrestlers had a spot on the main card and to witness Kazuchika Okada pick up the crown return to his rightful seat at the throne.
Jeremy, what a two nights this year’s shows have been!
Jeremy: These two nights have shown some of the best that NJPW has to offer and some of the worst….cough…House of Torture…cough. It was a challenge for these shows to reach peak Wrestle Kingdom status due to COVID restrictions. Night 2 was a fun night that came close to the level.
Wrestle Kingdom 16
Night 2
January 5th, 2021
1
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Championship 3 Way
Tiger Mask & Robbie Eagles vs El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs Rocky Romero & Rysuke Taguchi
Imp: Fast paced Junior tag action to set the pace for the night. Almost a staple way to kick off a night of Wrestle Kingdom with the number of Dome shows these Jr Tag titles have opened this past decade. This year’s just as frantic and exciting as you’d expect, the three team format seemingly the perfect flow of electricity.
The El Phantasmo arc reached it’s apex as his devious loaded boot was finally unveiled. Were those days Super Kicking trees all a lie?? The Bullet Club lads disqualified in result as the Canadian finally reaps after all that sowing.
Allowing our two babyface teams to have a nice and respectful wrestling contest.
Jeremy: So many great Wrestle Kingdoms have kicked off the show with fun high-paced Jr. matches and that’s exactly what we got here. Robbie Eagles was the star of this match in my eyes. The Sniper of the Skies was flipping and flopping all over the place. He brought a ton of energy to this match.
Like Imp mentioned, El Phantasmo’s loaded boot was finally exposed. This has been a gimmick that was built up for a year and something that got ELP a lot of wins. A part of me is a little sad to see it go. ELP did a great job getting the loaded boot ever and keeping it concealed from his opponents. I guess going forward Red Shoes and his crew fill have to do some more detailed searches to make sure ELP is competing clean.
After the loaded boot is exposed, ELP and Taiji are disqualified. My good friend Rocky Romero and Taguchi fought are to become the 69th IWGP Jr. Tag Champs, but fell short. Flying Tiger gets the win and remains on top of the Jr. Tag Division.
2
STARDOM Special
Starlight Kid & Mayu Iwatani vs Saya Kamitani & Tam Nakano
Jeremy: HIT THE MUSIC! If you’re a listener of One Nation Radio, you know that line always kicks off their STARDOM review segments.
The STARDOM women came to the dome and showed the NJPW faithful how good they are. This match featured Star’s Mayu Iwantani, Oedo Tai’s Starlight Kid, Cosmic Angels’ Tam Nakano, and Queen Quest’s Saya Kamitani.
These women were lighting fast and delivered crisp strikes. The finish saw the Wonder of Stardom Champion, Saya execute a beautiful phoenix splash on the High Speed Champion, Starlight Kid. These women only got about 10 minutes, but it should have been so much more. Hopefully, we’ll continue to see STARDOM featured on big NJPW shows in 2022.
Imp: Women’s wrestling history finally made on Wrestle Kingdom. The tag team showcases have progressively made their way onto a couple of NJPW shows over the year, but this the first time for a Tokyo Dome event with the previous two locked to dark matches.
About damn time! The quality on display in STARDOM is consistently on such a different level, with this tag basically a nice sample of the icing. Trust me, make the jump, eat the cake. You won’t regret it. So many fans and wrestlers alike are singing the promotion’s praises right now for a reason.
Another dose of electric tag mayhem, quick action and consistent break ups. Every motion just so crisp and smooth, an incredibly impressive display in a great advertisement. Now just go watch STARDOM.
3
KOPW 2022
Toru Yano vs Minoru Suzuki vs Chase Owens vs CIMA
Imp: I can’t begin to tell you how much better this was than last year’s KOPW 4 Way. Suzuki and CIMA bringing some much needed grounding to the silliness of the Yano/Owens back n’ forth. Continuing to swing the focus back so the action never swayed too far away. A great balance for some competitive multi-man fun!
The Yano era of comedy shenanigans assumedly over with Suzuki being crowned. Has the King just been given the licence to shoot? Honestly with the way this works being established, someone so wildly different running with his own style genuinely does intrigue me.
Even if after the match Yano still left his mark in espacing death’s clutches with cufflinks. Hey, it turns he is wise to always have cuffs on him, you never know.
Jeremy: This 4 way was a lot of fun. It was really cool to see CIMA and Suzuki mixing it up. CIMA and the Stronghearts would be a very welcome addition to NJPW in 2022. I was surprised to see Suzuki ending up getting the win over Yano. The King of Pro Wrestling is now the first provisional KOPW Champion for 2022.
As Imp mentioned, post-match Yano escaped further beatings by handcuffing Suzuki to the ropes. So I’m guessing the next KOPW match will be Suzuki defending against Yano in some sort of handcuff stipulation match. I would like to see Suzuki retain which possibly allows there to be more serious KOPW matches this year.
4
NEVER 6 Man Tag Championship
YOH, Yoshi-Hashi & Hirooki Goto vs SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL
Jeremy: For the 2nd night in a row, House of Torture is the low point of the card. I don’t have a ton to say about this match. If you close your eyes and picture a House of Torture match, that’s exactly what we got.
The House of Torture retains the titles and based on the aftermath of the match it looks like they will be involved in more title matches in the immediate future.
Imp: We’ve had some good fun so far on Night 2… time to bring that to an end. I won’t lie, both EVIL and SHO have banger themes. So at least there’s that going for them.
The feel good night for our CHAOS boys on Night 1 was not enough momentum to run them through the HOT Boys tonight. SHO scoring one over his mortal enemy in the multi-man of madness.
If the post-match shoutings say anything, this rivalry is far from over.
5
Special Single Match
SANADA vs Great O’Khan
Imp: Don’t sweat the technique.
Your technical class of Wrestle Kingdom 16, two wizards out to impress with their spells. Casting impressive strings of counters and reversals in lightning succession.
Chameleon O’Khan adapted to SANADA like an absolute boss, but showing off how well he was doing cost him via quick reversal by the style’s master.
Jeremy: Two of the most winningest wrestlers in 2021 clashed in the 5th match of the night. Coming into this match both men criticized each other’s looks and wrestling ability. SANADA was able to lore O-Khan into wrestling the “pretty boy” style match. The Dominator went out of his comfort zone and pulled off a plancha and a moonsault.
However, O-Khan left his feet one too many times and SANADA was able to capitalize and roll up O-Khan. For the second year in a row O-Khan fails to win at the Dome. Better luck next year Dominator.
6
Special Single Match
Tetsuya Naito vs Jeff Cobb
Jeremy: After a rough 2021, Naito was looking to kick off 2022 with a big win. Standing in his way was the 265 lbs. Imperial Unit Jeff Cobb. Cobb dominated the first half of this match. He tossed Naito around like he was a little boy.
Naito found the crack in Cobb’s armor in the form of his knee. Naito unloaded several attacks and submissions to the knee to slow the big man down. But even on one leg, Cobb was still bringing the pain.
Towards the end of the match, Naito busts Cobb’s nose and avoided the Tour of the Islands. Naito followed up with Valencia and Destino to get the much needed win. It seems like Naito is planning on having a very eventful 2021.
Imp: Beef Sandwich with a huge Wrestle Kingdom showing against Naito himself! Dancing with the spotlight on bright as the Ungovernable One carved himself a taste of Hawaiian slice.
A hot back n’ forth with Cobb throwing hell for leather and his LIJ opponent sticking to a solid tactic of continuously chopping down the sturdy tree. 15 minutes of belief in the game in the face of a man called Jeffery clobbering him in the face and Suplexing him across the ring.
A bloody solid match with little down time given the length as both lads coming out looking awesome. After a difficult 2021 Naito can finally launch into what’s hopefully a solid run back up the mountain in this new year.
7
No Disqualification
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
KENTA vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Imp: HOLY SHIT!
Fair to say KENTA’s promise of “a lifetime of rule breaking in one match” played out in a slightly violent style. Quite possibly the craziest High Fly Flo of Tanahashi’s career as he flew off the top of a 10-15ft ladder, crashing through and scaring a table with KETNA’s blood. JESUS CHRIST!
The tone immediately set with KENTA sliding a kendo stick over his opponent as he told him to take aim. Both men bloody battered each other with whatever they could get their hands on. Chairs, trash cans, ladders, tables; you name it. The biggest pop of all easily being Tana arming himself with an actual acoustic guitar. All these years of air guitar were building to this one moment!
Tana threw caution to the wind as he took aim at making sure KENTA paid the price for his actions. An awesome looking Slingblade onto a pile of chairs, but crashing with a brutal looking Hi Fly Flow landing. The match swung back n’ forth as the two lads tried to avoid disaster at the hands of the other. Tanahashi nearly broken under the crashing wave of KENTA violence, but The Ace’s fighting spirit is the essence of never dying.
KENTA teaching us all how to properly set up a ladder before BREAKING HIS FACE landing head first on a trash can before that crazy High Fly Flo ending.
An exceptional match.
Jeremy: This is a very divisive match. Technically this match was not very good. It was a very slow paced match. So much time was wasted with KENTA and Tanahashi looking for weapons to hit each other with. This was a plunder death match walk brawl that gets elevated by some crazy spots.
But damn, those crazy spots were really crazy! KENTA and Tanahashi put their bodies at risk to deliver some memorable Wrestle Kingdom moments. I can not unsee KENTA falling off the ladder face first onto a trash can. Or Tanahashi’s Super High Fly to KENTA through the table.
This was not your normal Tanahshi Tokyo Dome classic. These men had a bloody war.
8
MAIN EVENT
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay
Jeremy: We’re only a few days into 2022, but this match is easily the best match of the year thus far. It’s going to take some great effort to knock this match off the top of the list. This was also the best match-up between Okada and Ospreay.
These guys did so many incredible things in this match. Ospreay’s lighting rig moonsault. Okada catching Ospreay out of a Sasuke Special into a Tombstone piledriver. Okada hitting a Stormbreaker. Ospreay catching Okada out of a dropkick into a powerbomb. I could go on and on with the amazing spots and moves performed in this match.
Ospreay was so desperate to win this match that he pulled out moves of some of Okada’s greatest rivals. He used a Shibata headbutt and a Kenny Omega V-Trigger. However, those wouldn’t help Opsreay get the job down. Okada puts away the “Real World Champion’ with a Landslide Tombstone and a Rainmaker.
Absolutely incredible match! If you haven’t seen this yet. You need to go out of your way to watch it. Five freaking stars.
Imp: Who is the true champion? Well it sure as hell isn’t Billy Bellend.
In what’s possibly no surprise, this match was absolutely amazing. Lighting out the gate, like they’d captured it in a bottle and were using at will. So many incredible, perfectly timed counters and reversals. Sequences at lightspeed with both lads so familiar as to what’s coming up, next level readings of their opponent.
Sasuke Special caught into a Tombstone, standing dropkick smooth as hell into Powerbomb, Will went to Rainmake the champion so Okada countered with Ospreay’s Stormbreaker. That was all before the awesome final third stretch of living in a constant counter culture, all in the building nevermind the storm of a crescendo.
Both lads knackered and exhausted as they traded shots on tired legs but refusing to stay down. Every shot would set their opponent down, but neither was unable to follow up with a counter and fight back consistently round the corner.
And that brings us to the end of the Wrestle Kingdom Review for 2022! Have we just witnessed a restart for New Japan to hopefully launch into a more stable year? Time will tell, but surely their luck can’t run as unfortunate as last year. Right round the corner is the NJPW vs NOAH Wrestle Kingdom cross promotional charity show, available only on PPV or later down the line on NJPW World if you’re willing to wait.
But what did you make of Wrestle Kingdom 16? Did you enjoy the two shows? Are you as hyped as us following these stellar match-ups? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter @TheDamnImplicat and @JeremyLDonovan.