wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20
January 4th, 2026 | Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 46,913
I can’t believe that I started watching New Japan with Wrestle Kingdom 9 and now we’re at Wrestle Kingdom 20. It’s also the final night for our Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in what’s sure to be an emotional sendoff. Also, this is the highest attendance for a Wrestle Kingdom ever.
I’m pressed for time (there are some shows for STARDOM and Marigold that I have to watch, as well as finish work on my Top 100 Matches of 2025 list), so I’m skipping the two pre-show matches.
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship New Japan RAMBO
So everyone is working in trios teams. Having Yuya Uemura and Shota Umino in this clusterfuck was a choice given both are supposed to be big deals. I’m not big on Shota but Yuya rules. They teamed with Kaisei Takechi, a pop star who has worked in DDT. They started against Ren Narita, SANADA, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The Knockout Brothers with Clark Connors is an interesting trio. I popped for Thekla coming out with them. Zack Sabre Jr. also being in this feels like a waste. He teamed with Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson. Anyway, this was like a lot of these RAMBO matches in that none of it really stood out. The structure and format were a bit odd and it felt more disjointed than past years. I think having teams messed with things. The Ishii/Oleg interaction was a highlight for me. The champs, Toru Yano, Master Wato, and YOH, came out last, with YOH dressed as Yano. They got eliminated and it came down to Oleg and Bishamon vs. TMDK. ZSJ got the win with a European Clutch on Oleg after 20:43. It was largely fine and didn’t go too long. [**¼]
IWGP Women’s & NJPW STRONG Women’s Championships: Saya Kamitani [c] vs. Syuri [c]
From what I can tell, these two haven’t met one-on-one since 2021 and Saya is a much different wrestler now, fresh off winning the Tokyo Sports MVP (the first woman to do so). Appreciated that commentary admitted that STARDOM outdrew New Japan at Sumo Hall the other day. Two of the best in the world traded stuff early, showing that they’re pretty evenly matched despite their different styles. The idea here is that Saya, although a heel, remains the flashier wrestler who hits the big spots, but Syuri is a vicious striker who caused her to rethink her strategy a few times with stiff kicks and submissions. I think Saya played up the panic well. She looked like she was in genuine trouble when Syuri caught her. I didn’t need Syuri kicking out of Star Crusher. Syuri hit Syuri World (a modified DVD) to win in 12:09. A shocking result as Saya has basically been untouchable for more than a year. This wasn’t as good as they have in them but I thought it was really good stuff. [***¾]
Andrade El Idolo, Callum Newman, The Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Jake Lee vs. David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi
This is an interesting one. We have Andrade returning to the ring in New Japan as part of the United Empire, while the other team includes Bullet Club members and former LIJ guys. Also, wild to have this card with guys like Gabe and Shingo in random tags. Also of note, it’s cool to have HENARE back. He was gaining momentum before his major injury. Jake Lee was a surprise member of his team as well, though he didn’t get much of a reaction. This opened with a big brawl and continued that way. Some of the exchanges were really good, like Shingo and HENARE beating the hell out of each other or Andrade against Gabe. Also, HENARE’s hair is a choice. The Drilla Killa would’ve ended this but Drilla got cut off before he could cover. From there, we got a barrage of dudes hitting signature spots until Jake beat Hiromu with the Face Break Shot in 13:17. I’d have had Andrade get the pin, not Jake. New Japan is STARVING for star power, so let Andrade have a good run there as a top dog. Instead, it feels like a Lee push is coming that nobody wants. Good match though. [***¼]
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title #1 Contender’s Match: El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita vs. SHO vs. Taiji Ishimori
No actual Jr. Heavyweight Title match on Wrestle Kingdom? What happened to the game I love? DOUKI is the champion and despite not defending the title, got a lengthy entrance and promo. Kind of wild how, in a world where Triple H makes bad decision after bad decision, Gedo is still, FAR AND AWAY, the worst booker in wrestling. That was evident here as what could’ve been a fun multi-man match turned into the usual barrage of House of Torture BS. I don’t even have the words anymore for how historically bad this stuff is. Among the worst shit I’ve ever seen in wrestling and it just keeps going and going. They were all over this match and then the action we got wasn’t anything special either. Desperado overcame it all to win with Pinche Loco in 7:35. This division is very bad right now despite having solid talent. [*¾]
NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL [c] vs. Aaron Wolf
It’s Wolf’s first match. He has shorter hair now and then removed his entrance gear to reveal basic Young Lion attire. I like the idea but Young Lions don’t exactly get placed this high on the card in a title match at the Tokyo Dome. The crowd was very much into Wolf. They popped whenever he busted out even the most basic of offensive moves. That said, I think the real highlight for him was when he incorporated stuff like judo throws. It looked credible and helped him come across as a badass. For his part, EVIL did well. He was a solid heel here without resorting too much on shenanigans. They got involved but it wasn’t done too egregiously. Plus, Wolf took them out with a string of judo throws. His power slam and Olympic Slam looked good but his frog splash didn’t. Wolf survived more House of Torture (okay, maybe there was a bit too much of them) and then choked out EVIL with an interesting looking submission in 12:53. That was quite good. Again, maybe there was too much from the House of Torture but Wolf looked good. [***¼]
IWGP World & IWGP Global Championships: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Yota Tsuji [c]
I totally forgot this was a double title match. Man, they LOVE those in wrestling these days. Takeshita and Tsuji met twice in the G1 two years ago (both ****¼). The idea here is that Konosuke is the outsider who isn’t committed to New Japan, while Yota can bring the title home. It’s not a new story but it’s one that works. This had all the trademarks of a big New Japan match. The start was rather subdued as they were clearly building up for a strong back half. Yota’s neck became the target for Konosuke with big moves like a DDT on the apron and smaller effective things like a neck crank. It was well done stuff. Takeshita is just so good. Watching him snap off a rana with relative ease and then hit a tope con hilo is impressive. The little Curb Stomp combo Yota pulled out was really cool. That opened the door for Yota to finally hit the Fosbury Flop after two failed dive attempts earlier. From there, we got the big final few minutes that New Japan title matches are known for. They were hitting huge moves, including Takeshita nailing his own Gene Blaster. I dug the spot where Yota started rolling but his neck injury caused him to stop, opening the door for Takeshita to get going, only for Yota to hit a Destroyer. I also dug the Gene Blaster from behind as Yota fired up from taking a German Suplex. I love that they didn’t do a Raging Fire kick out, instead having Yota get his foot on the bottom rope. The avalanche Blue Thunder Bomb was probably the best spot of the entire show. Yota cut off a knee with a huge Gene Blaster and then applied the Young Lion Boston Crab to win the title in 29:20. That started slowly but once it picked up, it was rocking and that finish ruled. Just what I wanted from these two and the right guy won to take NJPW into the future. [****½]
Of course, Gedo gonna Gedo so Yota’s celebration was interrupted by an attack by Jake Lee. You’d think Gedo would’ve learned when he ruined Naito’s moment (which was still two years too late) with a KENTA attack. The crowd didn’t react to this at all, nobody cares about Lee, the program sounds bad, this ruined the moment, and you could’ve saved this for New Year Dash. Again, the worst booker in all of wrestling, bar none. He continues to be the thing holding back New Japan more than anything else.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
Possibly the greatest in-ring rivalry in wrestling history. I won’t through all their matches but my top five at King of Pro Wrestling 2013 (*****), Invasion Attack 2013 (****¾), Wrestle Kingdom 9 (****½), Dontaku 2018 (****½), and the G1 23 (****½). Okada’s new character from AEW was evident here and that boosted my enjoyment. He wasn’t going to just play the hits from their old matches. He was here to be a shithead heel who did everything he could to get booed, furthering our desire to see Tanahashi win. I liked commentary noting that all three of Okada’s singles losses from 2025 happened in the past six weeks, meaning he’s kind of vulnerable, giving Tanahashi a chance. Tanahashi started with Dragon Screws to target the leg only for Okada to cut him off with a cheap rake of the eyes. They did make sure to give us the spots we came to see like the Tombstone, High Fly Flow outside, and Okada’s Rainmaker/middle finger pose. Okada hit a Tombstone on the aisle, happy to try for a countout win or to injury the Ace. Tanahashi hit his own Rainmaker before kicking out of one from Okada. Then, they started giving us the tributes. Tanahashi hit a Shibata PK and a Boma Ye complete with Nakamura’s taunt, while Okada did a Destino variation. When Tanahashi survived another Rainmaker, Okada changed tactics. He waited for Tana to get to his feet and then busted out the actual Rainmaker pose rather than the middle finger. He then hit the finisher and won at the 33:03 mark. Magnificent. Up there with Sting and HBK (Mania 26) as the best retirement match ever. They did something different, gave us the emotional tributes, and Okada having to bring his old self back in the end made this special. [****¾]
Now, it was time for an actual sendoff for an icon. Okada got on the mic and simply said, “thank you.” After higher ups gave Tanahashi his flowers (literally), out came Jay White. I miss him. He gave Tanahashi flowers and bowed to him. Will Ospreay was next, followed by Kenny Omega (to “Devil’s Sky”) and Kota Ibushi. When Katsuyori Shibata’s theme hit, Tanahashi, who had already cried a ton, broke down hard. Shibata removed his Opps shirt once he hit the ring and had a chop battle with Tanahashi. 10/10. Keiji Mutoh and Tatsumi Fujinami were next and everyone posed together. After they left, we got a surprise Tetsuya Naito, months after he left New Japan on odd terms. Tanahashi had fun with how long Naito took and the two shared a fist bump at the end. Tanahashi then cut a promo, did some air guitaring, and said goodbye.
