Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 is in the bag and the results are in. Shibata made his triumphant return to wrestling facing a mystery opponent of his choice. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship was on the line as El Desperado defeneded against former Champion Hiromu Takahashi. And the main event of the show saw G1 Climax Winner Kazuchika Okada look to regain the championship he took to new heights, when he challenged current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shingo Tagaki.
The match results are as followed:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 Match Results
New Japan Rumble: Final Four face off on Night Two in a Fatal 4 Way for the KOPW 2022 Provisional Championship
The Participants: (Chase Owens, Aaron Henare, Kosei Fujita, Yuto Nakashima, Ryohei Oiwa, Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Minoru Suzuki, Satoshi Kojima, Taka Michinoku, Cima, Tomoaki Honma, Douki, Yuji Nagata, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Togi Makabe, Bad Luck Fale, Tatsumi Fujinami and Toru Yano)
Winners: Toru Yano, Minoru Suzuki, Chase Owens and Cima.
YOH vs SHO (with Dick Togo)
YOH wins by pin fall after a superkick
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero vs. Bullet Club (KENTA, El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori) In A 6-Man Tag Team Match
Bullet Club win by disqualification after Tanahashi whips KENTA with a Kendo stick
Los Ingobernables de Japon(Tetsuya Naito, Sanada and Bushi) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb and The Great O-Khan w/Aaron Henare) In A 6-Man Tag Team Match
Will Ospreay pins Bushi with a Hidden Blade
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita
This match was originally announced as a “Catch Rules” match, but Shibata revealed before the match it was to be contested under normal NJPW rules.
Katsuyori Shibata wins by pin fall after a Penalty Kick
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. EVIL w/Dick Togo For The NEVER Openweight Championship
EVIL wins via pin fall after hitting Ishii with “Everything is EVIL”. New NEVER Openweight Champion
Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr & Taichi (c) w/Miho Abe) vs. Hirooki Goto & Yoshi Hashi For The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi Hashi win after Goto pins Taichi. New IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
El Desperado (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi For The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
El Desperado wins via pin fall after hitting Takahashi with Two Pinche Loco’s for the win. Retins the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Shingo Takagi (c) vs. G1 Climax Winner Kazuchika Okada For The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada wins by pinning Shingo Tagaki after hitting him with The Rainmaker. New IWGP Heavyweight Championship and first time Okada has won the title in the Tokyo Dome.
Hamish is a writer and podcaster and wrestling fan who is a key part of the Atletifo team.
After playing countless hours of WrestleMania X8 on the Gamecube, he discovered Rey Mysterio getting his head crushed by The Great Khali, and thus a love for professional wrestling was born.
He is also a Media Graduate, as well as writing for multiple sites about Premier League football and the culture of Wales – his home country.
