NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Preview: Night Two (1/5)

January 4, 2022

And so the story continues, Kazuchika Okada slayed The Dragon on night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 16, and bid farewell to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The belt that he held, like a security blanket since winning the 2021 G1 Climax in October, was set aside for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship he won from Shingo Takagi. Having the long-time franchise face of NJPW give the past belt a proper send off, and wearing the new belt proudly, has helped legitimize a title shrouded in controversy.

But there is still one more rogue championship to take care of.

Will Ospreay interrupted Okada’s title win by reminding him that Ospreay carries his own, identical IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, a championship he’s never been beaten for. Stripped of the World Title after a neck injury in May, Ospreay has been adamant that Shingo Takagi, and now Kazuchika Okada, are merely “interim” champions until the best Ospreay.

After a near-40min match against Takagi, Okada has much wear and tear heading into Wednesday’s show. Which man will be able to declare themselves the rightful champion.

Before the long-winded preview, here is the full card for Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 16:

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16

Night 2

2am ET on NJPWWorld.com

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Flying Tigers (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask) (c) vs. Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) vs. Super Coaches (Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero)
STARDOM Special Match: Mayu Iwatani & Starlight Kid vs. Tam Nakano & Saya Kamitani
KOPW 2022 Match: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki vs. Chase Owens vs. CIMA
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championship Match: House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO) (c) vs. CHAOS (YOH, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship No DQ Match: KENTA (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Will Ospreay

WHAT A NIGHT!

An incredible start to the Wrestle Kingdom festivities, and we're just getting started!

Tomorrow, history is made, and an explosive main event sees an undisputed champion determined LIVE IN ENGLISH on NJPW World and FITE!https://t.co/8sTLYJNSjL #njwk16day2 pic.twitter.com/9YJdOjqpTQ

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) January 4, 2022