NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 Preview: Confirmed Matches, Start Time and How to Watch

Wrestle Kingdom 20 is NJPW’s biggest event of the year, and the company is focused on starting 2026 on a strong note with a show that lives up to its legacy. So, fans can expect plenty of high-quality in-ring action throughout the night.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi competes in his final match against his greatest rival before his official retirement ceremony. Kazuchika Okada leads the overall rivalry, while Tanahashi holds the edge in Tokyo Dome main events. No matter what, this match will be a historic one, so it remains to be seen whether the Ace of NJPW can end his career with a massive win one last time.

Winner Takes All Match for IWGP World Heavyweight & IWGP Global Championship: Yota Tsuji (Global) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (World)

IWGP World Champion Konosuke Takeshita will face IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji in a winner-takes-all bout, where both titles are on the line. There’s a ton of hype for this match, and it has the potential to be a match of the year contender, so we’ll have to see who will walk out of the Tokyo Dome with both titles.

NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL (c) vs. Aaron Wolf

Olympic gold medalist judoka Aaron Wolf makes his professional wrestling debut in a title match as he’ll face EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship. So, fans are excited to see whether the young Wolf will make an impact by becoming a champion in his debut.

Winner Takes All Match for IWGP Women’s & NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Syuri (IWGP) vs. Saya Kamitani (STRONG)

In another winner-takes-all match, Syuri and Saya Kamitani will put up their respective IWGP Women’s & NJPW STRONG Women’s Championships on the line in another highly anticipated match. Considering the in-ring skills of both competitors, it could really go either way.

#1 Contender’s Match for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: SHO vs. El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Kosei Fujita

With the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title not defended at Wrestle Kingdom for the first time in over a decade, this match determines the next challenger. All four wrestlers have issues with the current champion, DOUKI, so we’ll have to see who’ll be the next in line to challenge for the title.

Other Matches

The United Empire will duke it out with War Dogs in a massive 10-man tag team match. Andrade El Idolo will be teaming up with the United Empire in his first NJPW match since 2015, so there’s a lot of excitement for his return. In another match, the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championship will be defended in a Tornado Ranbo match.

For the kickoff show, El Phantasmo will defend the NJPW World TV Championship against Chris Brookes. Finally, Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Murashima will face Katsuya Murashima & Masatora Yasuda in tag team action.

Wrestle Kingdom 20 Final Card

• Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Winner Takes All Match for IWGP World Heavyweight & IWGP Global Championship: Yota Tsuji (Global) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (World)
• NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL (c) vs. Aaron Wolf
• Winner Takes All Match for IWGP Women’s & NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Syuri (IWGP) vs. Saya Kamitani (STRONG)
• #1 Contender’s Match for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: SHO vs. El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Kosei Fujita
• Tornado Ranbo for NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championship: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato vs. Kaisei Takechi, Yuya Uemura & Shota Umino vs. Boltin Oleg, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Togi Makabe vs. War Dogs (Clark Connors, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) vs. Team 150 (Satoshi Kojima, Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SANADA & Ren Narita)
• 10-Man Tag Team Match: David Finlay, Shingo Takagi, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney & Hiromu Takahashi vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, HENARE, Andrade El Idolo & X)
• NJPW World TV Championship: El Phantasmo (c) vs Chris Brookes (Preshow)
• Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Murashima vs. Katsuya Murashima & Masatora Yasuda (Preshow)

Final Thoughts on Wrestle Kingdom 20

Wrestle Kingdom 20 promises to be a show worth watching, especially thanks to matches such as Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yota Tsuji vs. Konosuke Takeshita and many other matches. Be sure to tune in live and follow along with Ringside News for full play-by-play coverage of the event.

Where to Watch Wrestle Kingdom 20

Wrestle Kingdom 20 will air live at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on January 4th. The pre-show will begin at 1 AM ET, while the main show starts at 2 AM ET. Fans can watch the show on NJPW World.