7 takeaways from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16
For the first time, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 took place for three nights. The first two shows on January 4th and 5th happened from the typical Tokyo Dome location, while the final event was a special New Japan Pro Wrestling vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH Supershow from Yokohama Arena.
The Tokyo Dome shows were headlined by two separate IWGP World Heavyweight Championship contests to determine an undisputed champion. Will Ospreay relinquished the title in May due to injury. Shingo Takagi won the gold at Dominion in June, while Kazuchika Okada won the G1 Climax 31 and looked to take his rightful top spot at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16.
A clash of past present and future legends in our main event in Yokohama Arena saw Kaito Kiyomiya, Keiji Muto, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi go all out!
Watch the replay on demand (English commentary)
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With those three men in the main events, the rest of the roster was spread out along the two nights in title bouts and grudge matches. The third event featured a collection of tag and multi-man contests between the two major promotions in Japan. In this article, let's take a look at the seven takeaways from the three nights of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16.
7) The Japanese Forbidden Door is open at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16
【1.5東京ドーム大会・第4試合後】
「1.8横浜アリーナ、オレたち、プロレスリング・ノアが日本で一番のプロレス団体になってやるからな」
対抗戦へ向けて拳王が宣戦布告！
★試合の詳細は新日本プロレス・スマホサイトで速報中！
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Coming into NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16, the term "forbidden door" has been used quite often. It is consistently used when talking about AEW and its relationship with various promotions. However, this phrase was first used to describe the possibility of AEW and NJPW working together.
Hiroshi Tanahashi first coined the term ahead of Wrestle Kingdom 14, but this can now be used to describe how NJPW has opened its doors to the rest of Japan. STARDOM is the leading promotion for women's wrestling in Japan. Over the past few years, the ladies of STARDOM have been highlighted on the pre-show of the Tokyo Dome shows, but this year they were on the main card.
Not only did STARDOM get a showcase on the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 lineup, but the third event was centered on another major company. Pro Wrestling NOAH has been steadily delivering consistent quality for many years, but they have never interacted directly until this year.
The Pro Wrestling NOAH roster appeared in the Tokyo Dome on NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 2 and had a confrontation with Los Ingobernables de Japon. The third Wrestle Kingdom 16 event featured the best of NOAH against New Japan and helped let both companies shine. The fact that NJPW has opened its doors to these two promotions says a lot about the changes that have happened.