NJPW Makes Wrestle Kingdom 14 Main Event Official

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi will headline night one of WK14.

by Andrew Pollard
Kazuchika Okada IWGP Heavyweight Champion
Twitter, @voiceswrestling

With the hype starting to build for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestling Kingdom 14, the main event of that January PPV has now been officially announced.

After this past weekend’s NJPW King of Wrestling show, New Japan has moved to confirm that Wrestling Kingdom 14 will see IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defending his title against Kota Ibushi.

Ibushi earned a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by winning this year’s G1 Climax, but said title shot was on the line against EVIL at King of Wrestling. The Golden Star was successful in his battle against EVIL, and likewise fans saw Okada successfully defend the gold against SANADA on that same show – meaning Okada vs. Ibushi is now set as the night one main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14.

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While AEW Champion Chris Jericho vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi is heavily rumoured for Wrestle Kingdom 14, the only other confirmed match for Wrestle Kingdom at this stage is a retirement match for the iconic Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger against a to-be-confirmed opponent.

Wrestle Kingdom 14 will take place from Japan’s Tokyo Dome on Saturday, January 4th and Sunday, January 5th.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.