Wrestle Kingdom 20

Wrestle Kingdom 20
Promotional poster featuring images of Hiroshi Tanahashi throughout his career
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date	January 4, 2026
City	Tokyo, Japan
Venue	Tokyo Dome
Event chronology
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Wrestle Kingdom chronology
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Wrestle Kingdom 20 is a upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event will take place on January 4, 2026 at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It will be the 35th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 20th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name.

This will be the first January 4 Tokyo Dome show to be aired on TV Asahi in Japan since 2004 and will be also broadcast live on the NJPW World streaming service. Wrestle Kingdom 20 will feature the retirement match of Hiroshi Tanahashi and the professional wrestling debut of former gold medalist judoka Olympian Aaron Wolf. ^[1]

Production

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". ^{[2] [3]} The show has been promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name since 2007. ^[4]

Wrestle Kingdom 20 was announced on October 14, 2024. ^{[5] [6]}

Storylines

Wrestle Kingdom 20 will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers will portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. ^[7]

Matches

No.	Matches*	Stipulations
1	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada	Singles match [8] [9] This will be Tanahashi's retirement match.
2	Evil (c) vs. Aaron Wolf	Singles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship [10] [11] [12]
3	Saya Kamitani (Strong) vs. Syuri (IWGP)	Winner Takes All match for the IWGP Women's Championship and Strong Women's Championship [13] [14]
4	Konosuke Takeshita (World) vs. Yota Tsuji (Global)	Winner Takes All match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship [15] [16]
5	El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Sho	Four way match to determine the #1 contender for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship [17]
(c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match *Card subject to change

References

1. Lambert, Jeremy (June 23, 2025). "TV Asahi To Broadcast NJPW Wrestle Kingdom For First Time Since 2004". Fightful. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
2. "GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
3. 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.
4. Hoops, Brian (January 4, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (01/04): NJPW Tokyo Dome cards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved August 25, 2017.
5. Rose, Bryan (August 17, 2025). "NJPW G1 Climax 35 finals notes: Excursion returns, Wrestle Kingdom 20". Wrestling Observer . Retrieved August 21, 2025.
6. Lambert, Jeremy (October 14, 2024). "Hiroshi Tanahashi Announces His Final Match Will Be At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 On January 4, 2026". Fightful. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
7. Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". Discovery Communications . Retrieved October 9, 2017.
8. 「ゴールを決めました」 なんと棚橋弘至選手が、2026年1.4での“レスラー引退”を決意…！. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
9. Brennan, Corey (November 8, 2025). "Kazuchika Okada Announced As Hiroshi Tanahashi's Final Opponent At NJPW Road In Anjo Event". Fightful. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
10. Swinton, Lyric (June 24, 2025). "NJPW Signs Olympic Gold Medalist Judoka Aaron Wolf, Announces Debut Event". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
11. Carey, Ian (October 14, 2025). "NJPW announces Aaron Wolf's opponent for Wrestle Kingdom debut". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved October 15, 2025.
12. "EVIL pledges gold stakes to Dome at Wrestle Kingdom Presser 【WK20】". New Japan Pro Wrestling. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
13. Lambert, Jeremy (October 14, 2025). "Saya Kamitani To Compete At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20". Fightful. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
14. "Saya Kamitani's opponent for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 revealed". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
15. "Tsuji to Challenge Takeshita at Tokyo Dome". New Japan Pro Wrestling. November 2, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
16. Carey, Ian (November 2, 2025). "Champion vs. Champion match set for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 3, 2025.
17. "Okada vs Tanahashi, junior 4 way set for Wrestle Kingdom 【WK20】【ACE】". New Japan Pro Wrestling. November 9, 2025. Retrieved November 9, 2025.

External links

• Official website