Wrestle Kingdom 16

Last updated
Wrestle Kingdom 16
Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome poster.jpg
Promotional poster for the first two days featuring various NJPW wrestlers
Promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Pro Wrestling Noah (January 8)
DateJanuary 4–5 and 8, 2022
City
Venue
AttendanceNight 1: 12,047 [1]
Night 2: 6,379 [2]
Night 3: 7,077
Combined: 25,503
Tagline(s)Beyond the Legacy!
New Japan vs Noah
Event chronology
 Previous
Road to Tokyo Dome
Next 
Nemesis
Wrestle Kingdom chronology
 Previous
15
Next 
17

Wrestle Kingdom 16 was a three-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2022, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo and January 8, at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. It was the 31st January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 16th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name; it was also the first time the event was held over three days and the first one to take place in Yokohama. It marked the first January 4 Tokyo Dome Show since 2007's Wrestle Kingdom I to be co-produced with another wrestling promotion.

Contents

Days 1 and 2 of the event aired on the NJPW World streaming service and via FITE TV and other PPV providers; Day 3 aired as a PPV event on AbemaTV before being archived on NJPW World and Wrestle Universe. [3]

Promotional poster for day three of the event, which is co-promoted with Pro Wrestling Noah, featuring Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shingo Takagi (on the left representing NJPW) with Kaito Kiyomiya, Keiji Mutoh, and Katsuhiko Nakajima (on the right representing Noah) Wrestle kingdom 16 poster.png
Promotional poster for day three of the event, which is co-promoted with Pro Wrestling Noah, featuring Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shingo Takagi (on the left representing NJPW) with Kaito Kiyomiya, Keiji Mutoh, and Katsuhiko Nakajima (on the right representing Noah)

Production

Other on-screen personnel
Role:Name:
English Commentators Kevin Kelly
Chris Charlton
Japanese CommentatorsShinpei Nogami
Milano Collection A.T.
Katsuhiko Kanazawa
Shinji Yoshino (night 1)
Hiroki Yamazaki (night 1)
Togi Makabe (night 1)
Masahiro Chono (night 1)
Kazuyoshi Sakai (night 2)
Ring announcers Makoto Abe
Kimihiko Ozaki
Referees Kenta Sato
Marty Asami
Red Shoes Unno

Background

The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest professional wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl". [4] [5] The show has been promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name since 2007. [6]

Wrestle Kingdom 16 was officially announced on September 4, 2021. It will be the first January 4 Tokyo Dome Show to be held over three days, with the third day being similar to the traditional New Year Dash!! event. [7] The third day of the event will be held at the Yokohama Arena, marking the first time one of NJPW's January 4 shows was held outside of Tokyo. [7] On November 20, it was announced that the third day of the event would be co-produced by the Noah promotion. [8]

Like the previous two years, NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom will have a match on January 5. The last two Stardom matches at Wrestle Kingdom were dark matches due to two promotions being on different broadcasting networks with TV Asahi and Samurai TV; but at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Stardom was featured on the pre-show on both days which were broadcast live on NJPW World. [9] On December 12, a member of each Stardom faction draw straws to determinate who would be in the match at day 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 16, which Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid were chosen to face Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani in a tag team match. [10] NJPW has announced that the match will be included on the main card.

Storylines

Wrestle Kingdom 16 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. [11]

After defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shingo Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku, Will Ospreay was forced to relinquish the title after suffering a serious neck injury. At Dominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall, Takagi defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the vacant title. Okada would later win the G1 Glimax for a third time, earning himself another opportunity against Takagi and the title at Wrestle Kingdom. Okada requested to be given the retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt to represent the certificate instead of a briefcase which the winners of the G1 usually received, which was granted and Okada successfully defended the certificate against Tama Tonga at Power Struggle while Takagi retained the championship in the main event against Zack Sabre Jr. Meanwhile, Ospreay made a recovery and appeared at Resurgence with a replica of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship belt where he called himself the "real" champion and also called Takagi an interim champion. At Battle in the Valley, Opsreay called out both Takagi and Okada and challenged for the title at Wrestle Kingdom, and it was announced that he would face the winner of their match, set to take place on night 1, on night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom for the title.

On November 6, 2021, at Power Struggle, Kenta defeated IWGP United States Heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi to the win the title for the first time. After losing the title, Tanahashi requested a rematch for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom but Kenta declined, not wanting to give the ace a 'direct rematch'. In order to persuade Kenta to accept, Tanahashi offered to let Kenta pick the stipulation, hoping the sweeten the deal. On the final night of Best of Super Juniors/World Tag League Kenta appeared via video to finally accept Tanahashi's request, but only if Tanahashi agreed to a No Disqualification, Anything Goes match at Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi accepted and the match was signed for Night 2.

On April 9, 2017, Katsuyori Shibata suffered a subdural hematoma during his match with Okada at Sakura Genesis which he was forced to retire from in-ring competition shortly after. During his hiatus, Shibata became the head trainer at NJPW's LA Dojo in Los Angeles where he trains recruits for the promotion. At the G1 Climax 31 finals on October 21, 2021, Shibata had an unannounced 5-minute UWF Rules exhibition match with Zack Sabre Jr. which ended in a time limit draw. After the match, Shibata said he planned to return to the in-ring competition soon. At the Best of the Super Jrs. and World Tag League finals on December 15, he announced that he would make his official in-ring return on day 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 16. Shibata's opponent was not announced prior to the event. It was also announced that Shibata would participate in a catch wrestling rules match, but just before the scheduled bout, Shibata forwent the catch rules, opting to wrestle a normal singles match.

Results

Night 1
No.Results [1] [12] [13] StipulationsTimes
1P Chase Owens, Cima, Minoru Suzuki, and Toru Yano won [Note 1] 19-man New Japan Ranbo to determine who will challenge for the Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy on night 227:14
2 Yoh defeated Sho (with Dick Togo) by pinfall Singles match 12:32
3 Bullet Club (Kenta, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and The Mega Coaches (Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero) by disqualification Six-man tag team match 8:40
4 United Empire (Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, and Bushi) by pinfall Six-man tag team match 9:27
5 Katsuyori Shibata defeated Ren Narita by pinfall Singles match 11:46
6 Evil (with Dick Togo) defeated Tomohiro Ishii (c) by pinfall Singles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship 12:10
7 Chaos (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) defeated Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr.) (c) (with Miho Abe) by pinfall Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship 15:27
8 El Desperado (c) defeated Hiromu Takahashi by pinfall Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 16:18
9 Kazuchika Okada defeated Shingo Takagi (c) by pinfall Singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship 35:44
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show
  1. Other competitors by order of elimination: Kosei Fujita, Yuto Nakashima, Ryohei Oiwa, Taka Michinoku, Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Douki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Bad Luck Fale, Aaron Henare, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Togi Makabe.
Night 2
No.Results [2] [14] [15] [16] [17] StipulationsTimes
1P Yuji Nagata and Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Gedo and Jado) by pinfall Six-man tag team match 6:40
2P Master Wato and Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) defeated Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taka Michinoku) by submission Six-man tag team match 9:23
3P Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi) defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Douki) by pinfall Six-man tag team match 10:28
4Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask) (c) defeated The Mega Coaches (Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero) and Bullet Club's Cutest Tag Team (Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo) by submission Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 12:07
5 Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani defeated Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid by pinfall Stardom exhibition tag team match 9:14
6 Minoru Suzuki defeated Chase Owens, Cima and Toru Yano by pinfall Four-way match for the Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy 6:08
7 House of Torture (Evil, Yujiro Takahashi and Sho) (c) (with Dick Togo) defeated Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Yoh) by pinfall Six-man tag team match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship 9:37
8 Sanada defeated Great-O-Khan by pinfall Singles match 13:21
9 Tetsuya Naito defeated Jeff Cobb by pinfall Singles match 15:34
10 Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kenta (c) by pinfall No disqualification match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship 22:40
11 Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Will Ospreay by pinfall Singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship 32:52
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show
Night 3
No.Results [18] StipulationsTimes
1PKosei Fujita vs. Yasutaka Yano ended in a time limit draw Singles match 10:00
2P Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) and Yuji Nagata defeated Funky Express (King Tany, Muhammad Yone and Akitoshi Saito) by pinfall Six-man tag team match 12:18
3 Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) and Six or Nine (Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi) defeated Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura, and Kinya Okada by submission Ten-man tag team match 11:42
4 Sho defeated Atsushi Kotoge by pinfall Singles match 8:20
5 Stinger (Hayata and Seiki Yoshioka) defeated Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori and Gedo) by pinfall Tag team match 5:59
6 Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Douki) defeated Los Perros del Mal de Japón (Yo-Hey and Nosawa Rongai) by pinfall Tag team match 9:09
7 Sugiura-gun (Takashi Sugiura and Kazushi Sakuraba) and Toru Yano defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku) by pinfall Six-man tag team match 9:37
8 Go Shiozaki and Masa Kitamiya defeated House of Torture (Evil and Dick Togo) by pinfall Tag team match 9:53
9 Naomichi Marufuji and Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) by pinfall Tag team match 15:20
10 Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Sanada, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi) defeated Kongo (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke, and Aleja) by pinfall Ten-man tag team match 26:33
11 Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Keiji Mutoh and Kaito Kiyomiya by pinfall Tag team match 24:34
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiroshi Tanahashi</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hirooki Goto</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katsuyori Shibata</span> Japanese professional wrestler and trainer

Katsuyori Shibata is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional wrestling trainer currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also makes appearances for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH Pure Champion. In professional wrestling, he is known for his hard hitting offense. He spent most of his career with NJPW as both a wrestler and trainer. In NJPW, he is a former three-time NEVER Openweight Champion, a one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the 2017 New Japan Cup. He is also a former holder of Revolution Pro Wrestling's British Heavyweight Championship. From March 2018 to July 2023, Shibata served as the head coach of NJPW's dojo in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazuchika Okada</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Kazuchika Okada is a Japanese professional wrestler. As of March 2024, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Elite stable and is the current AEW Continental Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his 18-year tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he was a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his fourth reign being the longest in the company's history at 720 days. He also holds the record for most successful title defenses with 12. After the title was unified into the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Okada went on to hold the new championship a record two times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toru Yano</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Toru Yano, is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the KOPW 2020 and the KOPW 2021. He is a four time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He is also a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and two-time GHC Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaos (professional wrestling)</span> Professional wrestling stable

Chaos is a professional wrestling stable, primarily performing in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group was formed in 2009, when nearly all the members of the Great Bash Heel (G.B.H) stable turned on leader Togi Makabe and reformed under new leader Shinsuke Nakamura. Soon after, the new group was named Chaos, with Nakamura as the leader. As the leader of Chaos, Nakamura was one of NJPW's top wrestlers, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as the 2011 G1 Climax and the 2014 New Japan Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back to the Yokohama Arena</span> 2014 New Japan Pro-Wrestling pay-per-view event

Back to the Yokohama Arena was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took take place on May 25, 2014, at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Kanagawa and marked NJPW's first event at the arena in eleven years. The event, considered one of NJPW's biggest of the year, following Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome and the finals of the G1 Climax, featured four championship matches and was headlined by a match for the promotion's top title, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The event aired domestically as a regular PPV and internationally as an internet PPV. While the show was praised for its match quality, it was considered a disappointment due to poor attendance numbers. NJPW did not return to the Yokohama Arena until 8 years later, on the third night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of Pro-Wrestling (2014)</span>

King of Pro-Wrestling (2014) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 13, 2014, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan and featured ten matches, six of which were contested for championships. It was the third event under the King of Pro-Wrestling name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 9</span> 2015 professional wrestling pay-per-view event

Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2015. It was the 24th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the first event on the 2015 NJPW schedule. The event featured ten professional wrestling matches and one pre-show match, six of which were for championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 8</span> 2014 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2014. It was the 23rd January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the eighth held under the "Wrestle Kingdom" name. Like the previous year, the event aired worldwide on internet pay-per-view (iPPV). Wrestle Kingdom is traditionally NJPW's biggest event of the year and has been described as their equivalent to WWE's WrestleMania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall</span>

Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 5, 2015, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall. The event featured ten matches with all six of NJPW's championships on the line, main evented by an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between champion A.J. Styles and challenger Kazuchika Okada. In addition to airing worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, NJPW World, the event also aired in Japan as a regular PPV through SKY PerfecTV!. The event marked NJPW's first show in Osaka-jō Hall in 21 years and drew 11,400 fans to the arena. This was the seventh event under the Dominion name and the first to take place in July.

<i>Los Ingobernables de Japon</i> Professional wrestling stable

Los Ingobernables de Japón, also shortened to L.I.J. or Los Ingos, is a Japanese professional wrestling stable, based in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion and led by Tetsuya Naito. An offshoot of the Mexican stable Los Ingobernables from the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, the group was formed in November 2015 by Naito, Bushi and Evil, but came to also include Sanada, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Titán and Yota Tsuji. Through NJPW's working relationship with other companies, they have also appeared in CMLL and in the American Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 11</span> 2017 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2017, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 26th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 14</span> 2020 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome was a two-night professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 29th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 14th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name; it was also the first time the event was held over two days, instead of taking place solely on January 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJPW Royal Quest</span> 2019 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Royal Quest was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on August 31, 2019 at the Copper Box Arena in London, England and was streamed live on FITE TV. It was the first-ever event independently promoted by NJPW in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 15</span> 2021 professional wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place over two nights, on January 4 and 5, 2021 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 30th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 15th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome</span> 2021 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 25, 2021, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The event was originally scheduled to take place on May 29 but was postponed to July 25 due to the state of emergency in Japan because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome</span> NJPW wrestling pay-per-view event in September 2021

Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on September 4 and 5, 2021, at the MetLife Dome in Tokorozawa, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 17</span> 2023 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 17 was a two-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The first day of the event took place on January 4, 2023, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan and the second day of the event took place on January 21, 2023, at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. It is the 32nd January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 17th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name. The event was held in honor of the NJPW founder Antonio Inoki, who died on October 1, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom 18</span> 2024 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 18 was a professional wrestling event promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2024, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 33rd January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 18th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name. Wrestlers from NJPW partner promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) were featured at the event. This was the first Wrestle Kingdom event to feature Hiroshi Tanahashi as the new president of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. This was the first Wrestle Kingdom since Wrestle Kingdom 13 to have a one-night format, as the previous Wrestle Kingdoms had been held across multiple nights in a row.

References

  1. 1 2 "2022.01.04 Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome | New Japan Pro-Wrestling". NJPW (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  2. 1 2 "2022.01.05 Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome | New Japan Pro-Wrestling". NJPW (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  3. Renner, Ethan (November 19, 2021). "NJPW vs. NOAH Set for Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night Three". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 20, 2021. The card will air live on Abema pay-per-view and have an English language option for the broadcast. The cost will be 3960 Yen. The show will be made available on NJPW World and NOAH's Wrestle Universe streaming service one week after the air date. A portion of proceeds from the event and PPV will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.
  4. "GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  5. Keller, Wade (December 13, 2016). "New Japan's WrestleKingdom 11 to air on AXS TV starting Jan. 13 in four weekly special episodes with Ross & Barnett on commentary". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  6. Hoops, Brian (January 4, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (01/04): NJPW Tokyo Dome cards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Wrestle Kingdom 16 set to start 2022 in the Tokyo Dome AND Yokohama Arena!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling . September 4, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  8. "【来年1月8日(土) 17 時~横浜アリーナ大会は、「Abema PPV Online Live」で生配信!】『 Wrestle Kingdom 「新日本プロレス vs プロレスリング ・ノア」』配信概要はコチラ【WK16 】". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  9. Renner, Ethan (December 9, 2021). "Stardom Match To Take Place At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  10. Renner, Ethan (December 12, 2021). "Stardom Reveals Participants For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  11. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications . Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  12. Renner, Ethan (December 15, 2021). "NJPW's Katsuyori Shibata Announces Wrestle Kingdom 16 In-ring Return". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  13. "Shingo Takagi vs Kazuchika Okada Official for January 4! 【WK16】". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  14. "【対戦カード発表】12・29両国決戦★林下詩美vs朱里、中野たむvs上谷沙弥ほか決定!!". World Wonder Ring Stardom . December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  15. "Stardom to be a part of Wrestle Kingdom 16 night 2! 【WK16】". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  16. "Will Ospreay to Challenge IWGP World Heavyweight Champion January 5 【WK16】". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  17. "NJPW Adds Three Matches to Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night Two Pre-show". January 4, 2022.
  18. "2022.01.08 Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Yokohama Arena | New Japan Pro-Wrestling". NJPW. Retrieved 2022-01-08.