NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (NJPW) PRESENTS Wrestle Kingdom 16 Three Night Event Results & Review by Ryan Balkwill

Promotion: New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah

Date: January 4–5 and 8, 2022

City: TokyoJapan, YokohamaJapan

Venue: Tokyo Dome, Yokohama Arena

Other on-screen personnel
Role:Name:
English CommentatorsKevin Kelly
Chris Charlton
Japanese CommentatorsShinpei Nogami
Milano Collection A.T.
Katsuhiko Kanazawa
Shinpei Nogam
Shinji Yoshino (night 1)
Hiroki Yamazaki (night 1)
Togi Makabe (night 1)
Masahiro Chono (night 1)
Kazuyoshi Sakai (night 2)
Ring announcersMakoto Abe
Kimihiko Ozaki
RefereesKenta Sato
Marty Asami
Red Shoes Unno

Night 1:

Card for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 2. [Night 1 Spoilers] :  r/SquaredCircle

Pre-show:

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 (January 4) Full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

19-man New Japan Ranbo to determine who will challenge for the Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy on night 2:                                                                      

Tatsumi Fujinami 

vs. 

Satoshi Kojima 

vs. 

TAKA Michinoku 

vs. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan 

vs. 

Yuji Nagata 

vs. 

Yoshinobu Kanemaru 

vs. 

Tomoaki Honma 

vs. 

Togi Makabe 

vs. 

Minoru Suzuki 

vs. 

Toru Yano 

vs. 

CIMA 

vs. 

Bad Luck Fale 

vs. 

Chase Owens 

vs. 

DOUKI 

vs. 

Master Wato 

vs. 

Aaron Henare 

vs. 

Kosei Fujita 

vs. 

Ryohei Oiwa 

vs. 

Yuto Nakashima.                                                                                                                   Winner: Chase Owens and CIMA and Minoru Suzuki and Toru Yano advanced to the four way match on Night 2. Rating: Bad

Main-Show:

YOH vs SHO January 4 | #njwk16 - YouTube

Singles Match:

YOH 

vs.

SHO. Winner: YOH                                                           Rating: Pretty Good

NJPW Global on Twitter: "#njwk16 2nd Match: Rocky Romero, Ryusuke taguchi &  Hiroshi Tanahashi vs BULLET CLUB (KENTA, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)!!  Watch LIVE, in ENGLISH!:https://t.co/Xc4Qp0fLzQ #njpw  https://t.co/qtubPkmSJj" / Twitter

Six Man Tag Team Match:

Hiroshi Tanahashi 

New Japan Pro Wrestling Taguchi & Rocky - Mega Coaches T-shirt

Mega Coaches (Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi)

vs. 

BULLET CLUB (El PhantasmoKENTA & Taiji Ishimori).

Winners: BULLET CLUB won this match by disqualification.                                                                                   Rating: Meh

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 (January 4) Full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Six Man Tag Team Match:

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHISANADA & Tetsuya Naito)

vs. 

United Empire (Great-O-KhanJeff Cobb & Will Ospreay) (w/Aaron Henare). Winners: United Empire                                                                                                                                                        Rating: Fine

Katsuyori Shibata makes return to the ring against mystery opponent at  Wrestle Kingdom 16 - Atletifo Sports

Singles Match:

Katsuyori Shibata 

vs. 

Ren Narita – 成田 蓮 – 本隊 – ヤングライオン | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Ren Narita. Winner: Katsuyori Shibata                                                                                                                                                                    Rating: Really Good

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 (January 4) Full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING


Singles match
 for the NEVER Openweight Championship:                                                                                                                                                          

Tomohiro Ishii (c)

vs. 

EVIL (w/Dick Togo).                                                                                                                                                       Winner: Evil won the NEVER Openweight Championship.                                                                                Rating: Not that good.

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 (January 4) Full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship:                                                                                                                                                     

Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) (w/Miho Abe) (c)

vs. 

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI).                 

Winners: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI wins the IWGP Tag Team Championship.                                          Rating: Good


Singles match
 for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship:                                                                                                                                                           

El Desperado IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion by NuruddinAyobWWE on DeviantArt

El Desperado (c)

vs. 

Hiromu Takahashi.                                                                                                                                                                        Winner: El Desperado                                                                                                                                    Rating: Really Good

Main event:

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 (January 4) Full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING
NJPW's New IWGP World Heavyweight Title Belt Doesn't Look Great


Singles match
 for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship:                                                                                                                                                

Shingo Takagi (c)

vs. 

NJPW Kazuchika Okada PNG Render by Sirriam on DeviantArt

Kazuchika Okada.                                                                                                                                                                        Winner: Kazuchika Okada regains the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship tonight.                              Rating: Very Good

Overall Show Score: 6.5

Pros: It still managed to deliver hard hitting wrestling action. The best matches were Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita & Shingo Takagi vs Kazuchika Okada and It does get you excited for night 2.                                                                                                                                                            

Cons: The crowd were not that loud any way. The least best match on this night was Ishii vs Evil & the first night of the Wrestle Kingdom 16 weekend felt a bit lacking in energy maybe the result of covld.

Night 2:

Pre-show:

Wrestle Kingdom 16 night 2 (January 5) full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Pre-Show Six Man Tag Team Match:

Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)

Yuji Nagata 

vs. 

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck FaleGedo & Jado).   

Winners: Great Bash Heel & Yuji Nagata                                                                                                             Rating: Not that good.

Wrestle Kingdom 16 night 2 (January 5) full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Pre-Show Six Man Tag Team Match:

Master Wato 

TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

vs. 

Suzuki-gun (El DesperadoTAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru).

 Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Winners: Master Wato & TenKoji wins by submission.                                                                                                Rating: Ok

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 2 | 411MANIA

Pre-Show Six Man Tag Team Match:

Suzuki-gun (DOUKITaichi & Zack Sabre Jr.)

vs. 

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHIHiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi).      

Bushi, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi | Wrestling, Sumo wrestling, Sumo

Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon                                   Rating: Pretty Good

Main-Show:

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Preview (Night 2)

Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:                                                                                              

Wrestle Kingdom 16: Flying Tigers retain their scepter; Phantasmo was  disqualified | Superfights

Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask) (c)

vs. 

New Japan Pro Wrestling Taguchi & Rocky - Mega Coaches T-shirt

Mega Coaches (Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi)

vs. 

BULLET CLUB’s Cutest Tag Team (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori).        Winners: Flying Tiger still the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.                                                                                                                                                 Rating: Very Good

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Preview (1/5/22): Night Two -- KENTA vs. Tanahashi


Stardom exhibition
 tag team match:                                                                                                                                                           

Mayu Iwatani by chloroformer1988 on DeviantArt

Mayu Iwatani 

Starlight Kid PNG by GRE420 on DeviantArt

Starlight Kid 

vs. 

Saya Kamitani Wrestler Profile - Joshi City

Saya Kamitani 

Tam Nakano.                                                                                                                          Winners: Saya Kamitani & Tam Nakano                                                                                                                                                                                                         Rating: Meh

KOPW 2022 4-Way Match Set for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 2 | 411MANIA

Four way match for the Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy:                                                                                                                                                           

Minoru Suzuki 

vs. 

Toru Yano 

vs. 

StrongHearts All Over The World - Fight Game Media

CIMA (w/El Lindaman & T-Hawk)

vs. 

Chase Owens.                                                                                      Winner: Minoru Suzuki won the Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy.                  Rating: Alright.


Six-man tag team match
 for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship:                                                                                                           

House Of Torture (EVILSHO & Yujiro Takahashi) (c) (w/Dick Togo)

vs. 

CHAOS (Hirooki GotoYOH & YOSHI-HASHI) (w/Tomohiro Ishii).                  

Winners: House Of Torture still the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.                                                                             Rating: Disappointing

Singles Match

SANADA 

vs. 

Great-O-Khan (w/Aaron Henare).                                                                                                                                          Winner: SANADA Rating: Really Good

Wrestle Kingdom 16 night 2 (January 5) full card, preview 【WK16】 | NEW  JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Singles Match

Tetsuya Naito 

vs. 

Jeff Cobb.  Winner: Tetsuya Naito                           Rating: Really Good

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Night 2 Results - Okada vs Ospreay Live Updates


No disqualification match
 for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship:                                                    

KENTA wins the IWGP US Championship at NJPW Power Struggle

KENTA (c)

vs. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi. Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi won the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship again.                                Rating: Great

Main event:


Singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship:                          

Kazuchika Okada (c)

vs. 

Will Ospreay (w/Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan). Winner: Kazuchika Okada still the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.                            Rating: Awesome

Overall Show Score: 7.6

Pros: There were three matches I like and they were Flying Tiger vs. Mega Coaches vs. BULLET CLUB’s Cutest Tag Team, Kenta vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & the main event between Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay. The atmosphere from the arena got a lot better by the third middle of this show & my favourite wrestle on this night was Will Ospreay.  

Cons: There’s one match I didn’t like was House Of Torture vs. CHAOS for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship & I did skip back and forth in-between screens. 

Night 3 – New Japan vs Noah:

Pre-show:

Pre-Show Singles Match:

Yasutaka Yano [NOAH] 

vs. 

Kosei Fujita [New Japan] .

Winner: Both men wrestled to a time limit draw.                           

Rating: Fun

Pre-Show Six Man Tag Team Match:

TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

Yuji Nagata [New Japan] 

vs. 

Funky Express (Akitoshi SaitoKing Tany & Mohammed Yone) [NOAH] . Winners: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Yuji Nagata                            Rating: Not that good.

Main-Show:

Ten Man Tag Team Match:

Daiki InabaDaisuke HaradaHajime OharaKinya Okada & Yoshiki Inamura [New Japan] 

vs. 

CHAOS (Hirooki GotoTomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI), Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi [NOAH].

Winners:  CHAOSMaster Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi.                         Rating: Ok

טוויטר \ NJPW Global (@njpwglobal)

Singles Match:

Atsushi Kotoge [NOAH] 

vs. 

SHO [New Japan] .                                                                                                                                       Winner: SHO                                                                                                                                                                                            Rating: Horrible

Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Yokohama Arena card set 【WK16】 | NEW JAPAN  PRO-WRESTLING

Tag Team Match:

BULLET CLUB (Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) [New Japan] 

vs. 

Stinger (HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka) [NOAH].

Winners: Stinger (HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka)                            Rating: good

Tag Team Match:

Suzuki-gun (DOUKI & El Desperado) [NOAH]

vs. 

Los Perros del Mal de Japon (NOSAWA Rongai & YO-HEY) [New Japan].                                                   

Winners: Suzuki-gun (DOUKI & El Desperado)                           Rating: really good

Six Man Tag Team Match:

Suzuki-gun (Minoru SuzukiTaichi & TAKA Michinoku) [New Japan]

vs. 

Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura)

Toru Yano [NOAH]. Winners: Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura) & Toru Yano                            Rating: Ok.

Tag Team Match:

Go Shiozaki 

Masa Kitamiya [NOAH]

vs. 

House Of Torture (Dick Togo & EVIL) [New Japan].                                                                                            . 

Winners: Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya                           Rating: Good

Tag Team Match:

Naomichi Marufuji 

Yoshinari Ogawa [NOAH]

vs. 

Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr.) [New Japan].

Winners:  Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa.                         Rating: Very Good

Ten Man Tag Team Match:

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHIHiromu TakahashiSANADAShingo Takagi 

Tetsuya Naito) [New Japan]

vs. 

Kongo (AlejaKatsuhiko NakajimaKenouManabu Soya & Tadasuke) [NOAH].

Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHIHiromu TakahashiSANADAShingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)   Rating: Great  

Main event:

Tag Team Match

Hiroshi Tanahashi 

Kazuchika Okada [New Japan]

vs. 

Kaito Kiyomiya 

Keiji Muto [NOAH].  Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada                           Rating: Very Good

Overall Show Score: 8

Pros: All of these wrestlers worked hard at this event. I was impressed how they brought back Pro Wrestling Noah to prominence by showcasing them on this last show of this 3 Day event & my favourite matches were the last two matches.   

Cons: Way too many Tag team matches on this show and a ton of wrestlers appear are impossible to own everyone’s names. 

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