NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13: Tokyo Dome extravaganza puts WWE on notice with decades of dominance under threat
- Tokyo Dome show delivers again as Kenny Omega and Hiroshi Tanahashi put on a classic
- NJPW and All Elite Wrestling making moves into WWE strongholds in 2019
As testament to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s growing popularity, you could look at Friday’s “Wrestle Kingdom 13” gate of 38,162 – the largest January 4 show attendance in 16 years. Or that next year, for the first time, there will be back-to-back Tokyo Dome shows on consecutive nights.
Or, like me, you could have tried to log in to your account on the “New Japan World” online subscription service only to see the servers had crashed for the first 90 minutes of Friday’s extravaganza because of the amount of new users trying to sign up.
NJPW’s largest annual show, Wrestle Kingdom has become something of a mecca for pro wrestling fans outside Japan, with thousands of foreigners now helping to pack out the arena and thousands more watching at home (when they could finally log in).
The company gave a gracious apology, as is the way in Japan, though any grievances will have been forgiven after the sheer brilliance that was served up once again.
Hiroshi Tanahashi turned back the clock to win his eighth IWGP heavyweight title in his 10th Tokyo Dome main event at the ripe old age of 42, beating Kenny Omega in an instant classic.
The co-main event saw WWE legend Chris Jericho continue his latest career reinvention with another spectacular bout against Tetsuya Naito, who claimed the IWGP intercontinental title in a “no disqualification” match.