New Japan’s biggest show of the year comes to us today (January 4) from the Tokyo Dome.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 will feature eight title fights led by Jay White defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against G1 Climax winner Kazuchika Okada. The line-up also includes a tribute to Antonio Inoki, the long-awaited showdown between Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega, WWE’s Karl Anderson defending the NEVER Openweight belt against fellow Bullet Club member Tama Tonga, AEW’s FTR defending her IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title brings in on the line against World Tag League winner Bishamon, KAIRI’s first defense of the promotion’s new women’s belt (where we may get the debut of a certain boss), and much, much more.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 can be viewed through NJPWWorld and will come with either Japanese or English commentary. The PPV begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with a kickoff show beginning approximately an hour and 40 minutes beforehand.
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PREVIEW
• Boltin Oleg vs. Ryohei Oiwa ended in a time limit tie
• SHO Great-O-Khan, Toru Yano and Shingo Takagi ahead to New Year Dash!!’s 2023 King of Pro Wrestling Trophy Match
• Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima and Togi Makabe def. Tatsumi Fujinami, Tiger Mask & Minoru Suzuki in the Antonio Inoki Memorial Match.
• It has been announced that a film about Inoki is in production.
MAIN CARD
• Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira) def. CHAOS (Lio Rush & YOH) retains the IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles via pinfall.
TJP reversed direct drive and pinned YOH with an inside cradle. Fast-paced opener, as one would expect from the super juniors. Rush was broken into after falling onto the steel ramp while using a tandem cutter.
• KAIRI def. Tam Nakano for the IWGP Women’s Championship
Nakano hit the Violent Screwdriver for two, but KAIRI kicked for two. She hit a pair of cutlasses and the InSane elbow to win a quick (five minutes) and tough match.
• Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) debuted in the episode.
She was featured on The CEO and announced as a seven-time singles champion. Their opening music also had a money theme. She wore a crown similar to the Statue of Liberty and a white robe with a Japanese flag, which she removed to show that she was wearing her gear (with heels). KAIR held up the belt and Moné let it fall. She called for a microphone and delivered a promo introducing herself and setting up a match at Battle in the Valley in San Jose on February 18. videos and more here.
• Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) def. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles.
A really good, hard-hitting match that marks the end of FTR’s belt-picking phase, and maybe their international ones as well. FTR was able to hit Big Rig on Goto but couldn’t get a three before YH cleared the pin. Harwood fell after Bishamon hit her tandem GYR finisher. More here.
• Zack Saber Jr. def. Ren Narita becomes the inaugural IWGP World Television Champion via submission
All TV title fights have a time limit of 15 minutes. This one didn’t get that far, but they wrestled like the clock. ZSJ had the advantage in technical exchanges that Narita would come back from with emotion. At the end of one of these rallies, he got caught in an armbar and couldn’t get out.
After that, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls came out and offered the Suzuki-Gun alum on their team. Saber joined them by donning a TMDK shirt.
• Tama Tonga def. Karl Anderson wins the NIE Openweight title
Machine Gun was not joined by any of his other WWE Superstars. He shot Tama cheaply in front of the bell with the belt and worked against his old Bullet Club teammate in and out of the ring, but he couldn’t put Tonga down. Both men were desperate to hit Gun Stun, and Tama ended up hitting one from the middle rope. He followed with another (who didn’t land clean) to win it. More here.
• Keiji Muto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shota Umino def. Tetsuya Naito, Sanada & Bushi
This is Muto’s final NJPW match. A fun trio match designed to (a) give the commentary team a chance to talk about Muto’s connections to the other men in the ring and (b) defeat Umino. The latter was achieved when Muto had him pin Bushi after hitting him with the Shining Wizard. Shooter and Naito had a tense moment as the winners stepped out.
• Hiromu Takahaski def. Taiji Ishimori, El Desperado & Master Wato in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Ishimori carried the belt into this 4-way match, which was about as crazy as you’d imagine a 4-way Super Junior match to be on this stage. Jumps and other highlights cleared things up, allowing mini singles matches to take place in the ring. Hiromu and Desperado traded finishers for near falls. Wato attempted to claim the win after this exchange of blows, getting two with his own Recientemente, but Takahashi pinned him with Time Bomb 2 to win the title.
• During the Juniors match, we were told that the Congo faction of Pro Wrestling NOAH faced Los Ingobernables de Japon backstage while LIJ was speaking to the press about the Mutoh match.
• Kenny Omega def. Will Ospreay wins the IWGP US Heavyweight Title
Big performances for both men in the first of our two main events. United Empire enters with the champion. Don Callis is here with his husband, sitting in the English language commentary. That Omega is only 80% healthy is as much a talking point as passing on the Torch storyline. Callis is confident Kenny will still win because Ospreay is stupid. Both men occupy large table seats in the first third.
Ospreay is burst open on the floor and UE and Callis jaw as officers check on Will. Kenny smashes his opponent’s bloodied head through one of the broken tables and waves Red Shoes off while igniting him with open-hand punches. V-Trigger connects but Will gets on the ropes when Don changes his tunes about Ospreay’s mental toughness. The Champion creates an opening as he stumbles into the ropes and crosses Omega, but The Cleaner sends him into a turnbuckle first, jaw cracking. Several V-triggers and a superplex ensue, but Will doesn’t stay down. Kenny yells at him to stay down while he goes for another knee, but Ospreay catches it and launches another comeback around the 30-minute mark.
Chelsea Kiss, two Hidden Blades and a Super Os cutter but Omega won’t stay down. Both aim for their finishers but are unable to meet and Will hits Styles Clash! Nearfall, elbow pads off, Hidden Blade! That only gets two. Ospreay drags him to the center of the ring to try Stormbreaker, but Kenny slips free for another V-trigger, taking both men down. Omega is in control of the wrist as they pull themselves to their feet for a forearm exchange. Bridging Straightjacket German Suplex gets two. Another knee (this one Kamagoye), Ospreay defiantly spits blood at his rival, then takes One Winged Angel.
• Kazuchika Okada def. Jay White wins the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Video pack in front of the entrances. Gedo is here with Switchblade. Rocky Romero chimes in on the commentary, comparing White to Triple H. Tanahashi now sits at the Japanese commentary booth with legends like Masahiro Chono, Jushin Liger and others, and Jay also taunts him in front of the bell.
Mostly switchblade in the beginning, with body shots making the G1 winner gasp. He hits a dropkick to knock White off the lead. Gedo tries to interfere and both heels are treated with DDT on the ramp. They trade strikes in the ring, then Okada hits a tombstone and clothesline to set up Money Clip. White escapes and Gedo foils a nosedive, so both men are convicted.
The challenger was in control for a stretch and fended off a comeback that included a sleeper suplex by countering a Sling Blade on a German. The two men traded finishers for a while, with neither man getting three. Okada eventually pinned White with his own Blade Runner to set up the Rainmaker, which won the night.
More about the two main events here.
• After the bell, White initially refuses to give the belt to Red Shoes. He finally does when Okada is strapped in while Jay crawls to his feet. He pulls himself up and they face each other before Switchblade rolls out and Gedo helps him backwards. Kevin Kelly talks about Okada and Inoki’s legacy as Shingo rolls Takagi into the ring with a mic. He congratulates the champion and talks about their main event at Wrestle Kingdom 16, then touts his awards to campaign for a shot at the belt. Chris Carlton is confused about the date Shingo said, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Okada tells him to flee. He brings up his achievement, NJPW’s 50th anniversary, thanks the fans and tearfully asks Inoki what he thinks of tonight’s fights. He knows that Inoki will be watching from the sky from New Japan for the next 50 years. He will continue to be champion and make it rain.
With them able to cheer again, Okada leads the Tokyo Dome off the stage in a cheer for Inoki to close the show.