Wrestle Kingdom 18: how to stream NJPW's Jan 4 show in the UK and the current card for Japan's Wrestlemania

American Football has the Super Bowl, European Football has the Champions League and the WWE also has its flagship event, Wrestlemania, as the culmination of months of matches and storytelling - concerning all three examples. So how about across the rest of the wrestling world? Is there an equivalent to Wrestlemania in Mexico and Japan by chance? The answer to both is an emphatic “yes.”

New Japan Pro Wrestling, considered Japan’s biggest wrestling promotion (and there are a lot of them in the country) ever year holds its premiere event at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, and many wrestling fans like myself consider Wrestle Kingdom as the “Wrestlemania of Japan,” in terms of the sheer pomp and circumstance regarding the presentation of the affair.  It helps also that the calibre of matches that take place on the January 4th shows seems to become instant talking points for “Match of the Year” candidates among wrestling fans this early in the calendar. Previous Wrestle Kingdom’s have brought us incredible battles between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada and even Western wrestlers such as Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy have previously wrestled on the show.

Though there are complaints among some New Japan Pro Wrestling fans that the card reads like merely a series of rematches, the storytelling in Japanese wrestling is at times wholly different from other countries; while the idea of a rematch seems boring, in puroresu (Japanese wrestling), it’s the idea of a rival learning from their mistakes against their prior opponent and overcoming those odds to demonstrate their growth. This idea was made popular by All Japan Pro Wrestling during their “King’s Road” heyday but has been a trope picked up by many other companies.

Headline the Tokyo Dome this year is currently IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA of Just 5 Guys facing his former stablemate, Tetsuya Naito, the leader of the incredibly popular Los Ingobernables de Japon. Naito earned his right to face his former minion after winning New Japan’s prestigious month-long tournament, the G1 Climax - which gives the winner of the tournament the chance to challenge at Wrestle Kingdom, similar to how a Royal Rumble winner earns the right to challenge for a top-tier title at Wrestlemania.

WWE and AEW fans will also be taking a keen interest in the semi-main event at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow morning, with Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan), long considered one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation, facing off one more time against the “ace” of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Kazuchika Okada, in what is considered a dream match at the Dome and one that many Western wrestling fans might be curious to check out.

But what is the history behind Wrestle Kingdom and how can someone in the United Kingdom watch the event live on television from  7:30 a.m. GMT on January 4 2023?

What is Wrestle Kingdom?

NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom is an annual professional wrestling event held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It takes place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and is considered one of the premier wrestling events globally. Wrestle Kingdom is NJPW's equivalent to major wrestling events like WWE's WrestleMania.

The history of Wrestle Kingdom dates back to 1992 when it was known as the "Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome." However, it wasn't until 2007 that the event was branded as "Wrestle Kingdom." Since then, it has become NJPW's flagship show, featuring top-tier matches and attracting international attention.

Wrestle Kingdom typically takes place on January 4th each year, and it serves as the culmination of NJPW's annual tour. The event is known for showcasing NJPW's top talent, including international stars, and it often includes multiple championship matches, attracting wrestling fans from around the world. 

Wrestle Kingdom has gained a reputation for delivering high-quality, hard-hitting matches and has played a crucial role in elevating NJPW's global profile in the professional wrestling landscape and is considered one of the key events on the pro-wrestling calendar. 

Who is competing at Wrestle Kingdom 18?

As with many wrestling shows, the card is subject to change:

• 20-person “Ranbo” (battle royale, over-the-top-rope eliminations) to determine who will challenge for the Provisional KOPW 2024 Championship at New Year Dash!!
• IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) (c) vs. Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) 
• NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Yota Tsuji vs Yuya Uemura
• Shota Umino and Kaito Kiyomita vs. House of Torture (EVIL and Ren Narita)
• NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs Tama Tonga
• IWGP Heavyweight and Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships (winner takes all): Bihamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) (IWGP champs) vs Guerillas of Destiny (Hikuleon and El Phantasmo) (Strong Openweight champs)
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromi Takahashi (c) vs El Desperado
• IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship - Three Way Dance: Will Ospreay vs Jon Moxley (AEW) vs David Finlay
• Dream Match: Kazuchika Okada vs Bryan Danielson
• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: SANADA (c) vs Tetsuya Naito

Have any WWE wrestlers ever competed at Wrestle Kingdom?

Quite a few actually, though not while officially members of World Wrestling Entertainment. Both AJ Styles and Finn Balor were involved in one of New Japan’s most popular heel stables (bad guy group) in recent years with the infamous Bullet Club, while Shinsuke Nakamura, currently feuding with Cody Rhodes on RAW, was a NJPW Young Lion before becoming one of the most well-regarded performers in the world with New Japan - leading to him and AJ Styles signing with the US juggernaut the morning of Wrestle Kingdom 10.

Cody Rhodes was also a member of the New Japan roster, once again as a member of the foreign heel stable Bullet Club, and was involved in the popular “BC Civil War” against Kenny Omega during their heyday with the company. While Kenny Omega, Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Adam Page all left New Japan to create All Elite Wrestling, Rhodes left the company last year to rejoin the WWE and to “complete his story.”

Where can I watch Wrestle Kingdom 18 in the United Kingdom?

Wrestle Kingdom 18 is available to watch with a subscription to New Japan World; NJPW’s streaming service. However, be warned regarding subscription payment dates - in Japan, the subscription period starts every month on the first of the month (January 1, February 1, etc.) and doesn’t renew every 30 days like the WWE Network.