New Japan Has Landed a Massive Opportunity- This Must Not Slip

One day I’ll be happy. One day maybe I can think you know by god they did it. One day I’ll go you know maybe Gedo didn’t bungle this one. But then again on that last one there’s no Jr titles on the line as Wrestle Kingdom but instead a number one contender match…..

January 4th 2026 is not just one of the biggest days in the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling but in wrestling history. It is very rare you have a talent like Tanahashi a man who carried a company out of the pits and into a golden era (I’d argue it’s twice with Steve Austin) and that day singles his retirement. Not only is that the case but you have the first match (and I guess title win) for Aaron Wolf the Olympic Gold Medalist judoka. These two things combined with Tanahashi’s opponent being his greatest rival Kazuchika Okada the very rivalry a golden era of New Japan was built on has landed a cold product a hot house. By all accounts tickets are flying and I do mean flying with of a legit sell out of 55,000. That is incredible, it genuinely is and I think an increase of about 30,000 from a year ago. I’ve gone hot and cold on New Japan’s booking this year. There’s been highs and there’s been lows but I don’t think you can attribute their success this year to the product. 

New Japan stand a benefactor of circumstances and have a need to use this well. It is not everyday one show can provide the retirement of a once in a century talent as well as an incredibly famous celebrity in Japan and as such this card needs to deliver a clear mission statement for New Japan going forward. This is the biggest crowd they have had for years I don’t remember the last 50,000 attended show should projections be met but this is the moment.

I talked about how I didn’t like Takeshita winning the G1 earlier in the year. That’s not a Takeshita issue it was an issue that the next ace of New Japan needed to win here. Somehow by sheer happenstance Gedo gets a second shot. This must be Yota Tsuji’s moment. Ok maybe not the main event this show is essentially Hiroshi Tanahashi presents Wrestle Kingdom but he needs to walk out with both belts make your new ace in front of your biggest crowd it’s a moment it’s a point and it is needed.

But it’s not just the live crowd. Big events normally lead to big on demand increase. NJPW World will have the eyes of the world on it on January 4th as such you need to plan this out. Everyone should come away from January 4th no doubt of who the stars are.

So what do I mean by that? Well you need to show why this generation are actually good. Your new crop of what you think would be top talent (Tsuji, Uemura and even Umino and Narita) have been stuck in holding patterns for years. New Japan didn’t use Okada to elevate any when he left and same with Naito, while Tanahashi is doing his best with it in 2025 you now have no choice but to run with it. Gedo again lucked into January 4th and if he does the right thing Tsuji wins the belt from a man who many of the audience in attendance think of as a part time outsider in Konosuke Takeshita. But above this the large majority of the wins should be showing who’s up it’s 2025. Uemura & Umino should win tag league and the belts (no issue with the Knock Out Brothers but we need to belt up the top top acts in front of the biggest crowd), Fujita should win the junior heavyweight 4 way (and if you ask me the belt on the same night). Above that your hope for wins for Aaron Wolf (I expect that the idea is he runs through House of Torture one man style to put him over doing something nobody else could do). You’d also want wins or good showings for your current crop of talent the likes of Callum Newman & Gabe Kidd spring to mind. Establish your top Japanese and non-Japanese acts in front of your biggest audiences so when they all go home and see those guys on the posters they go ‘hey that’s the guy who won that title or had that great match’. 

I will give the early card (written November 13th) credit. The title for title match between Saya Kamitani vs. Syuri for NJPW Strong Women’s and IWGP Women’s championships. Smart idea to showcase the sister promotion in STARDOM as well as get your main women’s titles on one of the frontrunners for Tokyo Sports MVP in Kamitani. With her stock rising it makes sense to book her as champion she doesn’t do many western dates it’s a good hook and draw. I’ve spoken previously about the NJPW Strong belts going away and unifying with other belts so this makes sense to do this here and show who’s the top Joshi. 

Well, we have 2 months left to go for the whole card to be announced so let's see what happens to fill out the card. I remain cautiously optimistic because it has to be seen that this is a massive opportunity. Let us see the main goals for Wrestle Kingdom 20 should be to pay tribute to one greatest wrestlers of all time and to show the eyes of the world why New Japan is a must watch product in 2026.