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NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 20 On Pace To Draw Record-Breaking Tokyo Dome Crowd

NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi will wrestle his last match in front of a large and passionate crowd this January 4.
Aidan Chacon|
Hiroshi Tanahashi=
Hiroshi Tanahashi= | New Japan Pro-Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling has been running massive shows in the Tokyo Dome for decades, but there's been a different kind of energy inside the building since they started running Wrestle Kingdom every January 4 since 2007.

The twentieth edition of Wrestle Kingdom is set to take place this January 4, and it's set to be colossal. Pro wrestling legend and current NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi is due to wrestle his last match, and Konosuke Takeshita is set to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Tanahashi made a major announcement regarding Wrestle Kingdom at a press conference last night.

WK20 could be largest since Wrestle Kingdom began in 2007

NJPW began selling tickets to exclusive fan club members in early September and started selling general admission tickets on October 1. Since they've gone on sale, NJPW has sold 31,548 tickets as of early morning November 4.

31,548 is already larger than many previous Wrestle Kingdom shows. NJPW hasn't produced a Wrestle Kingdom show attended by more than 30,000 fans since the first two-night Wrestle Kingdom events in January 2020.

Both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020 were headlined by Kazuchika Okada, and it resulted in 40,008 fans attending night 1 of the show and 30,063 attending the second night. The promotion has two more months to break a record.

What's in store this January 4

Japanese fans are incredibly excited to watch this Wrestle Kingdom because of what's at stake so far. Konosuke Takeshita became IWGP World Heavyweight Champion last month when he beat Zack Sabre Jr., and he's now slated to face IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji in another unification match.

Former Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolfe is making his pro wrestling debut at Wrestle Kingdom in the form of a NEVER Openweight Championship match against NJPW veteran EVIL. Wolfe signed with NJPW this past June and already has a rocket strapped to his back. He attacked members of EVIL's House of Torture faction in October and was challenged to a match by the champion.

A Winner-Takes-All match between NJPW Strong Women's Champion Saya Kamitani and IWGP Women's Champion Syuri is also set to take place at the event.

Wrestle Kingdom 20 will be a celebration of a legendary career as well, when eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi wrestles his last match against an opponent that has yet to be announced.

History of NJPW in Tokyo Dome

NJPW has promoted and run shows inside the Tokyo Dome larger than Wrestle Kingdom 12's 43,000 or Wrestle Kingdom 14's 40,008. Their January 4 Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome show reportedly drew more than 63,000 fans. NJPW ran January 4 shows titled Wrestling World from 1996 to 2005 with the 1998 show achieving anywhere from 55,000 to 60,000 fans.

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Aidan Chacon
AIDAN CHACON

Aidan has been a contributor to The Takedown since July of 2025. He also currently writes for the Miami Heat & Orlando Magic on SIl. Before joining On SI, he reported for Caplin News and created content individually. He has a bachelor’s degree in Digital Media & Communications at FIU’s School of Journalism. Aidan has spent years producing pro wrestling content on social media and writing about pro sports. He’s a lifelong enthusiast of the business and continues to cover the global wrestling world with an unbiased, but passionate approach. His favorite pro wrestling memory is watching Triple H vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 28, and legend has it he is still chanting "move the palm trees" to this day.

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