NJPW Confirms Main Event For 2026's Wrestle Kingdom 20
New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest show of their calendar year is right around the corner as NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 will take place at the legendary Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2026. There has been much speculation on what match will close out the event as there are two possible candidates.
The first being the Winner Takes All double title match between IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita and IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji, and the second being Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match against his long-time rival and current AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada. That speculation can now be put to rest as NJPW have officially confirmed the match order for Wrestle Kingdom 20, and the show will end with final match of Hiroshi Tanahashi's career as his bout with Okada has been picked as the main event.
The double title match between Takeshita and Tsuji will be the penultimate match of the show, marking the first time that any variation of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship won't be defended in the main event of NJPW's annual January 4 card since the Wrestle Kingdom 8 event in 2014. That show saw Tanahashi facing Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in the main event after a controversial fan vote saw Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Championship match with Tetsuya Naito become the penultimate match of the night. Okada himself wished for his match for the match with Tanahashi to be the main event in a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, and his wish will be granted as he has one last dance with the President of NJPW in front of a record breaking crowd.
Not only that, but Tanahashi's retirement match will also mark the first time since the first event under the Wrestle Kingdom name back in 2007 where no titles at all will be on the line in the main event of a January 4 card. The last time that happened was when Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono, two of NJPW's famed "Three Musketeers," teamed up to take on Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima in a tag team match.