NJPW Announce Full Line-Ups For Two-Day Wrestle Kingdom 14 Shows
14 stars in the Tokyo Dome.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has revealed the full line-ups for the two-day Wrestle Kingdom 14 super-shows.
On night one (January 4), Kazuchika Okada will face Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, while Jay White defends his Intercontinental Title against Tetsuya Naito. The respect winners advance to a unification bout on January 5, as the runners-up square off in a third place playoff.
Also set for January 4 is: Will Ospreay Vs. Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title), Lance Archer Vs. Jon Moxley (United States Title Texas Death Match), the Guerrillas of Destiny Vs. David Finlay and Juice Robinson (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title match), YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hirooki Goto vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, and KENTA, BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, EVIL, and SANADA vs. El Desperado, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr., and the wild, nostalgia-fuelled retirement spectacular pitting Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke, and Tiger Mask (with El Samurai) against Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, and Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi).
January 5 is rounded out, more divisively, with Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Chris Jericho, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo vs. Roppongi 3K (IWGP Junior Tag Team Title), KENTA Vs. Hirooki Goto (NEVER Openweight Title), Archer/Moxley Vs. Juice Robinson (United States Title), Zack Sabre Jr vs. SANADA (RevPro British Heavyweight Title), and Jushin Liger and Naoki Sano vs. Ryu Lee (Dragon Lee) and Hiromu Takahashi
There's no space across two nights (!) for a Tomohiro Ishii nor Shingo Takagi singles match, which is disappointing, as is the absence of Katsuyori Shibata. His physical work in two awesome angles feels now like a cruel and counterproductive bait-and-switch.
Still, those are minor complaints, relatively speaking.