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NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20: Date, Start Time, Match Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

Hiroshi Tanahashi's historic 26-year career comes to an end on January 4.
Lyric Swinton|
Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match against Kazuchika Okada will headline NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Tokyo Dome.
Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match against Kazuchika Okada will headline NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Tokyo Dome. | New Japan Pro-Wrestling

A new era begins for New Japan Pro-Wrestling on January 4 as the era of the Ace comes to an end.

Wrestle Kingdom 20 will be in a sold-out Tokyo Dome as fans from around the world gather to say one final farewell to the in-ring career of NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tanahashi's retirement match against longtime rival Kazuchika Okada will go on last as part of a high stakes double main event.

Many of wrestling's biggest stars will be in attendance to honor Tanahashi, including AEW'sKenny Omega and Will Ospreay.

The first part of the doubleheader is a double gold dash as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita wrestles IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji for all the gold.

NEVER 6-man ranbo
New Japan Pro-Wrestling

Rounding out the top matches on the card is the in-ring debut of Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf versus EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship. NJPW's women's champions will have a double gold dash of their own with NJPW Strong Women's Champion Saya Kamitani going head-to-head with IWGP Women's Champion Syuri.

Also on the card for the first time is a NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Tornado Ranbo with the champions, YOH, Toru Yano, and Master Wato defending their titles against seven other trios.

Andrade El Idolo, best known to Japanese fans from his time as La Sombra, makes his return to NJPW as the chief financial backer of the United Empire. Andrade will fill one of two mystery spots on the United Empire team when Andrade, Callum Newman, Henare, and Great-O-Khan take on the all-star team of the Bullet Club War Dogs and Unaffiliated.

Their opponents are Hiromu Takahashi, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, and Shingo Takagi, all combustable elements eager to make an explosive 10-man team match.

Rounding out the card is a four-way #1 contenders match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and El Phantasmo defending the NJPW World Television Championship against DDT's Chris Brookes.

Keep reading for more information onf Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Tokyo Dome.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada in Hiroshi Tanahashi's Retirement Match

Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match against Kazuchika Okada will headline NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Tokyo Dome.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling

This is it. The Ace of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Hiroshi Tanahashi, will step into the ring for the final time at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Tokyo Dome. Across from him will be his greatest rival, AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada. In 2012, their story began at Wrestle Kingdom 6 when a young Okada, newly minted as the Rainmaker, returned from excursion to challenge then-IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tanahashi.

A month later, the Japanese wrestling world stood in disbelief as Okada defeated Tanahashi in his first challenge for NJPW's top title, a moment now forever memorialized as the "Rainmaker Shock". From that moment on, Okada and Tanahashi would remain intertwined as the two defining figures of NJPW in the 21st century until Okada's exit from the company in 2024. They've battled on 17 separate occasions, several of which have also headlined the Tokyo Dome.

Their current record is 9-5-3 with Okada holding the most singles victories. In a match that is much bigger than wins and losses, an era of New Japan officially comes to an end in a sold-out Tokyo Dome as fans gather to say goodbye to the Ace. However, Tanahashi has no plans of going quietly into the night. Can Tanahashi pull off one last victory over his most storied rival, or will Okada fulfill his promise of ensuring that Tanahashi never executes another High Fly Flow for the win?

Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Yota Tsuji (c) in a IWGP World Heavyweight/IWGP Global Heavyweight Double Championship Match

Konosuke Takeshita/Yota Tsuji Wrestle Kingdom match graphic
New Japan Pro-Wrestling

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita and IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji will clash for all the gold as part of Wrestle Kingdom 20's double main event. Beyond the titles on the line, Takeshita and Tsuji are having a battle of wrestling ideologies. Takeshita sits atop NJPW as the reigning G1 Climax 35 winner and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion while primarily competing in AEW in America, which has been a point of contention among many NJPW wrestlers and fans.

Yota Tsuji believes that whoever holds the IWGP World Heavyweight title should have NJPW as their primary commitment, and he's adamant about bringing back the old IWGP Heavyweight Championship, a move that Takeshita believes would be a step backwards. In their previous singles meetings, Takeshita and Tsuji are tied with one win each, both matches coming from 2024's G1 Climax tournament. Which man will walk out of the Tokyo Dome with both titles and the reins of NJPW's future?

EVIL (c) vs. Aaron Wolf for the NEVER Openweight Championship (Aaron Wolf's In-Ring Debut)

aaron wolf evil wrestle kingdom match graphic
New Japan Pro-Wrestling

At King of Pro-Wrestling in Ryogoku Kokugikan, Olympic gold medalist and NJPW Young Lion Aaron Wolf stopped an attack on Boltin Oleg from EVIL and House of Torture. Months later, Wolf faces his pro wrestling in-ring debut against EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship at NJPW's biggest show of the year.

The mainstream intrigue around Wolf's debut has prompted Japanese television station TV Asahi to broadcast Wrestle Kingdom live for the first time since 2004. Wolf is a national celebrity since winning gold in judo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but he's never faced a challenge quite like EVIL? Can Wolf dazzle the Dome and overcome the inevitable House of Torture interference to win gold in his first match, or will the King of Darkness rain on his parade before it truly gets started?

Syuri (c) vs. Saya Kamitani (c) in an IWGP Women's/NJPW Strong Women's Double Championship Match

syuri saya kamitani wrestle kingdom 20 match graphic
New Japan Pro-Wrestling

There's no question that 2025 was Saya Kamitani's year. The Phenex Queen became the first woman to win the coveted Tokyo Sports MVP Award, held the World of STARDOM Championship for over 365 days, headlined STARDOM's largest-attended show in history, and wrestled in the first women's match in 23 years to be broadcast on Japanese network television.

Kamitani will kick off 2026 with her first singles match in the Tokyo Dome, defending the NJPW Strong Women's Championship versus IWGP Women's Champion Syuri. Syuri is a legend in her own right, ranking at number one on the PWI Women's 150 in 2022, earning the first five-star rating for a women's match from Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 25 years, and winning the Tokyo Sports' Women's Wrestling Grand Prize during her esteemed career.

Both women have changed considerably since their last singles match in 2021. Which superstar will leave Wrestle Kingdom with both of NJPW's esteemed women's titles?

Here is everything we know about NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 in Tokyo, Japan.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 date:

Date: Sunday, January 4, 2026

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 time:

Time: 2 a.m. EST (January 4) / 11 p.m. PST (January 3)

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 location:

Location: Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan

How To Watch NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20:

Streaming: NJPW World

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 Full Card (Announced):

Main Event: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada in Hiroshi Tanahashi's Retirement Match

7th Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Yota Tsuji (c) in a IWGP World Heavyweight/IWGP Global Heavyweight Double Championship Match

6th Match: EVIL (c) vs. Aaron Wolf for the NEVER Openweight Championship (Aaron Wolf's In-Ring Debut)

5th Match: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Kosei Fujita vs. SHO in a 4-Way #1 Contenders Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

4th Match: Hiromu Takahashi, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, & Shingo Takagi vs. Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, HENARE, Andrade El Idolo, & XX

3rd Match: Syuri (c) vs. Saya Kamitani (c) in an IWGP Women's/NJPW Strong Women's Double Championship Match

2nd Match: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match Tornado Ranbo

1st Match: El Phantasmo (c) vs. Chris Brookes in a NJPW World Television Championship Match

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Published
Lyric Swinton
LYRIC SWINTON

Lyric Swinton is a proud graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor’s in Sport & Entertainment Management. Her lifelong passion for wrestling has taken her around the world, primarily writing about alternative and international promotions for several major wrestling and media outlets, such as Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine, Blavity, Fightful, and more. She has covered wrestling for seven major promotions in some of the most famous venues in the world, including Wembley Stadium and the Tokyo Dome.

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