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Wrestle Kingdom 11

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Wrestle Kingdom 11
Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW wrestlers
PromotionNew Japan Pro Wrestling
DateJanuary 4, 2017
CityTokyo, Japan
VenueTokyo Dome
January 4 Tokyo Dome Show chronology
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Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome is an upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event is scheduled to take place on January 4, 2017, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Tokyo Dome. It will be the 26th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest wrestling show in the world outside of the United States".[1] The event will be main evented by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega.

Production

Storylines

See also: Professional wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom 11 will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[2]

Kenny Omega holding the briefcase containing a contract for a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11

Wrestle Kingdom 11 will be main evented by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega.[3] Okada won the title on June 19, 2016, by defeating Tetsuya Naito at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[4] Meanwhile, Omega became the number one contender at the Tokyo Dome by winning the 2016 G1 Climax the following August, defeating Hirooki Goto in the finals to become the first foreign winner of NJPW's premier tournament.[5] Afterwards, Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Pro Wrestling Noah representative Naomichi Marufuji, avenging a loss suffered during the 2016 G1 Climax,[6] while Omega defended his status as the number one contender against Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto,[7][6] leading to the match between Okada and Omega being made official for the Tokyo Dome in a press conference on October 11.[3] This match marks Omega's first ever shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as well as the first singles match between him and Okada.[3]

Wrestle Kingdom 11 will also feature a match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, where Tetsuya Naito will defend against Hiroshi Tanahashi.[8] In January 2016, Shinsuke Nakamura was stripped of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship after he announced that he was leaving NJPW for WWE,[9] which led to Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega being put up in a match to determine the new champion.[10] Omega went on to win the match on February 14 at The New Beginning in Niigata,[11] which led to a rematch being booked in ladder match on June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[12] However, before the match, Tanahashi suffered a legitimate shoulder injury and was forced to pull out, being replaced by Michael Elgin,[13] who went on to defeat Omega to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion.[4] Elgin then entered a storyline rivalry with Tetsuya Naito,[14] during which Naito was backed by his Los Ingobernables de Japon (L.I.J.) stable, while Elgin had the backing of Hiroshi Tanahashi, who had started his own rivalry with L.I.J. member Sanada, after losing to him during the 2016 G1 Climax.[15] On September 25 at Destruction in Kobe, Naito defeated Elgin for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in a match that featured outside interference from the entire L.I.J. as well as Tanahashi.[16] A rematch was booked between the two for the November 5 Power Struggle event, but Elgin was forced to pull out of the match after suffering an eye injury.[17] Naito instead went on to defeat Ring of Honor (ROH) wrestler Jay Lethal to retain the title. Following the match, Tanahashi, who had defeated Sanada earlier in the event, confronted Naito, challenging him to a title match at the Tokyo Dome, which Naito accepted.[18] The match is set to break Tanahashi's seven-year streak of Tokyo Dome main events, although Naito did bring up the possibility of NJPW setting up a fan vote to decide whether the Intercontinental or Heavyweight Championship match would main event the show. This harked back to the 2014 Wrestle Kingdom 8 event, where Naito and Kazuchika Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Championship match lost the main event spot to Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura's IWGP Intercontinental Championship match, following a fan vote. Naito, however, claimed that he was against a fan vote, stating that he had always felt that the Heavyweight Championship should main event the Tokyo Dome and him being the Intercontinental Champion had not changed his mind.[19][20] Naito has yet to win a singles match in the Tokyo Dome, having lost all five of his previous matches.[21]

Hiromu Takahashi, who will challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11

Another title match will see Kushida defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Hiromu Takahashi.[8] This match was set up at Power Struggle on November 5, when, after Kushida had defeated Bushi to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, he was confronted by the returning Takahashi, who challenged him to a title match. Takahashi was revealed as the surprise "time bomb", NJPW had promoted for the past months.[22] Takahashi made his debut in August 2010 and wrestled on NJPW undercards until June 2013, when he was sent on an indefinite overseas learning excursion, originally to the United Kingdom and eventually to Mexico and the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, where he adopted a mask and the ring name "Kamaitachi".[8][23] Takahashi, as Kamaitachi, returned to Japan on January 24, 2016, wrestling Dragon Lee for the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship at the NJPW and CMLL co-produced Fantastica Mania 2016 event.[8] Following the event, Takahashi returned to CMLL, where he remained until the following April, after which he began wrestling in the United States.[24] During his Power Struggle return, Takahashi was once again promoted under his real name and not as Kamaitachi.[22]

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship will also be defended at Wrestle Kingdom 11 with The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defending against Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero).[8] Roppongi Vice earned the shot at the title by winning the 2016 Super Jr. Tag Tournament on November 5 at Power Struggle. Despite entering the tournament in the midst of a storyline, where Beretta and Romero had begun showing signs of dissension,[6][25] the two went on to defeat ACH and Taiji Ishimori in the finals to win the tournament and immediately afterwards challenged The Young Bucks to a title match at the Tokyo Dome,[22] which was made official two days later.[8]

Matches

No.Matches*[8][26][27]Stipulations
1Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny OmegaSingles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
2Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Hiroshi TanahashiSingles match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
3Kushida (c) vs. Hiromu TakahashiSingles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
4The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero)Tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

See also

References

  1. ^ "GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. December 23, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c 【WK11】東京ドーム第1弾カード決定！ケニーは「俺が新しい“伝説”を創る」と宣言！オカダは「ドームのメインはそんなに甘くない」と一刀両断!!【10.11会見】. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). October 11, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (June 18, 2016). "NJPW Dominion live results: Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP HW Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  5. ^ 【新日Ｇ１】初出場初優勝！ケニー・オメガが史上初の外国人覇者に. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 15, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Rose, Bryan (October 9, 2016). "NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  7. ^ Rose, Bryan (September 22, 2016). "NJPW Destruction in Hiroshima results: Kenny Omega defends his title shot". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g 【1.4東京ドーム第2弾カード決定！】 内藤vs棚橋のIC戦、KushidavsヒロムのIWGP Jr.戦、ヤングバックスvsロッポンギのIWGP Jr.タッグ戦が正式決定！. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). November 7, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  9. ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 12, 2016). "New Japan strips Shinsuke Nakamura of the Intercontinental Title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  10. ^ Rose, Bryan (January 30, 2016). "NJPW Road to New Beginning report: Nakamura bids farewell to New Japan". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  11. ^ Meltzer, Dave (February 13, 2016). "NJPW New Beginnings: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega for the IWGP IC Title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  12. ^ 【レスリングどんたく】ケニー・オメガ　棚橋とラダーマッチで激突へ. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 4, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  13. ^ Caldwell, James (June 3, 2016). "Big change to New Japan's "Dominion" PPV – Tanahashi out due to injury, ROH star replacing in first-ever NJPW ladder match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  14. ^ 新日・内藤 エルガンの指名受諾！ＩＣ王座に照準. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 19, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  15. ^ 【新日プロ】Sanada　棚橋追放予告「ドームはファンサービス要員で来い」. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 19, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  16. ^ Rose, Bryan (September 25, 2016). "NJPW Destruction in Kobe results: Elgin defends his title against Naito". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  17. ^ Currier, Joseph (October 13, 2016). "Michael Elgin out of NJPW Power Struggle main event due to injury". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  18. ^ 【新日本】ＩＣ王者・内藤　１・４東京ドームで棚橋と激突へ「トランキーロ！　あっせんなよ」. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  19. ^ 【新日本】内藤が因縁の“ファン投票問題”で注目発言. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  20. ^ 【WK16】IC王者・内藤、なんと“ファン投票”を真っ向否定！ 挑戦者・棚橋は回答を“保留”したが…!!【1.4東京ドーム会見】. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). November 7, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  21. ^ 【新日本】内藤の正論攻勢に棚橋“惨敗”. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  22. ^ a b c Rose, Bryan (November 4, 2016). "NJPW Power Struggle live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay Lethal". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  23. ^ 高橋 広夢. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  24. ^ Meltzer, Dave (May 2, 2016). "May 2, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Chyna, new UFC 200 main event, plus tons of news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 42. ISSN 1083-9593.
  25. ^ 【今週末より！『Jr.Tag』トーナメント開幕！】10月21日（金）後楽園で、石森＆ACHvsヤングバックス！リコシェ組vsオスプレイ組！田口＆フエゴ組！【PS16 】. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). October 11, 2016. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  26. ^ Macklin, Matthew (November 7, 2016). "Top NJPW WrestleKingdom matches, tag league blocks set, NJPW in Singapore and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  27. ^ Meltzer, Dave (November 7, 2016). "NJPW reveals full World Tag League lineup, four Wrestle Kingdom matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
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