Wrestle Kingdom 18 airs live on NJPW World this Thursday and features what should be an incredibly strong card when it’s all said and done. The excitement levels for Western fans compared to domestic fans is far different this year, but hopefully, this preview can get anyone on the ropes about checking it out or waking up for the show into it. The last four matches alone should be worth the price of admission.
Wrestle Kingdom 18 Preview
IWGP Jr. Tag Championship: Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (c) vs. Catch 22 (TJP & Francesco Akira)
The opening match of Wrestle Kingdom 18 reminds us why a one-night card is far better than the two-night event it became from 2020 to 2022.
There’s nothing better than letting the juniors go out there and get the crowd into the match — which is exactly what these four should be able to do. Connors and Moloney won the belts from Catch 22 back at STRONG Independence Day and it’s been a race back to the gold ever since for the United Empire members.
The fact is that the challengers have never been able to defeat the War Dogs team, coming into the match at 0-3 eight third most recent loss to them being in a Coffin Match at Road To Tokyo Dome. TJP has been teasing his status, which may be a rebrand or he won’t show. Whatever it may be, this feels like the match where the Super Jr. Tag League winners get back the gold.
Prediction: Catch 22
NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
After making 16 successful title defenses, Zack Sabre Jr. will return to the show that he became the NJPW World TV Championship by defending it against the new President of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Even at this age, taking on the “Ace” is no easy task for any wrestler — especially inside the Tokyo Dome. Tanahashi also has the advantage over Sabre, having a 6-5 record against the champion. It’ll be interesting to see if Tanahashi can get the job done within the 15-minute time limit, which might be why this is as 50-50 in my mind as possible. The hope, right, is for Sabre to win the match and keep things going or lose the title and be elevated to the World or Global Championships — either of which he’s highly capable of winning.
We’ll have to wait and see but it’s hard to doubt a guy who has made 16 title defenses. Let’s make it 17, shall we?
Prediction: Zack Sabre Jr.
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
There are a lot of ways to feel about this match. On one hand, there should be excitement that two of the four young stars destined to lead NJPW into the future are getting a signature singles match inside the Tokyo Dome. But on the other hand, these two would benefit greatly from facing proven guys in bigger spots. Yet, this is where we are at so let’s roll forward with it.
Yota Tsuji wanted nothing to do with this match. Not surprising considering Tsuji walked into NJPW and got himself an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Dominion. He likely expects to be in a higher spot but here we are.
Yuya Uemura needs this match. This isn’t me saying that all is doomed if he doesn’t deliver but with this being his first major singles match since returning to NJPW, he has to show up and show that he is a future main eventer like Tsuji has shown.
Both Tsuji and Uemura should be doing everything in their power to steal the show. Uemura and Tsuji need the wins — there’s just no way of knowing who gets it. Tsuji is in a higher spot so maybe he gets his win back after being pinned by Uemura to get this match.
Prediction: Yota Tsuji
Shota Umino & Kaito Kiyomiya vs. House of Torture (EVIL & Ren Narita)
House of Torture added a new member at the end of 2023 via Ren Narita and it’s made them all powerful. As a result, Shota Umino and Kaito Kiyomiya will team up to try and tear the House down.
This match will all be about Umino and Narita. After all, it was Narita who turned his back on Umino at the end of World Tag League to join EVIL and company, leading to some of the most heated reactions we’ve seen in NJPW since then. Shooter needs to get his hands on Narita and when he finally does, the crowd should go crazy for whatever the result of that may be. Sadly for Umino and Kiyomiya, we know how these House of Torture matches go. It sure feels like the only result will be Everything is EVIL and Umino pursuing his revenge a little bit longer.
Prediction: EVIL & Ren Narita
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Tama Tonga
In a rematch from Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023, Shingo Takagi goes one-on-one with Tama Tonga. The only difference is that it’ll be Takagi defending this time around.
Admittedly, there isn’t much to this match besides it being a rematch. These two aren’t in a major rivalry by any means. The NEVER Openweight Championship hasn’t been what it once was when the likes of Katsuyori Shibata and Tomohiro Ishii were fighting over it. The only hope that we can have is that Takagi lifts up this championship, much like he did the KOPW Championship over the last two years.
Making another title switch would be counterproductive and it’s the reason to go against the idea — though the title has changed hands in back-to-back years. If Takagi isn’t going to get pushed up the card anytime in the future, he should be keeping this title and bringing it back to glory.
Prediction: Shingo Takagi
IWGP Tag Team Championship & STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship: Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c) vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo (c)
Speaking of rematches, Bishamon will collide with El Phantasmo and Hikuleo in a rematch from the World Tag League Finals but this time, the IWGP Tag Team Championship and STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship will be on the line.
This match feels like the continuation of their 40-minute final where Bishamon just got past the G.O.D. representatives to win their third-straight World Tag League. The bad news for Bishamon is that these IWGP Tag Team Championships don’t know how to not change hands at Wrestle Kingdom. It’s been a decade of changing hands on January 4th and considering how close Phantasmo and Hikuleo came to winning this match, it should be expected to happen here once again. The tag division in NJPW has rebuilt itself following the exit of Aussie Open so new champions could freshen up a division that has been working hard to put itself back on the map.
Bishamon has had a great 200-plus day reign, making all the sense for them to lose on Thursday.
Prediction: El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Desperado
Wrestle Kingdom 18 feels like it has a “Big Four” matches and that starts here. Long-time rivals will collide as Hiromu Takahashi will defend the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship against El Desperado two years after they last faced off inside the Tokyo Dome.
There hasn’t been much build for this match outside of what we know about this rivalry already. Desperado has only ever defeated Takahashi with the title on the line once but has never defeated him with Takahashi defending. Overall, they’re 3-3-1 against one another which makes this match all the more important for their feud. There are a few ways to look at this match beyond the rivalry, however. Takahashi has been a dominant champion, holding the belt for a full year once January 4th comes around. Desperado hasn’t been all too focused on the gold over the last year outside of Wrestle Kingdom 17 and competing in the Best of the Super Juniors. Otherwise, this will be his first challenge in a year after focusing on things he’s enjoyed like Deathmatches and traveling the world. And that’s why it feels like this may be his time to finally take the title from Takahashi.
All feels like it is setting up for Desperado to have his moment at the end of a grueling fight. It truly does. But then there’s the part in the back of my mind that maybe 2024 is the year NJPW can finally run Naito vs. Hiromu at the Anniversary show. If that’s the case, this simply may not be Desperado’s time just yet.
Prediction: Hiromu Takahashi
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay
An inaugural champion will be crowned with the introduction of the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18. The title will be the successor of the IWGP United States Championship which essentially replaced the IWGP Intercontinental Championship after it was joined together with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. We have no idea what the new title will look like but we do know that it’ll be Will Ospreay, Jon Moxley, and David Finlay fighting for it.
Ospreay is the representative champion after watching his IWGP US Championship be destroyed at the hands of Finlay and his giant mallet. All looked to be heading towards Ospreay having Moxley challenge for the title before Finlay forced his way in. Good thing he did, I guess, seeing that both Ospreay and Moxley are now AEW talents. In many ways, Moxley feels like the odd one in this match seeing that Finlay felt destined for this spot since taking over as leader of BULLET CLUB. Being a wild card is right up Moxley’s alley, making him all the more dangerous.
My pure feelings about this match are that I do wish Ospreay’s potential final Wrestle Kingdom match was a big one-on-one affair but here it is — like it or hate it.
In terms of who wins, the obvious favorite feels like Finlay seeing he is the one signed but I’m rolling with Ospreay. The leader of United Empire has stated he isn’t going to AEW just yet, staying with NJPW through the New Beginnings tour. He has also laid down a challenge to Kazuchika Okada for Battle In The Valley. All of that gives me some confidence he could hold this title long enough to drop it to either Okada or someone else in the future.
With this being the only multi-man match on the card, it could work out in their favor to stand out from the rest of the pack.
Prediction: Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
The Dream Match, Part II. Kazuchika Okada and Bryan Danielson had a singles match at Forbidden Door II, main eventing the show that also had the rematch between Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega. While they were able to put together a good effort, the reality is that these two never came close to having the match anyone expected them to have. A big reason for that was the broken forearm of Danielson, who had it broken on an Okada Elbow Drop. So we’ll give them a mulligan and for good reason. It’s quite rare you get two all-time greats going head-to-head in arguably the best venue in pro wrestling. That’s what we are getting on Thursday.
I cannot express enough how special it is that Danielson will be stepping into the Tokyo Dome for this match. There’s a different feel to it. A different atmosphere. No offense to Toronto, where the first match between these two happened. But this is just instantly better. Now, add in that it will also be Okada inside the Tokyo Dome. There may be no better combo in professional wrestling history than that, adding to this match all the more.
Because of how their first match went, hype and expectations are lower than if this was a first-time-ever match. That should benefit them in the long run of coming through this time around. “The American Dragon” has made this personal by questioning the training of Okada and has promised to pay him back for injuring him twice. Okada is determined to prove he’s not only the best, but to get a win back against Danielson that saw him tap out.
If there’s anything else you need to sell this match to you, it’s very likely the one time we will get to see Bryan Danielson at the height of his abilities compete in this building. Enjoy every bit of it. If Okada doesn’t win this match, it’ll be an absolute shock for all.
Prediction: Kazuchika Okada
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: SANADA (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
The highly polarizing main event comes into play now as SANADA will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against G1 Climax 33 winner Tetsuya Naito in a match that is 18 years in the making.
These two have been running in parallels since the start of their career — from their first tryouts with NJPW. They’d take very different roads to get to this moment, with SANADA being a student of Keiji Mutoh instead of joining NJPW from the jump while Naito would work his way up NJPW to become their most popular star. Of course, they’d come together as part of Los Ingobernables de Japon when Naito welcomed him into the group. And it was when SANADA defeated Naito in the 2023 New Japan Cup that he’d leave to lead JUST 5 GUYS but this isn’t about SANADA turning his back on LIJ. This isn’t about Naito trying to get that revenge, either. Instead it’s two stories of trying to prove themselves. SANADA has talked in detail about how watching Naito face his mentor Keiji Mutoh in his final match ate at him. All he could do was sit there ringside when he realized he didn’t reach the level of someone like Naito to get that match. That’s when he moved on from Naito’s shadow, leading JUST 5 GUYS and finally become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, getting to the top of New Japan as a result.
Now debate can come in as to how his reign has gone since then but he’s now reached the Wrestle Kingdom main event. This is the match he needs to win to finally reach that level he’s been striving for.
But there’s something about a Naito main event, man. There’s nothing like it. And for the LIJ leader, there’s one thing in his sites and that’s finally having his LIJ Roll Call to close out the Tokyo Dome once and for all.
Truthfully, the match should surprise many who have doubted the build. These two are great pro wrestlers. Naito is an all-time great who has been able to rise to the occasion time and time again. The reality is that he’s not the same guy he was five years ago but as we saw in the G1 on the final two nights, he can show up when he needs to. This has all the makings to not only be one of those times, but a Naito performance to remember.
With the Dome screaming “NAITO! NAITO! NAITO!” at the top of their lungs, it’s hard to not be excited about this match for me. There’s nothing better than a Naito main event. And we’ll feel it in what is reported to be a packed Tokyo Dome.
SANADA needs this win more than anyone but nothing is stopping that Naito roll call. It may be the final chance to ever get it. It’s time.
Prediction: Tetsuya Naito
